A dry blanket. That was all it took. To this girl, a dry blanket was like a touch of heaven.
I stayed crouched down, just watching her moment of happiness, until a blast of cold wind whipped around us. The chill seeped into my bones. I was already soaked through and freezing. I couldn’t imagine how this girl felt after being out here for Christ knows how long.
I lifted my coffee off the ground and sat before her. When I looked up, the girl was cradling her coffee in her hands, the venti sized cup seeming to dwarf her small frame. As before, her attention was firmly fixed on me. Shuffling on the hard ground, I said, “I know someone who can help you.”
As I spoke I counted the cracks in the asphalt below my foot. “You can’t stay out here. It’s not safe, and you’re sick.”
Still, there was only silence.
I glanced up. The girl’s sad face was all I could see. My stomach fell. I could see by the look on her face that she wasn’t going anywhere. Sensing my stare, she gently shook her head. My jaw tightened as she did, and I begged, “Please. I can’t in good conscience leave you like this,” I gestured around the alley, “out here.”
But the girl simply dipped her head and took a sip of her coffee. Without thinking I touched her leg, causing her to jump. Her gaze slammed to mine. I tried one last time. “Please.”
Wide-eyed, the girl looked away. Loud voices suddenly filled the mouth of the alley. Leaning back, I saw a bunch of what looked like frat guys taking a piss. They were drunk off their asses and staggering around the litter spilling from the dumpster.
I shook my head. She shouldn’t be around this. It wasn’t safe.
Holding onto my coffee, I stood. The girl rapidly turned her head toward me. I looked down at her, and my heart squeezed seeing her big blue eyes regarding me with questions, with uncertainty.
Moving forward, I pointed to the place beside her against the wall. The girl looked down, and then glanced back up, a shocked expression on her face. But she didn’t tell me no. In fact, she seemed to breathe out a crackled sigh of relief.
Slowly and carefully, I lowered down beside her and wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. It was freezing.
The girl’s arm brushed against mine. Shivers ran down my spine and I knew it had nothing to do with the chill. I had never been this close to a girl, ever. I laughed inside—the first time I sat beside a girl, she was homeless, and I was trying to keep her safe. Jake and Ashton would have laughed their asses off at this picture. I’m sure this wasn’t what Axel had planned for me to do tonight either.
Feeling eyes on me, I turned to see the girl watching me with her eyebrows pulled down in confusion. Her eyes fell to my lips and I said, “I’m staying here a while. It’s not safe.”
Her pretty face molded to one of misunderstanding. I didn’t elaborate, instead I simply said, “Sleep. I’ll keep you safe.”
The girl’s blue eyes filled with tears. I watched, my heart squeezing tight as a tear fell down her cheek, only to splash onto the now-dampening blanket I’d just bought for her.
Unable to see her cry, I leaned forward and questioned, “You’re tired?” The girl hesitated to answer, until she reluctantly nodded her head. Licking my drying lips, I slowly edged forward and stated, “Sleep. No one will hurt you.”
As if gravitating toward the warmth of my body, the girl slumped against my arm, her head falling on my shoulder. She still clutched her coffee in her hand. Her body curled into me, and I glanced down at her blond dirty hair against my arm. She seemed so lost.
I didn’t know how much time passed with her sleeping against my arm, but when her breathing leveled out, I knew it was my chance to get to a phone.
As slow as possible, I lifted the girl from my arm and positioned her against the wall. Getting to my feet, I looked to her huddled down body. Her skin was pale, her thin body shivered, and my stomach dropped. I didn’t want to leave her. But I had to speak to Lexi. I wasn’t sure how much longer she could last out here in the state she was in.
Making sure the blankets hid where she lay, I ran out of the alley and began searching the street for a payphone. It took me four streets and too much time to make the call to Lexi, who answered on the third ring.
“Lex?” I said the minute she answered the phone. “I need your help.”
Lexi agreed to meet me at the Starbucks. As I ran back toward the alley, a rush of guilt swept through me. I’d told Lexi I’d been at the party all night. That I’d found the girl when the party moved on to the bars.
As I ran, I thought of my mamma. She would have done this for this girl. She would never have allowed anyone in trouble to go without her help.
And I needed this. I needed to see another underdog make it through.