Ms. White

leslie pov 

after finishing our meals ms.white cleaned our plates after refusing to let me do it then we went to the living room where she said we should have our talk

i could feel my stomach twisting so bad that i wanted to run to the bathroom and throw up 

i was hoping she had forgot that she wanted to have this talk 

ms. white sat the glasses of water on the coffee table before sitting down beside me and turning her body to face me 

i matched her position and took a deep breath 

"ms. white-"

"my name is kelly" she interrupted

i looked at her with surprise but i nod nonetheless

"kelly.." i said slowly, testing it on my tongue. "we dont have to talk about this if you dont want to"

"i want to"

"okay"

i folded my lips as i fumbled with my hands. ms.white- i mean kelly looked down at my hands before grabbing them causing tingle to spread through my body 

i gasped at the feeling, not expecting it

"stop that" she murmured, rubbing the palm of my hand with her thumb

i nod as i slowly relaxed into her touch 

"what were you doing out there?" she asked, still holding my hand 

"going back to where i stay every night"

"which is?"

"by the restaurant where you usually see the other homeless people staying"

she looked at me with sad eyes causing me to quickly look away and around her living room area

i felt kelly's forefinger under my chin and turned my head back toward her so we were making eye contact

"dont look away from me like that. you know i never liked when you did that" she reminded me

i nod my head, remembering exactly when she used to force me to face her again during high school

"what happened? why arent you in college like you always wanted to go?"

"my mom died and my dad kicked me out once he learned that i was lesbian. all my friends abandoned me when i needed help and none of my family members would talk to me. i couldnt afford college and you know i didnt get a scholarship so i had no way of going" i took a breath before continuing,

"my dad cut off my phone and i had no address to get a job so i couldnt work. every thing i had eventually got stolen while living on the streets. i found those clothes i was wearing by the dumpster"

kelly only looked at me and i could tell she was listening to every word i said 

i didnt want to talk about this but i knew that if she was going to let me stay here the least i could do was answer her questions 

"what.. how did you get money to afford food?" she asked hesitantly 

i looked into her eyes before whispering, "i think you already know the answer"

she shook her head. "i dont. i want you to tell me that what im thinking isnt right. tell me, leslie"

tears welled in my eyes as i looked down. "i had sex with people for money. it was the only way"

kelly gasped quietly and i couldnt bare looking at her so i focused my eyes on my hands that i was still in hers

im surprised she didnt take her hands away in disgust 

"look at me, leslie"

i reached up and wiped my tears away before looking at kelly 

"im not judging you sweetheart, i know you had to do what you had to to get by but i wish you couldve reached out or something. even try to go back to the high school to see if i still worked there. you know i wouldve helped you" she said lowly, her brown eyes glistening with tears

i hated that i caused those tears. someone as pretty as ms. white shouldnt cry. she was too pretty to cry, especially over someone like me

"i was too ashamed to even think about you. you away said in high school that i would grow to be someone famous, well known, rich but im not. im just someone who's homeless and was a prostitute. i didnt want you to see me like this. i didnt want to see your disappointment when you realized i wasnt anything you thought i was going to be"

"id never be disappointed in you. i wasnt then and im not now. i know it mustve been tough to be in the position you was in. im proud of you for not giving up and still living. i know most would have ended it all. im so proud of you, les"

it was like her saying that broke all the tears i was holding back and next thing i knew was that i was sobbing into her arms