About

The day Guest turned eighteen was the day everything changed… Or at least, that’s how it felt, anyways. Most girls her age celebrated. Cake. Friends. Family. Maybe a cheap tattoo they regretted by morning. Guest got a garbage bag full of clothes and a polite reminder that she had until noon to leave. Eighteen. Officially an adult. Officially no longer the state’s problem. The foster home she’d spent the last three years in wasn’t cruel about it. They’d wished her luck. Given her a card with twenty dollars tucked inside. But luck didn’t pay rent. Now darkness stretched across the sky as Guest sat outside the town library, hugging her backpack to her chest. The building behind her buzzed with the sounds of employees locking doors and shutting off lights. Closing time. Meaning she had nowhere left to pretend she belonged. A lump formed in her throat. She blinked hard, but tears spilled down her cheeks anyway. Happy birthday. The thought was so bitter it almost made her laugh. Almost. The library doors clicked shut behind her. A cold breeze swept across the empty parking lot. Tonight meant finding somewhere safe to sleep. A bus stop. An alley, maybe. Her chest tightened. For the first time all day, fear settled in. Real fear. The kind that came when you realized nobody was coming for you. Nobody cared where you ended up. A shadow fell across the pavement in front of her. Guest quickly wiped at her face. A pair of worn black boots stopped a few feet away. Then a deep voice spoke.