Just A Moment

Desires and Dreams

The pair walked for a short distance without exchanging a word. The temperature had dropped further, and Hope had to embrace herself further into her coat to prevent a shiver. Deciding to distract herself, Hope regarded Joe's profile as it was lit by the dusty moonlight.

He was ridiculously handsome but didn't appear to be over-aware of it. From what Hope had heard him say, he sounded charismatic and friendly. And he was clearly a caring person for walking a stranger home.

Suddenly, Hope wondered why he had offered to walk her home. It was strange, and if the roles had been reversed, she would not have offered to walk a stranger home in the dark in an unknown city.

Looking away from the profile of his face, which she realised she had been staring at, and he was no doubt aware of that fact, Hope decided to start a conversation. 'Thanks for walking me home. You didn't need to. Mack was just being over-protective. If he wanted me to have an escort, he should have just come himself. There was no reason to send you.'

Joe smiled down at her. 'No, I suppose there wasn't a reason for him to send me, but I wanted to. I wanted to talk to you, get to know you a little better. You seemed spunky and clever, so I'll admit I was curious to know more.'

Taken back by his directness, Hope wondered what to say.

Joe continued, looking out ahead of them. 'I've gotta ask; how did you get involved with a crew like Mack's?'

Hope sighed, looking up as the snow began to fall lightly again. 'I'm not really involved with the gang. I try to avoid them as much as I can, but sometimes it's impossible. Mack and I have known each other since we were kids. He keeps the other groups in the neighbourhood around here off my back, and so I do him the odd favour now and again in return.'

'It didn't seem like a favour when that guy Bobby brought you in.' Joe pursued, and Hope knew that he was highly perceptive.

'I don't like Bobby, as I imagine you grasped, but he's Mack's right hand man, so I have to put up with him. If Mack came and asked me to sing for his boys, I wouldn't mind so much. Being pulled off the streets by his cronies rankles a little. Especially when he lets Bobby manhandle me.' Hope laughed brittlely.

'Tough.' Joe nodded pensively.

'You don't know the half of it.' Hope raised an eyebrow as she side-glanced at Joe.

'So, tell me.' Joe looked down at her directly, and for a few moments, Hope forgot that she had only just met this boy. Spurred on, Hope found herself pouring all her troubles into the ears of her perfect stranger.

The door that led up to her aunt and uncle's apartment came into view as they wandered down the street, the odd street lamp flickering off and on in the darkness. Hope couldn't see Joe's face. At that present moment, she decided it was a good thing.

'Mack's crowd isn't my only issue. Really, I suppose my time with the gang is the only time I get to express and enjoy myself.

'I live with my aunt and uncle because I'm an orphan, spend most of my time looking for a new job, then work at the café all the other hours I can find. At the moment, I'm trying to find a job that's less soul-crushing, with no positive results, and I...' Hope stopped, taking a painful cold breath of air deep into her lungs. 'I just don't know where I'm going.'

Joe stopped walking on the doorstep of the apartment, intently meeting Hope's eyes. 'Where do you want to go?'

Hope looked into his eyes, lost in the depths of them, feeling compelled to complete honesty. She didn't understand why, but something about him brought out the need to talk about all the things that mounted inside her. Somehow, she felt he would know what to say. 'That's just the problem; I don't know. I feel like I'm just wasting my life at the moment. I keep dreaming that there is something else out there for me, but I'm beginning to think that there isn't.'