The Alley Man

My name is Amaraliana, Mara for short, and this is my fateful story. Sirens! Screams! Gunshots! I jump awake, covered in sweat from my nightmare. But was it a nightmare? After all of those sounds are coming from out my window. They do every night, just like the night my parents died, during a break in on Christmas Eve. I look at the clock. 4:28 a.m. I got more sleep than usual at least. Knowing I won’t get anymore, I go to my bathroom to get ready for work. I take the subway like I do every other day. Sometimes, I worry about how monotonous my life has become. Every single day is the same. Wake up Take a shower Get on the subway to work Walk to work Deal with my insane boss Skip lunch because of my insane boss Work as hard as I can so my insane boss can freak out at me. Leave a minimum of 2 hours late because my insane boss insists I work late. Get back on the subway going the other way. Get home Grab a quick dinner Go to bed so I can have the same nightmare as every night before. Before you ask, no I don’t get weekends or vacations because I have an insane boss. I deeply sigh hoping that no one gets mugged on my way into work. But before I can even get that thought out a man runs past a young woman grabs her purse and jets off to the stairs only to get lost in the crowd, never to be seen again. I know she will never get justice just like I didn’t. Only the rich get justice. Everyone just has to hope and pray for it but it never comes. Instead, what little money we have is taken by others just struggling to get by. At least that is what everyone said after my parents died and the murderer was never found. This is my stop. I quickly get off the subway and walk up the platform quickly. I check my phone as I exit the station. 6:58 am. f**k I am so going to be late. I speed up my walking in hopes that I get to the office before my boss gets there. I am supposed to start my day at 9:00 am like any other corporate employee, but if I am not there before my boss gets in there is hell to pay, and my job is a 15 minute walk. I am not going to make it there is no way. I know my boss was going to try to come in at 7:00 just to mess with me for not being to work 2 hours before my start time, unless they are also running late, I am so screwed!!! I nearly break out into a run trying to reach my office as quickly as possible to minimize the damage. Not that it really matters, my day is going to be hell no matter what if I am late! I speed past trying to avoid people. Not that it's easy to do on these busy streets. I decided to change directions and use a back alley because it will be faster. Sketchy but faster. Just as I am about to round the corner into the sketchy alleyway, I slam into a brick wall, and am knocked back so hard I fall on my ass. “Hey, watch where the f**k your going” the wall yells! I look up, s**t that isn’t a wall. “Why the hell are you running down a busy road without even bothering to pay attention, I might add. I mean seriously, do you not have a brain? You could have hurt yourself, somebody else; not to mention I am now wearing my coffee on a suit that by the looks of it you could never afford.” He yells at me, but his voice softens slightly at the part where I could have hurt myself as if that was the worst case scenario for him. I feel tears start to well up in my eyes, as I stare at the ground. “ I . . . I am so sorry, I didn’t mean t-too,” my voice starts to crack. I don’t know why I am being this emotional. “Hey,” he pauses. His voice softens, “It's okay it's just a suit and nobody got hurt . . . this time.” Somehow his kindness makes me want to cry even more. I continue to stare at the ground. “Why were you running anyway?” He asks hesitantly. “I . . . I um.” I stutter. “I am not a patient man,” he states, slightly irritated. “I’m . . . late to work” I say barely above a whisper because it sounds so stupid coming out of my mouth. “Well, if you're already late, then there is no reason to risk hurting yourself getting there quicker. You will be late either way.” He responds. I blush knowing he is right and that I can’t possibly explain why I was rushing. Since I was already late. “You're right. . . I just . . . I don’t want to make them further upset.” “Make who, upset?” He asks. Why does he sound kind of angry? Did I do this? Did I upset or offend him somehow? “I . . . It doesn’t matter but I really need to get going. I am sorry for bumping into you and I am sorry about your suit. I wish there was something I could do but I really do need to get going otherwise,” I trail off realizing I don’t want to finish that sentence. “Otherwise what?” He asks while grabbing my hand to help lift me. As I start to stand my ankle twists and I start to stumble. Directly into this man's arms. Dear lord, someone help, this moment can’t get any more embarrassing. I try to push away from him and right myself but he holds me in place. “I asked otherwise, what? I expect an answer before I let you go,” he says quietly. “It doesn’t matter!” I respond as he grabs my face, leaning it up so that I am looking directly into his eyes for the first time. For a moment, I find myself completely dazzled by his eyes; they are the most gorgeous shade of dark green eyes.” As he clears his throat, I am brought back to reality. I am in the arms of possibly the most drop dead gorgeous and intimidating man to ever exist. He isn't backing off his questions either and I can’t respond. So instead I push away, “I am really sorry about . . . everything, but I need to go right now, and it really doesn’t matter.” In shock by being pushed away, probably for the first time in his life because he is that hot and that dangerous looking, he lets go of me. I take that chance to back away, “ I really need to go, I . . . um . . . goodbye.” I begin to walk away as quickly as possible. “You didn’t answer my question Zaika!” He yells behind me. I look back to see he is standing in the exact same place without moving. “Next time,” I promise, yelling back at him, as I continue to walk away. Surprisingly he seems to accept this answer. Even though we will probably never see each other again. Just before I am too far to see him, I peek back but he is still in the same position. I wonder how long he will stay there after I leave. Looking at him left me feeling even more confused but I couldn’t have walked away without. I was never going to see him again and for some reason I felt sad and empty thinking about that. So I try unsuccessfully to block out those thoughts as I quickly make my way to work. I need to focus and I know that thinking about him could get me lost in thought forever. I mean how often do you meet a tall dark handsome green eyed man on the street at random. There was something about him too. I couldn’t put my finger on but this meeting felt so different from anything else. My heart couldn’t stop pounding and whether that was from this chance meeting or the fact that I was going to have my ass handed to me at work, I didn’t know. What I did know is that this man was possibly the most . . . SLAM! Something hits the wall directly above my head as I open the door to my office building; and the screech that follows was deafening. Just like that the dream has ended, and reality has taken its place. I am late, my boss is here before me. I am beyond screwed. Perhaps not . . . in the way I think I am going to be though.