"We'll take her," I hear Leo say but I don't pay much attention to him.
"It's ok," I say gently to the child that is bleeding before me.She must be three or four or maybe younger. She is still sobbing hard as they try to scramble away from me.
"We need to go," I hear Leo say.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of comfort toy for her or something," Sandra asks mocking me.
"Cleo, we need to go," Leo says, completely ignoring the question. I make a move towards the child and this time she doesn't move away as I lift her up gently. She struggles a little against me but it's half hearted. Blood is staining my clothes but I don't care as I send a glare at Sandra. How could a person be so cruel? I look over at Leo who is watching me with some emotion in his eyes that I can't read. He snaps out of it though and gestures for me to follow him. I follow him out the door, sending Sandra another glare which she ignores.
The child is clinging to me as I cradle her in my arms. I walk slowly as I try to calm her down. I brush her blond hair out of her face but she quickly brings her hands up and covers her face.
"It's ok, It's ok," I say gently, trying to rock her back and forth but it only succeeds in making her cry more. I reach Leo who is stroking are horse's mane. He is completely ignoring me, great.
"Thanks," I say softly and he turns his head to look at me.
"You're stupid, you know that right?" I decided to ignore his jab.
"I didn't expect it to be this bad."I say looking down at the little girl. She was wearing a plain shirt and some pants that were made of a scratchy material. Even by just holding her the fabric was irritating my skin.
"Let me see," he says, stepping towards me. I gently rolled up the pant leg of the girl and there were black and blue marks all over her leg. He runs his finger over the wound which makes her whimper. He starts trying to take her out of my arms and I look up at him strangely. To be honest I do not trust him with a baby. I give in letting him take her out of my arms. He holds her up by sliding his hands under her armpits as he looks at her face. She almost immediately stops crying as she looks at him. She reaches out with her tiny hand and fists his shirt.
He brings her towards his chest as he supports her bottom half by slipping his arm under her and his other arm rubs her back soothingly. I stare mesmerized. How could he calm her down and I couldn't? He smirks at me over her shoulder and I roll my eyes.
"It h-urts," She says in a tiny voice as she leans her head on his shoulder.
"What sweetheart?" He asks her. She points to her face and I can see the bruising. Leo looks worried and I step behind him to look at the injuries. There is a long cut along her face that is bleeding with a few other minor scrapes.
"Well take care of them, ok?" Leo says and his voice sounds so sweet and sincere. He hands her over to me as he digs through his saddle bag before pulling out an apple and handing it to me. I take it since I'm starving and bite into it greedily.
"Do you need water?" He asks and I look up to realize he is talking to me and I nod my head as I take the water flask and take a couple sips.
"Do you need water?" I ask the little girl gently but she shakes her head.
"They gg-gave me water," She says shakily and I nod my head handing the water bottle back to Leo. "It hurts." She says again looking at me with tears pricking her eyes.
"I know, it will get better." I say reassuringly as I move her hair out of her face. "What's your name?"
"They never gave me one," she says looking down at the ground as if ashamed.
"Do you want a name?" I ask as thousands of name ideas pop into my mind. She nods her head slowly."What about-" I look back at Leo who is watching us. I have no idea what would be a good name. He gives me a look that says it's my problem now as he hops onto the horse.
"I need to think about it for a little, ok?" I ask. She nods her head again, I take Leo's extended hand as he pulls me up. The little girl lets out a shriek as I grab onto Leo's waist with one hand while the other holds the little girl firmly on my thigh.
"This is scary," she says, looking up at me with a pouty face as Leo lets out a snort.
"Its ok, it's not that bad, you will get used to it," She nods her head and then we start our journey away from Rose city with no idea where we are going.
YOU ARE READING
Roses Are Red
Romance"Your mine," His voice is husky as he looks down at me. I shake me head and take a step back from him only to make contact with the wall behind me. "I'm not yours," I say, surprised that my voice doesn't shake. His hand comes up to touch my face a...
