A helping hand

Pretty woman

I had knocked out before cricket got out of the shower. When I got up to make breakfast he was knocked out on the pull out snoring like he could stop breathing at any moment. I pulled out some bacon and eggs and got to work. Fresh coffee for cricks and tea for me. I'd usually keep coffee for Charlie when he would spend the night and I thought cricket might like coffee. I moved the two plates to the coffee table. Then the drinks and I turned on the tv and put on Malcom in the middle. Sitting on the edge of the pull out as I wait for the sound to wake him up.
....

I slowly woke up to the smell of coffee brewing. Something I hadn't had in forever. I thought of last night in the shower. Feeling the hot running water fall along my body. Looking at my scars. After tonight I didn't want to leave. I missed this. I needed this. Then to walk out and find a pretty woman sleeping peacefully in her bed. Undisturbed by the bathroom light. "At least one person in the gang has some sanity"
Now I'm pretending to be asleep while she turns on the tv and eats her breakfast. She already has done so much by letting a strange man into her apartment I didn't want to ask for breakfast but I was starving. I slowly move and stretch to act like in waking up.

"Good morning cricks! I made you some bacon and eggs" she smiles and points to the table at the edge of the couch. "I also made you some coffee I left it black. But there's sugar and milk in the kitchen if you want to add some."

"Wow. Uhhh thanks sky. You didn't have to do this. But thank you so much."

"Cricket. After what you told me last night there's no way I couldn't make you breakfast. Also sorry for scaring you. I'm still sensitive after what happened with Charlie and I"

"It'm mmokay" he says thru mouthfuls of eggs
"I just thank you for being so nice to me. The rest of the gang doesn't give a shit about me unless they want something from me. Do you want something from me?" He says kind of scared. Making sky's heart break.

"No. No. I just wanted some company if anything. I love the gang I owe them my life but they shouldn't have treated you like that. Do you have any desire to get clean cricket?"

"Well of course but I've accepted my situation. There's no way for me to get out of it"

"What if I help you? I mean you'll sleep here on the couch. I'll help you get a job. New clothes. The whole makeover!"

"Why?"

"Well cricks. I'm off today and I would usually hang with the gang but I don't wanna see Charlie. I'm bored so how about a makeover? It's like that movie pretty woman. You're my pretty woman!"

"You have no idea how much I would love that"
...

After breakfast sky shaved off cricks goatee. She cut his hair and slicked it back like Mac. Putting vitamins e oil over both his facial scars and body scars before realizing he had ring worm. "Oh no we gotta get you medicine for that" she pulls out some cream from the bathroom and puts it on a q tip. Spreading the cream over his rashes. "You're not scared of the ringworm?"
"No it's just a fungus of the skin not an actual worm like I thought. I've had it before that's why I have the lotrimin. Okay all good. Put your regular clothes back on and we'll go to goodwill."

He looked in the mirror and couldn't believe he saw old Matthew mara shining through. Sure it's a beat up damaged version but he felt a sense of pride seeing himself again. And a sense of sadness. It seemed like it costed nothing for sky to do this. To just be nice and caring. Nothing Dee or the gang could ever do for him.