Hannah

It's the day before I have to be out of the house and I haven't heard from my mom. I haven't made any arrangements for where I'll go.  I can't tell friends, not even Jessie, because she's got a perfect little life and her mom would freak out if she knew mine had taken off. I've spent some time at her house over the last year and I know that her parents wouldn't approve of her having a friend like me. I'm practically an adult, now. A homeless adult.

   Don - the landlord - knocks on the door that evening, as if he knows I'm struggling to figure out what to do. I know it's him because he always knocks four times, fast, like he's giving us a warning it's him. I almost ignore it, but I end up walking over to the door to answer.

  "I'm leaving in the morning," I say right away.

  He's wearing grey coveralls and his hair is slicked back. His expression is sort of unsure as he looks me up and down. He's definitely in his forties, but seems older even.

  "I... I've noticed your mom's car hasn't been here this week. But you've come and go."

  Embarrassment shoots through me like a rocket. He knows. "Yeah, well."

  "She left without you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

  Don looks past me, into the house. "You need help moving anything out tomorrow?"

  "No."

  I don't have anything. I've been wearing the same two outfits for over a week and washing underwear in the sink. I don't have any money, because even the shoe box I kept in my closet with maybe forty or fifty bucks was gone.

  "Where are you going to-"

"Not your business, Don. Have a nice life," I finish, before he can even as the question.

  I close the door before tears full my eyes. I'm not a crier. I don't care that I don't have much. I never cared that I didn't have designer clothes or a big, fancy house. I didn't even care that the guy I was dating a couple of months ago slept with another girl, at a party we were at.
I'm tough. I'm strong. I moved on.

  But my mom left me behind and I'm all alone and it's all finally hitting me. God, is it ever hitting me.

*
 
It's only a bit after 7A.M. when I stuff everything left in the house - my little clothes, my toothbrush, deodorant and a few other random things - into a back pack and leave. I drop my key into the mailbox and then rush down the stairs and down the sidewalk. I can't look back. I don't want Don to see me leaving, either.

  Chapel Hill has been my home for a long time, and this neighborhood has been mine for three years, most of high school. Before that, we lived in a sketchy apartment building, by the elementary school. I liked this neighborhood. I would go out for walks and people watch. I'd sit in the back yard for a long time and just read books or think about things. I was alone a lot in this house, but it was still mine.

  I walk for a long time. Until my legs are sore and tired. Until I find a park bench and sit, and pull out my phone. It's not going to keep working after this month, because no one's going to pay for it. I'm surprised she paid the cell phone bills this long, actually. I have instagram, but only because Jessie made me an account and set it up on my phone. I rarely use it, especially since that's how I found out that Greg - my ex - cheated on me, back in the spring. But now it's mid afternoon, it's hot and I'm tired. I need to figure out where I'm going to go, at least for tonight.

  But after staring at my phone for a long time, I decide not to call Jessie, even though I want to. I need to keep her out of this.

  For the last few days, I had convinced myself that my mom would call. She'd realize her mistake and come back for me. But it's so obvious now that that's not going to happen. She probably met up with friends or some guy and decided I was fine on my own.

  I close my eyes for awhile but when I open them again I look down at my phone, I suddenly think about the only other family I ever had. My dad, who I haven't seen or heard from in twelve years. His sister and her family. I wonder if they are still in Florida. I wonder if they'd even want to hear from me.

  Before I know what I'm doing, my fingers are flying across the screen. I'm doing a deep search for Erin Kingston, but then I remember that wouldn't be her name now. I can't for the life of me remember what her last name was after she married uncle Matt, and I feel defeated. But then I do something I've avoided doing for years - I type in my dad's name, Hunter Kingston, and press search. The third result is a man who looks to be his age now and he lives in Tampa. Once I click on his profile I know for sure it's him. My heart is pounding as I scroll through some photos - him, a woman with dark hair and dark eyes and a beautiful smile, and a toddler. He has another kid? He's never tried to get in touch with me, that I know of. Tears are threatening to come - this is all too much. I am not getting in touch with him now.

  But then I see it - a comment on one of the photos of his child - a comment by Erin Talon. When I click her profile, I immediately recognize her face. She looks much older, obviously, but it's her, my aunt. I'm flooded with memories from when I was little. She and my mom were really closed and had kids the same age. Sebastian was born just a few months before me and we grew up together until we were five.

  I can't believe I found them, just like that.

  I don't send a message right away.

  I don't fully know if I should.

  Maybe they don't want the intrusion in their lives that I would be. Maybe they are still mad at my mom for the way things ended back then.

  I get up from the bench and walk through the park. I don't know this end of town well so nothing is really familiar. All I want is something familiar. I need it, actually. That's when I pull out my phone again and type the message to Erin.

_hannah.banana_ : hey, i know this is random but this is Hannah, Joanie's daughter. I was just hoping to connect with you.

I can't believe it when I send the message. There's a chance she never sees it. There's a chance she sees it and ignores it. But it only takes a minute or two before my phone is buzzing in my hand.

  Erin.Talor44 : Hannah! OMG, wow, I was not expecting this today. How are you honey?

_hannah.banana_ : Um, could I actually call you? I think it would be easier to talk that way.

  The moment of truth. Is she really going to send me her number?

  Erin.Talor44 : Of course! 555-6764

  I close the app and type the number into the phone, hitting call right away. Now or never. It's not like I have a lot of other options and at least she sounds somewhat happy to hear from me. It rings two times in my ear before she answers.

  "Hello, Hannah?"

  "Yeah... hi."

  "Wow. I'm in shock, for sure. This is... quite a surprise," she says. Her voice isn't familiar but I just have a feeling. I know it's her.

  "Yeah... I know. Um... my mom sort of left and I-"

  "What do you mean, she left?" Erin sounds horrified, immediately.

That's when I realize that this is not okay. None of it is.

  "We got an eviction notice... she hadn't been paying the rent... and when I got home from school last week... she was just gone," I got on. No point in lying now.

  "Last week? You've been on your own? Where have you been staying? Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's really you, Hannah."

  "I stayed in the house... until this morning." I swallow hard while I wait for her reaction.

  "Where are you?" It feels like she's not sure if she really wants to know.

  "Chapel Hill."

  "North Carolina?"

  "Yeah."

  Erin's quiet for a minute as she processes this, so I wait. It feels like hours, because she's really deciding my future at this point. It's not like I expect much, but just talking to her has made me feel better than I have in awhile.

  "Can you get to the airport, in Raleigh?" she blurts out suddenly.

  "Um... I guess I could get on a bus." I'm a bit confused. I've never been to Raleigh, but I know it's not that far.

  "I'm looking at flights on my laptop... there's a flight into Tampa tonight, from Raleigh. I can get it purchased but you'd have to be at the airport by 7P.M."

  My head is spinning. She wants to buy me a plane ticket to Tampa, tonight? I've never even been on a plane.

  "Uh... I'm..."

  "Sorry, Hannah. I don't mean to spring this on you... but if your mother is really gone... like she's not coming back for you... you need to come and stay with us. We're your family."

  I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Family.

  "She's not coming back," I whisper.

  "Okay. Then get to the Raleigh airport before 7P.M. I'll text you the flight details. Yes?"

  She doesn't sound nervous or worried or anything like that. She just sounds like she wants to take care of me, and that's something I haven't felt in a long time.

"Okay. Yes," I finish and it feels like a million bricks have been lifted from my shoulders.