The Hitchhiker

I never really had a typical relationship with my little sister. Sure, she was a fixture in my daily life until I left home for college, but we were far enough apart that we just never had much in common at any one time... or at all. While I always kept my head in my books, hers spent more time in the clouds than anywhere else. When I left home at 18, she was only 12 though, and I always thought that she would grow out of what I considered to be a pretty immature personality. She never really did.

While I was away at college, my parents would tell me about what Katie was up to. How they couldn't understand for the life of them why she acted out, sneaking out of the house and cutting class, smoking pot with her friends after school, and dating complete losers. She was effortlessly intelligent, her grades reflected that, but she was simply not interested in school beyond that, not being involved in hardly anything extra-curricular besides art and drama, which she showed a lot of talent in. When I would go home for breaks, I found her to be witty, stubborn, with a wild streak that I never cared to possess. Once again, not much in common with her besides our relation. We got along just fine, I was just never close with her.

I was finishing my second year of law school when Katie graduated high school, and to absolutely no one's surprise, college wasn't in the picture for her. Against the pleas from my parents, she moved out of their house a few weeks into the summer, and took off to California, where she said she had some leads in the talent industry and wanted to get into acting.

I should have expressed more concern, it's a regret that I still carry. But being in law school, and working as a clerk for a local firm, I hardly had time to care about myself, much less anyone else. I relied on my parents for updates on Katie, and hearing from her once in a while when a random text popped up on my phone. Sometime toward the end of my L3 year, however, I stopped hearing from her completely. I did try to call her once, but the line was disconnected.

I finished law school and passed the bar, moving from Dallas to New York to work for a national firm. I knew that my parents had Katie's number and were talking to her at least semi-regularly, and so selfishly I didn't worry about her. But about the only thing I knew about her was that she was somewhere on the west coast, and apparently was still alive. That was about to all change, however.

I'd been at my firm for about a year, successfully building a client base with business transactions and mergers, doing very well for myself. I had my own apartment in Brooklyn, close enough to walk to the office every day, and I got absorbed in my own world, going out with friends, dating, and working. Katie was far from my mind.

I was in my office one afternoon preparing for a client meeting when my desk phone rang. It was Callie, the Lobby secretary. Callie was from Brooklyn, and was a hell of a paralegal. We'd actually gone out on a few dates when I first started at the firm, and despite it not going any further than that, remained good friends.

"Luke... there's a young woman here at the front, her name is Katherine Clark. She says she is your sister," Callie said.

By this point, I hadn't seen Katie in almost three years, and I had no idea how she would have found me. I didn't have her number, and I assumed that she probably didn't have mine either or she would have called me.

"Callie, I have the MTI meeting starting in 15 minutes, can you tell her to grab a seat and I'll get her when I get out?" I asked, still surprised and a little confused as to why she was there.

There was a bit of strain in Callie's reply. "Luke... I think you need to come down here."

I sighed and checked my watch. I had a few minutes and my meeting notes were ready to go.

"Ok, be there in a sec," I said and hung up the phone. I stood from my desk and put my suit jacket on, so I would be prepared to walk into the conference room and start my meeting. I walked out of my office and down the hall, into the open area that made up the firm's lobby.

Standing there at the desk, head down and not saying anything, was my baby sister Katie. My first thought was that she looked exhausted, just completely worn down. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt underneath a jacket that was not near thick enough for how cold the weather was, and her hair was tied back into a single ponytail, but looked as if she'd been traveling for some time.

"Katie," I said quietly, walking up to her. She looked up at me and that was the first time that I saw the tears forming in her eyes, threatening to cascade down her face.

One thing that I definitely did not expect, but did not go undetected by me, however, was that despite her fatigue and her clothes that were showing some light wear... she was stunningly beautiful. Katie had always been a pretty girl, but it had been so long since I'd seen her that it was clear I'd missed that she had blossomed into a full grown woman. Standing about 6" shorter than me, she had dark blonde hair and deep, blue eyes and a very pretty face. She was skinny, but I noticed that she filled her jeans out well, and could tell that she had nice breasts, even with the jacket on.

"Luke I'm so sorry I came to your office," Katie said, her tears beginning to flow, "I didn't think I had anywhere else to go."

I stood there, dumbfounded. This situation was going to take longer to process than what I had before my client meeting. I scooped my arm around her and pulled her into a hug, and felt her melt in my embrace. Callie looked up at me with a questioning expression, but said nothing.

"Come on," I said, guiding her down the hall, "let's go to my office."

Leading her into my office, she sat on a couch next to one of my bookcases and I sat down beside her.

"Katie, I'm really glad you're here, it's good to see you. But, what are you doing here? Have you talked to mom and dad?" I asked.

"I was afraid to go there," Katie said. She looked like she had been through the wringer, and questions were coming to me faster than answers were at this point. I looked at my watch.

"Katie, we definitely need to talk. I need to go to a meeting right now, but I want you to make yourself comfortable here. There's a break room down the hall with food and drinks if you're hungry, and then you can just hang out in my office until I'm done. It shouldn't take more than an hour," I said.

"Thanks, Luke... are you sure it's not too much trouble?" She asked.

"Not at all," I said affirmatively, patting her leg with my hand. "I'll be back in a little bit, ok?"

"Ok..." she said, her voice trailing off.

I was wrong about the meeting only lasting an hour. It was almost two and a half hours later that we were finished, the deal was done, and I headed back to my office, hoping Katie was still there and that she wasn't upset with me. I walked in to find her laying across the couch, sound asleep.

I quietly sat down behind my desk, filing some documents and answering the last few e-mails I had before leaving the office for the day. Katie stayed asleep until my office phone rang again, causing her to stir. It was Callie on the other end.

"Luke, just a question out of my own pure curiosity... How is it that I had no clue you even had a sister until she was standing in front of me today?" The question didn't sound accusatory, but I felt bad about it all the same. On the couch, Katie sat up and stretched.

"Sorry. It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later." I said, putting the phone back on the receiver.

"Was that about me?" Katie asked.

"Nope," I lied easily. "Associate wanting to know why my meeting ran so long."

"How long was I sleeping?" She asked.

"I'd guess almost three hours. It's not a big deal, Kate. It looks like you need it," I told her. She didn't say anything.

"So you're in New York? How long have you been here?" I asked Katie.

"I just got here this morning. It's been a long week," Katie said weakly. "I know you didn't expect this, but I don't really have anywhere else I can go, I was wondering if I might be able to stay with you for a day or so until I figure some things out?"

"Absolutely not," I said, Katie's eyes widening in panic. "You're going to stay for as long as you'd like. It's been too long, and that's my fault. I'm sorry."

The first smile I'd seen from Katie worked its way across her face, making her even more beautiful than she already was.

"Thanks, big brother... I'm kind of lost right now."

"That, I can tell. We'll talk about it more this evening. What do you say to some take out and we can just go straight home?" I asked.

"I'd like that a lot," Katie said.

We grabbed some dinner from a restaurant on the way back to my house. I noticed that Katie didn't have anything other than what she was wearing, but I didn't mention it while we were walking together.

We got up to my apartment and she stopped when she walked in the door.

"Wow, this is a really nice place..." she said, looking around.

"Thanks! I really like it here," I said. I took the dinner out and we ate at the table, mostly in silence. There would be plenty of time to talk, and I had a suspicion that Katie had a lot she needed to unpack. I didn't want to rush her.

"So," I said, sitting back after finishing my food.

"So, like I said, I'm really sorry for just dropping in on you like this, Luke. I ran out of options, and started heading home, but then I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, and I'd remembered mom telling me you were here now, and the name of your firm... so I just came here instead," Katie said.

"You know they would welcome you home, Katie. They'd never just abandon you," I said.

"No, I know... I don't want to see how disappointed they are. It's much easier to deal with your disappointment than theirs," she said.

"Kate, I'm not disappointed in you at all," I said.

"You should be," she said, tears welling up again in her eyes. "Look at all you've done with your life, you're successful, you have money... I don't have anything."

"So life's been rough. So far as I can tell, though, you've made it out alive. That's not nothing, Katie," I said, trying to comfort her.

She was quiet for a moment.

"Katie," I said, looking at her, "When is the last time you even talked to mom and dad?"

"I'm not really sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "A few months, at least. Before my last phone got turned off."

"We really should let them know you're ok, Katie. They'll want to know," I said.

"Yeah, I know... I'm just scared to talk to them," she said.

"Would you mind if I called them, and just told them that you're here with me, and that you'll talk to them in a few days when you're ready?" I asked. Katie nodded her agreement.

The phone conversation with my father was quick, but I could tell he was relieved by the news that Katie was safe. I assured him that she would call them in a few days, but that she needed a little time.

By the time I got off the phone, Katie could barely keep her eyes open. I directed her to the bathroom and told her to clean up, and I sat out a t-shirt and some athletic shorts for her, having nothing that would actually fit her. I grabbed her clothes from the bedroom while she was showering and threw them in the wash, making a note of the priority to get her some new ones the next day.

She came out of the shower and sat back down on the couch next to me, yawning wide.

"Luke, thanks again for taking me in. You don't know how much this means."

I leaned over and hugged her, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad I can, and I'm thrilled that you're here, Katie. Get some sleep, we'll talk more tomorrow when I'm off work." With that, Katie stretched out on the couch and was asleep before I could even get her covered up with a blanket, then retired to my room, my mind on the mystery that was sleeping on my couch.

--

The elevator door opened as it reached the floor my law firm sat on and I stepped out of it. Like clockwork, Callie was already sitting at her desk, making calls and setting conference room agendas. When she saw me, her eyebrows raised, as if asking me what was going on. I nodded down the hall, which she saw as a signal to come to my office to talk to me. 5 minutes later, she walked in.

"Alright, Luke. Spill it, what's going on?" She asked. She wasn't really demanding, but I think she might have been a little upset that there was something so rudimentary she didn't know about me.

"Ok, Callie. First, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I had a sister. I haven't really seen or talked to her much since I started law school, and up until yesterday I hadn't seen her in years."

Callie looked at me for a moment expectantly, so I continued,

"She did her own thing when she got out of high school, which was pretty much polar opposite of what I was doing. That, combined with law school and being a first and second year associate, we never really spoke. I blame myself a lot for that," I confessed.

"You should! She's family, Luke!" Callie said.

"I know, I know. We didn't talk much last night, but what I got from her was that things went south wherever she was living, and didn't want to face our parents, so she came here. She's staying with me and I don't know how long, but I'm not going to turn my back on her. We always had a good relationship when we were younger, we just weren't best friends because of the age gap," I said.

"Poor thing looked like she's not had a great time as of late, that's for sure," Callie said.

"Yeah, I know. She hasn't gone into much detail, and I'm not pushing her into it. The only thing we did last night was let our parents know she was safe and she was with me. She was still asleep when I left for work this morning, I think she really needs it," I said.

Callie thought for a moment. "You know," she said quietly, "there's a decent chance that she had a really traumatic experience. At least one, actually, possibly more. Be careful, and always make sure she feels safe."

"Yeah, I definitely will. I have a feeling I'm about to hear a pretty horrible story."

--

"Katie? You here?" I called into the apartment as I opened the door.

"In here!" Katie answered from the living room. As I went inside, she stood up from the couch and walked straight into my arms, hugging me tightly.

"Hey Luke," she said with a warm smile.

"Looks like someone's doing a little better," I said. She nodded.

"It's been a while since I have been able to sleep that long without... worrying," she said, looking off.

"Well I'm glad you've been able to rest, Katie. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, and I mean that. I've done a bad job checking up on you the last few years, and I want to make up for that," I said.

"Well, that's a two-way street, Luke," she said. "I should have been better about it, too."

"We're starting fresh today, deal?" I said with a grin.

"Deal!" Katie said.

Dinner was chicken with seasoned rice and broccoli, accompanied by pleasant conversation between me and my sister.

"So, we need to get you set up here, Katie. Make a list of everything you need, clothes, shoes, toiletries, everything you can think of and we'll go get all of it tomorrow. I'm going to get you a phone, too, as long as you promise to call mom and dad as soon as it gets turned on," I said. Seeing the hesitant look on her face, I said, "And I'm not taking no for an answer, I should have done this years ago, and the good thing about being a lawyer and a bachelor is that I can more than afford to do all this! Think of it as backloading the last 20 years worth of birthday presents!"

Katie looked at me, not sure if she could believe what she was hearing.

"I... I don't know what to say, Luke. Thank you."

"Katie, you're my sister and I love you, and it makes me happy that you're here and that I can help," I said, taking her hand in mine.

Settling on the couch for the evening, Katie and I made small talk until the natural conversation dwindled to silence. I'd brought us some drinks to the living room, a beer for me and a glass of white wine for Katie. I took a swig and looked at her eyes.

"Kate, sweetie... can you tell me what's been going on?" I asked.

"Yeah. I can," she said. "Just..."

"Just what?" I asked.

"Just don't judge me when I tell you how horrible of a person I am."

"Kate, I promise that I won't. Just talk to me," I said.

Kate started explaining.

She knew since the beginning of high school that she wanted to move to California and be an actress. When she turned 18, she took the money she saved and used some of it to get professional headshots done, and started submitting them to talent agencies. Getting replies from a few was enough inspiration for her to head west after high school. She moved in with 4 other girls close to her age in a small apartment, the 5 of them with a common goal of acting. She was able to get a few jobs as a waitress to support herself, and tried to get into auditions.

One of the girls was decently successful, scoring a few gigs in commercials and a small indie production, but nothing that would sustain her. She ended up marrying a guy about a year after they moved in together, and they never really heard from her again.

Another one started dating a downtown club promoter, who got her bad into drugs. She completely abandoned any acting dreams and started selling drugs for her boyfriend, which evolved into the guy pimping her to the people he owed money. Katie and one of her roommates got home one day to find her in their living room with a needle hanging out of her arm, dead from an overdose of heroin.

The other two girls had enough after that, and went back to their hometowns. Katie still hung on, getting a few callbacks periodically, but never landing any legitimate gigs. Her desperation getting deeper, she had to get two more jobs just to make ends meet. She was still sending out audition tapes, however, and eventually got a call from a studio with some clout. She met with a producer, and in the first meeting, told her that if she wanted to be considered for the role she wanted, she needed to have sex with him right then and there. When she got up to leave, he punched her in the face, and laughed at her, telling her that no one would be hiring her now.

After a few more failed attempts, she was done. Her dream shattered, she was evicted from her apartment, and spent the last bit of her money on a bus ticket that took her as far as Denver when she ran out of money. Needing some fast money, she auditioned to be an exotic dancer, and was hired. She danced at a strip club for a month and made good money, but she was assaulted one night after the club closed by a patron as she was walking with a friend to the car they were sharing. The guy took her earnings and left her broke.

With nowhere to go and no money, scared to go back to the strip club, she stuck her thumb in the wind, trying to go back to Dallas where we grew up. She was picked up periodically, but it took her almost two weeks just to make it to Oklahoma City before a trucker that was giving her a ride stopped suddenly and told her that if she didn't sleep with him, that was the end of the road for her. Desperate and out of options, she had sex with him in his sleeper cab at truck stop. When they finished, he kicked her out of his truck and took off.

It was at that point that she decided she didn't, or couldn't go back home. She zig zagged across the eastern half of the United States for another three weeks, negotiating rides for sexual favors, before she was dropped off in New York, where she found the name and location of my law firm and found me.

When she finished telling her story, she completely broke down crying. I pulled her to my side and held her tight, trying and failing to find the words to comfort her, so I sat there by her side in silence. The entire story made me really sad, because of all the things my sister ever was, she always maintained a bubbly and sweet personality. The past few years had taken their toll, and the wounds across her heart were deep with heavy scars. It was going to take her a long time to come out of that place, and in the silence of that moment, broken only by Katie's sobs, I promised that she would stay with me until she was healed.