First message
One cold night
he stands beneath a broken streetlamp in a narrow alleyway
smoke curling from a cigarette between his fingers.
The city is quiet except for distant sirens and the hum of traffic, leaning against a brick wall, waiting for another long night to pass.
Then he hears it
The sound of a brawl in the distance.
A single pair of feet slapping against the pavement
Kane straightens immediately
One hand drifts toward the knife concealed beneath his jacket while the other remains tucked into his pocket on his stash
What do you need?
The footsteps get closer.
Imma ask one more time what. Do. You. Need?
sharper this time
Then a person stumbles into view.
Breathless.
Terrified.
Running from something.
fishnets, tiny shorts, heels, and a bralette beneath their jacket
Kade notices the details instantly
not because he's staring
because years on the streets have trained him to read people…
He sees the trembling hands.
The blister forming on the back of one heel.
The smudged makeup beneath exhausted eyes.
The way she keeps looking over her shoulder.
And for a brief moment their eyes meet…
He saw the fear in her..
She saw the exhaustion in his..
He didn’t want to help he didn’t want to ask but seeing the fear in his eyes made a part of him that he’s tried to bary for so long.
break..
he felt his feet move before he could speak pulling them behind him as the footsteps approach
he didn’t care about what was around the corner this time..