Isabelle's POV
My brain told me to scream, but my instincts said this person wasn't gonna harm me. If they intended on kidnapping me or something, then wouldn't they have covered my mouth?
I spun around to see the boy from earlier displaying the biggest grin I've ever seen in my life.
"Dude, what are you doing?"
He shrugged, "I'm just tryna help you out. You not from around here so you don't know this, but no one goes that way. You were running to your death, little lady."
"I feel as if I'm older than you. I wouldn't have ran to my death if someone could've kindly told me how to get the hell away from here. Just do me a solid and I'll repay you later," I pleaded.
"My name is Lucky and you just got lucky. Let's go," he paused, "And don't ever come here again, ok? It ain't safe for lil school girls like you."
"Very offensive, dude but okay," I agreed.
"Sorry not sorry," he said.
He guided me, leading me to the places I'd already been. We stumbled upon the orange cat I'd seen earlier and the destitute street with no lamplights.
"So what's so bad about where I was running to?" I asked.
I couldn't help it. They say curiosity killed the cat, but I don't think that ever happened; rather, I think that curiosity was going to kill me.
"Don't worry bout it. The less you know, the better," he said.
"Ugh. You're absolutely no fun. At least tell me the name of where I am."
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, "I'll give you the rundown but I'm only doing it once so listen quietly and carefully. This is Devil's Corner and you're more than blessed that you weren't kidnapped and sold or made out to be someone's girl. You're more than blessed to have met me. Devil's Corner is not a safe place to stumble upon; stuff you can't even imagine happens over there. Quit asking about that place and forget about it; it's the best thing for you to do."
"But I don't want to," I argued.
"You're as stubborn as they come," he replied.
"Of course I am, so just tell me what that stuff means. Why do you stay at that place if you despise it so much?"
He resumed walking, "Because I can't leave. Now hush. I don't know you so I'm not gonna tell you my life story."
We walked in silence after his remark. A-hole! I'm just trying to understand but I guess it's in my best interest to just be quiet and let it go.
But I can't.
"You know, you're the worst company ever. I just want to get my mind off things. I found out my boyfriend and my best friend slept together and he may have even gotten her pregnant at one point, so just do me a favor and talk before I lose my mind."
He laughed, "You're even worse company than me. But that's tough. She's definitely not your friend but who am I to judge? I know nothing of you or your friends. You should just focus on whatever it is that you were doing before you met the boy. I can't really give you advice for the girl, but if the boy really likes you, he'll explain and it'll make sense. I promise."
I joked, "I can't really call you bad company anymore, can I?"
"Exactly," he grinned.
"So tell me a story or something to pass the time by," I said.
At the same time, my stomach grumbled which colored my face crimson from the shame.
"Someone's hungry. Let's go to Rita's right quick. I got you," he pulled me along and we ran to a somewhat beat down shack that had a menu hanging outside.
There was a woman in the window, squinting to see who was approaching her shack. She instantly smiled once she realized who was coming into her view but her smile faltered when she saw I was next to Lucky. Him pulling me by the hand didn't make this sight any better.
Once we approached, she didn't even give me a once over but instead turned all of her attention to him.
"Nice of you to stop by. Haven't seen you in a few. Where you been?" She asked.
"Home with mom," he cleared his throat, "This is .." he paused. He didn't know my name.
I quickly finished his sentence, "I'm Serena."
I smiled at how quickly I came up with a fake name. Was I good or what?
"You don't look like a Serena. You have such a familiar face," she trailed.
"No ones ever told me that before so I don't know what I should say," I joked.
She said, "At least you got a sense of humor, Serena. Why you holding hands with my Lucky? There something I should know about?"
We quickly unhanded each other and shook our heads. We received a laugh from her and it was enough to calm me. Her laugh signified that the tension was uncalled for so I loosened my shoulders and smiled at her.
"You're cute. I thought he said he didn't like brown skins, but here you are. Why didn't I know about this sooner?" She asked.
I was stuck. What is she saying?
"You don't like brown skins?" I asked Lucky.
"She's exaggerating. Rita, I was about to take her home but her stomach growled, so I stopped here. Feed her for me, please," he said.
"Anything for the girl that actually let you hold her hand," she winked.
And within the next five minutes, I was munching on a burger and fries. I don't take food from people I don't know, but I knew I could trust them; plus I was starving.
I noticed it was getting dark. What the hell? How far away did I walk? It didn't even seem like I walked that far away.
"Hey, Lucky." I called.
"Yea, I know," he said.
"Thank you for the food, Rita." I said.
"No problem. Stay safe and don't come to these parts without Lucky, okay? Have a good night," she said.
We waved goodbye and Lucky pulled me by my hand once again; we were running at full speed trying to beat the clock before sundown.
"Damn girl, how are you not tired? You live so far away! Why did you even come here?" He gasped for air, but we never quit running.
I didn't have a response for the questions he asked; I felt guilty for burdening him. I was more than capable, but I was distracted today. I hated today. I still haven't came up with a solution for the problem nor do I plan on it. I'll just avoid them.
Yea. I'll do that.
Who am I kidding? I wish I could. My locker is near Jason's & my first class of the morning is shared with him; he's also my partner for the week. The bright side is that tomorrow is Friday.
And then, there's Jennifer—my best friend in the whole wide world. Can't dodge her either. She knows where I live; we share a class; she knows my entire schedule; and she knows me better than anyone else. This is terrible.
"Quit thinking about that stuff," Lucky interrupted my thoughts.
"Thanks," I said.
"No problem," he said.
"So is your name really Serena?" He asked.
"Nope. Is your name actually Lucky?" I asked.
"It's my nickname, but you haven't even gave me that. What's your name, little lady?"
I replied, "Just call me Izzi. You're special because I don't allow anyone to call me that."
"I guess I'm a lucky fella then, huh?"
I asked, "Do you always make jokes from your name? Doesn't that get boring?"
"My name is the only thing that keeps me going," he admitted.
"Way to darken the mood. I'm sorry to bring up bad memories for you. Tell me about Devil's Corner," I said.
"What about it? Didn't I tell you everything already?" He asked.
I replied, "Tell me stories about what happen over there. How did that place get its name? Why were you on the corner? Who was going to be at my death?"
He joked, "That's gonna be hard to answer while we're running full speed ahead. Can't this wait until we're at a good part of town?"
"As long as I get the full story, I'm satisfied." I said.
"I like you, little lady." He said.