Escort

Chapter Seven

"Goodnight dears, sleep tight both of you," Martha said with a wink as she opened the loft door.

"Goodnight!" both Rick and Kate said simultaneously.

When the door closed Rick slowly turned to the woman beside him, suddenly afraid she might want to leave too despite her question about staying for a couple of days.

"You told your mom about me?" Kate whispered out her question, not looking at him in fear of what she'd discover.

"Not technically, I never told her your name or how we met, only that I met someone who I thought I'd..." he stopped talking, not sure of how much she could take.

The first time she ran away it was because of the feelings he clearly had for her. They hadn't changed, but he didn't want to scare her away by giving voice to them.

"Who I found interesting and wanted to get to know more," he changed his words in order to still be able to tell her something.

Kate nodded, couldn't argue his thoughts. She felt his fingers peacefully sneak into her hand, and she didn't stop to think before her own fingers curled around his. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt their palms kiss. She glanced up at him from her side, feeling her heart flatter when her eyes met his blue ones.

"I shouldn't be here," she whispered her thought into the open.

"Yes, you should," he said, his hand hugging hers tighter.

"No," she whispered, stepping on her toes to peck his lips with hers. "I shouldn't, but I want to."

She felt her heart break at the thought of how she would most probably destroy his life if she stayed.

"I... you need to know, I lied before. I wasn't in need of money when I was younger, I don't need to pay rent in the way I told you before, I'm not someone you should be together with."

If she warned him then maybe he would want to get out before she had fallen too far, at least that's what she hoped. Because if there was something she knew it was that she wouldn't survive him leaving if it had gone too far. But it already has, a voice whispered in her head.

"Well," he started, putting his free hand on her waist to turn her towards him, "you can tell me all about it... in your own time."

"I haven't told anyone before. Well, except for those who were there that is," she said before biting her lower lip.

He carefully pulled her body a bit closer to his, and she drew strength from his touch, the hand which held her hand letting hers go in order to land on the other side of her waist. By automatic her arms landed on his shoulders, locking her hands behind his head. She grew stronger from his hugging hands, and she wondered why that was.

"I was sixteen when my parents died, they were on their way to a camping trip which I would join later on, anyway they got in an accident and... died immediately," Kate started, trembling with her words a bit. After taking a deep breath, and stealing a little more strength from his grip, she opened her mouth again. "I got into foster care and it didn't take long before a man and a woman came to adopt another child, they-uh... the second they laid eyes on me they were certain they wanted to take care of me."

Rick couldn't stop the cringe of disgust spreading across his face, could only imagine what she would say next due to the things he knew she had to do when working.

"I didn't suspect a thing, only wanted to get out of the foster care center, wanted to have my own room to be able to morn my dead parents, get away from everyone," her lower lip was starting to shake, and he wondered how much more she could tell before breaking apart. "They're the ones who... showed and told me what to do," she swallowed hard and he hugged her tighter, putting his forehead against hers.