Chapter 4 - Seven Years Ago
720 Words
Damien Voss
The rain wouldn't stop.
It had been pouring for nearly an hour, turning the streets into a blur of headlights and shadows.
I pressed my hand against my side as I walked.
My fingers came away wet.
Blood.
I swore under my breath.
The attack hadn't gone according to plan.
I'd been leaving a private meeting when two men appeared from nowhere. I had managed to fight my way out, but not before one of them got close enough to hurt me.
I couldn't go back to my usual places.
Not yet.
If they were still looking for me, leading them anywhere near my people would put everyone at risk.
So I kept walking.
My vision began to blur.
I leaned against the brick wall of a closed shop and closed my eyes.
I needed somewhere to sit.
Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere no one would find me.
I pushed myself away from the wall and continued down the street.
Then I heard a voice.
"Excuse me?"
I stopped.
A woman stood several feet away, holding an umbrella.
She was looking directly at me.
"You need help."
"I'm fine."
She frowned.
"You don't look fine."
"I said I'm fine."
She looked at the blood on my hand.
Then back at me.
"You're bleeding."
"I noticed."
She sighed.
"You're also extremely rude."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
"I'll survive."
She took a step closer.
"You might not if you keep standing in the rain."
I stared at her.
Most people would have walked away by now.
She didn't.
Instead, she looked at me like I was a problem she had already decided to solve.
"I can call an ambulance," she said.
"No."
"Then let me help you."
"No."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You always this difficult?"
"Usually."
She shook her head.
"Fine."
I expected her to leave.
She didn't.
She walked toward a nearby pharmacy and disappeared inside.
A few minutes later, she returned carrying a small first-aid kit.
I stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping you."
"I told you I don't need help."
"And I decided not to listen."
She pointed toward a small covered area beside the building.
"Sit."
I didn't move.
She stared at me.
"Do you want to pass out standing up?"
I narrowed my eyes.
She didn't seem impressed.
Eventually, I sat.
She crouched in front of me and opened the first-aid kit.
"What's your name?"
"Why?"
"So I know what to call the stubborn stranger I'm treating."
I said nothing.
She looked up at me.
"Fine. Keep your secrets."
She carefully cleaned the wound.
I watched her.
She wasn't shaking.
She wasn't nervous.
She wasn't even asking questions anymore.
That was unusual.
"You're not afraid of me?"
She glanced up.
"Should I be?"
I almost smiled.
"You don't know me."
"Exactly."
She went back to cleaning the wound.
"If I don't know you, there's no reason for me to be afraid of you."
I studied her face.
There was something different about her.
She wasn't trying to impress me.
She wasn't trying to figure out how much money I had.
She didn't care.
She was simply helping.
"What if I'm dangerous?" I asked.
"Then I suppose I've made a terrible decision."
I actually laughed this time.
She looked at me.
"See? You can smile."
"I don't smile."
"You just did."
"I didn't."
"You did."
I shook my head.
She smiled and continued working.
After a few minutes, she finished bandaging the wound.
"It's not enough," she said. "You need a proper doctor."
"I'll handle it."
She packed the supplies back into the kit.
"Of course you will."
I stood.
The pain returned immediately.
I steadied myself.
She noticed.
"Are you sure you can walk?"
"Yes."
She looked unconvinced.
"I'll be fine."
She picked up her umbrella.
Then she looked at me one last time.
"Whatever you're running from, I hope you find a way out."
I looked at her.
For some reason, those words stayed with me.
"What's your name?"
She hesitated.
"Aria."
"Aria what?"
She smiled faintly.
"Goodnight, stranger."
Then she walked away.
I watched until she disappeared into the rain.
I didn't know her name.
I didn't know where she lived.
I didn't know why she'd stopped to help me.
But I knew one thing.
I wouldn't forget her.
Not anytime soon.
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