The snow pierced my face as I cried into the frozen street. I felt my skin become numb with every whimper I released.
I heard the crunching of old snow closing in on me. I ceased my teas and listened. The tracks stopped at my head.
"Boy...?" A young female voiced called at me. She sounded about fifteen. "Get up, you're in my way. " She sounded commanding. I scrambled up to a kneeling position. I looked up and saw a girl dressed up in red clothing standing before me: a hooded cloak, a knee-length dress, and red boots. I tried to look at her eyes, but her hood allowed only her nose and mouth to be visible.
She tilted her head slightly to the side. She kneeled does and opened her arms to me. "Come here. "
I didn't answer; I didn't move nor anything else but shivered while I tried to silence my cries. She came closer and pulled me to her; my head on her shoulder, her hand gently stroking my hair.
When I couldn't hold it in anymore, I creamed and wailed to her, crying aloud to this kind and peculiar girl, this stranger.
She held me closer as I clung to her. "It's okay to cry, don't be ashamed. " But I was ashamed. I was ashamed of my teas, ashamed of crying to this person, ashamed of letting her tell me these things because I know she is only saying them for my comfort and for pity.
We stayed clinging to each other for what felt like hours. "Sorry, " I said when I finally stopped crying. I stood up and wiped my face across my bare arm. Wait, bare arm? I looked down to see my ragged clothes. My hand-me-down shirt didn't have long sleeves. I started shivering again, now that I remembered that I was underdressed in mid-winter.
The girl looked at me. "come with me. "
"Wha-? "She death-gripped my wrist and started running toward the pier. Everything was a blur as we ran through the streets. I ran into several barrels as she ran, dragging me behind, but I don't think she noticed.
When we finally reached a stop, I had callused feet and was facce-to-face with a dilapidated one-floor storage shack.
"Xerampelinae, " the girl said in a strange tongue, then knocked on the door once. I heard several locks being undone and taken off from behind the door. I jumped back when the door opened. The girl walked in; I followed after.
It was warm inside, most likely because of the what seemed like a hundred gently burning candles lighting up what I think was what looked like a living room; there wasn't enough light to tell.
"Where is everyone? They can't all be sleeping already, can they? " I turned to find the girl in red conversing with a tall man in a dark brown overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat.
"You left early in the morning and didn't come back until now, it's almost four in the morning, of coarse they're gonna be a sleep, Kris. "
The girl in red, who I'm guessing is Kris, sighed and pointed to me. The man came closer and looked startled. "What's he doing here? You know the rules, you made them! He's not supposed to be-"
"Quiet down, I'm just giving him a place to sleep. Can you show him to my room and meet me back here? I'll tell you everything. "
"Fine. " Did he just glare at me? "Come with me, or stay outside-your choice. " I followed him up a set stairs then to the end of a hallway to the right. He opened the end-most door and pushed me in. "Be grateful Kris's doing this for you. Usually she wouldn't give a damn and literally step on people like you. " He shut the door behind me. there was a window in the room.. i walked toward it and looked outward. The moon was reflecting on the ocean. I saw Roby's unmoving face in the moon, but I shook the vision away.
I heard talking from downstairs. I crept out of the room to the top of the stairwell.
"Kris, what the hell possessed you to let a complete stranger come into our hideout?! "
"He got thrown out! I couldn't just leave him there."
"Yesterday, you cursed at the people on the corner when they asked you for 10 Tril. What's the real reason you let him come in? "
"Fine, I thought he looked kinda nice, alright?" I felt my face get hot.
"So you invite him in just because you think he's cut?"
"AND he has M.E. circling around him. Didn't you notice? It's thick!'
"Yeah, but that's not the point! The point is-"
"Forget it, I'm going to bed." I scrambled up and quietly made my way back to the room. I just got into bed when Kris knocked on the door. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep as she opened the door and waled over to my bed.
"I know you're awake. And by the way: your bed is over there. " She grabbed my head and turned it toward the other side of the room, where another bed stood; I didn't see it before.
"Sorry..." I got up and settled into the other bed.
"Good night, " she said as she got into bed, "and don't let that 'cute' comment get to your head. " I felt my face get hot again and was taken to the shores of sleep.