Drop Dead.

Gel is beside me, shivering to the bone. She pulls in her jacket around her small, sickly thin body and whimpers. I watch, with half lidded eyes as tears begin to flow down her porcelain cheeks. Her once beautiful natural red hair is now a rats nest atop her head and her once bright green eyes are beginning to dull from what has happened, what she’s seen, what she’s done.

I bite my lip and reach out for her small frame. Almost immediately, she falls into me, her arms are too small, I notice this and I look at her shirt, which is hanging off her dangerously thin body and I know that if I don’t get her food soon she might not make it.

But during the winter it’s much harder to get our hands on things. Being outside for us, in our ripped up, old and useless clothes is hard and the fact that it’s hard to run on ice is another factor. It’s hard to steal when everyone has their houses locked up tight to keep the heat in.

I unzip my jacket and wrap it around her. She squeaks as I do so and looks up at me with questioning eyes, “J-Jinx w-what are you doing? You n-need-”

I place a finger to her lips and give her a reassuring smile. She stares at me, confused, but allows me to continue and for the rest of the night I hold her and watch to make sure she stays warm. Although my body is shivering I’m all right and eventually I fall asleep too.

“Jinx, where da hell are you goin’?” Tee asks, following me all the way down from the third floor to the bottom. I stalk towards the large doors and reach for the handle, only to have Tee slap my hand away. “You can’t go out there! It’s fuckin’ freezing and how the hell do ya expect to get away when the walks are slippery? Besides, Janet and Terry are headin‘ up this afternoon with sandwiches like always.”

I glare at the boy who dares interrupt me in my quest to find Gel food. She’s a new member of our family and I can tell that where ever she was before wasn’t good. Not that this place is any better but I’ll try my best to keep such a young girl happy. She can’t be a day over 13.

Tee frowns and backs away. “A’right but if ya get caught remember I warned ya.”

I rip open the door and shut it behind me. The frosty air hits me immediately and I shiver but it doesn’t stop me from heading to the nearest store. I always switch up the places I steal from just so I have less of a chance to get caught.

When I enter the store, no one notices me. My eyes scan every thing and everyone. I’ve been doing this for 7 long years and it’s become more like instinct to me. Easily, I shop lift two pairs of sweat pants, a jacket, and a long sleeved t-shirt along with steal a hair brush. No one notices me disappear from the store and go to the grocery store across the street.

There, I’m not so lucky.

“You dirty brat, get back here!” One of the employees hollers as I make my way down the street. I can feel myself slipping and sliding across the cement but it doesn’t stop my feet from moving. Behind me, I hear foot steps and I’ve learned not to look back so I don’t.

The footsteps stop before I know it and I sigh in relief. Glancing down at the bag of apples, bread, and two boxes of cereal, I smirk because I’m sure this will help Gel, even if it’s just a little.

I watch everyone around me as I make my way down a few back streets. If anyone were to tell the cops or anyone really about where we live than it’ll all be over. I can’t get caught by the system. I won’t go back to that place, not ever.

Pushing open the doors, I step inside and shut them quickly. A few people look at me and I can see it in their eyes. Some of them stand while others simply sit and bite their lips and their stomachs growl at the sight of food but none of them get up to take it from me, which I’m surprised about but shrug it off.

After making it to the third floor, I find Gel who is cowering in a corner. She looks up at me through her green eyes and they brighten considerably when she realizes what I’ve got. I take off my jacket along with the one under it and the shirt. I hand both of them to her and put my jacket back on.

“Jinx…,” she tears up and throws her small arms around me as she cries and thanks me repeatedly. I simply smile and push her away to pull out the brush. She squeals and turns so that I can run it through her hair, pulling at the knots to make it nice once more and maybe it isn’t clean but it’s not tangled anymore.

The two of us sit and feast, our stomachs growling angrily at us for stuffing our stomachs with too much food but who knows when we’ll eat this much again so we continue anyways and when we’re finished, Gel laughs and looks at me with a sweet smile.

“Do you talk?” Gel asks, finally noticing that I haven’t said a word to her since she’s got here. Sighing, I shrug my shoulders and look from side to side, trying to find a way to speak to her without speaking.

“I don’t feel talking is necessary,” I reply, my voice slightly hoarse from the lack of use. If I can remember right, I’ve only said so much since Prince’s death. He was the only one I spoke to when he was alive and he always spoke to others for me but now that he’s gone…

I have to speak myself. I have to do things by myself. Sure, I’ve got Tee but he’s not nearly as close or special to me as Prince was. Prince was and still is my everything. I lived for him. I lived to help him, to keep him going because he was the one who helped me escape the system. Prince was…my best friend, my idol, the one thing I wanted to keep forever…

But it seems that I can’t keep anything. I lost my family, my old friends, and Prince. Sometimes I can’t help but ask myself who’s next? The life I live is a dangerous one and it’s not unusual for people to go missing or die but I just wish that…I could keep something with me, forever.

But that’s a wish and wishes never come true.

“Ey, look, Janet and Terry are here! Better hurry or you’ll miss out on the good stuff!” Tee shuffles away and I look at Gel who smiles and gets to her feet. I keep her close so the perverts in this place won’t get a hold of her and follow her outside to the van parked there with a pack of people already surrounding it.

Janet and Terry have been doing this for years. They’re good people who give out home made sandwiches, vitamins, soap and shampoo, clothing, and whatever else they can that will help us. They’re two people in this world that I think are all right.

“Jinx, who is this little girl?” Janet asks sweetly when I arrive before her. She hands me a sandwich and Gel two, probably because of how extremely skinny she is. Gel eats them quickly and takes the water from Janet, gratefully along with the vitamins.

“I’m Gel,” she squeaks, holding onto my jacket a little tighter when Terry steps forward. I put an arm around her shoulders and squeeze it, reassuringly. “Jinx found me and let me stay here.”

“Ah, you act like such a cold person but you’re so sweet, Jinx,” Janet laughs and she too hands me a bottle of water and vitamins. I gulp them down and nod to show my appreciation. “Here you go sweetie, a blanket.”

Gel takes it and holds it firmly against her chest. Not long afterwards, Janet and Terry leave but they’ll be back around the same time tomorrow with more things for us. Sometimes I wonder why they do what they do.

Why do they care about us? About scum…

I never ask them though because I’m scared that if I do, they might stop and there are times when I’m truly grateful to have them around. At least there are some good people in this world.