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She doesn’t know how long she has been running, to her, it feels like an eternity. The warm sun has set, now moonlight is shining down. Cars drive past her honking their horns, but she doesn't stop. She doesn’t even glance in the direction of the sound. She can make out lights ahead of her. She starts to slow down to a walk, finally able to observe everything around her. There are many abandoned buildings and vacant lots of land. She can see a strip of lights farther up the street that she’s walking on. She cautiously treads to the first building with lights on. Abruptly, somebody seizes her arm causing her to yell out. She robotically cowers down to the ground, continuing to scream with her eyes shut tight and her arms shielding her head. She thinks he has found her. How could he find her? She left long ago, how could he catch up to her? How would he know where to look when she didn't even know where she was?
She hears a man's strong voice cry out, "Hey, let her go!"
The person who has grabbed her hesitates before letting go of her. It was not him after all. She quickly looks up at the stranger. He tries to explain to the other man that he thought she was someone else, then runs. She is so relieved that she is still free that she begins to sob. The man who has saved her comes quickly to where she is. “Where are you hurt?” he asks, his voice full of concern. She can't respond, she is afraid of him. She is literally terrified of every person. She strains to move away from him but is blocked due to the building that she is trapped against. The only person she has had any interaction with is her capturer, and that has been for an unknown amount of time. He had told her that all people were wicked and out to hurt her. He said trust no one apart from him. She can hear him in her head, telling her to run from this man. This man, he would say, is sinful.
"Here, come with me. I own the parlor right over there,” he says as he points to the building beside them. “Let's get you cleaned up."
She is unable to answer due to sobbing violently from fatigue, fear, and even happiness. Happiness from finally being free of him.
She can sense being picked up and carried. She knows she ought to be afraid, but she is not. This unknown man is gentle. She doesn't even know what he looks like, she is unable to see him through her tears. His voice is calming, not like anything she is used to. His serenity reminds the girl of her mom, which causes her to cry even harder.
She can hear something creating a rattle-like sound, then a door opens. The man is still cradling her in his arms as he flips a switch on the wall and lights turn on. She conceals her face into his chest, clutching his soft shirt. She is not at all accustomed to the intense lights overhead. She has been used to one candle which had to last for seven days.
The girl can smell some form of a disinfectant in the room that he brings her to. It isn't like the pungent solution that he made her clean with. Instead, it is much more agreeable. She still refuses to open her eyes as her tears continue to fall. The man carefully places her on a cushioned chair. He says to her that he will be right back, that he is going to get a cloth and bandage. Her mind is spinning out of control. She feels the need to jump out of the chair and run out the door away from this man. Her form is quivering so much that she is concerned that she will fall. She tries to open her eyes, but her body is fighting it. Exhaustion and anxiousness are overwhelming her system. Her brain is yelling at her to run, keep running. That he will find her soon, she needs to get further away. She can’t move though, no matter how hard she tries. That is the last thing that she recalls before sleep overtakes her.
***
SAWYER HURRIES BACK to the room where he had left the girl with a first aid kit in his hand. He enters the room and discovers that she has fallen asleep. He gently attempts to wake her to no avail. He thinks to himself, great, what am I supposed to do with her? He doesn’t even know her name or where she lives. He wonders if she is even of legal age.
Sawyer steps back and takes a good look at this girl’s appearance. She looks to be almost wild. Lengthy, matted, chocolate brown hair sheets her small frame. She has an olive complexion that is pale and dull. The girl has an emaciated body and is literally skin and bones. He takes in the various slashes and contusions on her arms and legs. He notices that her feet are bare and cut up as well. Sawyer sweeps her hair away from her face tucking it behind her ear cautiously. He sees that her face exhibits such innocence. She could be no more than seventeen or eighteen. He never had an opportunity to look at her eyes because of the tears. Sawyer thinks to himself that she might have a nice-looking face if she was cleaned up. He takes note of her clothing. The girl is dressed in a very soiled and thin t-shirt and a pair of shorts. The clothes appear to be quite undersized for her, as if she has literally outgrown them and never bought anything that truly fits her frame.
He doesn’t want her to remain asleep in his parlor, therefore he contritely carries her upstairs to his apartment after he locks up yet again. Once they enter his living room, he warily lays her on his very old, worn maroon couch. He carefully places a blanket over her, and then takes a seat in the recliner adjacent to her. Sawyer watches her breathe in and out restlessly. She is not a sound sleeper. The girl thrashes and whimpers frequently. He wonders what has happened to make her behave this way. He imagines what she has been through. Sawyer is resolved that he will try to convince her to tell him what is going on when she wakes up. He suddenly realizes that this is the first girl that he has ever had sleep in his apartment. Sawyer prides himself on the fact that he doesn’t partake in the whole sleepover thing. He has been living his life per his own mantra of love ‘em and leave ‘em. He begins to wonder if he is going soft. He shakes his head at this thought. He is Sawyer Monson, the bad boy with tattoos and piercings, he thinks to himself. He scowls at his actions of the night so far. He has been reduced to helping this filthy, lacerated girl who is now sleeping on his couch. He worries that his reputation will be replaced with that of being a gentle giant. Sawyer decides to quit thinking about this unpleasant topic any further.
He stays in the uncomfortable chair for the remainder of her sleep to make sure she doesn’t try to lift anything from his place. He doesn’t have anything of real value, but everything is his and he wants it to stay that way. A few hours later Sawyer is startled awake by a blood curdling scream. He jumps up, not realizing that he had fallen asleep and looks around the room. The girl is not on the couch anymore but is lying in the corner in a fetal position. He carefully walks over to her. The young girl is trembling while softly whimpering.
“Hey babe, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Sawyer, I own the tattoo parlor downstairs. We met earlier on the street. You fell asleep when I went to get you a bandage. I couldn’t wake you up, so I brought you up here to my apartment and laid you on my couch. You have been asleep for about, oh four hours or so. What is your name sweetheart?” he soothingly questions.
The girl turns her head and peers up at him. He automatically thinks that she has the most beautiful, dark brown eyes he has ever seen. His breath hitches in his throat. He mentally does a face slap and cringes at his thoughts. He snaps at himself to pull it together.
Sawyer gently asks the girl if she can speak. She shakes her head yes, but doesn’t open her mouth.
“What is your name, babe?” Sawyer is now resorting to using pet names in hopes of getting her to relax. He has learned that his female clientele loves when he speaks to them like that. The pet names make them feel unique.
The girl whispers, “Hannah.”
Sawyer smiles down at her, “Well, Hannah, nice to meet you. Where do you live? I can take you home.”
Hannah starts crying all over again and begins to hyperventilate. He attempts to calm her, but ultimately, she loses consciousness. Sawyer gently picks her up once more and situates her back on the couch. He concludes that it will be a long night.