Come Closer

Chapter 7

FLASHBACK

Avelyn was walking home, after a long day of work. The night had already come, and the streets were a little empty. Her heels clicked on the hard road, and she paid no attention to the passersby, who swayed left and right after their much needed shots of alcohol.

What made her stop in her tracks was the sound of heavy breathing coming from the gutter at the side of the road. Driven by curiosity, she edged closer to the side, and craned her neck to look into the gutter. There she saw a man, in a white shirt smudged by the dirt, lying on his stomach. His head was turned sideways, and she could see the blood trickling down his temple.

Avelyn rolled her eyes. ‘Just another street thug.’ She turned away her head, but was stopped by the painful groan the man let out. “H-Help me….please”, the man let out a shaky breath, looking pleadingly at Avelyn. She looked down at him. “Why would I?”, she asked defiantly. The man just closed his eyes, and laid his back on the ground, realizing this girl had no intention of helping him.

What made his eyes open, he didn’t know. Was it the sudden pain in his stomach, or the surprise of him being lifted up by an arm? He looked to his side, and saw the girl from before. “Why are you here again?” He asked. “I couldn’t leave a loser like you to drain in the gutter”, came the reply.

Avelyn grunted as she pulled the heavy man up from the gutter. The man was already half unconscious, and it didn’t help the situation at all. She placed his arms on her shoulders, carried his weight on her back, to her home. It wasn’t safe bringing a stranger to her home, yet alone a gangster. But she had no other option and she wasn’t going to abandon the person on her shoulders after giving him hope.

She pulled out her keys, and struggled on her attempt on opening the door. But she successfully managed to enter her home, and kicked the front door close on her way. She squatted down, and dropped the man lightly on the couch.

After cleaning up his wounds, she saw that the man had fallen asleep, and she decided to let him be for the moment. She took a moment to look at him, and realized that it was a boy around her age. She sighed, and got up, put a blanket over him. She locked the front door and took the key, and proceeded to lock all the rooms in the house. Since Lyena chose to spend the night at a sleepover, Avelyn had to stay on her guard as she gave a stranger a shelter for the night.

……………

“Hey! Get up!” Nathan blinked as he heard the girl who saved him last night. He quickly got up, and winced at the wave of pain that shot up through his body. “Here, drink this”, a glass of water was pushed into his palm, and he gratefully took it, and gulped it down. “Now that you are awake, you can leave now”

Nathan looked up at the girl. “Yes, I should go. Um…Thank you for your help.”

The girl simply gave a nod, and gestured toward the door. “Can I know your name?” Nathan asked, turning back to Avelyn. Avelyn didn’t see any reason to hide her name. He already knows where she lives, so what’s the point of hiding her identity? “It’s Avelyn.” She watched the man smile. “I’m Nathan. I think we’ll be seeing each other a lot, from now on”

And Avelyn didn’t think that she would ever consider Nathan as one of her closest friends.