Save Me From Myself

Chapter 2-Daniel

With a concerned look on my face I went to the living room. The three of them were there, Glen was holding a warm kettle in his hand, a bald, ginger one was standing on the couch and the tall guy who smiled at me in the bar was holding an ice bag on his fist, frowning and mumbling some words.

The second they saw me the three of them started smiling. Warm and calm smiles appeared on their faces.

"Okay, Alexis, these are Mark and Dan. Now let me have a look at those wounds while you pour yourself a cup of tea, okay? Make yourself at home, my place is your place."
"Thank you. What happened to your arm?"
"Nothing, I just grazed it against that prick's chin. After what he did to you he will be serving a long time in a nice institution called prison."
"He was arrested?!", I shouted panicked.
"Yes he was, but I gave him a proper beating before. Should serve him right. Next time he tries to do that to anyone he will be thinking twice."

Mark was sitting quietly and helped me pour tea in cups. Glen returned with a small first aid kit which he opened on the table.

"Don't worry we won't ask you any uncomfortable questions, but feel free to ask us anything. After all we are complete strangers to you and it's normal to be afraid."
"Who are you guys? And why did you save me?"
"Well, Dan is the one to blame, smiled Mark, after you guys exchanging looks, he wanted to talk to you, but you were already leaving. So, he followed you and saw the way that piece of shit treated you. For a split second he lost you, but lucky he arrived there on time. And naturally we know he is a bit of a troublemaker so we went after him."
"Thank you, and I'm sorry you had to witness that. And see this...", I said pointing sadly to my face.
"You know, turned Dan to look me in the eyes, you shouldn't be ashamed of this. The scars, the bruises, the swollen eye, that goes away, but the scars in your heart will never fade away. And you are still beautiful.", he added winking at me.

I started paying more attention to him. His posture, the way he spoke. I could tell from how he reacted, he had a quick temper. But I also read beyond that. He seemed to have a nice perspective regarding things.

"All done. Now, are you hungry? I can whip up something for you in a second, or we can order some take away."
"Thank you, you are far too kind, but...I don't have any money, I lost my bag in that alley..."
"You mean this bag?", said Dan pulling out my bag from underneath his coat.
"Thank you, there are no words to describe how grateful I am. You saved me a lot of trouble."
"A smile, weary, but still a smile, glad to help you.", said Glen handing me over a cup of tea.
"Unfortunately you will have to go and give a statement to the police. We couldn't save you from that trouble.", said Mark.
"I know...I have to go though...I can't abuse your hospitality too much. I will go to a hotel, something....I have to...figure things out."
"You can come to my place, I stay alone, I'm most of the time gone and you can take your time to heal and figure out what you want to do...", said Dan rapidly.

I looked at him scared. I didn't want that. Although he seemed nice and caring, I was scared. You couldn't blame me after all the things I have been through. I shook my head and tears started falling from my eyes. Dan was concerned. He stood up and came to me, kneeling in front of me and putting a hand on my cheeks.

"Sweetheart, look, I don't want to hurt you, you can trust me, you really seem like you need a fresh start and someone to look after you. And I know it's hard to trust a man after what happened to you, but try. Okay? I swear to God that I will protect you okay?", he said wiping my tears gently.

I looked into his dark blue eyes and saw nothing but warmth. I haven't seen that in a long time. I approved silently because I had nothing else to do. I couldn't call Karla, because I would've alerted her and my family in the same time. At the place that used to be my home, well, I didn't want to see that place ever in my life. I started pondering all the possibilities, I had no money, no job and no house.

"It will all be okay, now, I will order some take away and we can go home. You need a bed, you need rest and you need a lot of thinking. I will take you to the police station tomorrow whenever you feel ready, but for now you don't have to worry about that. Even without your statement he will face a long time in prison."
"Okay...thank you. I will find a way to repay your kindness guys."
"Just seeing you safe makes us feel rewarded.", answered Dan, putting his coat gently on my shoulders and helping me put my shoes on.

Dan called a cab and lit himself a cigarette outside.

"Glen doesn't smoke so I'm not allowed to smoke in the house. He couldn't keep you at his and Mark doesn't live in Ireland anymore so we thought it was a good thing if you came over to mine. We couldn't just leave you like this. Want a cigarette? Are you cold? You're shivering."
"I quit smoking a long time ago, but thank you. I'm okay..."
"Is it okay if I hold you in my arms? You're shivering like a leaf. If I'm doing anything that bothers you just tell me, okay?"
"Okay, thank you but I'm good.", I said pulling his coat tighter on my body.

His coat was as big as a tent. Dan was a tall and lanky guy, compared to my 5'7". Fortunately the taxi came soon and he helped me get inside. I tried hiding my mutilated face but the only good idea that I came across was putting my head on his chest so as not to draw attention. At first he seemed surprised, I felt every muscle in his body contract, but then he relaxed. He covered me in his coat better and almost imperceptibly put a hand on my shoulder.

"Long night, lovebirds?", said the taxi driver.
"Yes, please take us to Dublin four near the American embassy."
"Sure will, hey mate you look quite familiar.", noticed the taxi driver.

That moment my heart started pounding from my chest. I looked up at him, my face contorted in fear. Who was this man?

"Who do you think I am?", asked Dan, winking back at me.
"You look like the bloke who sings in that Irish band...The Script."
"No, you are confusing me with someone else. I work in IT."
"I know for sure how the bald guitarist looks like. Worked for his folks years ago. Good people.", the taxi driver concluded.

I calmed down for a little bit, but somehow I still felt afraid. I jumped out of the taxi as quickly as possible, "jump", being a metaphor. I crawled would use better to describe. Dan took care of the fare and he showed me the way to his house.

From how the area looked, Dan could be anything from a banker to a doctor, anyway someone who earned a great deal of money. We stopped in front of a fancy apartment building surrounded by a tall gate.
Dan entered a code and opened the gate, showing me inside.

"Wow...I wasn't expecting this."
"What? You thought I would lure you into a weird place? There is no safer place than this, trust me, but you will have to excuse the mess.", he said inserting another code at the front entrance.

I went inside and followed him to the elevator. My expression changed from relaxed to scared. Dan noticed it immediately.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I'm just...it's nothing...it's a thing I've been scared ever since I was a child. I'm just scared of elevators.", I admitted blushing.
"Me too, but it's the only way to get to the fifth floor in your condition. It's perfectly safe, don't worry.", he smiled reassuringly.

I didn't know anything about him, but there was something in his presence that made me feel safe and comfortable.  Maybe it was something to do with the way he reacted. I followed him inside the elevator and tried to relax. We arrived shortly in his apartment, a beautiful modern duplex. I was in awe, everything in the house was shiny and looked new.
Pieces of paper were scattered all around the living room couch, coffee table and floor. A laptop and TV were open and a grand piano was placed in the corner of the room.

"Sorry about the mess again."
"This is where you live? Wow, this is absolutely breathtaking. You have a very beautiful house."
"Make yourself straight at home, I will clean up this mess and then order some take away, okay?", he smiled taking his coat off me and starting to clean up the pile of papers.