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“How long have you lived here?”

Carmen could see the desperation on the young girl’s face. “Six months. The property was already vacated by the time I moved in.”

The girl nodded, her eyes vacant. “Was there any mail or anything left behind? Anything with a forwarding address?”

“Nope, nothing. Sorry, look, I gotta go. Take care.” Carmen gave a weak smile as she shut the door. A weight sat in her stomach. A second knock made her jump. Daniel stood in the doorway, pizza box in hand. Over his shoulder, Carmen could see the young girl slumped over on the sidewalk, her head in her hands.

“Hey, Carmen, I got your delivery.” Daniel said, setting her food down on the hallway table. He’d delivered enough to their address that they were almost friends. Of course, at the sound of Daniel’s voice, Mateo appeared.

“Hey, D,” Mateo cooed. Carmen rolled her eyes. Their flirtatious banter was nauseating. Carmen’s racing mind muted their conversation. Watching the girl on the street was tugging at her chest. There was something familiar about the situation, something desperate.

Brushing past Daniel, Carmen approached the girl. “Hey.”

“Oh, sorry, I’ll move. I just needed a second,” the girl croaked. Carmen could see the tears streaking down her face.

“I was gonna ask if you wanted some pizza.” Carmen hooked her thumb over her shoulder and gave the kindest smile she could. Whatever was going on in this girl’s life, Carmen knew she needed help.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that, thank you.”

“Come on, no offense, but you look like you could do with a good meal.” Carmen regarded the girl. She was a waif of a human, thin, almost gaunt, with pale skin. Her hair was long, almost down to her ass. Her clothes… well, they would look good on the set of Little House On The Prairie if she were being honest. This kid was not from around here, that was for sure. “I’m Carmen.”

“Faith.”

“Okay then. Let’s get some food.” Carmen held out her hand. She could see Faith weighing up her options. After all, Carmen was a stranger. A few moments passed before Faith grabbed Carmen’s hand and let herself be pulled to her feet.

Turning on her heel, Carmen gestured for Faith to follow. Daniel and Mateo were still flirting, so she paid them no mind, although Mateo shot her a confused look when he saw Faith.

“Just stick your backpack near the door,” Carmen said as she took the pizza box into the living room. “I hope you like veggies,” she added. Faith’s reaction was strange. The girl was looking at the takeout box as if she’d never seen one before.

“I love vegetables. I don’t know if I like them on pizza.”

“What’s your favorite topping?” Carmen was happy to make small talk. She could see Faith relaxing.

“I don’t know. I’ve never had one before.”

Carmen looked at Faith. Is she being serious? The red tinge on the girl’s cheeks told Carmen that yes, in fact, she was telling the truth. That raised a bunch of questions, but Carmen knew better than to pepper the girl.

“That’s okay. We all have to start somewhere. And how good is it that your very first pizza is going to be from the world’s best pizza place?”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Faith replied, smiling.

Mateo flounced in, looking from Faith to Carmen. “I didn’t know we were expecting a guest.” He smiled, offering his hand to Faith.

“Mateo, this is Faith.”

“A pleasure.”

“Did you finally ask Daniel on a date?” Carmen asked, hoping to take the focus away from the young woman who looked like a deer in headlights.

Mateo tutted. “Girl, I’m not gonna do that. We flirt, that’s it.”

“That’s stupid,” Carmen mumbled.

“You’re stupid,” Mateo shot back, causing Faith to giggle.

“Ignore him,” Carmen smirked, “he’s just moody because he’s bloated.”

Mateo gasped, bringing his hand to his chest. “How dare you!”