Chapter 8: Crash and Burn
For the fist time since I'd met him, I saw the red head first. It was the next day, and I was almost done selling my papers; the same paper that he had given me the night before, except for the headline about the attack in Manhattan. It was early, as I had all night to come up with improved headlines. I thanked the woman I was selling to before yelling out to him.
"Prophet!" I called him the first thing that came to mind. He must have recognized my voice, because he turned around.
"Heya, Angel," he said, coming over to me, smiling.
"Why do you call me that?" I asked.
"Because you are one." I shook my head, not believing it. I called out another headline, and sold my last five papers. The boy, now christened "Prophet", then took my hand and led me through Queens to a small park.
"Why do you say things that aren't true?" I asked.
"When did I do that?"
"I'm not an angel."
"Why do you always put yourself down?" he asked, his blue eyes full of concern.
"I'm just telling the truth, the same things that I've been told my whole life." My eyes filled with tears as I remembered the things that Jonathan had said to me. I looked up into Prophet's eyes for a split second, wondering what he was thinking, and saw something I'd never seen before: he cared for me. I'd never told anyone before, but for some reason, I felt compelled to tell Prophet about my past. I looked down at my hands and started talking.
Prophet and I sat in the park for hours, talking about everything that had happened to me. I told him about every time Jonathan called me ugly, every black eye I'd been given, every scar.
The whole time we were talking, I continued staring at our hands, as he had taken mine in his. His was callused with work, but still gentle. I couldn't look at Prophet, but I knew he was staring at me. My eyes bore into our hands. I tried not to cry, staring at the scar on my hand, knowing that I had more scars; on my body, and on my emotions. When I was done telling him everything that had happened to me, I finally looked up. His eyes locked with mine.
"Thank you," I whispered, getting up. I quickly kissed him on the cheek, and then left the park. I walked in the direction of the lodging house, staring at the sidewalk.
After finally arriving, I gave a quick hello to Kiwi, and Dragonfly, who were sitting in the lounge. Then I went up to my room.
Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything I had told Prophet that day. Things I hadn't been able to tell my father. Things I thought I'd never tell anyone.
