Monica got off the bus at the same stop as the young girl did. She immediately noticed the neighbourhood was rough-looking, and she felt a sense of fear being there, even though she was an angel, and no harm could come to her.
Monica followed the girl as she walked to her house, but followed at a far enough distance so she wouldn't scare the girl, but the girl seemed to notice Monica following her. Monica just gave a friendly smile to the young girl, who ignored her and kept walking.
The young girl stepped up to an old house, and Monica couldn't believe the house. It was so old and rundown. This girl shouldn't be living here. Especially in a horrible neighbourhood.
The young girl dug out her key from her pocket and unlocked the front door, but as she started to go inside, she turned around and saw Monica approaching the door. The girl stopped and watched as Monica approached her slowly.
"Hello." Monica greeted with a big smile. The girl didn't smile, she just looked at Monica with sad, but curious eyes.
"Hi." She said simply, waiting for Monica to respond.
"Oh I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Monica." Monica said.
"Chrissy." The girl introduced herself quietly. She obviously seemed frightened.
"I'm sorry, it must have seemed like I was following you, but I was on the same bus as you, I guess. I was coming to inquire about the room for rent." Monica explained. Chrissy's eyes widened, as if shocked by Monica's request.
"You, you want to rent the room?" Chrissy asked, and Monica nodded.
"Is it available?" Monica asked, curious as to why Chrissy was behaving so nervously.
"Uh, yeah, it's available, but my mom isn't home right now, so I guess you'll have to come back later." Chrissy said, as she refused to look Monica in the eye.
"Well, the thing is, I've come a long way. Is it possible I can wait here with you until your mom gets home? See, I have my stuff with me, I was just kind of hoping I could move in right away." Monica admitted. Chrissy looked at Monica and saw she had a suitcase with her. She sighed, not knowing what else to do, but she opened her front door.
"Fine, you can stay until my mom gets home." She said quietly as she let Monica in. Monica followed the girl into the living room and sat down on the springy old couch. She noticed the curtains were yellow with smoke and the house smelled of alcohol.
"Sorry about the mess." Chrissy apologized, somewhat embarrassed. Monica smiled.
"Don't be sorry." She said.
"I swear the room we're renting looks a lot better." Monica noticed that Chrissy seemed to be looking down at her arms a lot, holding her sleeves down, as if frightened they would roll up.
"So is it just you and your mom who live here then?" Monica asked, trying to make conversation, but also trying to get close to her new assignment. Chrissy only nodded, never looking at Monica, but always looking toward the front door, as if waiting. Monica noticed Chrissy looked so nervous and frightened, but she couldn't figure out why.
"Well that must be nice, just you and your mom." Monica smiled, and Chrissy looked away, partially shaking her head.
"Yeah, it's wonderful." She said in a melancholy voice. Monica didn't know what else to say, Chrissy was so withdrawn. It's only been a few minutes, it will get better. Monica told herself, as she heard the front door open. Chrissy jumped up quickly, making Monica jump, as a very thin woman walked through the front door. Monica noticed the woman was very pale, with straggly thin brown hair. There were dark circles under her eyes, and in her right hand, she held a cigarette, half smoked. The woman, who Monica guessed was Chrissy's mom, dropped her bag to the floor and before even looking up to see who was in her house, starting yelling.
"Chrissy! What is this mess? I told you I wanted it cleaned up before I got home!" She screamed, and she looked up and saw Monica standing there.
"Who are you?" Chrissy's mom asked with suspicion in her voice, and even anger.
"Hello, I'm Monica. I came to see the room, and your daughter let me in to wait for you. I hope that's okay." Monica said cheerfully as she walked up to the mother. Chrissy's mom sighed and looked past Monica to Chrissy, who was standing quietly.
"It's fine, I'm Jessica. I'll show you the room." Jessica said, with a sense of anger in her voice, not at Monica, but as Monica looked at Chrissy, she could sense that Jessica was angry at Chrissy somehow.
Jessica led the way to the basement, and Monica followed. Chrissy started to follow too, but Jessica turned around when she saw Chrissy coming.
"No! You stay here! I need to talk to you!" She yelled as Chrissy stopped and sat on the couch. Monica wanted to say something, but she knew she couldn't interfere.
Monica followed Jessica to the basement of the house, and Jessica opened the door to a room and Monica walked inside and found a bed, a dresser, a desk and a closet. She pretended to be thinking, as she looked around the room, as if observing.
"It's perfect. I'll take it. Can I move in right away?" Monica asked, as she held up her suitcase. Jessica rolled her eyes and looked away.
"You don't waste any time, do you? That's fine, enjoy. We eat dinner at 6:00, if you want to eat. The dining room is upstairs next to the living room. I'm sure you can find your way around though." She said meanly, and Monica nodded slowly. Jessica turned and walked away, leaving Monica in the room alone. Monica sighed and she turned to find Tess standing in the room with her.
"Well baby, you're in now." Tess said as she sat on the hard bed and groaned. "It's a good thing angels don't need to sleep." Monica laughed.
"So, how is it going?" Tess asked. Monica sighed.
"Oh Tess, I don't know what's going on, but I don't really like Jessica. The fear I saw in Chrissy's eyes when she came home. Is Chrissy afraid of her mother?" Monica asked. Tess raised an eyebrow.
"You know that's your job to figure out. I already told you, I can't tell you everything angel baby. Just be patient, and remember, Jessica isn't your assignment, Chrissy is. Jessica will get an angel in her own time, when she needs it the most, but right now, Chrissy desperately needs you, so remember that, and forget about Jessica." She replied. Monica nodded and Tess disappeared.
Upstairs, Jessica walked into the living room where Chrissy sat on the couch, never looking her mother in the eye. Jessica stood, hovering over her timid daughter, arms crossed.
"You are something else, Chrissy! I ask you to clean up the house, and what do you do instead? You invite a perfect stranger into our house and visit with her!" Jessica yelled.
"I was only home for five minutes when you got home. I didn't have time to clean up; I'll still do it. Monica was on the same bus as me, and I let her in. It would be rude to tell her to leave, especially when she already had her suitcase and stuff." Chrissy replied timidly. Jessica shook her head.
"Oh, are you and Monica friends now? Let me tell you something, she is not your friend! She is only here so we can get some extra money. I don't want you talking to her!" She said as she started to walk away. Chrissy stood up.
"You only want the extra money so you can buy more drugs and beer! It's not for us, it's for you!" She yelled. Jessica turned around quickly, and slapped Chrissy across the face and grabbed her arm roughly.
"You don't talk to me like that! Do you understand? You will not talk to Monica! You will not be her friend! And if I find out you and her have become friends, you'll be sorry!" Jessica yelled at her daughter, who was crying from the pain.
"Do you understand?" Jessica screamed and Chrissy nodded quickly. Jessica pushed Chrissy onto the couch and walked away.
"Now clean up this house and get started on dinner! I'm hungry!" She screamed as she opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Chrissy stood up crying and started picking up the empty beer bottles from the floor. She didn't realize that Monica was standing in the corner of the room, invisible to her, but she had seen the whole thing, and a tear rolled down her face.
Father, I see now why she doesn't talk about her problems. Her mother doesn't let her. Chrissy is afraid of her mother. What am I to do now Father? Monica continued to watch the young girl as she cleaned the house, with tears in her eyes.