Stick To the Script // Danny O'Donoghue

Chapter 7-That Night

Bryna

That night I dream of him.

It was a rainy night. I had just been out on the streets of Dublin on my own.

He had to work late that night. This was back when he and the band were just starting out. They had a few gigs, booked at pubs here and there, but Danny still had to work another job.

He was an assistant to this old, rich man in the city. He had to wear a suit and tie and basically cater to this guy's every need and all he earned was a few dollars over minimum wage.

He hated it.

I was working as a waitress at a pub to help him pay the bills.

Danny usually came by and walked me home, because when I got off it was dark and the streets were crawling with bums and criminals. But that night he wasn't able to make it.

So I grabbed my purse, which didn't have much in it honestly, put on my coat, and walked out of the little pub on the corner that was my workplace.

I was wearing heels that clicked on the cobblestone as I walked quickly across the street.

I was about to turn the corner when I was stopped by a strange man.

Often the homeless loitered around this area, but they hardly ever talked to people.

"Hello love." he had said, slowly approaching me. "What do you got there?"

"Um, some leftover food." I answered tentatively. "I'm bringing it home to my boyfriend."

Danny had been texting me all night complaining that he was starving. We didn't have much food at the apartment, because I hadn't had enough money to go grocery shopping. We were barely scrapping by.

I told him I would bring him something back from the pub and it would be there when he got home. I had to sneak it out of the kitchen to get it for him.

The things we did for each other. Lied, cheated, stole.

"Boyfriend?" the homeless man asked.

"Yes." I say.

"You're awful pretty; I was hoping you'd be single."

I laughed slightly, "Oh, thanks.

"Um-hum," he said.

I slowly started to walk away but he stopped me again. There were not many people on the street and I sensed that I was possibly in danger.

"So, this boyfriend of yours, is he starving?"

"He's pretty hungry." I said.

"Not as hungry as me." he said.

"I don't know..." I began and I saw him getting ready to snatch the box of food.

I tried to make my escape, but the man chased after me. He followed me down the dark alley I turned down, which I knew was a short cut to our house.

I normally didn't take it though for this reason exactly.

I was stopped by another man, wearing almost identical raggedy clothes to those of the first man.

"That'll be ours now sweetheart." he said in a thick Dublin accent.

The first guy came up behind me and I was trapped.

They touched me all over with their dirty hands as I stood there backing closer and closer to the brick wall until I practically became a poster.

"You're not from around here are you?" one of them asked in his raspy voice.

"N-no," I stammered.