Page 5 of Burning Ember

Ivy crosses her legs Indian style. “She won’t be back here for a few days. Knows you’ll be looking for her. And sadly, that woman has lived on these streets for longer than I’ve been alive, so she knows her way around this city. Best wait for another rainy day. You’ll be able to catch her here then.”

I pull in a sharp breath. Dread circles in my belly. “What am I going to do ’til then?” I let out a long exhale and look over at the girl next to me. Again, I’m taken aback by her youth and unique eye color. She’s already pretty, but she’s going to be quite something when she grows up.

Ivy shrugs. “It could be worse, right? You could have been raped last night by Crack Joe.”

Against my will, my frown lessens. “Yes. There’s that.”

“Other people will always beat you down, but they don’t win unless you give up, and quit fighting. My dad used to tell me that. He’d also say, ‘It can’t rain all the time.’ He wasn’t a poet though, just thought he was. That was a line from his favorite movie, The Crow.”

The Crow.Dark thoughts immediately enter my mind, but I beat them back.

“He was always spouting off something like that. Always yapping my ear off.” She laughs almost silently.

I watch her and notice how her mouth twists into a small smirk.

“You know what the last thing he told me before he . . .” She shakes her head. When she tells me, her voice has a fake, cheery quality to it, as if she’s trying hard to mask her feelings. “He said, ‘Findyour perfect,and hold on to it.’”

I raise an eyebrow. “Your perfect?”

“Yeah, you know, it’s different for everyone. Could be a family, a home with a picket fence. A guy or a girl, if that’s what you’re into. A job. School. Whatever it is that’s going to make you happy.”

My thoughts immediately go where they shouldn’t. Not here. Not now.

“How old are you?”

The corner of her mouth kicks up higher. “Old enough.” Then her hand bumps mine and I look down. In her palm rests a five-dollar bill.

A spark of hope flutters through my chest.

“It’s not much, but it’s what I can do. I should’ve warned you better about what she was gonna do. I just . . . don’t sleep very good when I stay here and well, I guess I woke up in a bitchy mood this morning.”

“You don’t need to—”

“Yeah, I do. My father taught me to look out for those in need and girls like us don’t have a lot of options. I mean, not that you’re a girl, because you’re a bit older than me, but . . . here . . . take it.” She turns her face away and plays with the bracelets on her wrist. “Find a way to earn money, Red, before a way finds you. Buy yourself some protection. The last thing you need is to pick up some nasty, or get pregnant by some Joe.”

“Ivy, I can’t do that.”

She lowers her head and smiles, but it’s a sad smile. “Yeah, and I hope you don’t have to. But out here, you won’t find a lot of ways to earn money fast without using your body. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

I try to hand it back to her.

“No, you need it more than I do. Plus, I know where I can get more.” Her words sound loaded with meaning. She stands and takes two steps, then says, “I’ll tell you what, though. One day, when you win the lottery, you come find me, huh? Repay the favor. Consider this an IOU.”

“Ivy—”

“Keep breathing, Red, and watch your back because nobody is gonna watch it for you. Even if they say they will, watch it anyway because people lie.” With that said, she strolls away.

I watch her go until she’s gone and close my fist around the money.

Ivy’s right about there being something in life worth fighting for. There’s a reason I didn’t stay with Warner and wait for the next punishment he was sure to deliver.

I wanted more. Needed more. Deserved more.

I have a future pictured in my mind. It’s not anything spectacular, but it’s normal, secure, good, and something I’ve never had.

Ivy called it, my perfect. But after fighting through what feels like a maze of thorns for the last few years, it might be more appropriate to call it my secret garden.

The one thing in life I’d do just about anything to find.