Dare to Dance: The Maxwell Series Read Online Free

make you upset. But we’ve been on the streets for a month. We, you at least, have got to do something to show social services you have a steady job and an apartment.”
    I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Selling my body isn’t a job social services would approve of.” The social worker had told me to stay out of jail, get steady employment, and find a decent apartment. Then we could talk more about getting Raven back, which I was determined to do.
    “I know that.” Norma’s eyes fluttered shut. “But we can make some money to put away for an apartment, and we can continue to look for jobs while we work the streets.”
    I angled my head. Maybe she had a fever that was making her delirious. I touched her forehead again. Yep, she was burning up. “Look, get some rest. I’m going to get medicine, and I promise if I need to steal, I won’t get caught.” As much as I needed to do the right thing for my own sake, I couldn’t let my friend suffer. Her cold could turn into pneumonia. Or worse, she could die.
    “You don’t need to promise me. You need to promise yourself,” she said, fading in and out of consciousness.
    She was sounding more and more like my mother. Norma was only two years older than me, but she came off older than her twenty-two years, maybe because she’d run away from home when she was fifteen, and she’d been surviving on the streets since then.
    I covered her with a blanket that was in desperate need of at least ten washings. “Sleep. We’re in a dark, deserted alley.” We’d picked that spot because we hadn’t seen any other homeless people around. Besides, not many people were out in the rain. “No one will bother you. I’ll be right back.” Before she could stop me, I crawled out of the box, flipped my hood over my head, and dashed down the alley onto a main thoroughfare.
    I jogged two blocks before the streets came alive with traffic. I passed restaurants where people were gathered, talking and laughing. I couldn’t help but stop to gaze at a couple sitting at a table by the window. The two were holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. My stomach knotted as sadness sank low in my gut. I had a boyfriend once. I touched my chest, feeling for the pictures inside my jacket pocket that I carried with me at all times. Two were clear reminders of Kross Maxwell. No matter how mad I was at him, he still held a place in my heart. But high school, fun, ballet, Kross, us, had no place in my life. Thinking about the good old days would only depress me or make me angrier. I’d wanted to find him, but with how crazy my life had been with my parents and Raven, there was never a good time. Now that I was homeless, it definitely was not a good time.
    Someone bumped into me. “Oh, sorry,” the woman said as she gave me a pitying look before she kept walking.
    Instead of spewing swear words at her, I tucked my chin down then started on my quest. Rain poured down and so did my tears. I thought about my little girl who was almost four years old and about how much I wanted to hold her right then. I wanted to squeeze her dimpled cheeks, look into her dark-blue eyes, and feel her thick black hair. What are you doing, Ruby? You’re only torturing yourself. Get your ass in gear and get a job.
    I’m trying , I screamed at my subconscious.
    I picked up my pace as I traded thoughts of Raven for a plan of where to start looking when the fast food restaurants opened the next day. Burger King had the most promise. The manager was a young guy who seemed to like me by the way he smiled at me. Then I would check in with Taco Bell and a sub shop.
    The drugstore sign came into view. I wiped my face with the backs of my fingerless gloves and ducked into Walgreens. The bright lights froze me in place for a second. I hated light. Light meant happy times, but it also reminded me of when I performed on stage at ballet recitals—a memory that would never become a reality again.
    I squinted as I scanned