Taken In

No Need To Thank Me, Ever

*Cheri POV*

I'd done this before.
Gusto liked to keep all of his girls under his thumb, so he would periodically hold drugs from us whenever someone pissed him off. He never left it long though. 2 or 3 days, and he'd go back to being a regular supplier.
This was a different kind of hell.
My whole body ached and itched. My burns were healing, and they made me feel like my whole body was on fire. I couldn't curl up comfortably, and if I stretched any muscle more than a fraction it would result in spasms that shook the already unstable hospital bed.
It was my first morning out of the hospital, and truly was feeling better for it. I knew I wouldn't be out of the woods for another week, but being out of the clinical glare of the hospital helped me relax. Not feeling all the different nurses watching me helped.
Keanu helped.
He sat with me, until I was too much to bare. My days and nights blurred into one long nightmarish haze. I slipped into and out of dreams, then realised I'd been awake the whole time, with Keanu calling out my name in concern.
There was nothing he could do now. He topped up my IV, tried to force water into my throat, cleaned up my vomit and tried his best. Even through my delirium, I could see he was uneasy.
He was out of his depth.
"You're doing well." He would gently say, a half smile on his face.
I could never respond. I knew it was the drugs sweating out of me, but my heart felt like it would burst from my chest. Whether I was awake or asleep, all I could see were faces infront of me, ontop of me, crushing me. Faces and hands, swimming in darkness and blood. The bandages were too much, the bedsheets that I'd already soaked with sweat felt like sandpaper. 
The third night, I was dreaming.
The first time I met Gusto.
I dreamt of meeting him in one of the booths. I dreamt of his friends, of the drugs that weren't quite strong enough to have blocked out the memories.
I was struggling, I was clawing at the air, I thought I was screaming, but no noise came out. They were laughing, I was fighting for my life.
"CHERI! WAKE UP!"
A loud voice, a real voice boomed out.
It was Keanu, he stood above me, holding both my wrists in one hand and the other holding my shoulder down.
He had a scratch, red and puffy down his face, and as I heaved breath into my lungs tiny beads of blood began to fall down his face.
"I....Keanu...I'm so sorry..."
"Are you alright?" He cut me off.
He dropped my wrists and I nodded, ran my hand through my matted hair.
I hauled myself upright and for the first time in what felt like weeks, didn't feel sickened by the movement.
"I'm so sorry, Keanu... Is your face alright?" 
He grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and dabbed his face clear, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Don't flatter yourself, barely scratched me." He said in a low comforting voice.
"Bad dream?"
I didn't look at him.
"They're all bad dreams."
A moment of silence passed, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
"You have a nice apartment." I said softly, and it warmed my heart to hear him chuckle.
"You haven't even seen it yet." He pointed out.
He was right, I'd been passed out when he carried me up the stairs.
"This room is nice, it's quiet."
He nodded, then wiped more blood from his face.
I looked at him shyly, and he gave me a look.
"Honestly, I'm fine. You should see the other guy."
I laughed at that, but my voice was hoarse and it ended in a raking cough.
"Believe it or not, I do feel better."
He got up and began checking the IV's. A sleek black lamp illuminated the room in a glow, and his features appeared sharp in the half shadows.
It suddenly dawned on me that I was completely alone in this man's house. He had saved my life, but for what reason? The rest of the world thought I was dead, except for Angel, and she didn't know how to get to me.
"What's the matter?" He asked as he sat down again.
I was picking at the side of the thin sheet that covered me, trying to slow down my breathing.
I was grateful to him, and I didn't want him to turn on me, not now. I didn't know what to say to him, how to begin to explain how grateful and terrified I was of him. I wanted to trust him. But how could I? After everything I'd seen of people, how could I trust him?
But he's not like other people.
"I'm scared, Keanu." I said after a long pause.
I didn't want to look at him, but I felt his gaze burn the side of my head, so I did.
He didn't look hurt, or surprised, but his eyebrows were arched in seriousness and pain.
"I can't imagine...just how scared you must be, Cheri. This is alot, for anyone to go through. But...you don't need to be scared of me. You've got alot to think about, don't be scared of me. I only want to help."
"But why?" I nearly whispered.
He sighed, leaned back in his chair.
"Because...you helped me. That night at the club..." He scoffed to himself, and I turned away in shame.
"You made me feel the most seen, I had in a long while. Even if it was all an act at the time, you listened. And I...I was thinking about it, when I found you in the snow..."
I feel tears begin to prick my eyes, but I pushed them down and looked back to him.
"...you made it feel real, for the first time in years. Like what I'd lost, had actually happened, and not been a nightmare. I think I nearly convinced myself it was, all just a nightmare. But the good was still there."
He smiled at me, a gentle smile.
"You know, my name isn't really Cheri." I smiled back weakly.
"Cheri is short for "Cherub", but Angel kinda gave me that name."
I felt a pang in my heart as I thought of her, I missed her so much. And I could never see her again.
"So, what's your real name?" He asked softly.
It took me a second to answer. The question knocked me back in time. I hadn't used my real name in years.
"Maggie. Well, Margaret. Apparently it's after my grandmother. I never knew her."
He really smiled then, and chuckled.
"Maggie suits you far more than 'Cherub' I think."
I smiled too, a real smile, and it felt unnatural.
"I think so too," I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts.
"It wasn't an act, by the way. That night at the club... I'm not usually in the booths. I collapsed with some guy the last time, and... it was a big deal. I was scared shitless, Keanu."
There was a moment of silence, and I felt the questions looming, but I didn't let them be asked.
"You spoke to me. You were...kind. And I didn't want to trust it, I didn't want to let myself believe...that anyone really cared about me any more," I trailed off, then looked at him and smiled.
"You saved my life, Keanu, thank you."
I wanted to be honest with him. I wanted to take the chance. He'd saved my life already, in so many different ways.
He smiled too, and nodded gently, his dark hair falling over his face.
"You don't need to thank me, ever. You pulled yourself through this, you survived it all, Maggie. I had nothing to do with getting you this far."
I scoffed at him.
"Did you forget the part of the story where you stopped me from making a deadly snow angel?"
We both laughed, and it felt good.
"Your parent's around?" He finally asked in a low tone.
I started to pick at the bedsheets again.
"Never knew who my Dad was, really. I remember a few different men at the time,"
I swallowed, and felt my heart clench.
"My Mum was like me. She worked the streets, then she moved in with a guy when I was born. I lost her, when I was 11. Got removed and put in a few homes. But they were worse than before, so I ran away. I was picked up loads of times, but I always ran. I got arrested when I was 18, drugs and prostitution. I was beaten up when they found me, someone in the hotel had rang in a domestic abuse call. I didn't know he was a sheriff himself, so it all went on me. I did 8 months, and when they let me out I was homeless. I was...in a bad way. I nearly died, a few times. Bad men, bad drugs, bad weather, it was all...alot. I found a couple of pimps, but it always turned sour one way or another. Then I met Angel. She got me to Gusto's,"
I smiled, but it wasn't a real smile.
"Y'know, besides prison, Gusto's was the longest place I can remember staying."
"You ever think about finding your mum?" He asked quietly.
My smile dropped then, and I felt my expression grow dark.
"No...she was, a terrible mother. She didn't care about me. She would sell me off when I lived with her. Said I was 'earning my keep'. All the men that didn't want her, had me instead..." I trailed off, feeling myself begin to shake.
"Thank you, for telling me."
His voice was calm, and comforting. I looked at him with tears in my eyes, and he smiled back. A proud, kind smile, and maybe it was just my own misty eyes but I thought I saw a tear slide down his cheek.
"Can I ask another question?" He asked again.
I nodded.
"When did you start using?"
I had to think before I answered, had to steady my breath and steal my heart. But I wanted him to know, I wanted to be honest with him.
"There was always drugs around, always. I remember...snorting a line with my mum when I was, maybe 9? I can't really remember. But I starting using heroin in prison, actually..."
My head was swimming. I didn't want to think back to that time, and it felt all the more real and sharp without the drugs to mask it.
"A girl in my cell. She got released while I was there so I wasn't on it long. But when I went onto the streets...I looked for it everywhere. Starting sleeping with guys for it, woke up days later behind a dumpster. Like I said, I nearly died, a few times. Angel, she saved my life. Twice now, I guess."
"She cares about you too, y'know. She told me she did. She wanted you to be safe too."
Too. He cared too.
"Looks like I owe my life to alot of different people." I sighed a ragged breath.
"Nobody gets through this life without a bit of help, Maggie. No matter who you are, we all need help sometimes."
I nodded slowly, smiling a faint smile.
"You should get some rest. I'm glad you're feeling better."
He checked my IV's once more, then headed towards the door. He rested his hand on the doorknob, the other in his trouser pocket, and looked at me with a warm expression.
"Thank you, for telling me your name. And for... everything else."
I smiled back, had to choke back some tears as I felt my heart swell.
"No need to thank me, ever."

*A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry for the slower updates but they're comin' ;-)