TW
Anaïs quietly came from the bathroom and sat opposite to me on the couch. She had wiped her face clean and I could see more of her beauty. She was pale, freckles spraying her nose and and cheeks lightly. She looked much younger, smaller even as she swam in my clothes.
"How old are you?" I asked, trying to start casually.
"I'm twenty," she said quietly, shrinking more into the couch. "You?"
"Twenty three, should I scold you for underage drinking?" I joked.
She sighed and looked me. "I know how this all looks," she ran her hands through her hair, "but I'm not a party kind of girl."
"I didn't think you were."
"Oh." Anaïs played with the sleeves of the sweatshirt. "I've been with Daniel several months. We met at school when I was a freshman still. I'm majoring in physics. I know he's always having these parties but I never really go to them. He likes my place better."
I nodded, "How'd you end up at this one?"
"I just did I guess. I caught Daniel cheating and we almost broke up. He entirely blamed me for it, saying if I was a better girlfriend he wouldn't have to cheat." She bit her lip, her voice shaking, "I wouldn't put out, and he just had enough of me being prude. It's not like we wouldn't, you know, but we'd never, you know."
"I heard him say you were cheating?" I raised my eyebrow, she looked down. She was shaking again, and for some reason I just wanted to hold her, to wrap my arms around her and protect her.
She shook her head quickly, eyes wide as she met mine again. "I, um, I had to too much to drink. I just couldn't get him out of my kind with her. I don't know, but I'd downed more whiskey than I've probably ever consumed and i felt sick. So I went to his room to lie down for a minute but, I..."
Anaïs was crying again, looking back and forth between my eyes and the ceiling. I knew where this was going. I knew what happened to her. I wanted to kill whoever did this to her, whoever broke her.
I wanted to fix her.
"He had the knife and he told me if i screamed he'd-" Anaïs choked on her words, "he'd kill me and then he-"
She was crying to hard to speak. She didn't need to say anymore. I didn't want her to. I couldn't watch her like that anymore.
"Can I hug you?" I asked after a few moments. She nodded and I slowly moved next to her, wrapping my arms around her in the most gentle way I could. I felt like if I held her too tight I'd break her.
I let her sob into my chest, she clutched my shirt and let it out. I couldn't explain what I was feeling for her. The way she cried mad me feel like a tight fist was holding my heart, that as well as anger for whoever hurt her. I wanted to avenge her. I wanted to make her forget.
Her sobs subsided and her breathing calmed. Anaïs fell limp, peaceful in my arms. She was cuter when she slept, somehow, and she looked even younger. She breathed through her noise, she had a button nose that poked upwards like a fairy. Her long blonde hair fell in gentle curls down her back and over her shoulders. She looked like a princess. Her pouty lips were a shade of rose, her cheeks flush. She was radiant.
How could someone do this to her? Who could ever take advantage of her? She was so young, so fragile.
As much as I wanted to continue holding her, it felt appropriate to lay her down and give her space. I carefully covered her with a blanket, lifting her head to place a pillow. Her hair was soft.
She was going to take her own life. If I hadn't been on my porch, if I hadn't approached her, would I have heard that gun shot? Would I have found some dead girl in front of my house the next morning?
I don't know, but this feels right. I'm not a big fate guy, but this is definitely the works of it. She wasn't meant to take her life. Maybe she was meant to find me.
. . . .
"Josh?" I felt a gentle nudge on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Anaïs crouching in front of me, sunlight pouring through my window, illuminating her golden hair.
"Good morning," I said, groggy, offering her the best smile I could.
"Good morning," she whispered, looking deep into my eyes.
She moved her legs crisscross, sitting in front of me. She looked shy, unsure. I was also unsure. How do I get her to stay?
"Are you, like, hungry or something? You wanna go get some food?" I questioned.
Anaïs looked taken aback by my question. "You want to get breakfast with me?"
I nodded, "Yea, sure."
"Let's go."
