Chapter 2

Lizzie

I walked my bike up to the bus station and put it in the bike rack, I knew I couldn’t keep riding all the way there and would need to spend some of my limited money on a bus ticket. The ticket window opened at 6am and it was only 5:30 so I had some time to kill before I could get a ticket and get as far away as possible. I pulled out my favorite book The Count of Monte Cristo and picked a page at random and started reading. I could start anywhere in this book and know exactly what was happening. The book was falling apart and taped in so many places I couldn’t even see the front cover anymore, it was an old friend, and it gave me so much comfort. Shay was just beginning to stir in my mind and came forward to see what was going on. I gave her the simple storyline of my book and we talked about the different characters and how the main character was treated so unfairly. As we continued to get to know each other the bus station lights popped on and I knew it was time to get out of here. One day I hoped I could stop running and create a real home.

My ticket to Carson City was purchased, and a large cup of coffee was in my hand as I boarded the 6:45 to Carson City. I picked a seat near the back pulled the hood up over my head and finally fell asleep. I was exhausted and groggy when I woke up a few hours later as the bus pulled into the station. I had needed that sleep but couldn’t get into a deep sleep with passengers getting on and off the bus all day.

Stepping off the bus was like stepping into a different world. Blue Lake had been a small town where everyone had known each other. When I had gotten there 4 years earlier, I was put in the only group home in the town. In Carson City I felt lost and off balance, there were people everywhere! I stopped by the help desk and asked where the closest coffee shop was, I need another coffee to deal with finding a motel for the night and start looking for a job. I grabbed my bike and started off in the direction the guy at the desk had pointed.

I had found a job a week after being in the city and roommates three days after that. Stephen and Charlie were fantastic, and I was so lucky to have found them. They were rogues as well and so they didn’t care that I didn’t have a pack. Shay had convinced me to shift after we had found Stephen and Charlie, they even helped me through my first transition. It was so hard to do without my mom. The transition was painful all on its own but knowing I was doing this without her hurt even more. I felt closer then ever to Shay and we were bonded, and I knew that she would always be there. I worked at a local restaurant as a server. The regulars were nice enough and I could definitely keep up when it got busy, but my boss Tom was a disgusting jerk. He was a rude sexist ass and I tried to avoid him at every opportunity, but at least it paid my bills and kept food in the fridge.