Chapter 10

Kyleigh felt a little more kindly towards her foster parents during the rest of the summer. Tension remained thick between her and Ryan, but she tried her best to bury her differences with Lisa. Just as she had the year before, Lisa forced Kyleigh into posing in front of the fireplace on her first day of school.

"I have a good feeling about this year, Kyleigh," Lisa said.

"You said that last year too, I think." Kyleigh buckled her seatbelt.

Lisa swatted at Kyleigh lightly. She was in good spirits because Kyleigh had responded well to the treatment and her CD4 count had risen back to 350, relatively healthy for someone with her condition. "Well, I meant it then and I mean it now. Besides, aren't you excited for your new classes? One more year of French, World Literature to look forward to, two art electives, and you're exempt from gym! You should be ecstatic."

Kyleigh clapped overenthusiastically. "Oh boy!"

Lisa gave her a half-exasperated look. "Okay, okay I'll stop. Enough with me being happy for your future. I'll just let you angst over there."

"I'm pretty sure 'angst' isn't a verb," Kyleigh pointed out. Truth be told, she was happy to start a new term. She'd heard through the grapevine (read: Lisa) that Bethany had transferred to some "snobby all girls private school." Though Kyleigh knew that Bethany wasn't the complete problem, maybe she had a fighting chance at making friends without her bad influence, or whatever.

"Whatever," Lisa said in her best teenage girl voice.

"You're really good at that, have you been practicing?" Kyleigh asked.

"All day every day," Lisa responded. They glanced at each other then burst out laughing. Kyleigh was still smiling when they pulled up to the school. Her smile faded, but Lisa reach out to squeeze her shoulder. "You're going to do great, kiddo. Stay positive and everything will be fine."

"Right." Kyleigh gathered up her bag. "See you after school, Lisa."

Lisa waved then drove off, leaving Kyleigh alone at the curb.

Sarah, Katie, and Bethany's other friends glared at Kyleigh when she walked into the classroom, but stayed quiet otherwise. Kyleigh guessed they were over it. Matt nodded at her a little awkwardly when she saw him at lunch. There were some people who whispered things at her or stepped back dramatically as she walked by, but otherwise no one seemed to care about her. Thank god.

Plus she had other things to worry about:

"I think you should submit the city scape you finished last week," Ginger advised.

"I thought I could only send in one." Kyleigh flipped through her portfolio for the thousandth time.

"You can send in one of each type of work. So you can submit your portrait and one of your paintings." Ginger reached over, pulling the canvas of Seattle out from the middle of the folder. She held it up so they both could look at it. Kyleigh had devoted hours to the painting, spending days just making sure to get the outline of the city just right before even thinking of colors to add. More than once she ended up with paint on her nose and in her hair after leaning in too close.

Even Ginger had doubted Kyleigh could pull it off after the girl had explained her vision: to create a mosaic style painting of the city. There was no stopping Kyleigh, though.

"That's going to be extremely difficult to do," Ginger warned. "It's going to take a lot of time, and be prepared to mess up a lot."

"That's okay," Kyleigh had responded. "I can handle it."

She spent the rest of her camp days working on it. Littered around her room were dozens of rough drafts of the sketch she wanted to use. Lisa had made the mistake of throwing away a few pieces of paper; it took Kyleigh a few weeks to forgive her. She hadn't told anyone, not even Carlisle, but her goal was to recreate the night she ran away.

Though she was so ill, she had to stop in Seattle, just to take in the beauty of the city. After she got off the bus, she'd gone to a hotel, hoping to get to a higher floor so she could see everything. "Please," she'd begged the concierge. "Please, just give me five minutes to look."

He had fought hard against her. "It's against hotel policy. You need to have a room in order to use the elevators and for the safety of our guests, I can't permit you up there."

"I'll take a room for a night," she said desperately.

He eyed her appearance; baggy sweater, ripped jeans, worn out boots and a hat. Not at all suitable for the December weather. He didn't need to say what he was thinking. Kyleigh knew he knew she couldn't afford it.

"Please, sir." She batted her eyelashes, just a little. "I promise I won't cause any problems. You can send a security guard with me if you want. I'll leave my wallet with you. Please?"

The concierge glanced around the room, looking for the manager. "Five minutes?" he asked.

"I promise. No more than five," Kyleigh said eagerly.

She could tell he wasn't happy as he personally led her over to the elevator, swiping the key to gain access to the door. They rode in silence to the second highest floor. He pressed a finger against his lips then led her down the hall, through a fancy door, into an even fancier room. "Reserved for corporate events and weddings," he whispered. Kyleigh had never seen a more beautiful room, but she was quickly distracted as he pulled back thick velvet curtains, revealing the city to her. She gasped at the sight.

The Space Needle stood just off center to the left, surrounded by other buildings, some with bright windows, others dark. It was dusk. Almost everyone had left for home. There were leafless trees, bright with Christmas lights, scattered throughout the city. Far in the background, Mount Rainer towered over the city, white with snow. Dark pine trees bowed down to the mountain, caught in the space between the city and the base.

Kyleigh had used every bit of her talent and patience to recreate her first glimpse of Seattle onto the canvas that now sat in front of her. She hadn't bothered to explain to everyone the story behind the painting, allowing them to think that she had just imagined it, when really it was a defining moment in her new life.

The concierge allowed her to stay in the fancy ballroom for ten minutes before finally telling her they had to leave. Reluctantly, she followed him back out of the room and into the elevator. On the way down, she could feel him looking at her.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked.

It was sad that Kyleigh had to think hard about her answer. "I had a bag of pretzels this morning, and a granola bar this afternoon."

"Okay." The concierge hit a different button on the elevator. He walked her down a hallway with plush carpeting and large windows, until they reached the dining room. She stared around in wonder at the pink and gold hues of the hotel while he whispered to the maître d. "Come here," he then whispered to Kyleigh. "This is Jacques, he's going to take care of you." Kyleigh stifled a laugh; Jacques the headwaiter of a fancy restaurant. How typical.

Jacques led her over to a table next to the window so she could look out at the city. Even though she was much lower than she had been in the ballroom, it was still breathtaking. He handed her a menu and asked if she would like something to drink. Kyleigh ordered a water to hold her over while she read the menu. She had never seen so many things on a menu before, half of which she didn't understand. The prices weren't even listed on it, so she knew it was an expensive hotel.

When Jacques returned, she ordered a Caesar salad and a side of bread. He leaned down, telling her that she could order whatever she wanted, and it was on the house. Kyleigh stared at him, wondering if it was a trick, but then he winked. She returned to the menu then ordered vegetable lasagna and mashed potatoes.

It may have just been because she was starving, but it was the best meal Kyleigh had ever tasted. She turned down dessert, too full and sleepy to eat anymore. Jacques cleared her plate then took her arm. He pressed a finger to his lips as he called for the elevator. Together, they got off a few floors up and he guided her to the farther room on the floor, swiftly opening the door and letting her in. "Sleep well, miss," he whispered, closing the door behind him.

Kyleigh could hardly believe the hospitality. Just in case someone changed their minds, she stripped and crawled into bed, passing out shortly thereafter. Early the next morning, she dragged herself out of bed and took a long hot shower before sneaking out into the hall. She saw on a plaque outside the elevator that there was some sort of market place buffet in the dining room. Pushing her luck, she poked her head into the dining room, but didn't see Jacques. When no one was looking, she rushed in, grabbed a few croissants, and ran out the door.

Kyleigh never had a chance to thank the concierge or Jacques.

"It really is beautiful," Ginger said, bringing Kyleigh back to the present.

"Seattle is amazing," Kyleigh replied. Both stared at her painting for a few minutes. "Okay, sure, I'll submit it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Atta girl!" Ginger clapped Kyleigh on the back. "They're going to love it."

Kyleigh set the painting aside, turning her attention to her self-portrait. It had been her least favorite assignment, and she still wasn't sure how much she liked the final product, but she figured she might as well represent herself fully for her first art gallery.

"This is interesting," Ginger had said when Kyleigh first turned it in to her.

"Interesting isn't really a word," Kyleigh replied, parroting one of Ginger's favorite sayings.

"That's true. Okay, it's fascinating. How's that?"

"I'm not sure. Is it fascinating in a good way or a bad way?" Kyleigh asked nervously. She looked at the drawing over Ginger's shoulder.

"In a good way, I think." Ginger tilted her head. Usually Ginger was quick to judge something, so having her be uncertain confused Kyleigh. "I just find it odd that you focused so much time on your hair, mouth, and eyes, and not on developing any of your other features."

"How do you mean? Like my eyebrows?" Kyleigh examined the portrait. The girl staring back had rather blank eyes, but her mouth was curved up slightly, like she had a secret. Her hair was alive though, spilling over her shoulders, extending almost to her elbows, covering parts of her face, like a security blanket.

"There's so little life in the face, aside from the mouth." Ginger grabbed the original photo she had taken of Kyleigh, holding them up side by side. Whatever Ginger had to say died in her throat, because she finally saw what Kyleigh had seen when she drew the picture: her eyes were void of anything; empty windows to Kyleigh's soul. Her skin was pale save for the semi-permanent circles under her eyes. But her hair was everywhere, and she had the same almost smirk on her lips as the drawing did. "Oh…"

Ginger looked just as unsettled now as she had during that exchange. Kyleigh knew she didn't like the picture, but it was her fault for assigning it. Plus it was Kyleigh's show, she could do what she wanted to. "The show isn't until next month. You might make something you like more between then and now," Ginger pointed out.

"It's possible," Kyleigh admitted. "I think these are perfect though. We're doing sculpturing in one of my art classes and it's hard. I much prefer drawing to playing with clay. It's gross and gets all over my hands."

Ginger laughed and shook her head. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses, Miss Kyleigh. You should get going, Lisa will be here soon."

Kyleigh packed her portfolio back up and tucked it under her arm. She yelled a goodbye over her shoulder to Ginger on her way out the door.