Once his door was shut and his light was out, Owen lay in bed staring at his ceiling. He was restless and knew exactly why.

He had been ready to kiss her.

He scrubbed both hands over his face, as if admitting that single thought to himself caused a dirt-laden film to land on him. What in the hell is wrong with me? He wondered as he turned on his side and burned a hole into his Donavan McNabb poster that hung on the wall.

She had egged him on silently. He’d carried her up the stairs to the guestroom upon the request of his mother and had all but begrudgingly done so until he was holding her. Her breathing was steady and quiet, her lips were parted, and her face lax. He’d pushed down a strange feeling of protectiveness as he pushed open the door with his foot. Owen had been ready to discard her on the bed until she’d opened her eyes, which were twinkling with amusement and wriggled from his hold. He couldn’t believe she’d played him.

“Light sleeper my ass,” he grunted and turned over on his stomach.

She hadn’t been sleeping at all and when she had revealed that fact, something in him had snapped. He’d already been fighting strange feelings for her since she’d arrived but to know that she was secretly laughing at him had outraged Owen. And the realization of knowing that she’d probably heard him open her door the morning before had humiliated him like nothing else ever had.

Mortification and frustration had been a potent mix, he concluded. He knew he’d overreacted, accusing her of stealing from them for what seemed like the millionth time since her arrival. He just couldn’t help himself. Leah had made him absolutely crazy and the pull she had had been so strong, he’d been ready to forget that she’d practically mugged him only a few days ago. She was a beautiful girl; he could admit that. And her body was lean and healthy; as a seventeen year old’s should have been, but he knew a lot of girl friends of his with the same build and even more attractive faces.

So why her?

Sex deprivation, he supposed. He’d lost his virginity last year to a girlfriend at the time. The experience had been nice but nothing to really write home about. She’d moaned way too much and had used too many unnecessary expletives. He’d guessed that she’d been watching porn and had tried to imitate, subsequently failing miserably. Since then, he hadn’t tried dating or sleeping with anyone.  

That had to be it. Why else would he have tried to kiss a juvenile delinquent?

His conversation with Jeff definitely hadn’t helped matters either. He knew how his friend worked when it came to women. While he’d only had one sexual partner, Jeff’d had two handfuls already. Jeff was a pretty good friend when push came to shove, but his treatment of women was downright deplorable at times.

He had tried to deter Jeff from bothering Leah on all accounts. One, because Jeff was an idiot when it came to girls and Owen didn’t want to get the shit end of the stick when he did something stupid involving Leah; two, she was leaving tomorrow anyway; and three, he simply didn’t want Jeff touching her with all that she had been through. Owen may not have thought much of the girl but he still didn’t want her being messed with the way Jeff was prone to mess with attractive females.

Truth was he didn’t want Jeff touching Leah period. His moral code told him to watch out for the delicate girl. But the eighteen year old boy in him wanted to let her fend for herself; knew that she could fend for herself.

He chuckled humorlessly as he turned over on his back again. He’d never get sleep at this rate, if he continued to think about things he had no control over.

Finally closing his eyes, Owen cast away all thoughts of Jeff, Leah, and thanked God for inventing the liquid sleep aid Vodka before falling into a deep slumber.

****

The dream had come again.

Leah had sworn she’d heard her parents’ screams and desperate pleas for help. She couldn’t recall much of that night and wasn’t very keen on doing so. Amnesia had taken pass in the part of her mind that held those memories and disjointed scenes of a burning house and shouting people. Doctors had told her that the memories would come back slowly but she didn’t want to remember. She wanted to keep the whole incident blocked but her mind seemed to want to conjure up the past and filter them into her dreams.

Ever since she’d come into the Greenburgs’ home, the memories of her old life had been bombarding her to no end.

It was time to leave.

At five in the morning, Leah awoke ready to head out into the moist, cool new day. The sun had yet to rise and for that she was thankful. She knew she worked better under the cover of nightfall. Slipping out of the house would be a piece of cake while everyone was asleep and there were barely any lights on the street.

Carefully, she zipped up her bag, and made sure to leave everything as it was before she slowly pulled open the bedroom door. She peeked her head out into the hallway and watched for any sign of life, and when she deemed it safe, Leah moved cautiously toward the stairs and tip-toed down them. Reaching the bottom landing, Leah thought she was scot-free until a movement out of her periphery made her turn.

“Lee, good morning,” Anne smiled and took a swig of the water bottle she held. “Heading out?”

Leah stood frozen, not sure if she should feel guilty for having been caught or if she should just turn and leave without saying anything.

“Morning,” Leah sighed and let her bag drop. “Are you here to stop me?”

Anne shook her head and moved passed the teenager toward the front door. “On the contrary, I’m going for a walk.”

“At five in the morning?” Leah raised an eyebrow and assessed the older woman’s gray sweat pants and zippered blue jacket.

“I’ve been meaning to get back into working out and figured there’s no better time like the present,” Anne shrugged, pulling open the front door.

Leah watched, partly stunned that Anne — the protective, affectionate mother — was about to let her just walk out the door without protest. Following Anne to the door, Leah completely forgot her bag that was resting next her on the floor.

“Don’t you think it’s a pretty coincidental that you decide to take a walk at the exact moment I’m leaving?” The suspicious gleam was still in Leah’s eyes as Ann stretched out her arms, preparing for her semi-workout.

“I believe in fate, more so than coincidence.” Anne grinned over her shoulder as she stepped off the porch. “Coming?”

Feeling completely out of sorts, Leah stood watching Anne’s back move further down the sidewalk, almost disappearing into the early morning darkness. She shook her head and jogged after the woman to catch up with her. When they were walking side-by-side, their pace matched one another’s. They remained silent as Anne pumped her arms and exhaled loudly, as if working her body to exhaustion.

Leah tried to keep from smiling as the older woman began punching the air while walking.

“Is this your idea of a workout?”

Anne turned her head, but continued jabbing. “What do you mean?”

“This Oprah-Taebo-esque walking you’re doing.” Leah gestured.

Frowning, Anne slowed her pace and let her arms drop to her sides. “This is exercising.”

“Lady, if you think that’s exercising…I don’t know what to tell ya.”

Anne’s frown deepened as they completely stopped moving all together. “Alright, smarty pants. How do you exercise?”

“Well, first, you need to really stretch yourself out. Here, let me show you.”

For the next ten minutes, the two went over a series of stretching exercises; some of which, Anne had had no idea existed. She felt much better about her limber extremities and was ready to do whatever was next.

“Now, if we’re going to work out, then let’s do it right. We’re going to run. Can you handle that?”

Anne’s eyes widened a bit. “Run? I don’t know about that. I have a weak knee,” she said, fidgeting a bit.

Leah was surprised to hear the unsure tone in Anne’s voice. From what she had gathered of Anne in the past couple of days was that she was very self-assured and confident. It was an odd revelation to discover that even Anne, at her age and level of vibrancy, still had some insecurity.

Leah touched Anne’s shoulder gently. Her eyes spoke volumes and expressed the words her mouth couldn’t form. Anne understood immediately and smiled hopefully as she began walking again. Soon, the two had picked up speed and were jogging. Before Anne knew it, they had gone around the neighborhood and were circling back around. The house came into view and suddenly Anne was sprinting up the street in a race toward her mailbox. Leah chuckled and shook her head as she pumped her legs, passing Anne with ease.

Throwing up her arms and lifting her head toward the brightening sky, Leah cheered and simulated the sound of a roaring crowd. Barely winded, she turned to Anne who was slowly shuffling toward her, her hands on her hips and her breathing heavy.

“I haven’t run like that in…gosh I can’t remember how long,” Anne breathed.

“See, I knew you had it in you.”

Anne smiled proudly and began to stretch her arms the way Leah had shown her earlier.

“If you keep that up, you’ll have a bikini body by the end of the summer. David won’t know what hit him,” Leah lifted her eyebrows suggestively, causing Anne to burst into laughter.

Once she had sobered, Anne asked the question that had been on her mind all morning. “So, where did you learn these stretching exercises? My trainer at the gym isn’t even that attentive.”

“I ran track in school,” Leah said idly and began to imitate Anne’s movements. “And my mom was a yoga instructor for a while…”

Suddenly, Leah’s eyes changed and became clouded with emotion. Anne had seen the transformation of the girl in that instant and had almost regretted the question. But she needed to find out more about the young mystery girl staying with her family. Obviously her parents were no longer around but she wondered if she could somehow acquire the information of how long she’d been on the streets and maybe how she’d ended up there in the first place.

“She sounds like a woman I need to meet!” Anne joked, and pretended as if she never saw the expression adjustment. “I know my butt would do some good with private yoga lessons.”

“She’s dead,” Leah snapped.

Anne had figured that much, but to actually hear Leah say it broke her heart. All she wanted to do was engulf the lost girl into her arms and keep her safe. Of course she’d wanted to know about the teen but Anne knew pushing the subject would only push Lee away. She’d just bide her time and when the right moment came, she’d find out more.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Lee,” Anne said and then paused, trying to bring back the comfortable vibe they’d experienced before the run. “But really, I think you could help get me back into shape.”

“I’m leaving.”

Anne nodded in understanding. “Yeah, that’s right. I just thought if you stayed and helped me out I could pay you for your time. You know, earn the money you actually have instead of stealing for it.”

Heat rose in Leah’s cheeks as she cast her eyes downward but said nothing. Having money in her pocket would definitely help her move from city to city quicker on her way cross country. She bit her lip and deliberated her options. If she left now, she’d have to walk wherever she ended up, and then steal for food later, but if she made a little money before she left…

 “Twenty bucks an hour.”

Anne almost choked on her tongue. She couldn’t believe her plan to get the girl to stay had actually worked. She could afford twenty dollars an hour if it meant Leah had food in her belly and a roof over her head.

Grinning, Anne held out her hand.

“Deal.”

“We work out every day, starting at five, since you like the mornings so much.” Leah’s smile was smug and Anne had the sudden feeling that she was being taken for a ride.

Anne began to wonder what kind of monster she had created as Leah began rattling off the type of exercises they’d do and for how long they’d do them.

****

David sat at his desk and scrubbed a hand over his face. The twelve hour shift was starting to weigh on him as old age crept up on him.

He had a mound of paper still left to do from the domestic dispute he’d just come from. The alleged victim had claimed that her boyfriend had thrown her against a wall during a spat. The two had been drinking with friends and apparently the girlfriend had become jealous because a female guest in attendance had been making eyes at him. After their friends had left, the real party had started for the two.

David rolled his eyes as he thought back to the belligerent woman trying to recount her side of the story in slurred disjointed English. He usually kept his cool when it came to runs like that but the small investigation on Leah had turned up minimal information, which had frustrated him.

He’d searched Leah’s name in his computer database days ago and had discovered that she’d been reported missing last year. He shook his head in disbelief; the girl had been on her own for a full year. He couldn’t imagine Hayley, his baby girl, being left alone on the streets to fend for herself; even the thought of Owen having to scrape for every meal left him with an anxious feeling. David shook the thoughts from his head because it made him sick to his stomach.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that the girl had no criminal record, and that’s where his search had come to a standstill. He did know that the missing person’s report had been filed in a completely different state, so that’s where he’d start next, David concluded.

He stared at the picture of Leah in the missing person’s database and got a sinking feeling. He wanted to contact the appropriate person and have her case closed, but something told him the timing just wasn’t right. Twenty years ago he had taken a vow to uphold the law but this time, he knew not telling anyone of the girl’s whereabouts was the best thing for her.

Opening a search engine, he typed in Leah’s full name to see what he could find on her. Maybe, he could reunite her with family or help her begin life anew. She was close to adulthood and would be eighteen in nine months, he’d found out. David had hoped that she’d let him try to help her do whatever she’d had planned for herself before all of this had happened.

Only time would tell.

“Greenburg? There’s a guy over here askin—” The accompanying officer was cut off by a shouting female voice.

When David looked up, he groaned as he spotted the couple he’d just seen an hour ago; the belligerent woman in handcuffs and her significant other with a black eye.

He sighed heavily, knowing he’d have to put Leah’s case on hold for a while longer.