ℂ𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕥 & ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕤𝕠𝕟 || 𝔸 𝕋𝕄ℕ𝕋 𝔽𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔

02 || 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐄

So far so good.

Afina hasn't seen any vehicles that look like Damien's yet and she hopes to keep it that way. Her anxiety would rise higher whenever she heard someone yell across the street or listen to cars honking their horns. She honestly doesn't know if she had a case of paranoia or is beginning to develop PTSD.

As she waited for the city bus to arrive, Afina fiddled with the dollar bills in her pocket, telling herself that this should be a good thing. She'll admit it, she stole his money and can possibly be reported for fraud.

Her stress levels had gone down the second the bus began to pull to the side of the road, opening the double doors and welcoming Afina. She boarded the bus as fast as she could, paying for her ticket and finding the first available seat in the very back to avoid most people. Afina slumped in the seat, fastening her seatbelt with nothing but her drenched clothes, her phone, and her boyfriend's wallet.

This was a very long process. She found a greyhound bus service so she can be transported throughout the whole night. Her destination; she doesn't know. She will take anywhere except for Texas.

When she got on the greyhound bus that had pulled up at another station, she suddenly felt herself begin to cry. Afina wiped her tears, leaning her head on the window while taking a look at the wet elements outside. "He's gonna kill me..." She says faintly, hugging her arms to her chest.

The bus jolts forward with about seventeen other passengers resting in the darkened vehicle. During Afina's journey away from one of the biggest states in America, she made it to one of the biggest cities in the world in just about 39 hours. Whatever lights were looming outside of the transparent window, Afina blinked as her head was leaned up against the window.

Once her 20/20 vision cleared up from such a long few hours, she blinked at the wonderful sight that the bus had taken her. Wherever she looked there were different rays and specks of light, people honking their horns, pedestrians strolling in the night, and the tallest buildings towering over the ones below. Afina gulped, sitting straight up in her seat before taking her phone out of her pocket and finding that she had a ton of new notifications. She didn't care-- all she cared about was continuing her life here... somehow, some way.

She kept telling herself that things will be okay... That things have to be okay from here on out as a teenager living alone in New York, The Big Apple-- Manhattan! She just didn't know where to start from here.

She's only about turn eighteen and for her to be out here by herself made things feel worse. Turning eighteen is supposed to be one of the best moments for any teenager but she is experiencing it in an awful way. Damien wants to control her, use her, manipulate her, make her feel like she is crap at the bottom of any shoe, and just... have her.

Damien terrified Afina to her core, frightening her whenever she got home from work, flinching at the smallest things he does, and barking at her to make himself feel better. All this did was create a weakened version of Afina and she hated how she let him do this to her. She should have left when she got the chance, but he wouldn't let her because he threatened to kill her if she attempted to reach out for any kind of help.

Now that she is off of the bus and stepping foot in New York, she went to go find a taxi roaming the streets in hopes of finding a hotel, or some kind of 24-hour dining service so she could eat.

Afina looks around after descending from the bus. She looked like a tourist because she didn't know anyone or anything here. She wasn't meeting up with a best friend on a trip-- she's a runaway trying to start a new life, and turn a new leaf.

The street was full of life and people, and the homeless ruled the streets as she walked by a tent city that seemed to stretch out for miles. Maybe she could find comfort there? After all, she doesn't have a place, and a home-like new york wouldn't be gracious to young, naive people like her either.

These people are out on the streets of New York for a reason. They stopped trying. She, however, wouldn't stop no matter how hard it would get for herself. She promised herself that as soon as she left Damien's brutality.

Afina started to look at her ex-boyfriend's wallet and its contents. That was her hope to keep going. She wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

She walked the streets from midday to dusk, trying to find someone who could direct her to the right place to become a new homeowner. To find a place to live in her most desperate times. She talked to the street vendors, and they would ignore her or tell her to get lost if she wasn't going to buy from their shops.

Cruelty fueled this place, yet little did she know she was meant to be here.

Afina came across this shop near the edge of the city by the docks and the skirt of popularity. A business she would be thanking all her lucky stars for...

Apartscape.

Afina took a deep breath and opened the door to the business. She hoped this would be her first step in the right direction-- a new place she could call home.

"Hello, Ma'am. What can I help you with?" The man at the counter greeted her. His eyes were wide open, and his smile was apparent and cheerful. The best qualities of customer service staff.

"Do you rent out apartments here?" Afina asked him.

"Yes, we do. Would you like to make an appointment with Victoria? Our notorious brand marketer?" He questioned.

"Is there anything I could settle for within the next few minutes? I can pay in cash, now." Afina is so eager to be in a new place. She needed a bed, not a dumpster for a hotel room. Well, a hotel could be an option, but she can't waste money on that.

The man at the counter was shocked that someone so lacking in appearance would have that much cash on them at this very moment. "I-I'm sure something could be arranged... What did you say your name was?"

"Afina Baird."

"The waiting room is all yours. Please take a seat, and we'll take care of you shortly."

"Thanks." Says Miss Baird, taking a seat in one of the maroon cushioned chairs and resting her arms on the wooden arm rests. She sighed deeply, securing Damien's wallet inside her hoodie pocket and glancing at the waiting room.

This place was rather nice for being in a very large city. She noticed that the walls were painted a light cream color with a few thrift store picture frames holding small painted photos. And planted on the wall is a large flat screen TV, playing channel 6 news.

A few of the news anchors and reporters were announcing the weather and the latest updates on the city. A young woman in particular named April O'Neil was talking about how people are using a new supplement to get in shape, but this didn't really fascinate Afina.

The young girl looks away from the TV and folded her hands together on her lap, patiently waiting for Victoria to come and call her to the back.

Afina breathed out, leaning her head back and feeling it meet the wall. She is praying that nothing goes wrong.

"Miss Baird?" The man says. "Victoria will see you now."

Afina cleared her throat. "Here goes nothing." She whispers, getting up from the chair.

♡○♡○♡○♡

》Authors' Notes《

Grizzy: Hey! Queenie and I see you're all enjoying the book so far. We are currently planning a plot for Indigo & Sandstone. Please let us know in the comments of what you think so far! Thanks ♡

𝒬𝓊ℯℯ𝓃𝒾ℯ: Hello TMNT simps. I will be writing this new fanfiction with Grizzy for a summer project! Expect frequent updates! I hope you will enjoy my portion of the work as much as you all relish Grizzy's ❤️