Erin tied the final knot in her laces as she perched on the end of her hospital bed. Dressed in a new set of clothes that someone had kindly found for her, Erin knew that today was the day everything changed once more
"How're you feeling then?" she looked up to see Doctor Myles standing in the doorway
Erin shrugged in reply "Ok I guess"
"Are you nervous?" He asked stepping into the room
"I don't get nervous" she said defensively
He nodded knowing the arguing with her wasn't going to help the situation "There's a social worker waiting just outside, she's going to take you to where you'll be staying from now on"
Erin nodded and stood up, smoothing out her clothes, she started to make her way towards the door but Doctor Myles gently stopped her
"I've been told to give you this" he said handing her a small white envelope
"Who's it from?" she said curiously, accepting it from him
"I think you know that already" the doctor smiled "He said that you should open it and read it any time you feel lost"
She nodded; trying to keep composed she made her way out of the room and into the corridor
"Take care Erin" Doctor Myles said giving her shoulder a quick squeeze
Erin grunted in reply and turned to see a woman standing there with a false grin plastered across her face
"You must be Erin then" she said holding out her hand
"Obviously" Erin muttered, looking at this woman's put on happiness was beginning to make her sick
"I'm Jane and I'm going to be taking you to your new place" her hand was still held out towards Erin
"Whatever" she said stressing each syllable and refusing to accept this woman's hand
Jane coughed slightly "Well we better get going then…and try to smile Erin. You look so much prettier when you do"
Erin's scowl darkened at that point and Jane guessed that Erin was thinking bad thoughts about her that were too crude to be verbalised. They made their way out of the car park and towards Jane's car. Erin snorted in disgust when she saw it, Jane sighed, she remembered from reading Erin's file and from talking to the doctor that Erin was likely to become defensive when comforted with an unfamiliar situation and she would do everything she could not to help the social workers. Jane had been told that Erin had an immediate dislike for anyone with the word 'social' in the job title
"Put your seatbelt on Erin" she said as they climbed in the car
Erin scowled at her, still not breaking her silence
"What's that in your hand?" Jane said noticing the small white envelope
Erin hid it away from her and held it tighter in her hands
Jane sighed "Ok Erin, we'll be there in about half an hour"
Erin continued her silent treatment, keeping her face and body utterly composed. She looked at the letter in her hand and gave a quick glance across at Jane who had her eyes firmly fixed on the road. The letter was for anytime she felt lost, Erin deicide that now was as good a time as ever and so she gently unpeeled the envelope and saw a small folded piece of paper inside if it. She unfolded it gently, trying hard not to attract any attention from Jane. Her eyes flicked over the words on the paper as she read silently to herself
Dear Erin,
I want you to know that the world is not as cold and lonely as it has been made out to you. There are good people in the world, people who are kind and honourable, people like you. You are one of the bravest young ladies that I have ever met; you have such so much courage and determination in you. I am sure that whatever path you choose to take; you will do so with nobility and fortitude. But remember you are in control of your life and you must do whatever you think is right. I have come to know you well enough, to be confident that you will do the right thing. Never give up on yourself Erin, hold your head high as you go about your life and remember there is good in the world and there is hope. As long as you can hold onto that, you will never be alone again.
Leo
Erin turned her face away and stared hard out of the car window until all the scenery around her became nothing but fuzzy shapes. She swallowed hard as she felt a lump of emotion rise in her throat
"Is that from a friend?" the social worker asked
"None of your business" Erin muttered
"We're nearly there; you'll soon have a nice safe place to rest your head. You must be worn out after all you've been through"
Erin didn't reply she couldn't even muster up the strength, she felt emotionally empty. She was travelling along a dismal looking road with rain not helping set the mood any brighter. She looked out of the window and tried her hardest not to cry, Erin wanted to believe Leo's words, and she wanted to believe that everything would be alright now. But she had a horrible feeling inside of her that the people she met in the last few days were the only good people left in the world
'Remember you are in control of your life and you must do whatever you think is right'
This didn't feel right for Erin, she was sure this wasn't the path for her. She closed her eyes again and tried to focus on what her heart was telling her to do
"It's a nice place your going to, you'll like it" the social worker interrupted her thoughts
"And what would you know about what I like" she snapped "You know nothing about me, I'm just another case to you. You have no idea about what I actually want" Erin shouted
"I'm trying to do what's best for you" the social worker said, trying hard to keep her patience
"This isn't what's best for me. This is not my path" Erin yelled
And with that Erin had made up her mind, she undid her seatbelt and pulled the passenger door open. Before the social worker could react Erin hurled herself out of the car. An expensive looking sports car swerved to avoid hitting the girl and sounded its horn angrily. Erin crawled to the curb and picked herself up and ran. She could hear the social worker calling and running after her but Erin was faster than she was, if living and sleeping rough taught you one thing, it was to think fast and run even faster. She could taste blood in her mouth and could feel a warm liquid oozing down her face; she dreaded to think what kind of state she was in. She'd worked out by now that her legs weren't hurting so she took that as a good sign, her left arm stung as the wind whipped around it as she hurtled down the streets but she didn't dare to stop and look. She had to keep running, like she always did but this time she wasn't running away from something. This time Erin Jones was running to something.
