A GOOD PERSON (Sample)

Five.

      In the weeks that followed Jeremiah didn't disappoint. He showed up at the bakery spontaneously and brought lunch or flowers or sometimes he just walked in, order a coffee then sit and watched Jennifer while she worked. It was unnerving the way all his attention was on her. Sometimes she wouldn't even know he was there unless Lily or Boris pointed him out to her. He didn't say a word just smiled and when she would approach him, he would shrug it off and say he liked to watch her. On occasions when he found Jake and Tony around, he would grab her and kiss her in front of everyone. Apparently he was just reminding everyone she was his in case they had happened to forget. Like anyone would actually forget the great Jeremiah Maxwell.

When she had found out who he really was, she had freaked out and wondered why a billionaire like him would even look at her. They had been sitting in his living room watching TV when one of the magazines under the table caught her eye. Of course the other times she was there she had been too busy locking lips with him to even look around. She thumbed through it and upon seeing his face plastered there, she stopped to read the passage beside his photo and her freak out had begun. He had asked her what she thought he did and when she didn't have an answer he'd tackled her to the ground mainly to hold her down and stop her freak out but also because he was afraid she would ran for the hills. Jennifer was simple like that. She hadn't thought what he did like most women. She just assumed he was rich or came from money. It was stupid and careless but she couldn't care less what he did.

Today they were just laying in bed doing nothing. It was a Friday and they had decided to just stay in instead of going out. Half of Jenna's things were next to his in the closet. Her toiletries next to his in the bathroom and she even had some of kitchen utensils in the cupboards. Not that she brought them over from her house. They bought some his and hers stuff. Cups, T-shirts, shoes, hell even their workout clothes matched. She was surprised to find out one of the rooms in the apartment was a gym fully equipped with everything from a treadmill to dumbbells. Jeremiah wasn't obsessed with fitness but that didn't mean he was a slacker. When he chose to work out he gave it his all so much so that Jenna would forget what she was doing and stare at him. When they couldn't stay in, they went for morning runs and often stopped for breakfast.

"My mom left when I was ten" Jenna started not knowing why she chose that particular day to tell him that. He knew she didn't have relatives and that her mom had left but she hadn't gone into details. He was a patient man and he let her tell him when she felt ready to. Sensing there was more Jeremiah didn't say anything he just kept staring at the ceiling willing her to continue. She had had one more nightmare since the first and he was curious to know the cause of them although he never pushed. "When she got pregnant my father told her to get an abortion and when she refused he left. Being pregnant with no one to help her at all she worked two jobs at a once, sometimes even three. It was hard and she was tired all the time, always leading her to lose them but she didn't give up. She met this guy Jack and they were together for a while after she had me but I guess he too thought it was too much so he left. I don't remember him much. My mom told me about him. After that she went from boyfriend to boyfriend but they never stayed long. When I was eight she met Drew and for once he stayed longer than the others. At first he was okay. He'd take us out on weekends and buy us nice stuff and we were a family but after a while he started drinking. It wasn't 'get drunk and pass out' kind of drinking, just the 'get drunk and sit around playing games with Jenna' kind. I liked him because he always insisted on betting and always lost so as an eight year old I considered myself rich" she laughed remembering that part of her life.

"We were okay for a while. Until mom started to complain how all Drew did was drink and spend time with me. I wouldn't say she was jealous just miffed about his spending money on alcohol and me. At least that's what I thought. Apparently he went to strip clubs and the sort and my mom called him out every time he came home late. His drinking got worse and the fights more frequent. I could hear them arguing all night and he knocked her around a few times. I guess she had enough one day and decided to up and leave forgetting me. I came home from school and she was gone just like that." she snapped her fingers. "Drew said my mother didn't want me and that's why she had left. I cried for days wondering why my parents didn't want me but when crying didn't get me the answers I was seeking, I put myself together and made myself useful. I was ten by then so I cleaned the house and did Drew's laundry. I managed to cook simple things and watched cooking shows in the hopes that if Drew thought I was useful he would let me stay. Clearly I was deluded. He came home with a new girlfriend and she asked him if I was his kid. When he said no their arguments started. Why would Drew keep someone else's kid? Did he want his ex-girlfriend back? Why did he spend money on me? There was so much yelling and Zara, that was her name took it out on me. She would wait till he was gone then she'd make me do everything and when it wasn't enough she would hit me and make me start all over again. I hated her but I had nowhere else to go so I just kept quiet. Six months down the line I left. I thought it couldn't be worse out there. I took all her money which wasn't much and I ran in the middle of the night. The money helped for a few weeks with food but I slept wherever I stopped. I thought about taking a bus and following my mum but I didn't even know where she had gone. I roamed the streets and ate out of trash cans. Sold the few clothes I had and before I knew it I was homeless and alone."