Walking alone so late at night is never a good idea but when you dont have any other options, you have to suck it up and go with it. Like most nights when I walk home alone, this one was the usual. Empty roads, chilli wind and flickering lamps because no one in our area was rich enough or cared enough to get them fixed. I wrapped my red scarf and grey-brown coat tighter around myself to be safe from the cold but it wasn't much help in the temperature that was way below average today or I was just spooked out.
I was just around the corner when suddenly there was a movement in the left side alley and I almost screamed out loud but kept myself quiet long enough to hide behind the dumpster and not make a sound as a man stepped out from around the corner tucking something at the back of his pants. I was shivering from the cold and maybe I was a little, okay a lot scared when I did notice the end of a gun before it was covered by a heavy coat. With his back turned to me, he lit a cigarette and took two long puffs blowing out white smoke out of his mouth. I couldn't see much with the flickering lamps but it was enough to notice that he was very tall, had hair as white as snow and fingers so beautiful one could stare at it all day as he held the butt of the cigarette in his hands.
I was breathing hard and my heart was hammering so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of my mouth. I covered my tired-due-to-work-all-day face with a hand that had chipped nail polish as I never had enough time to change them with outfits or match shoes like other girls did. I was never a very noticeable person with a short height, nomal brown hair and eyes, and clothes that had seen better days as I could not afford new one as usual as I would like to. I never did anything brave, always hid in the shadows and was never around anything that even had a 0.1% chance of trouble.
Considering all this, staring at a man who had a gun, shoulders so broad he could get stuck in a narrow alley and shoes so expensive they reflected the light of the lamp was kind of a first time brave thing for me.
All of a sudden there was a flash of light as a car passed my and the man infront of me looked to his right. It was all it took for me to notice the lip ring on his lips and the slight bend in his nose indicating it was broken a few times in his life. Now I wanted to just turn around and run but he was on the way to my house and running wasn't a good idea as judging from the lenth of his legs he could catch me in a flash. Probably put that gun to some use too.
Scared and with a trembling body I kept looking at him when he finished his cigarette, threw it on the path and crushed it with his leg. They he turned his head to the sky and took a deep sigh which felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
This was a shocking though that made me snap back to reality and realise how near death I was at this time and how I needed an escape plan. Slowly and very carefully I stood up on my feet making sure there was no sound of rustling fabric and tried taking a step back when all a sudden I froze in my place again when he spoke and gave me something more I would like to remember about him if I came out of this alive.
"Stop", he said. Making me feel like a fool now because he already knew I was staring at him for the last ten minutes. He turned then and the first thing I noticed was eyes like molten amber locked on my face and an eyebrow raised because I was standing with my hand raised.
"So you saw my gun." he said next. By this point I was shaking so hard I could pass of as an earthquake and my heart just wasn't ready to stop ringing everywhere in my body. I noded my head frantically when his question registered in my head and tried to take a step back.
He was on me in a flash with my back against the cold brick wall and my hands still raised now under his as he trapped me there.
"What else did you see?"
"J-Just t-the g-g-gun". My shaking wouldn't stop long enough for me to answer him properly but I think he understood me when he gave me a nod.
I knew that because I couldn't look in his eyes but was staring at his adam apple which was quite nice for an apple.
"Try not walking alone so late at nights. You don't wanna know what else happens here. Also, don't stop to stare at people next time. Run and run as fast as you can." He whispered the words in my ear and I looked up at him with a confused expression that there was going to be a next time.
When he stepped back and made a go-on motion to the opening of the alley, I turned away and ran as fast as I could.
When I was under the lamp that wasn't flickering I turned back to stare at the alley again. He was standing there, coat flowing in the wind and staring at me. I felt that stare at the back of my neck until I turned in the next block.
It was when I reached home did I realise I didn't have my scarf with me and I was sure I wasn't getting it back again.