Savior.

Chapter 1.

I counted the cash at the ATM, making sure I had as much as I could possibly give. "100.. 150.. 200."

I shoved the money the pocket of my work jeans and flagged down a taxi. I had and hour to get to the airport and back home to Adam, just like every Friday night. When I stepped out of the taxi, I walked to the parking garage and got in the elevator, counting the floor until it stopped on the roof.

I stepped out of the elevator and walked to the 2nd row, my boots clanking on the ground. I spotted Carlos with another customer. He looked at me, then looked back to the man he was dealing to, then back at me. That big creepy smile appeared on his face. "Alice! How are you?"

"Fine," I muttered, approaching him. I pulled the money out of my pocket and handed it to him.

He counted it and looked up at me. He shook his head, "This is a hundred less than last week, I need more than this."

"I have bills to pay tomorrow, it's all can give you until next Friday."

He grabbed my wrist. "No, that doesn't work for me."

"Wait, mate," The man said, it was too dark for me too see his face. "How much does she owe?"

"Almost ix thousand more," Carlos growled.

I watched the man pull out a large amount of cash. "Here you go then."

"You're paying off her debt?"

"It's not even my debt, asshole."

His grip on my arm tightened. "No, it isn't. But your dirtbag boyfriend shouldn't have fucked over his drug dealers, right?"

"Fuck you," I spat. He yanked my arm and I fell to my knees.

The other man stepped into the light and put his hands up in the air, "Hey, just take the money and let her go. All you want is the money, right?"

Carlos gave me a quick kick to the stomach and released me, snatching the cash. The man helped me to my feet. "Both of you, get out of my sight," Carlos said, turning away. "Don't think I won't get the dogs out of the van."

That was our queue to leave, fast.

When we got to the elevator, I looked at the man who possibly just saved my life. "Hey I know you," I said in astonishment, "You're Danny Worsnop."

"I am, and you are?"

"Alice," I nodded, "Thank you for saving my ass back there."

"No problem," He shook his head. "Dealers can be pretty harsh. You don't look like a coke-whore. How did you end up with such debt?"

"I, um--" I didn't want to tell him, it was such a personal story.

Luckily, the elevator saved me. The doors opened on the third floor, and Danny stepped out. "Do you need a ride?"

"Um, sure," I said, knowing I really needed to get home to Adam. I added, "You just keep helping me out, don't you?"

On the way, I got a call from the babysitter. "Can you please just stay a little longer?" I begged. "I'll be home as soon as I can. Adam can't be left alone, she's too little."

I managed to get another half hour out of the sitter, but she knew I wouldn't be able to pay extra. I was really embarrassed when Danny pulled up to my house. It was little, rundown, and he probably lived in some sort of mansion.

"Thank you, for the ride." I said, closing the door.

Danny turned off the car, "Mind if I use the bathroom?"

I was about to be really embarrassed when he saw the inside. But I couldn't be rude, the guy just spent six thousand dollars so that I would get killed, or sold into prostitution. "Of course."

I opened up the door and stepped inside. Five year old Adam came stumbling up to me, he was pretty small for his age. I picked him up in my arms and gave the sister a twenty, then I led Danny to the bathroom. As we walked down the hall, I could tell he was checking out the house.

It wasn't the worst, but it certainly wasn't good. None of the furniture matched, the walls had a few holes in them, and everything was quite old. Fortunately, a clean bathroom was one of the things that I always kept up on.

"How was your day?" Adam smiled, showing off a smile with a front tooth missing.

"It was okay, honey. How was your day?" I asked, taking a can of soda from the fridge. I knew he was going to tell me he had a blast at daycare, and then he came home he played with his babysitter, but I asked anyway.

He smiled and jumped up and down in place, "I had a great day!"

Danny walked up behind him and patted his head, "That's good, because you're too little to not have a good day."

"Adam, this is Danny," I smiled.

Danny walked up to me and touched my arm. "It's been a pleasure meeting you. don't get yourself in trouble like that again, okay?"

"Thanks to you, I won't be," I told him, giving him a hug.

"Goodbye, Alice," He smiled before walking out the door.

"You were in trouble?" Adam asked seriously.

"No, dear. Everything is fine. Now, it's passed your bed time," I said, patting his back and guiding him to go brush his teeth. I tucked him into bed, then unfolded the couch so that I could go to bed as well. We really needed a bigger house. I looked at a picture on the wall.

It was newborn Adam and his dad, Owen. I shook my head, wishing he was still around-- the him before the cocaine, or at least wishing he had left me with more.