Chapter 4
Chapter Four
That night, the chaos of Hollywood Boulevard was in full swing as Annika huddled just off the fabled, busy street in an alleyway between a pair of old buildings.
Thankfully, the two walls protected her a bit from the wind. But it was still chilly. Los Angeles didn’t see the crazy dip in temps that some locations did, but this time of year—in late November—the average nighttime low was bout forty-eight degrees or so.
Enough to cause Annika to shiver without a jacket.
She made a mental note to try and find a place to secure a coat tomorrow. Perhaps a church clothes closet or mission had some they were handing out.
Right now, she’d just have to tough it out in the makeshift shelter she’d constructed. There were wooden crates she’d found behind the nearby dumpster that she’d arranged to give her a roof over her head, at least. And she was fairly hidden—a fact she was grateful for.
Those streets could be scary. Not everyone was bad, of course. In fact, most people were kind and decent. Just trying to get by like her.
But dangerous predators roamed the city. She knew that firsthand.
Just thinking about it traced a chill up her spine, and it had nothing to do with the November air. She closed her eyes, hugged her stuffie, and imagined what it would be like to have a Daddy holding and protecting her.
In her fantasy, Daddy was none other than the man who’d caught her earlier.
She giggled. How lucky had she been? He just happened to be walking by at that exact moment! Or had it been something else?
A realization settled over her and she sighed.
The hot guy was one of the rotating security guards at the nursery.
He wasn’t the main one—that was a giant man named Trevon who was the strongest human she’d ever laid eyes on.
She could always tell when he was nearby, too, when spying.
If she didn’t see him, she could hear him. His voice was deep and booming.
There was a group of security guards that rotated, though, helping Trevon. She’d pieced that together after a few days of spying. While she didn’t know their names, she’d seen them enough times to know what they were up to.
The guard must have been patrolling that day. In fact, he’d probably suspected someone was on the wall, spying. Had some of the other Littles noticed her and went to tell?
She couldn’t blame them. They had no way of knowing she was harmless. And a place like Auntie Athena’s was supposed to be private.
But now that they were on to her, it meant they’d be watching for her to come back.
Dang it. She’d have to stay away. At least for a little while. She’d figured as much earlier, when she was running away, but realizing it again now was enough to make her cry.
Dwelling on it wouldn’t do any good. So, she closed her eyes again and tried to think of something happier.
Like Thanksgiving.
The holiday was coming up. Some of the shelters would have meals for people like her. It would be good, too. But she couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to celebrate with friends or family.
She could picture a crackling fireplace. A table set perfectly with pretty decorations and fine China. There would be turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans, and of course, lots of desserts to choose from.
It was so real in her mind. Almost as if she could smell the aroma as steam rose off the juicy, perfectly cooked bird in the center of it all.
Annika’s stomach growled. Okay, that fantasy had done more harm than good. She’d been hungry before, but now she was starving.
She’d have to leave her makeshift shelter and see if she could find some food. There were several restaurants around that put out leftovers at the end of the night. It was first come, first served, but more than likely she’d be able to score something to eat. It was worth a shot, at least.
Of course, leaving ran a risk. Someone might come along and take her spot, claiming her shelter as their own. That had happened to her more than once in the past few weeks. It was a risk she was willing to take, though. She needed food and fast!
With that in mind, Annika scampered out of her “home”, taking Ollie with her.
Of course. He went everywhere. The two were inseparable. He was her only friend, in fact.
As the tattered shoes on her feet slapped atop the dirty pavement on her way out of the alley, she thought of Auntie Athena’s again. Too bad she didn’t have friends there. They all seemed so fun.
And too bad she couldn’t meet that hot guy again!
That’s what she really wanted tonight.
Even more than the Thanksgiving dinner she’d been dreaming of.