American Soldier

A month has passed by and tonight I'm going into the office to get any files on Payge and I that way no on can find us. I bided my time as the office closed and the day turned to night. Once I knew for sure that everyone was asleep in their beds, I left our room. Payge stayed behind to get her things packed up. I took the stairs down to the first floor and checked the halls to make sure no one was there. The place was completely deserted. I went over to Clare's office and picked the lock on her door before going in and shutting it behind me. I checked the entire room and found the files I was looking for but now I'm looking for any copies she might have made. I checked through her desk and found a set of keys that went to the safe underneath her desk.

I opened up teh safe and inside were copies of our files along with pictures of us and some cash that had been donated to help keep the place running. I grabbed the copies, cash, and pictures before shutting the safe. I made perfectly sure that everything was back in its original place and I left the office. I used the stairs again to go back up to our room where Payge had finished her packing. I started packing mine and I put the cash, files and copies plus the pictures into my back pack. We left our room once I was finished and took the stairs back down to the first floor and left the building. We put our suitcases back into the trunk and our back packs in the backseat. I got into the driver's seat and cranked up my car before exiting off the property. I looked over at Payge as I drove away from the orphanage and she smiled.

"On to California?"

"You damn right Payge. Now I'll be able to take care of you better." I said smiling as I drove.

"You mean we'll be able to take care of each other."

"Exactly." I said happily. There was nothing in this world that's going to stop us from getting to our destination and I mean nothing.

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I drove all through the night and halfway through the next day. There are so many children and other people mine and Payge's age that they'll never even notice that we've gone. The sun rose high into the sky and for once I felt free. I glanced over at my sleeping sister and not it's just me and her. There's a lot I'll have to do for Payge and to get back on our feet but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I have to do it no matter what comes our way.

"Oh what time is it?" Payge asked as she finally stirred from her sleep.

"Almost five in the afternoon."

"Damn how long have I been sleeping?" she asked again while rubbing her eyes.

"About 9 hours. Are you hungry?"

"Starving." she said and I chuckled. I got off an exit and went through the drive thru of a McDonalds. I ordered three McDouble meals plus two large cups of coffee for me and a chocolate shake for Payge. I left the Mickey D's and got back onto the interstate. Payge ate both of her burger meals as I was still eating on mine. For someone who is a small girl as Payge is, she can certainly pack away some food and not even gain an ounce. I drove for miles and I was starting to need a break and my legs were beginnng to get sore from sitting down so long. I pulled off at the first rest stop I came to and parked in a space.

"What are we doing here?"

"I need a rest break for a little while so we stretch our legs." I said shutting the engine off.

"Why dont we drive a little farther and get us a hotel for the night? I mean we only have a few more miles to go. We can rest up the night and then be in California around four tomorrow afternoon."

"I dont think we have the money for that." I stated.

"Can you check? I mean we've been on the road for so long and I know we both could use a hot shower." I sighed and pulled my wallet from my back pocket. I pulled all the cash from it and began counting.

"There's a little over a thousand but if I spend any of this...we wont be able to afford an apartment. Wait a minute." I explained and then remembering the money I had taken from Clare's safe. I reached around and brought my back pack into my lap.

"What are you doing?" Payge asked as I looked through my bag.

"I just remembered the extra cash I have in here."

"What extra money?" Payge asked curiously with her brow raised.

"I knew we wouldnt have enough to make this trip after me working and saving only for a month so I took what Clare had in her safe."

"You stole the money from the orphanage?" she questioned and I shook my head yes.

"How much is there?"

"There's another two thousand." I said as I counted the last of the money.

"So we can get a hotel tonight?"

"Yeah but I dont want to spend a whole lot. We'll need this money for school and food until I can find a job." I said putting the money back into the bag and throwing it into the backseat. I started the car and we went on to find a good cheap hotel.

An hour later we found a nice hotel that offered a free breakfast. I paid the man at the desk after showing my ID and we took our bags up to the room. Payge grabbed some clothes from hers to take a shower while I laid down to watch some TV. Payge came out of the bathroom cleaned and dressed so I took the opportunity to use the facilities as well. Once I was finished getting the grime of the day from my body, I laid down in my bed and in no time fell asleep.