I Woke Up in a Car

Six months from the day she left, she was in Iowa, in some small town. She'd been stuck here when her car had run out of gas. Some good-hearted locals helped get it to the wal-mart parking lot at least and that's where it sat now. Meanwhile, Arianna had created a makeshift sign using a sharpie that she set out whenever she played Ruby, “Homeless, penniless teen. Out of gas. Anything helps.”, with a little tub she'd found in her car that she used to collect change.

The money she'd had lasted her hardly a month, even more when she realized how expensive this was all going to be. A lot of nights she went hungry as she struggled to play Ruby and stay. She'd been lucky enough to run into some church-going folk who offered her a couch for the evening, a hot shower, a hot meal. Often times these were pastors of churches who found her playing Ruby across the street as church let out. She often tried to play hymns or upbeat classic pop songs, something to attract the attention of anyone, and, to keep her own hopes up and alive.

A year passed and she'd made her way farther West across the United States to Billings, Montana. Her car had broken down this time and she didn't have the money to fix it. She played Ruby on street-corners, hoping people would give her any change they could spare. She was playing Ruby on main street, her sign set out, “Anything Helps. God Bless” when a man approached her and listened to her play for a while. She started with a simple, “Here Comes The Sun.” but as she played the second run through she slowed down and began to bend the notes, almost making them sound saddened, not the up-beat pop song that it was.

“Where'd you learn to play like that little lady?” The older gentleman asked, kneeling down to put a few dollar bills in Arianna's bucket.

Arianna smiled a little, “Thank you. I learned to play from my dad.” She said, her eyes looking longingly at Ruby, her hand running along the old beat up wood of her neck.

The man smiled a little but paused, “You don't learn to play like that from someone.” He said quietly. “Where you from?”

Arianna's brown eyes surveyed the older man, assessed her risk, no harm, “New York. I kind of picked up how to play after my dad died.” Arianna's stomach growled.

“When was the last time you ate?” The older gentleman asked, looking at her. She shrugged. “Come on, I'll go get you something to eat.”

Arianna quietly packed up Ruby and decided to walk with the man. His name was Ray. He was older, maybe around the age when her dad died. He asked her about where she'd been, she said drifting through the midwest. She didn't even know the date anymore but it had felt like a long time. She asked why he was so keen on helping her.

Turned out that while Arianna was clean, his own daughter who he said used to look strikingly similar, ran away because of a drug problem. He went on to explain that while he had kept hope that she was alive for a year, Montana had a severe problem with Meth, the drug his daughter had become addicted to. About a year after his daughter had run away he got the call every parent dreaded, Police had raided a meth-house in a super-small town called Broadview. Her body was found wrapped in a sheet of a locked bedroom. She'd overdosed.

He said he hated to see someone with so much potential be stuck in a town like this. He offered a hot shower and to fix her car, so long as shegot out of Montana and this town. He believed that Arianna was a good person and he didn't want to see her go down the path of his daughter. As long as she stayed sober and kept in touch with him, Ray didn't see a problem in paying to fix her car. Maybe it was the fact that Arianna looked like his daughter or the fact she looked so young but Ray said he felt obligated to help her.

Six months after that Arianna was in Aspen, Colorado for the winter. It was cold. She tried to stay warm as she could in her car. She'd have gone to a shelter but she wasn't pregnant or have a child and she wasn't a battered woman. She curled up with her blankets, sleeping bag and sign as she sat on the corner with Ruby. There was a lot of people in this resort town walking around with purses that cost as much she begged for in a couple of weeks. Her fingerless gloves kept the rest of her hands warm but her tips froze.

Aspen was a hard town, busy but hard to play Ruby in. Locals weren't as friendly here as before. She began to be able to pick out tourists from locals and she played to the tourists more than the locals. It took her all winter, a grand total of four months, she finally said goodbye to Aspen, heading West.

Two months later she ended up in LA, still living in her beat-up 2001 Honda with all her worldly possessions inside. She began to collect cans when she could, when the streets were so crowded with beggars that it was the more fruitful option of the two. Some days she could play Ruby for hours in places before being put out by another beggar who was better, more down on their luck.

She happened to be sitting about five feet down from a busy theater. The marquee was all lit up with flashing bulbs, “The Art of Flight. Travis Rice.” She thought it might be a movie about planes. Some bus was parked nearby but it was dark and there was people everywhere. A lot of people in jeans, in hats, logos, but none of it was familiar to her.

She idly picked out some notes on Ruby, she'd only learned to play half of the Grateful Dead song, “Friend of the Devil”. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was learning it with her dad when he was killed. It was a relatively easy song to play but when she got half-way she stopped. It was getting late and she was getting tired.

“Don't stop. Keep playing.” A voice said.

Arianna looked up to see the glowing embers of a cigarette dangling from the mouth of the person talking to her, “Um, I can't.”

The man knelt down towards her, she could vaguely see the light reflecting off his glasses which hid his piercing blue eyes, “Why not?” He asked.

Arianna shrugged, “I don't know it.” It was dark and the light from the theater bulbs made the man's face a little easier to see. By now people were inside the theater and most everyone was gone. Except for this guy.

“Sure you do. Do you mind?” The man asked, extending his hand out for Ruby.

But this was Her and her dad's song. The one that would remain unfinished, “Um, y-yeah. I kind of do.” Her voice stammered, “Sorry.” she apologized. “I.. should go. It's late. Long day tomorrow.”

Arianna moved to grab Ruby and tuck her small collection bin, which only had a few dollars in it, away from the man. “Wait, where are you going?” The man asked her as she slung Ruby over her back.

“Back to my car.” Arianna tried to push her hand through her dirty red locks. She had tangles and dirt caked into her hair. She frowned and pulled her hand back. She'd try to find a free shower tomorrow, somewhere, anywhere.

“Do you.. Do you have anywhere to go?” The man asked. Arianna glanced him over and while he was still relatively hidden by the shadow.

“Just my car.” Arianna echoed, shifting the weight of Ruby just slightly.

“Would you..” Arianna's brows furrowed a little as the man spoke, pointing to the bus, “Would you want to stay with me?”

Arianna looked a little perplexed. This was Los Angeles, people, guys, young guys, didn't just ask homeless young girls to stay with them unless they wanted something. “What's your price?” Arianna's voice questioned. What would she have to do to stay with this guy.

He raised his hands in a defensive manner with a laugh, “Hey, no price. I just thought maybe you could clean yourself up, get a decent night of sleep. Maybe I could finish teaching you that song.”

Arianna shook her head, “Everyone has a price.” She paused, “Thanks, but no thanks.” She started walking away from the man and his cigarette, leaving him standing there in the light of the marquee of the theater.

Tomorrow was a new day, another chance to make another dollar to keep herself afloat out here. With so many street musicians. She had learned that people in Los Angeles came with a price. For every stranger on the street that offered her a place to stay, a shower, a phone call came a stipulation. You can't get everything for free, you have to wheel and deal. But Arianna wasn't about to compromise her morals, her self-worth, just for a luxury she'd gone for so long without. She'd gone this long without a shower, what was another day?