( HOOKER )

𝐱𝐱𝐢𝐢.

BY NOW SAWYER WAS TOO conflicted on what to do next after the time he'd spent with the woman. He was keeping in contact with her, and each time they spoke, he only fell harder for her, but for some reason, that only made him feel negative emotions. Confusion was filling his mind. He was never the type to grow so close to someone else. He didn't even think he wanted to. All that was going through his mind was all the memories he'd spent being alone, doing nothing but allowing people to exploit him.

Sighing out as he gave the cashier infront of him a quick nod, the brunette then turned around and walked out the small convenience store, his head pounding and his jaw clenched. Not sure why he was thinking so hard about something that could've been seen as a little thing, the male just shook his head, his eyes glancing down at the small snack he'd grabbed himself.

While he walked and walked, not even knowing where he was off to, he felt himself bump into someone, causing his head to snap up, but what he saw made him freeze, and it felt like he was a child all over again. He hated that feeling. That wasn't something he wanted to feel ever again, and after one last breath, it felt like everything was beginning to move in slow motion.

There was Golden just standing there. A look of shock over her face as well, but that shock turned into a small smile coating over her mouth. That made his heart sink deeper into his chest, and he finally made movement. He took a step back, wondering if what he was seeing was real.

"It's fucking official... I'm going insane..." he whispered to himself before he shook his head, deciding to turn around. But before he could do that, he felt a hand wrap around his arm and it wasn't long until he was being turned around only to see that the woman was in fact not a figment of his imagination.

She didn't say a word, but Sawyer could see her eyes getting all teary. For some odd reason, that only caused him to feel worse on the inside. She almost looked innocent. Like she was a brand new person. Her hand pulled away from his arm as she shifted in her stance, a gentle wince forming against her features, "Sawyer... It's really you..."

"What...? Golden...? W-What do you want from me...?" His voice was barely above a whisper as he strained his green eyes, the closeness clear through his beautiful raspy voice.

Taking a gulp, the older female pursed her lips, a single tear dropping out of her right eye while she stood there in disbelief and regret. The brunette didn't care though. Not after everything she'd put him through. "I don't want anything from you... We just.. happened to bump into eachother... Uhh.. h-how are you doing??"

Her question made the long haired man take a large step back, a scoff leaving his mouth as he did so. He couldn't believe that after all of this time, she had the nerve to act like she truly knew who he was, "Why do you care...?"

"Because.. I care about you, Sawyer... I always have. I've always wanted the best for you." Her voice was brittle, soft and low. That angered the man, and all of a sudden he felt little again. He felt like he was her puppet, and he hated that, but he hated the other feeling within him more. She was still inside of his head. That pissed him off. He thought he'd gotten over her, but seeing her in person was making him tick.

"Wow, getting me addicted to drugs and sex at just sixteen years old was quite the way to show that, Golden...!" Sawyer raised his voice a little, making his body begin to tremble. That made him feel so embarrassed, and that said alot. The male wasn't a self conscious person, but she just got underneath every crevice of his skin.

Shaking her head with more tears pouring out of each of her striking eyes, she then took a big step closer to Sawyer, her hands reaching up to each of his shoulders. His entire body stiffened when they made touch, and he didn't understand how she couldn't tell she was a trigger to him. "S-Stop, that's not me anymore... That's.. not my name. It's.. Mary..."

Sawyers breath hitched, and now it was his turn to cry. He never knew her name before, so actually knowing it gave him a reality check. She never truly loved him back then. He didn't even know her name. He was only a toy to her, and now that was more clearer once again.

After a few seconds of doing nothing but staring into the woman's eyes, Sawyer took another step away from her and raised his hands up to his face, a sniffle leaving his nose as he wiped his tears away, hating the fact that he broke his streak on crying. It wasn't too long until he looked her back in the eye, a serious expression all over his face, "What are you talking to me for...?"

His voice caused sadness to grow inside of the older girl, but that didn't stop her. She walked closer to him, regret still visible. "I... I don't know... I want to.. apologize for everything, Sawyer... I.. was an addict. I wasn't aware of most of the stuff I was doing... But I'm better now.. I have a daughter... a husband... Everything's been-"

"Oh and you're saying all of this to remind me that I'm nothing but a fucking slut aren't you??" Sawyer cursed, his eyebrows furrowing while he clenched his hand around the snack he'd just bought. Little did he know, that was nothing but his self consciousness talking. Mary didn't know anything about what he was doing now, all she was doing was asking for forgiveness.

Realization flashed across her face, and she removed each of her hands from his shoulders, quickly wrapping them around herself in the process. She had damaged him for a while it seemed like, and she didn't want to make matters worse. The fact that he thought she was just imaginary was enough proof of that, "What?? No...! I would never-"

"Get the fuck out of my way. If I see any more of your face, I'll probably end up killing you." Was all Sawyer said before he passed by her, giving her a hard shove as he did so.