My fresh start

Lost, and then found.

I run through the dark alleyways of Manhattan, not once stopping. My breathe is ragged, and I can barely see through the dark. The footsteps keep following me, plunging me further into the unknown city. I got here just yesterday, and I've already found myself trouble, I always tend to do that. It's a reoccurring thing with me, really.
The yells of my opponents follow me, echoing around the vast empty alleyway walls. I pump my arms and legs harder, pushing me forward in attempt to get away from them. I knew that if I didn't, they would catch me soon enough. A girl can only run so far before she passes out, after all.
I turn a corner, my body slamming briefly into the wall due to the force I was running at. But I don't stop. I keep going, determined not to be caught, not yet, at least.
Suddenly, I feel my body being pulled sideways, into a dark hollow within the wall. I try to scream, the fear that they had caught me taking over my body, but a hand is slammed against my mouth, silencing me.
"I'm helping ya, now be quiet aw'right, otherwise we's both gettin' caught." A thick New York accent whispers in my ear, pulling me further into the darkness, holding me tight against his hard chest. I feel his breathe down my neck, as footsteps approach, and run past, muttering confusedly to each other in their search for yours truly. We stay in this tight position until they are firmly out of sight and hearing range, and he finally loosens his grip on me, removing his hand from my mouth. I sigh, stepping away from him, and clutch my stomach, trying to catch my breathe.
"Damn DeLancie bruddahs, don't they's ever take a break?" My saviour moans, stepping into the brief light given by the stars and the moon. I study his face, carefully. His unruly black hair is pressed beneath a flat cap. His dark eyes suit his pale skin, and his distinguished jaw line makes me blush, just slight. He is rather attractive... And also a stranger.
"Um, thank ya, Mr...?" I start, unsure how to finish.
"Jack." He finishes for me. "What's ya name, kid?" He asks me, sticking his hand into his pockets, pulling out a cigar and lighter, which he prepares with ease like he's done it a million times before.
"Lana...." I say warily, watching him look me up and down like a plate of meat. "Uhm, what are ya doin'?" I ask, feeling self concious. He shakes his head, as if snapped out if a trance, and looks back at me.
"You got's a place to stay tonight?"
"Yeah, a lil' alleyway next to a trash can." I say sarcastically, to which he chuckles, looking down shyly. "Why's you asking?" I say defensively, ready to run away again if need be.
"Look, I'm not gonna be able to sleep knowin' I left a goil alone on the streets. And your not gonna sleep knowin' those DeLancies are still out der. How'd you's feel about comin' back to the lodgin's with me? I'm a newsie, see?" He offers, looking kindly down at my small, skinny stature. I've not known kindness like this in quite a while. Not since everything that happened back home, before I ran.
But there is one fatal flaw with his offer.
"But... I'm a goil. Goils can't be newsies, even I knows that." I point out, to which he laughs quietly, his eyes crinkling with his smile. I raise my eyebrow at him, backing away slightly.
"We ain't that sexist, lady! I mean, sure, you'd be the first goil we'd have, but still! An' it's better than sleeping on the streets, don't ya thinks?" He asks knowingly. As much as I want to take him up on his offer, I just feel more questions building up inside of me, wracking my nerves even more.
"Well, how does I know I can trust ya, Mr. Jack?" I ask, and he smirks back at me. He holds his hand out to me, and I look down at it, confused.
"Well, do ya trust me?" He asks.
Something must overtakes body, because never before, in all my years of living on the streets have I ever made such a reckless decision. I was always taught to trust no one, because you never know where it could take ya. Too many times I've heard the stories of young naive  girls taken away by males who earns their trust. And I was determined not to be one of them. But looking into his eye, as they sparkly slightly in the moonlight, something makes me feel safe with him. Maybe it's the fact that he just saved my life, or maybe it's just his kindness. Whatever it is, it makes me reply with a slightly scared agreement.
"Yes..." I say, placing my hand in his own large ones, slightly worn with work, and dirty with the grime of the day. But I don't let go, and nor does he. 
"Well then let's go." He says, winking at me cheekily, before turning and leading me down the alleyway. And for the first time in my life, I have no idea what I'm letting myself into.