At First Touch by Mattie Dunman Page B

of my head and I rested my head on his shoulder. “You do so well that sometimes I forget that you’re only sixteen and have never gotten the chance to be sixteen. Your childhood was stolen from you, and now you have to work all the time to keep people from getting too close.”
    He sighed, his chest rising and falling in a staggered manner, as though he were trying to breathe after being underwater.
    “I never questioned if that was wise. I just wanted you safe. But being safe doesn’t mean that you’re happy, and I want that for you too, even if it seems risky. So if you want to be friends with this V.J. and Carey, go ahead. I won’t tell you to be careful because I know you will be, and I know you’ll use your best judgment when it comes to how much you share with them.” He released me and looked down at me fiercely, his well-worn features taut with emotion. “Just promise you’ll keep me in the loop, and let me know if you’re in danger.”
    Tears were streaming down my face and I nodded, unable to speak for the moment. Dad just gathered me in his arms for another hug.
    “I love you, honey. More than anything.”
    “Oh, Dad. I love you too. I’ll be careful, I swear.” My voice trembled and I was on the edge of losing it completely. “There’s other stuff I need to tell you, stuff I found out from Carey, but it can wait till later. I might even hear more from him by this evening.” We stepped apart, both pulling back from the emotional scene and reestablishing a safe distance.
    “Alright honey. Call if you’re going to be late.” I grinned at this; it was such a normal thing for a Dad to say to his teenage daughter, and yet this was the first time he’d said it. He seemed to recognize the humor in the situation and chuckled.  “Right. Bye honey.”
    I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulder as I followed Dad back out to the kitchen where V.J. sat petting Koko, who was intoxicated by all the attention.
    “What a beautiful kitty! Is he a Siamese?” I told her he was and said I was ready to go. She and Dad said a polite goodbye and he stood watching me with watery eyes as I followed my new friend to her car.
    “Alright!” V.J. exclaimed as she backed out of the driveway. “Are you ready for the bright lights of Pound, West Virginia?” I laughed and nodded.
    “Are you sure it’s not going to be too much for me?”
    We laughed and she started the tour, which took all of fifteen minutes. There was very little that wasn’t residential; the strip mall that housed Mickey’s Diner was the busiest section of town. There was a park with the municipal pool, a bowling alley that had seen better days, and a chain grocery store. The nearest mall was thirty minutes away, along with Wal-Mart, a cinema, and other forms of nightlife. The nearest city, Washington D.C., was nearly three hours away. The saving grace for Pound was its picturesque beauty. For all the poverty and its run-down main street, it was hard to imagine a more beautiful place to live.
    The town was nestled in a valley beneath three mountains and was lined by a river. Blanketing the hills, the trees were alight with the colors of autumn, making the town look as though it were ringed in fire as the sun sank behind the rounded peaks. The world was bathed in a hazy glow of red and purple. I caught my breath as we got out of the car at the diner and I took in the way the mountains seemed to embrace the town protectively, blocking harsh winds and encasing the valley in an exquisite bubble. I had been many places in the past few years, but I had never felt so surrounded and safe simply because of the landscape.
    “It really is beautiful here,” I said under my breath. V.J. gave me a smile full of pride.
    “Yeah, it’s not much, but it’s prettier than a lot of places.”
    She led the way into the diner and we took a seat, ordering hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner. I was anxious to try a shake since I’d missed my opportunity the