Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow Read Free Book Online Page B

told me off. I sit beside her for several minutes without saying a word. I wonder if any of the other girls have seen her here, but then I realize that’s unlikely. I would’ve heard all about it.
    â€œHe left without me,” Trina says finally. Her voice drips with pain, the pain of broken hearts and broken dreams. “He said he’d come … that he got us a place … that we’d get married,” she speaks in broken sentences, still sobbing. “I love him more than anything … and he’s gone.”
    â€œMaybe he’s still coming,” I offer. Trina shakes her head, her whole body heaving.
    â€œHe called …” She cries. “He said we’re done and that he’s taking someone else. Some Asha girl he’s been cheating on me with.” She dissolves into heavy sobs once again. “Oh, Jeremy!”
    How could you? I want to say to her boyfriend. Don’t you know what you’re taking away here? Our dreams are wrapped up in you, in escape, in a better life. How dare you take that away from girls like us! Girls who have lost everything and have nothing left. But realistically, if Jeremy’s been cheating and decides to run away with another girl, he’s probably not her happy ending either. Try telling Trina that though, when her heart is shattered into a thousand pieces.
    â€œTrina, you’re too good for him. He doesn’t deserve you then,” I say as I wrap my arms around her. I don’t know Trina at all, so I’m not sure if my statement holds true, but she looks up at me and gives me a tiny smile.
    â€œWhy are you being nice to me?” she asks. “I haven’t exactly been nice to anyone since I’ve been here.”
    â€œWe’re all in this together,” I say, though I know that’s not quite true. “Look, I don’t want to see you so hurt. We’ve all been through so much. None of us are strangers to pain. We gotta stick together if we’re going to make it.” I rub her back with my hand and she instantly relaxes a bit. We sit there for almost a half hour before we hear Gertie clear her throat. I’m not sure how long she’s been in the room. I don’t know what she’s heard. She’s obviously been looking for us.
    â€œGirls?” she says peering at us, as though she’s trying to figure out what’s going on. “Time for bed.”
    â€œWe’re just going,” I say, looking squarely at Gertie to try and let her know that I’ve got this. We jump to our feet. I slide Trina’s backpack off of her and carry it, my other arm wrapped around her waist. She wipes her face with her arms, trying to regain her composure. Gertie watches, she seems pleasantly surprised at our new-found friendship. She smiles and pats me on the back as we pass her.
    â€œPlease don’t tell anyone,” Trina pleads.
    â€œI won’t,” I promise.
    Together we walk through the double doors to our beds. I can already hear the whispers of the girls who are still awake, wondering why Trina is still here. I pull back my covers and turn to look at her, but the only thing I see is a figure heaving under the blankets.

Chapter 8
    Fall 2003
    I t ’s like I’ve landed in a whole other life, my past left behind. After a glorious summer spent swimming, camping, and helping Shelley take care of the flowers and vegetable garden in the yard, I feel like I’m in heaven. They’ve even bought me a bike, a shiny purple mountain bike. Luke taught me how to ride it, and I can go down the street and around the block by myself. I’ve met a couple of kids from down the street and we run back and forth from our yards playing tag or running through the sprinkler. After two and a half months here, the weather has turned cooler and leaves have started to fall from the trees.
    Grade five has started and, for the first time, I’m popular and have lots of friends.