Why Me?
Chapter 1
I live in a poor family. We, literally, live on the street. Ever since my dad died of lung cancer 6 months ago we've been kicked out of our house by the government for not paying taxes. So, since we have no other family members in the area, we were forced to move out onto the street. I fear that little brother, Danny(4), and little sister, Kaitlyn(4)(they're twins), won't last much longer. We've walked for awhile. No map, no money, no nothing. So far, I think we've settled in Cleveland for a little while so my mom can look for a job. She's in a hotel now, and Danny, Kaitlyn, and I are all sitting on the ground waiting. They're asleep but I can't sleep thinking that something might happen if I do. I've always been the one to take all the responsibility. Even before my dad died I was always one to take care of the kids or do the dishes or something like that. I never got outside much and the other kids would always play right outside our house. Anyway, a bunch of other girls were waiting outside the hotel. They all looked so....clean! I held onto my sibling's hands. I never wanted anything to happen to them. They meant so much to me. But if we don't get some amount of food soon...I can't even say it. We're lucky to get a crumb. A bus pulled up to the curb and all the girls started screaming. Three boys stepped off. Then a man and woman. The man looked down at me. I offered my best heart-melting smile before Kaitlyn shook my arm. I looked at her. "Lizzie I'm hungry!!" she whined. "Me too!" Danny complained rubbing his eyes. I was torn between them. How was I supposed to tell them we had no food? They were starving! Well I was too but that's not important! "I-I'm sorry guys. I-I-I don't have any food." The man walked over to us. "Hey. Why don't you guys come inside and we'll get you something to eat?" he offered. "That's really nice of you but we're waiting for my mom," I answered. "Well I could bring something out?" he persisted. "That's really a nice offer but we couldn't possibly-" he cut me off, "I insist." "Pretty please, Lizzie!" Kaitlyn pleaded. I looked down at her sparkling eyes. Turning back to the man I said, "Well, no offense or anything but it would be wrong to accept something from a stranger." "Well....I'm Mr. Jonas. See. Now I'm not a stranger." "Dad come on!" one of the boys yelled. "I'll bring something. I promise," he said and walked into the hotel.
Chapter 2
An hour later it was getting dark and no sign of the man or my mom. Kaitlyn and Danny and had fallen asleep and I was starting to doze off but I refused to sleep. I wasn't taking any chances. I've learned not to trust areas that are unknown. My mom walked out with a smile on her face. I jumped up. "I got the job!" she exclaimed. I hugged her. "But they said that since you were already 15 then you could start working too for more money. They'll give us room in the basement where Kaitlyn and Danny will stay. I'll find someone to watch them so don't worry. We can move in now and you and I start tomorrow morning," she said. "Oh wow," was all I managed to get out. "Grab the twins and let's get in there! It's getting late!" she said and walked over to the twins. She picked up Danny and I got Kaitlyn. On the inside I was amazed at everything I saw. Golden chandeliers, marble tiled floors, cream colored walls. My mom showed us to the basement room. Two beds, a hard dirty floor, and little light. "Well....look on the bright side! We get free food and clean showers!" my mom said. "What am I doing for work?" I asked. "Cleaning rooms," my mom answered. "What time do I start?" "6 AM." I set Kaitlyn on one bed and Danny on the same. "I'll sleep on the floor. You take the bed," I offered. "Thanks sweetie," my mom said, kissing me on the forehead. I offered up my best smile while she crawled into bed. The next morning, my mom shook me awake and shoved some clothes in my hands. "Get to work!" she said. I changed and she opened the door to let someone else in the room. "Lizzie this is Sherri. She'll be taking care of the twins while we're gone. You get off work at 10 tonight. Come upstairs. I'll show you who will show you what to do," my mom said. I smiled at Sherri and walked upstairs with my mom. "Lizzie this is Wendy. Wendy this is my daughter Lizzie." "Nice to meet ya!" Wendy said. All I did was smile at her.
Chapter 3
"Well...we'd best get to work!" Wendy said. She handed me a card. "This opens every door in the hotel. I have one extra so try not to lose that one! Now, listen closely. I'll help you with cleaning your first room, then I'll help you a little with your second, and I'll only watch you with your third. Then, I'll give you a list of rooms and you'll head off. Scrubbing bathrooms, making beds, and tending to the guest's every need." After the first three rooms, Wendy sent my off with some supplies and a list. 9 PM neared. 'One more hour!' I thought to myself. I was a mess. This wasn't any better than living on the street! My face was dirty and my hair was in a messed up ponytail. I knocked on the door of the final room. The man from the street opened the door. "I-I'm here to clean the room. But I could come back," I said, stumbling over every word. "No stay, please," he answered. He opened the door wider, exposing three boys and a woman. The room was fairly clean, the cleanest I'd seen all day. "Please, come in!" the man offered. "Oh no. I couldn't. You're obviously busy." "I insist." "But I-" "We won't bite!" one of the boys said with a laugh. "But I really should-" "Wow you're stubborn! Can't you just accept the offer and come in for a minute!?" another boy said. I looked down the hall. "Only for a minute!" I said, taking one step into the room. The man shut the door. 'Oh no. What've you gotten yourself into now?" I asked myself. "Where do you want me to start?" I asked. "Oh you don't need to clean up after us!" the woman said. "Well, what would make you different? I do it for everybody else," I answered. "Why don't you just relax," the man offered. I laughed. "Relax? I haven't relaxed since....since...I can't even remember when! Do you know when my last decent meal was? 6 months ago! I'm tired of cleaning up other people's mess! It's my first day and I've already got blisters! I just....I just....I just wanna be a normal kid! I wanna have fun like everybody else. All I've done is work! When all the other kids were out playing I was the one inside doing the dishes or taking care of my brother and sister and I can't do it anymore! I'm tired and I want a break!" I yelled. I gasped and covered my mouth. "Ohmigosh. I'm so sorry. I-I-I have to go!" I said and left the room ask quickly as possible.
Chapter 4
I sat on the floor of my family's room. What had I done? I could lose my job on the first day! There was a knock at the door. It was nearly midnight so I wondered who it could be. My mom was asleep so I opened it. It was Wendy. "Hey sorry to wake you but it's been a pretty rainy day and there's mud all over the floor in the lobby!" she handed me a sponge and bucket full of soapy water, "I need you to clean it!" I followed her upstairs. "I'm going to bed and I want to be able to see my reflection in the floor tomorrow morning bright and early!" Wendy said and left the room. I sighed and started scrubbing. About 10 minutes later I wasn't even close to being halfway done. One of the boys from earlier that night walked down to the front desk. Before he could walk back to the elevator he spotted me and walked over. "Aren't you the girl who came to clean our room today?" he asked. I looked at him for a moment and then kept cleaning. "I'm Nick," he said. "I know who you are," I said not looking at him. "You do?" "Yes. You're one of those stuckup rockstars that say they care about their fans when they really don't. You're used to getting whatever you want...well...newsflash! Look around!" "That's not true!" "Wanna bet?" "Look, I didn't come down here to make you mad at me. I actually came down here 'cause Joe lost the room key but that's not important! The least you could do is tell me your name." "Lizzie. Now I really have to get back to work. I have to make this floor shine by 6 tomorrow and then I have to go clean everyone else's room." "Oh. Well, will I see you soon?" "Your room is first on my list tomorrow." He smiled. "I'll see you then. And I'll make sure our room is extra clean so you won't have to do much." "There's always something for me to do." "Well, we'll let you take a break." "Thanks. I'll see you then." I offered up my best heart-melting smile as he walked away. 3 hours later I finished the floor. I quietly crept back into our room and slept for another 2 hours before my mom woke me up to get ready for work. She had no idea I had only gotten 2 hours of sleep the entire night.
Chapter 5
After meeting Wendy in the lobby and talking to her about the floor.(Boring!) I was off to my first room. I wasn't too excited about seeing that family again. I knocked on the door. Nick answered. "Oh hey!" he said. "Look, I'm just here to clean and that's all! I've got plenty of other rooms to get to so I need to work fast," I said. "Oh. Well, I just have one question for you." "And that would be?" "How much later were you up last night?" "3 hours after you left." "And you had to get up this early! Do you ever sleep!?" "I used to." "Yeah I hear ya!" "Oh no way! So you lived on the street for 6 months too?" He didn't answer. "Yeah I didn't think so. I'll come back later when you aren't here. I really have to go. I've got plenty of other rooms to clean and-" he cut me off, "Why are you working? Aren't you too young to be working so long?" "We need the money." I looked away from him. He took my hand. "Tell me the truth, how many hours are you working?" "14 everyday." "And all you do is clean rooms?" "Yeah pretty much." "But why? Why would you make yourself do that?" "I already told you! We need the money!" "What are you hiding!?" "Nothing!" "Would you stop that! You're hiding something! I can see it in your eyes!" "I'll come back when no one is here." After saying that, I quickly walked away. 3 hours later I figured they were gone. Well, I actually watched them leave. I walked into the room, cleaned up the room but before I could leave there was a note on the bed.
Don't work to hard. There's a tip on the table.
Nick
I walked over to the table to find $20. I knew I couldn't accept it so I left a note for him too.
I can't accept that. It was really nice of you though. Thanks for the offer.
Lizzie
I left the room and moved on to the others. 14 hours later I headed to the basement. Wendy stopped me in the lobby. "Hey I just wanted to tell you that you are doing a great job so keep up the good work. Oh and someone told me to give this to you," she said and handed me a rose and a card. It read:
I know you're really busy but I need you to meet me in the lobby tonight at midnight. I hope to see you.
Nick
Chapter 6
Slowly, two hours later I crept out of our room and into the quiet lobby. The lights were dim and the room was empty. 3 hours later, it was still empty. I gave up and headed back to our room. He stood me up! "Oh he is sooo gonna get it tomorrow!" I thought. But little did I know, tomorrow would be life-changing. The next morning came and my mom woke me with a sudden shake, like any other day. "Lizzie, I need you to stay here today. It's Sherri's day off and Kaitlyn is sick!" she said. I stayed until around 3PM when there was a loud BANG! I jumped up. "Stay here," I told Danny and Kaitlyn. I slowly walked upstairs to the lobby where I saw a large group of people huddled around and the sounds of loud sirens in the distance, drawing nearer. I walked over to the crowd and pushed my way to the front. "MOM!" I screamed. She lay almost dead on the floor. I took her hand. "Mom...." "Lizzie, take care of the twins. Watch over them. Stick together. Tell them I love them..." were her final words. I burst into tears. "Mom don't go. Please don't go," I whispered. Paramedics rushed in and took her away. I disappeared into the crowd then into our room. I tried to act as if nothing happened. I shoved a few things into a bag. "Lizzie what's going on? Why are you crying?" Danny asked. "STAY HERE!" I screamed and ran upstairs. I knocked, furiously on Nick's hotel room door. Kevin opened it. I hugged him. "I just came to say goodbye," I said. "What? What's going on?" he asked. "My mom....someone....she...." I said trying to get the words out. "Just tell me!" "Dead. She told me not to let them split our family apart." "Who?" "Child Services. We have to get out of here." "But you can't just leave!" "Watch me. I'm taking Danny and Kaitlyn with me. Wish us luck." I gave him one last hug and ran back to the basement. I shoved a few more essentials into another bag. "COME ON!" I screamed. I told Danny to carry a bag and threw the other on my shoulder. I carried Kaitlyn.
Chapter 7
We ran out the back only to find Nick standing near the door, waiting. "I knew I'd find you here. What are you doing!?" he asked. "Getting away," I replied. "Why?" "Didn't you hear?" "No." "My mom...she....uhm..." "Just tell me." "Dead.....she told me to take Danny and Kaitlyn and get away. Or...they'll breakup our family and I can't let that happen!" "Well don't you think you should stay?" "No. I know what I'm doing." I started to walk away from him. He grabbed my arm. "No, you don't. I think it's time we had a talk." I pulled away from him. "No. We have to go. I'm sorry." I took Danny's hand, holding Kaitlyn, and we ran. Three hours later, we settled in an alley. I pulled out a little food from one bag and handed it to Danny and Kaitlyn. As we were resting I heard a car, bus, pull up to the entrance of the alley. Nick stepped out, and headed towards us. "Wait here," I said to the twins and walked towards him. "We need to talk," he said. I looked back at the twins who were enjoying their snack and said, "What do you want to know?"
Chapter 8
"Everything," he replied. I took a deep breath. "Well it was about 7 months ago that my dad passed away from lung cancer. He was the one to provide for our family, so when my mom couldn't get a job the government kicked us out of our house. And, since we had no family members in the area, we had to nove out onto the street. And then my mom got a job at the hotel and I started working and then, now, someone, I don't know who, did something and now," I choked on my words, "She's dead." I burst into tears. Nick pulled me into a hug. "Do the kids know?" he asked. "No" I replied keeping my answers short and sweet and to the point. "Is there any place you could go?" "I don't know. I never met any relatives." "I'm sure there's someone." I pushed away from him. "Just let us be. We're fine on our own!" "No you're not! Please let me help. What if...what if one of my relatives...you know." "Adopted us? No." "WHY! We'd get to see each other and you'll have a mom and a dad." "No." "PLEASE! Just try it!" "One week." "See. Was that so hard?" "Yes." "Just go get the twins. You can come meet some family right now!" I sighed and went to go get Danny and Kaitlyn. "Come on guys, we're gonna go meet some people!" I said. I picked up Kaitlyn and took Danny's hand. Nick led us onto the bus. He told Danny that he could go play with Frankie and Kaitlyn could go see his mom. "You really don't have to do this," I said once they were gone. "Yes I do."
Chapter 9
I ran up the stairs to the lobby. A crowd had formed. I ran to the center. My entire family lay dead on the floor. I screamed.
I sat up in bed, screaming. I looked around me, breathing hard. Nick ran to me. "What happened? Are you okay?" he asked. I looked at him, not saying anything. "Another?" he asked. I nodded and burst into tears. He pulled me into a hug. 10 minutes later, he went back to bed but I didn't get back to sleep for another hour or two. Kaitlyn woke me the next morning. I lifted her onto my lap. "I'm so glad you're feeling better!" I exclaimed. I tickled her and she giggled. I loved seeing her smile. Danny came running and jumped on my lap next. "Hey!" I said. "Hi," he responded.
