Luminous Nights

IV. Weekend Plans

This is it. Today's finally the day. Time to relax and unwind! I sat up in my bed with messy hair and a big smile on my face. Finally, a day off of school and work. Prince jumped up on the bed with me. I pointed at him and shouted, "Can I get a Hoo yea?!" Princey just stared, tilted his head and meowed at me. My day consisted of playing lots of video games, kitty snuggles, and catching up on some of my favorite books. "Oh, come on! That's the best loot you're going to give me? This will barely help deal any damage!" I yelled at my game on the computer. It was getting late and I was getting pretty hungry. I hadn't really eaten much throughout the day since I was too distracted with all my hobbies. That tends to happen to me a lot, especially here lately with how busy I am, so I don't get a chance to eat much. I could do with losing a little weight anyway. After high school I put on some weight in certain areas of my body, for instance my thighs and breasts. I hadn't noticed until Logan pointed it out and tried to convince me to go on a strict workout and diet regimen. That sure didn't help my self-esteem in any way. There's a reason why I don't wear flashy, showy clothes: to blend in, and not be noticed by people. The more in the background I am, the better. I decided to make a quick trip to the store for some late-night grub, so I got up, put my sneakers on and headed for the door. Prince sat nearby looking sad as I was leaving. "Don't worry buddy, Mommy will be right back! Maybe I'll bring you back a little surprise from the store?" I reassured him.

I decided to walk to the store, being this specific one was right up the road from my apartment. No sense in taking the bus just for that. This little hole in the wall store has always been my go-to place to grab snacks. They've got a lot of food options here: roller weenies, chicken bites, pizza, slushies, and lots more. They even have a small pet section, so I can pick up Princey some treats of his own. I decided to get a cherry slushy and a bag of the new flavor of Pakis. Gosh, I really need to start watching what I eat here lately. I grabbed Prince a bag of tuna flavored treats. This should tame my ferocious little beast. I checked out and began my short walk home.

It's been a few days since I've had this feeling, but there it was again: that uneasy feeling of being watched. Maybe a late-night snack run was a bad idea after all. This town isn't known to have too high of a crime rate, but it still has its' bad eggs. I thought about what that Corwin guy told me the other night, about not trusting anyone. Of course, that had to come to mind at a time like this. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw what looked like a bald, middle-aged man walking my way. I looked forward and kept on walking, trying to ignore the man. Then, the man started speaking loudly. "Hey, hey there pretty one!" he added a whistle to his comment. Was he talking to me? I would assume he's not, since I'm not very pretty. Then again, there's nobody else around. His footsteps behind me quickened, and I heard him starting to catch up to me. Just walk faster, I told myself. I wasn't too far off from my apartment building. A jolt went through me, when the man grabbed my left arm, making me lose my grip and drop all of my stuff. "Playing hard to get huh? That's alright, I prefer 'em feisty anyways!" My heart felt like it was going to explode. I've never felt more scared in my life. What do I do?! The man began to pull me towards him, when suddenly an impulse to fight back arose within me. My right arm was still free, so I swung around, fist ready and aimed straight for the man's face. He was caught off guard by my move, so I was able to land a hit. "Ah! You BITCH!" the man loosened his grip enough for me to slip out and take off running. I pulled my cellphone out from my pocket and began to dial for emergency.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and ran face first into something, stumbling backwards in surprise. "Violet? Is that you? What's wrong?" a familiar voice asked with concern. Panting, I looked up to see who I ran face first into. "Corwin?" I choked out through breaths. He had a serious, yet concerned look on his face. I looked behind me in a panic. "There's a man back there... H-He was trying to-" "Enough said." He cut me off before I could finish. "Stay here." Corwin stormed off towards the man. The man saw Corwin coming for him, and began to back away with his hands up in defense. "Whoa man, this is all just a misunderstanding, that's all. You know how women can be sometimes, right?" the man gruffly spat. Corwin grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the side the brick building next to them. I could only see Corwin's backside and part of the man's face, whom looked completely rattled by Corwin's move. "H-Hang on sir! I swear, I wasn't going to do nothin' to her! You can't just-" "I'm going to say this once." Corwin cut in, "...Run." The man's eyes went wide. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost, or something worse. "Oh SHIT! " The man took off running down the street, shouting "What the fuck was that?! That ain't right man!"

I jogged towards Corwin, whose back was still turned. He must've genuinely scared that man, based off of how he ran away screaming like that. I wonder what happened exactly? That's a question for later, I told myself. Corwin's hands were balled into fists at his sides. "Oh my god, are you okay?!" I asked him, shocked at what had just happened. I heard him let out a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" He said with a sigh and turned towards me. I didn't realize it, but my whole body was shaking. I guess from the adrenaline rush. "I-I'm completely fine! Besides, I think I roughed him up pretty good before you showed up." I said with a shaky voice. Corwin looked down at me, with a concerned expression. "How about I walk you the rest of the way home?" he offered. I nodded in agreement. I could use the company after what just happened. Corwin picked up my stuff off the sidewalk and we began walking back to my apartment.

Corwin walked me up to my floor in the building. He handed me back my stuff, after carrying it for me. "Now, are you sure you're okay? How's your hand?" he asked me. "I'm fine! Really!" I extended my right arm, fist out, trying to look tough. "Besides, I think I've got a pretty mean right hook!" I smiled wryly. But truthfully, I've never felt so helpless and terrified in my life. What would have happened if I didn't get away fast enough? I'm just glad that he was there, by chance. Corwin looked down at me with a shy smile on his face. "Would you like my number? You know, in case you ever need to talk or need help chasing creeps away again. I don't live too far from here either." He's wanting to exchange numbers? I hope he's not expecting anything romantic to come out of this. I'm with Logan already. I mean, would it be so bad to have his number, just in case? I could use a friend to talk to anyways. Guys and girls can be friends too. Besides, Logan's got quite a few of his female co-workers' phone numbers. "Yeah, sure!" I told him. We exchanged our numbers and kept on chatting in the hallway. "So much for meeting again in a peaceful situation. I'm convinced that your everyday life is chaos at this point." Corwin said jokingly. "Honestly, this is the most chaos I've ever really experienced, aside from my mom passing away when I was little." His expression changed, and he gave me a sorrowful look. "I'm really sorry Violet. I had no clue." I smiled faintly at him, "It's okay. I've had time to heal. Even though, I still miss her so much. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. She was the best mom a girl could ask for." Flashes of happy childhood memories flooded my brain. Oh, how I wish I could see her at least one more time. I could've used some of her comforting words after that whole experience. Corwin shuffled his feet, as if he was about to walk away. "Well, I'm glad that you're alright now. Try and relax the rest of the night, and call me if you ever need anything." He said with a smile. He began to turn around, but I reacted and grabbed his arm to stop him. "Corwin..." I said, shyly. In that moment, I couldn't help but be grateful for what he had done for me tonight. There's no telling what would've happened without him there. I looked up at him and smiled, full of gratitude. "Thank you, for tonight. I appreciate it." Corwin looked surprised, yet flattered by my reaction. He smiled back, "It's never a problem, Violet."

I went to sleep that night, still slightly shaken up, yet happy. I feel like I have someone I can trust now. A friend.