One
Stana
Walking the streets alone I always feel at peace. I’m not sure what it is about the cold air that makes me feel like I am free, but it’s like my escape. The stuffy, boring life that I live is just that, boring. You work all your life and what do you have to show for it? Me? Nothing really. I have a really dull and small apartment, a cat that hates my existence, and a boss who could probably care less if I show up to work the next day.
Sometimes I’m not even sure what I’m doing anymore other than going through the motions. I get up, I go to work, I come home, and then I go to bed. Like I said, boring.
My dark hair blows all around my face from the small gust of wind, but I pay it no mind. The cold air is the only thing that is currently letting me know that I’m alive. Without it, I’d be pretty sure that I was just a walking zombie. No real destination in mind, only the sound of my footsteps on the pavement with the wind blowing all around me.
Coming up to the corner of Mitchell and Clark, I pause on the corner and wait for oncoming traffic. The cars blow by me like I’m not even there. I tighten my hold on my bag as I hear footsteps coming up behind me. When the light on the crosswalk flashes for me to start walking, I make my way into the street and towards the other side.
A hand grabs my arm, and I’m pulled into a different direction. None of the cars bother to stop to help me as I'm manhandled by some wannabe thug. I put my fist into his stomach, and he lets out a loud ‘oomph,’ but it doesn’t stop him. He pushes me into the empty alley and my stomach drops. Never in my life has someone tried to hurt me. I take that back, I’ve been hurt before, but never like this. He pushes me up against the wall, and he puts his face real close to mine.
His warm breath flutters over my skin, and I try to lift my leg to knee him in the balls, but it’s no use. He’s using his body to push me up against the wall, holding me in place. “Mmm, you sure smell pretty.” His voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I try to continue fighting him, but his body is way more powerful than my own.
“What? You don’t like a little fun?” He asks. One of his hands starts to find its way up my shirt, and I think I’m going to be sick. I begin to scream, and it lands me a blow to my cheek. I cry out in pain just as I hear someone coming.
Heavy footsteps are coming towards us, and I start to scream again.
“HELP! PLEASE!”
I end up with his hand covering my mouth as I continue to scream out for help. His skin is dirty, and I cry out against his hand. “Please,” I mumble out, trying to get the person who’s coming up behind us attention. Tears are streaming down my face as I think about all the possible things that this man is going to do to me.
His other hand grabs the waist of my leggings, and he pulls them down my thighs.
“Keep fighting. I love it when I have to get rough,” he whispers in my ear.
Instead of fighting, I do the exact opposite. If a fight is what he wants, he won’t get it from me.
Silent tears fall down my face as his hand runs over my now naked skin. The cold wind blows around us, and my once warm skin is now ice cold. Before he can do anything else to me, he’s being pulled away. The force knocks me off balance, and I find myself falling to the cold, hard ground.
I watch as the dark dressed man pushes the man who attacked me against the wall and points a gun right at his face. I’m in shock. I can’t get my body to move even though I know I need to run. When I try to stand, my legs feel like jelly, and I end up falling back to the ground.
“Ye get off on hurting a lass?” The menacing man asks my attacker.
I watch the man’s eyes widen as the dark dressed man pushes the gun into his forehead.
“Ye touch her again, and I’ll find you.”
His accent makes it impossible to understand the next words that come out of his mouth. The man punches my attacker in the stomach, and he falls to the ground, crying out in pain. My eyes widen as I take in the scene before me. I want to move, but I’m frozen in place.
My attacker gets up from the ground and takes off running into the distance, stumbling slightly as he goes. When the man’s eyes turn towards me, I get the first glimpse of his face. His sharp cheekbones and square stubbled jaw keep my attention even though he’s trying to talk to me.
“Ye alright lass?” He asks again.
My eyes meet his, and I can’t remember that I’m supposed to be terrified still. He slowly walks towards me and kneels down in front of me.
“Let’s have a look at ye.”
My eyes widen when he reaches out his hand. I try to move away from him, but I end up pressed back against the wall, unable to get further away.
“I won’t hurt ye, lass.” His voice is gentle this time, and I watch him for a second trying to figure out if I can trust him.
“Yer arse must be freezing. Let’s get yer knickers back on ye.” My lips tremble, and I can feel the tears pooling in my eyes. Instead of getting up like he wanted me to, I end up crying instead.
“Aye,” he breathes.
He inches towards me slowly until he’s on his knees right in front of me. “Lass, no one will hurt ye while I’m here.”
I look up into his eyes, and I see the certainty in them. He believes what he says. Slowly, I nod my head.
“Aye. Let me help ye up so I can cover yer arse.” I nod again, and he grabs my hands, slowly standing up and pulling me up with him.
He looks into my eyes before he reaches down to fix my leggings and thong. As my warm tears fall down my face, I can’t help but focus on his eyes. The deep green color of them pulls me in with little effort. His hand reaches up and grabs my chin, moving my face so he can get a good look at the side that my attacker hit.
Instinctively, I run my hand along my cheek and feel how hot it is. Slightly pressing on it, I wince, and he frowns.
“What’s yer name lass?” His voice is angry, and his eyes darken.
“Stana,” I whisper.
“Jaysus, ye fecking foundered.” He pulls his black leather jacket off of his shoulders and wraps it around my body. The distinct smell of his cologne engulfs me, and I get lightheaded. Maybe I got hit harder than I initially thought. When I start to sway on my feet, he reaches out and steadies me.
“Thank you.” My voice breaks and he pulls me closer to his body. His warmth swallows me whole, and my body relaxes.
“Me name is Jerick.” His accent is beautiful even if I have no idea what the hell he says half the time.
“Thank you Jerick. You saved me,” I say when I finally stumble the words out of my mouth.
“Aye. No problem. Let me take ye to yer gaff.”
I stare at him with a frown. I have no idea what a gaff is. A smile appears on his face, and he tries again.
“Aye, let me take ye home.”
I nod my head in agreement because I don’t think I’ll be able to walk home alone. It might not be the best idea, but it’s better than walking alone if that man is going to try and come after me again.
We walk the eight blocks it takes to get to my tiny apartment in complete silence. Every few minutes, I would find myself looking up at him. His face is beautiful, and if this were any other circumstance, I’d probably be staring and thinking dirty thoughts about him. Every time I stop looking at him, I feel his eyes on me.
I’m sure he thinks that at any moment, I’m going to break down and cry again. To be honest, I just might. My emotions are all over the damn place, and I feel like I’m watching this whole thing from the outside. I am still in disbelief that someone would attack me on the street in front of at least a dozen people, people who didn’t do a damn thing when he grabbed me from behind.
What if it was their daughter being attacked? Don’t you think they’d want someone to stop their attacker? Gah! I am so lucky he came along and prevented my attacker from doing anything worse. When we finally come up to my apartment, I see him looking around, scanning the area around us. My eyes scan the area too, and I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I reach to pull his jacket off, and he stops me.
“Let’s get ye inside yer gaff first.” He winks at me, and I nod my head slowly.
Unlocking the door, I let us into the lobby and watch as he forces the door shut behind us. Grabbing my hand, he leads me towards the stairs that take us towards the apartments.
“What floor are ye on?” His voice is soft, almost like he’s afraid of startling me.
“The fourth,” I murmur. His hand feels warm compared to my cold one. We take the stairs slowly, step by step. My legs are frozen, and they hurt with each step I take. By the time we get to the fourth floor, I’m nervous. What if he expects something from me in return for him saving me?
I lead him over to my apartment door in complete silence. As we stop at the door, he motions for me to open it. This is a bad idea. He now knows where I live and I have no idea who he is still. Unlocking the door slowly, I open the door and push it open. He holds the door open for me and motions for me to go through it first.
Once my feet hit the tile entryway, he releases my hand. I feel my body heat up just at the thought of him being in here with me. No one has been in my apartment since Rhett. We dated for three years, and although I felt like he ripped my heart out when he left. I don’t even think I really missed him anymore.
I lived a colorful life, or so I thought while with Rhett. He was the total opposite of me, and we just clicked. We tried new things, and he made me laugh more than anyone else I had ever met before. When he left, I fell into a depression, and I had a hard time fighting my way out of it. I never expected my happiness to depend solely on someone else. I swore that I would never put myself through that again, so I closed my heart off to everything and everyone.
Shaking my head, I rid my mind of all thoughts of the past. I don’t want to think about it anymore. Instead, I focus on the man standing in the middle of my living room. His green eyes follow every movement I make.
“Do you… uh… want something to drink?” I feel my body heat in embarrassment. Why am I even offering him something to drink?
Brilliant smile forms on his lips and I feel like the wind got knocked out of me. My god, he is beautiful.
“I’d love one.”
His accent makes the words sound almost erotic. After staring at him for another minute, I finally break eye contact with him and make my way to the kitchen to grab a couple of waters. I should probably grab some ice for my face as well.