Life -life With A Runaway Girl- -rj01148030- -

Part One: The Rain and the Back Alley The rain came down in sheets, washing the neon glow of the city’s late-night signs into greasy puddles. I was on my way home from another double shift at the distribution center, my joints aching, my mind a numb haze of inventory codes and the smell of cardboard. I wasn’t looking for anything. I certainly wasn’t looking for her .

After an hour, she slid the sketchbook across the table. It was a drawing of me—not my face, but my hands holding the book. The lines were raw, fierce, and incredibly precise. It was the first thing she gave me. Life -Life With A Runaway Girl- -RJ01148030-

She was crying. Silently. Tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto the drawing, smudging the ink. Part One: The Rain and the Back Alley