My Princess

Chapter 1

I walked down the dim lot street with my hoodie pulled over my head. I kept my eyes on the ground as I walked past the many bars and saloons. The demented thoughts and stories of the girls that had been raped and murdered on this street made me quicken my steps. I stepped into a run down diner and searched through my pockets for some change. I found two quarters and shoved them into the slots on the side of the phone. It rang a few times before I heard the girls voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

I sighed in relief.

"Roni! I'm stuck in the rain and I need a ride home. My car broke down and I need someone to come get me."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Uh, my brothers are here playing games and stuff and I don't really wan to leave them so..."

She wasn't coming. I could tell by the tone in her voice.

"Fine! Stay there and play you're stupid board games while I walk alone in the rain!"

I heard her begin to protest but I ignored it and slammed the phone down on the receiver. I stormed out of the diner, back onto the street. I zipped my hoodie up and stuffed my hands into my pockets. As I walked past a small establishment, I heard loud shouting and muffled punches being thrown. A fight. I had never seen a bar fight before and my curiosity won out over my better judgment. I moved in towards the door, but couldn't see past the slot machines at the front. All of a sudden, the door flew open and a body was thrown out. He hit me like an oncoming train. We went sprawling backwards and my breath was knocked clear out of me as we crashed to the ground. His hips crushed into mine and our heads knocked together. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes in response to the pain. He sat up, slightly dazed, and a slew of profanities poured out of his mouth, straight into my face. He was obviously drunken beyond reason. He was also terribly strong, there were definitely going to be bruises where he held onto my arm with his free hand. I recoiled away from him as he lifted his fist to hit me. A hand wrapped around his wrist before it made contact with my face. I looked up to see a curly haired boy dragging the drunken man off of me. That was when I got a clear view of him. My heart stopped. He was beautiful. He had a perfectly shaped cherubic face with tousled blonde hair to frame it. Even with the drunken sneer plastered on his face, he was still absolutely beyond gorgeous. Also, he didn't seem to be much older than I was. Probably eighteen or nineteen. The curly haired boy leaned down to me and with the blonde in his one arm, wrapped his free arm around my tiny waist and lifted me to my feet.

"Can you stand?"

I nodded my head. He lifted the blonde into his arms and turned away from me.

"Ok, I need to get him home. Sorry about that, he gets a little irritable when he's drunk."

I nodded. The blonde glanced at me before looking into the dimple-cheeked boy's eyes. As the curly haired boy pulled him away, I felt a sense of loss. It seemed like, as the distance grew between us, so did my need to be near him.

"Wait!" I yelled.

Curly turned to look at me. I stood there, feeling like an idiot, not knowing quite what to do or say.

"Can-can I give you my number? Like, so you can let me know later if he's ok?"

He looked me up and down before handing me his phone.

"How about you give me your number and we set up a time to go out? I'd like that."

He flashed me a cheeky grin before handing me his phone. I took it timidly in my hands and typed in my information.

"I'm Harry by the way."

I nodded, only half hearing him.

"Just let me know tomorrow if he's ok. That's all I care about."

I handed him his phone back and he nodded his head, but not before looking down at my name and number.

"Hey, you have a pretty name. Beth. It suits you."

I blushed.

"Talk to you tomorrow then?"

I nodded my head before turning to go.

"Tomorrow."