She encased her legs within her arms, squeezing her elbows as she held on to them. It was as if her life depended on it. And it did.
Her frail body kept shivering like a leaf in a windy day, even underneath the warmness of her pale coat and the sweet temperature that engulfed the room. Dark hair in utter disarray whilst her hazel eyes, covered with her arms were filled with nothing but fear of the unknown, the unexpected and the unruly.
"Erin," her mother called her name, but she didn't respond. "Erin." Nothing.
All she did was cradle her knees like they were going to break at any moment. She never lifted her face because she knew that he was standing beside her mother. Waiting for the proper opportunity.
"She needs some space," she heard a male voice speak to her mother, before the sound of footsteps bounced against the wall of the room. Her mother left, leaving her to face him by herself.
With her arm covering her full vision, Erin could only see so much of what he appeared to be. The brown leather shoes that covered his feet and the ends of his dark denim pants was all she could see. And yet she was terrified.
"You can never get away from me, dear one." His voice sent a horrifying feeling run up and down Erin's spine. His very presence was already petrifying but the way he moved his feet and the tapping sounds he created with the soles of his leather shoes made everything worse.
Erin's stopped gripping her elbows, determined to do one thing —run.
She pushed her frail legs to run away from him, she could hear her mother yelling her name, calling for her and yet her determination to get away from him never faded. Erin has had enough of him.
None of this could have happened if she was only aware of how things would go with him, how much pain Erin needed to endure when she was with him. Everything feel apart.
* * * * * *
A year ago, when being a waitress was all Erin could do to fend for herself and possibly help out her mother's debt, she had to work day and night causing her to not have enough time in her hands. It was inventible. If she wanted to live, she had to work for every penny she needed.
But the amount of money Erin was earning was not enough for both her and her mother —Margaret. Erin never went to college. But that didn't mean she never want to, it was only because they couldn't afford it.
Every bill that was slipped into their doorsteps, every rent that they had to pay to their landlord and every single nutrient they had to sustain, was making them poorer and poorer by the day.
But while the expense was building-up, burdening her already bruised shoulder, Erin was about to give up. She was already thinking of giving up.
That was when everything changed, she met him. The man whom she never expected. The guy with the well-built façade who made her panties twist by the way he moved. Every simple word he said, created a gush of feeling inside of her.
It was overwhelming and yet so calming.
For Erin, William was the epitome of perfection. He was kind, loving, understanding and undeniably rich. As odd and socially unaccepted it may sound, Erin didn't really care that much of his wealth, and though he could help him, she never did accept his money. The young lass wanted him to know that she loved him despite the number of zeros in his bank account.
