Crown of Lies

We navigated the crowds together, pulling apart and re-joining as the curb became congested then empty. Midnight struck the clock in Times Square, reminding me my birthday was officially over and a new day had begun.

I should be in bed.

I should call Dad to tell him I was okay, just in case he noticed I’d never come home.

Worries layered me, taking away the complex, not-entirely-understood joy of strolling through the city at night with a strange man at my side. I did my best to shove the thoughts away, but they remained like a constant toothache.

“This way.” The man stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the road, keeping an eye out for oncoming traffic. “You sure you want to walk?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Okay.” He stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets, his shoulders bunched around his ears. He couldn’t be cold. The air temperature wasn’t too bad. Although, I had shrugged into the bomber jacket and zipped it up to my throat to replace the ruined top, so perhaps it was colder than I gave credit for.

A fine layer of sweat decorated my spine from walking at his quick pace.

He didn’t dawdle like I had. He moved ahead with long, leggy strides, expecting me to keep up. He didn’t glance at me or ask questions. It gave me time to steal glances, whipping away memories of his height, mannerisms, and habits.

Not that I could read him.

His body language remained closed off; his arms tucked tight, jaw clenched firm. The beard hid the bottom half of his face, keeping him partially masked and perplexing.

Each step granted different thoughts: recollections of what’d happened with Adidas and Baseball Cap and what could’ve been the ruining of my body and mind if they’d succeeded in raping me. Followed by the relief that this cryptic wanderer had been there at the right time and saved me.

How could I ever repay that?

He hadn’t just prevented a robbery. He’d stopped me from turning into a different person. He’d provided me with shelter from a crossroads that might’ve switched my existence from Belle Elle heiress to mentally broken dependant.

I wouldn’t have let it break me.

But how could I know that? I believed in myself because of Dad’s tutelage and support. But I was still young. Nineteen was nothing compared to the years ahead. The years this man had given back to me in a selfless act of protection.

The more we walked, the deeper the debt I had to pay. Shock gave way to realization of how close I’d come to being raped. I could still be in that alley, beaten, bloody, destroyed.

But I’m not.

He turned into more than just a stranger; he became my shield. A shield I needed to repay by any means necessary because eighty dollars was nothing compared to what he’d done.

My thoughts kept me busy as we did another block, heading past closed stores and an occasional drunk pedestrian. I snuck glances at my companion, growing ever desperate to ask questions and learn pieces about him. To talk to the man who I’d only just met but who’d impacted my life more than anyone.

Did he know how grateful I was?

Did he understand what he’d done by saving me?

If he were homeless, I would help him.

If he were struggling, I would pay him.

A life for a life.

I wouldn’t stop until I’d saved his as he’d done mine.

His dark gaze captured me. Turbulent and deep, the pools of ferocity and calculation hid softer emotions underneath. We weaved around thinning foot traffic, linked in some kismet way, moving close and apart, tethered with shared incident.

I hated that I’d already lied to him. That I hadn’t told him my real profession and hidden who I was. But I liked him believing I was nothing more than an office worker with a shoe box for a home. I liked him thinking I was normal and not untouchable like all the boys from my school had.

I like the way he looks at me.

Like he felt something, too. Something he couldn’t understand—something that wasn’t sexual or chemical or named. But something tugging us to stay together, to chase whatever it was that bounced from him to me.

I smiled softly, dropping my head as his stare became too intense. The hot blush on my cheeks hinted at my inexperience but also my openness around him. If I didn’t feel something, I wouldn’t care how he looked at me. If my tummy hadn’t turned into a trampoline, my heart double bouncing on my lungs, I wouldn’t mind the taut silence slowly growing tighter every second.

My father would be happy I’d found a...friend?

Dad’s firm but fair face appeared in my mind.

Oh, no!

My hand swooped to my throat to touch the sapphire star he’d given me—the star that made me feel so close to him. The one he’d bought me out of love.

It wasn’t there.

My neck was empty.

They took it!

I forgot to tell him to get it back.

I slammed to a stop, looking over my shoulder as my fingers danced along my naked collarbone. Dad would kill me! He would know I’d been out and mugged because there was no other way I would’ve let that necklace go.

Shit.

“Is everything okay?” He slowed a little, his arms relaxing with hands stuffed in his front hoodie pocket.

“My necklace. They still have it.”

He stopped. “What necklace?”

“My birthday present.” I sighed heavily, the weight of tears already crushing. “I know a silly necklace won’t mean much to you, but it was sentimental.”

He spread his legs, once again drawing my attention to how lithe and fast he looked. “You didn’t mention it when I asked if they’d taken anything else.”