The Darkest Hour

Big Macs and New Accquaintances

Ruby gaped at him for a second.

'How did you-'

'Know your name? Well, I've been following you for a while, and-' As her shock mounted, the boy broke off with a snort of laughter.

'I read your badge, genius,' he scoffed.

She knew her cheeks were flushing, but tried not to look like she was bothered. She was so gullible, her cousin Viv was always telling her that.

'Well, I hope you enjoy the food,' she told him, with as much dignity as she could muster, and turned to go, her head held high. She hadn't done this to be laughed at.

'Wait,' he called after her. 'Sorry, I was just messing around. I didn't mean to offend you.'

Ruby pivoted slowly on her heel. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost have thought he wanted her to stay and talk to him.

'It's alright,' she informed him, with a shrug, 'I really should get back to work though, or my manager'll kill me.'

A flash of what looked almost like disappointment crossed his face before he smoothed his features into indifference, and Ruby suddenly realized something- at some point, she'd stopped being afraid of him. Usually she couldn't handle talking to guys in general, but for some reason she didn't find him threatening at all.

At first, when Rae had sent her over to tell him to leave, to her shame, she'd recoiled a little at the thought of being near someone like him, but something about the way his face had shown utter disbelief, then intense gratitude when she'd placed the food in front of him had made her feel deeply ashamed about her judgmental attitude. Yes, he hadn't exactly been nice at first, and he might not look or even smell the greatest, but he was a human being, and she was in no position to judge him.

'OK,' he replied, around a mouthful of fries. She'd never seen anyone eat so hungrily- he was practically inhaling the food. Ruby could see the way his clothes hung from his frame, his hollow cheeks and long, bony fingers. He was tall and big shouldered, and Ruby couldn't help but wonder what he'd naturally look like if he wasn't so malnourished.

She picked up her cloth and spray, and started to wipe down the table nearest to him, even though it was already clean. She didn't need Rae yelling at her, but there were no other customers and for some reason she didn't feel like walking away from the guy yet. He was exactly the kind of person her mother would kill her for associating with, but right now, Ruby didn't care.

'Thanks again,' he told her, after he'd swallowed. 'This is the best meal I've had in a while.'

She felt her stomach drop with sadness for him. McDonald's wasn't exactly top cuisine, and she wondered how long he'd been going hungry that he was gazing at the food like it was prime steak.

'I was happy to do it,' she replied, with a smile that barely masked her troubled thoughts. The more she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he looked young- maybe only a couple of years older than her. His sharp jaw was peppered with scraggy stubble, and his hair was definitely too long, hanging in matted clumps. He looked absolutely filthy, and she could smell him even from a distance. It wasn't pleasant. Ruby swallowed her distaste. She supposed someone living on the streets didn't really have a lot of chances to purchase new clothes, or take a shower.

He caught her eye and she moved her gaze quickly, feeling like crap. Hopefully he wasn't a mind reader or something.

'So you like doing good deeds?' He was asking. 'Helping out all the waifs and strays?'

'I- I just try and help people when I can. Anyone can fall on hard times,' she replied, hesitantly. Something in his tone had almost sounded accusatory. She continued to wipe down the clean table methodically, her heart thumping, worried she'd offended him if he didn't want charity or pity.