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Chapter 32-The Orphan

Sasha's POV

It was Saturday morning and I was back in the store alone, besides the company of Desmond. Since Letitia was sick, Lily, Tony, and Brianna were in the garage working. Senia had to work, but Mia offered to stay at the house and help Letty get over her illness. I knew it was bad to think, but I was glad she was sick. It'd get her off my back for a few days. She had become a nuisance lately.

These past few days without V was killing me. I was lonely, often having no one to talk too. I was horny, having no source of sexual pleasure. I just missed his company. Now I knew what I'd be feeling if I had left him for a certain person.

Speaking of that certain person, since the dinner, I hadn't seen or heard from her. I guess it was for the best. But after hearing everything she had been through in her life, I just wanted to hold her and tell her it'd all get better. I knew that'd just lead to more confusion and pain on my end. I had to admit, I did feel sort of empty without her. She made me laugh a lot. She was devilishly charming. A good girl in all.

I was taking from my thoughts by a group of girls approaching the store. I looked at the clock behind me. 2:15 P.M. The high school didn't let out until four p.m. They couldn't be any older than fourteen or fifteen. The majority of them looked the same: blonde hair, tons of make up, and skimpy outfits. Though one girl, who seemed to be the tough one, was different. She had dark hair and caramel skin. She had on camo capris and a black tank top. She wore sneakers and her hair was tied up. She looked like a little version of a younger me. I smiled at my thought.

"Shouldn't you ladies be in school?" I questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow at them.

"No school today," one of the blondes said. The Mini-Me looked at the girl, her eyes full of worry.

"Ok. What can I get 'cha?" I asked, dropping the idea. I mean it wasn't like I didn't skip school when I was younger.

The ladies ordered their drinks and took a seat at a table outside the store. I sat back down at the counter and watched them. They all seemed social and highly Barbie-like. All except the Mini-me. She laughed and smiled at the girls, but her eyes showed something different. She looked worried.

"Hey ... you in the carpis, come here," I called out. For some reason, I wanted to know her. Wanted to know what was wrong with her.

She looked at her friends and shrugged. She slowly stood from the table and walked over to the counter. She sat on a stool in front of me.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You okay? I mean, I'm not trying to get in your business, but you look a little nervous about something," I began, hoping she'd open up to me. She turned back to her friends, then looked at me.

"My friends keep pressuring me to skip school. I don't want too, I really like school. Especially Automotive class. That's one of my favorites," she seemed to light up at the mention of cars. She was golden. Her smile made me smile.

"Hmm. So why are you not in class right now? I know there's school today."

"How?"

"'Cause I used to be the same way. I was always out doing everything I could to stay out of school. Wasn't very good, ya know,' I said replied. "What do your parents think?"

"They don't," she paused and looked down, "they barely know I exist. My mom's a drug addict. I've never met my dad before," she replied sadly. I immediately regretted dipping into her personal life. I hated to see children like this.

"I'm sorry. I never met my pops either," I said. It was half way the truth. I know my birth father, but he would never be a dad to me. I wanted to lighten the mood. "Say, what are you and your friends going to do after this?"

"Um, probably go hang out at the mall. That's all we ever do. I hate it," the girl answered.

"Really. You mind getting dirty?" I asked her, knowing we could use some help in the garage.

"What do you mean?"

"You say you like cars right?" she nodded. "Can you fix one?"

"Can I? Hell yeah I can. I've been fixing cars since I was like ten," she replied, fixing her black cap backwards on her head.

"Well my family owns the garage next door. We could use some extra hands," I offered her. It was something about her that made me want to protect her from the harsh streets of Los Angeles.

"That'd be awesome. Hey, you're not gonna like call the cops on us are you?" she asked, the nervous look reappearing on her face.

"No ma'am. Just tell your friends to get to school and you're free," I said, smiling at her. She nodded and walked over to her friends. She said something, which made them all groan. She promised to hang with them later, which made them agree to go to school. She walked back over, a smile on her face.

"They're cool," was all she said. Desmond started to cry in the back, and I was glad. I missed him today but it took forever to get him to sleep. I excused myself and walked to the back of the store. I lifted Desmond from his chair and carried him back upfront. "Wow, is he yours?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes he is. This is Desmond," I said, fixing his shirt. "My gosh, I don't even know your name honey. My name's Sasha Rodriguez," I introduced, holding my hand out.

"Sorry, I'm Jayden. Jayden Parish," she said, shaking my hand.

"Well nice to meet you. I only have about half an hour left here, then my break starts. I'll take you over there and introduce you to everyone then," I said.

Out of no where, Bam ran barking and howling to the front of the store. He never acted that way before.

"Would you mind?" I asked her, holding Desmond slightly to her. She nodded and took him. She looked as if she held a baby before. She was careful with him. "I'll be right back. What is it Bam?" I asked, following him to the side of the store. There, Tony was getting into a heated argument with a customer. I ran over to see what the fuss was about. "Tone, what's going on?"

"This asshole right here won't step off. He said I fucked him car up worse then it was. I told him all I did was check the carbirator like he asked me too. I didn't touch anything else," Tony growled. He was usually a shy boy, but when he was heated, he was heated.

"Fuck you pal. My car sounds like a fucking wreck after I brought it here. It never made that noise before," the 30-something year old yelled.

"Hey, watch it! You shouldn't have fucking brought your piece of shit here in the first place if you're gonna bitch about it. Now the car sounds fine to me. I don't see the problem," I defended. I wasn't lying; I didn't hear anything wrong with the car. I mean, it was a Buick, what was it supposed to sound like? A Ferrari?

"Well ... well I guess it stopped. But you still fucked it up and I want a refund!" the man yelled, the little vein in his forehead appearing.

"Dude, step off. You MIGHT have gotten a refund if you didn't act like a complete prick about it. Now leave, or my dog is gonna mess you up way more than your car is," I threatned, holding Bam's collar tightly. The man took one look at him and his whole demeanour changed. He flipped Tony off and jumped in his car. "Get your shit under control Tony," I said, jogging back to the store.

"Everything all right?" Jayden asked, bouncing Desmond on her knee.

"Just fine. Just a bitchy customer," I replied.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, we spent our time talking about cars. I was surprised to find out how much she knew about cars. She was only fourteen, and had more knowledge about vechicles than a forty year old man. It was incredible. She said her favorite car was a Skyline R34 V-Spec. When I told her I knew several guys who owned it, she nearly pissed her pants. This girl was great. Like the younger sister I never had.

"Do you have a curfew?" I asked her.

"It's at eleven, but my mother's never awake when I come home. When she is, she's doped up in the basement. We kinda just leave each other be," she answered.

"Hmm. So you're an only child?"

"Yep. I'm extremely lonely," she said in a tone that nearly made me cry.

"Well not anymore," I smiled at her. She looked up and returned the smile. "I guess it's time to go meet some of your co-workers," I said, picking Desmond up. I handed him to her while I looked up the shop and put up the "be back in twenty minutes" sign.

xxx

"Hey guys. Take a break for a second, would ya," I said as we entered the garage.

Lily dropped the wrench she had in her hands and wiped them on her dirty coveralls. Brianna slid from under a Chevy Impala. Tony was sitting on the couch in the back. He looked beat.

"Who's your friend?" Lily asked, ever-so-rudely.

"Well, Lillian," I said, putting emphasis on her name, "This here is my new friend, Jayden. She's gonna be helping us out for a while."

"Sasha, shouldn't she be in school?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's taking a day off," I said, not wanting to get into the whole story. Tony walked over to me and pulled me to the side.

"Are you stupid Sasha? She should be in school. What if her parents come looking for her? What about the police? Do you ever fucking think-" Tony yelled.

"Her dad's a deadbeat and her mom's a fucking junkie. Now do you honestly think they are gonna come here looking for her?! The girl's basically an orphan. So shut up and play nice," I yelled back, walking back to Jayden's side. Tony stood with his mouth open, staring at Jayden.

"Well nice to meet you Jayden. I'm Lily," she introduced. She returned the pleasantry and turned to Brianna, who was smiling sweetly at her.

"Hey girl. I'm Brianna, call me Bri. Not you're typical mechanic, I know," she said, trying to cheer up the mood. She replied with a 'hi'.

"Sorry 'bout earlier. Just looking out for my famiy. I'm Tony, Sasha's brother," he introduced, shaking Jayden's hand.

"Well, here's a couple cars. Get to it. I gotta get back to the shop. Call over if you guys need anything," I said, walking out of the garage.

xxx

When I got back to the shop, I made a call to the house. I wanted to check up on Letty and make sure she was okay.

"Cough-cough, hello?" Letty answered.

"Honey you sound horrible. How you feeling?"

"Like I ate bad chinese food and got food poisoning. I've been throwing up a lot," she said, her voice horse and gruff.

"I'm sorry. Better you than me though," I laughed, teasing her some. "Put Mia on Let."

"Mia, phone. ,,, Hello?" I hear her say.

"Hey Mi, it's Sasha. How's she doing?"

"She's getting better. I have her drinking a lot of tea and eating soup. She's still throwing up like the Exorcist. It's grossing the girls out," we laughed together.

"I called to ask if you wouldn't mind cooking for one more tonight..."

"Not another lady you picked up," she replied exasperately.

"Actually, it is. And she's coming to dinner. I have to go, bye."

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I know some of these chapters seem pointless, but I swear they all come together. Just continue reading & reviewing.

-Kita