A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing Pt.5

I looked at the “Way 2 Go” sign from window the of Paul’s car. I vowed to never go there again. Paul patted my shivering shoulder. “It’s ok. It’s happened to me before too. You’re not alone.” I looked in his direction and I could see he was waiting for a response. He stared at me a moment with droopy eyes then shifted the car into reverse. His arm muscle clinched as he grabbed the wheel and turned it.


“You’re shivering. There’s a blanket in the back, grab it, I don’t want you to get sick.” I began to ring the water out of my pants ignoring his comment, but taking sneak peeks at his muscles.

“You’re one touch cookie,” he sighed. A blanket collapsed onto my lap.

“There you gooooooooo,” he exclaimed irritated and dramatically sighing. I felt the clench of a semi smile stress within my face. My smile did not mean I trusted him in any way, but he was definitely funny. I looked up and stopped drying my pants. The drizzled window depicted that we were passing my mother’s apartment complex. I began to get a little worried.

“In case you’re wondering, your mother isn’t home. I called your mother right away when you ran out the store and she didn’t answer her phone. I also called Mr. Wob to contact your mother at work, but he said she is not making a trip to get you because the drive she has to make from work is too far. So he instructed me to keep you because he can’t.”

“No! My mommy’s at home!” Paul continued to focus on the road, but his side profile revealed he was surprised that I talked to him and confused that I may be making up a huge lie.

“Why do you say that?”
I straightened my back eager to tell him the answer to the question I was giving him the silent treatment to before. I did not want to be
alone with another strange man in a private locked room away from the world ever again.

“Ummmm, she is washing clothes. You see,” I said pinching my shirt with candy scattered all about it and pointing at my muddy flip flops. “I need to get back home so she can wash this.” The truth was my mother never washed clothes.

“Well, Ms. Jalene, how do you know that she’s doing that this moment,” he replied smiling. I immediately knew he did not believe a word I had just said. “She was doing that when I left the house and she said she needed me to come back home when I came from the gas station so she could wash my shoes,” I nervously replied. “Ms. Jalene, you’ll be fine at my house. It’s unsafe for you to be alone at your home with no one to watch you.”

“Well I’m not a baby; I do it all the time.”

“Of course you aren’t, you’re a big girl and big girls accept that they are little girls.” I pushed the blanket he had retrieved for me further away from my legs and covered my ear with the longer sides of my bangs.
The car jerked when Paul parked it in front of a trashed down leasing office. Old newspapers flew about the intense rain and bottles seemed to be engraved into the ground. The smell of eggs barged into my nose without warning and my eyes watered.
“Ugh,” Paul and I remarked at the same time.

“I need to get my mail really quick,” he said in a nasal voice. He had his nostrils pinched tight with the tips of his fingers. Paul ran hunched down into the rain and dragged a chain of keys out of his back pocket. He began to fumble with them looking for the right one. I tapped the handle on my door, roughly gripped it, opened it and ran.

“Hey,” Paul yelled aggressively. I looked back to see him coming behind me speedily. “Oh no! Oh!” He yelled and I ran into the front of a car which punched my stomach. I fell on my back trying to find the air that has escaped from my lungs. The door of the car rumbled open.

“Omigosh! As shey okay?! Nuuu Nuuuu, please little girl, tell me yur okay!” I blinked rapidly trying to clarify the image I saw. A confused man was kneeled close to with one hand lightly floating over his heart and gently patting my chest with his fingers.

“Hellooooo!”

“Okah, so does that mean yur okah? You really shouldn’t walk in entrances whare cars come little girl. You could get yoursalf kalled!” He said screeching toward the end of his lecture and waving both of his hands rapidly in face. He wore bold thick eyelashes with blue eye shadow circling each eye. His lipstick was out of the lining of his lips and his earrings dangled down to his bubbled chest? I frowned confused.
“Is thar a problem little girl?” He could read my confusion and he was offended.

“You need to gat up dumb little girl!” His solid blue heels clapped against the ground and drew in when he closed the car door. The motor revved loudly and he drove over me with each wheel about to pin my shoulders to the ground. I got up frightened and watched Paul pound onto the guy’s car cursing at him. He sped off through the apartments honking.