Riley
I shock myself with those words but the moment I say them, I know that I don't regret them. I mean every word and I may not have planned this to go this way but I don't care. I'm glad I said what I said. The sooner I get these two of the streets the better.
"Don't. Please, don't do that!" She pulls back from me letting go of my coat as she speaks and the saddest look covers her beautiful face. "Don't do what? I don't understand?" she gives me a disbelieving look but I'm still confused.
"It's mean to tease someone." I'm still confused. "You are fully aware that I don't have anything... have a home, yet you have it all and you're here just teasing me. Is this fun for you?" she starts getting angry again and so do I because clearly, she has had this done to her before. Clearly, someone has rubbed her unfortunate life in her face and that just pisses me off.
I step in even closer to her filling in the small gap that she made when she pulled back from me and gently grip her chin making her look at me. "I want you to listen to every single word that I am about to say. I don't know what has happened in your past but clearly, you've had people be ungodly cruel to you but that's not me, that's not why I'm here."
"Then why are you here?" her feisty attitude is a huge turn-on despite this not being the time for it. "Just tell me the truth." she wants the truth so that's exactly what I'm going to give her, even if I don't understand it all myself yet.
"The truth? The truth is since the first moment that I saw you when Bruno almost hit you with my car, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Then when I saw you again outside the club it felt like some kind of fate, I mean I had never seen you before in my life and then I go and see you twice in one week."
She smiles a little but doesn't say a word so I just keep going. "Another truth for you is that it wasn't a quittance that I found you in the pharmacy that night, the truth is that after the night that I saw you outside the club, I decided to try and find you and after what felt like forever I did and I was so happy but then I started discovering how your life really is and I hated it."
"Why did you come looking for me? after you saw me at the club I mean."
"Because I couldn't get you off my mind. I'll be honest, I don't know why and I don't mean that in any nasty way towards you it's just... I got hurt a long time ago by a girl and since then I've not met any women that's had me interested... not for anything more than a one-night stand anyway.
But you... from the first moment that I met you, I couldn't get you out of my mind and then I found out that you had a little girl, and yes I'll admit at first that I freaked out a little, and that's why I quickly left but by the time I had got home, I had realized that it didn't matter. In fact, it made me happy.
The look on her face is one of shock and maybe a little happiness and while she remains quiet I can see her mind racing so I give her a moment to try and gather her thoughts even if I am impaineted to hear what she's thinking.
When I came here tonight I wasn't sure what I planned on doing. I had no plan in mind but I defiitely didn't plan on taking her and her little girl home with me, nor did I plan on telling her everything that I have but it's happened and the truth is that I can't say that I regret doing any of it. I don't even know what she thinks or if she even likes me in any kind of way but if she does then I just hope that my word vomiting tonight hasn't scared her off.
Julia
I feel like I can't breathe, like this man has my heart in the palm of his hand and he's squeezing it with all of his might. I'm not sure what I thought he would say when I asked him why he's here but I certainly wasn't expecting the response that I got. At first, I was pissed thinking that he was just here to tease me, to brag about his life but the more he spoke, the more I could tell that he was being honest but still, it's hard to believe everything that he's saying because it doesn't make sense.
"But why?" Now it's his turn to look confused and it's one cute look. " Why what sweet girl?" that's the third time tonight he's called me that and every time it makes my heart speed up just a little bit more. "Why are you interested me in? I have nothing to give you. I have no home, no money, and I'm a single parent. I'm literally the last person that would be any good for you. You need to go and find yourself a woman from your world, someone who is much better suited to you. Someone who doesn't come with the baggage that I do or the secrets..." The last part is a whisper, a whisper that I shouldn't have spoken out loud.
"None of that matters. I don't care about what you have. All I care about right now is getting you and your little girl away from here and into a warm house." I know he didn't miss the secrets part but he hasn't mentioned anything about it yet and for that I'm grateful.
A sadness suddenly washes over me because even if he does mean everything he says and even if I do find him attractive and even if a part of me wants to take him up on his offer there's still the part of me that can't just trust a stranger that easy. I still have Nina to think bout and this could be a trap and on top of all that... we have to leave soon, leave this city so none of this really matters.
"I can't... I can't I'm sorry. Please go." The words hurt me more to say than I thought they would but I have no choice. "You can't what, sweetheart?" Fuck, he needs to stop with the sweet names because each one makes my heart thud and makes this so much harder. "I can't come with you."
A sadness crosses his face but he quickly masks it. "I know this must be hard for you and I have no doubt that you are properly struggling to believe my words and my intentions but I promise you that's not the case. I just need you to trust me and I know that's probably even harder as you do not know me but, please just trust in me."
"It's not that I don't want to do any of that but I just can't." he runs one of his hands through his hair tugging sightly at his short dark hair all while keeping his eyes on me. "Why can't you?" he's not going to give in easily here and sadness takes hold deep inside me as I realize what I need to do to get him out of here and I regret the words before they even leave my mouth.
"Look, you're wasting your time here. I'm not coming with you and neither is my daughter so just stop! What's to say you don't want to sell us or God knows what. We're not here for the taking. We're not here to be pinched now go away and don't come back!" I roughly shove him and he stumbles back a little, he looks shocked and a little hurt by my words but I can't take them back, even if I want to more than anything.
Before he can say or do anything I take off up the alleyway until I'm in the darkness and out of his sight. I turn around to look back at him to see that he's still standing where I left him only now he's facing my way. I'm pretty sure that he can't see me but still, I don't move as I continue to stare at him, taking him in.
If I'm being honest with myself, there is something about this man that makes my heart beat that little bit faster and my insides warm up like never before. How can I be so attracted to a stranger? Truly, It's more than that, I feel more than attraction to him even though I barely know him.
All of that aside I do believe him. Living on the streets as long as I have, I've learned to read people. I've learned quickly when I can trust someone and when I can't and I've become pretty good at judging people but even with all of that, I can't do this... even if I want to, even if everything inside of me is telling me that this could be amazing for both of us, I just can't do it.
I have to get Nina out of here soon and she will always come first but with Riley hanging around now maybe we need to go sooner than I originally planned. There is only one more week until Christmas so we'll celebrate it with the only family that she has ever known and then we will go.
With a heavy heart, I take one last look at the man who could change our lives, the man who is still looking my way, and turn and head towards my home... towards my daughter while sadness tugs at every part of me. It'll be ok, everything will be ok.