Remaining Daylight (#Wattys2016)

Track VII.

The main office of the car lot was small, to say the least. And completely deserted. Hayden and I walked around, only to find that whoever worked here was apparently out of the office today. Great.

"The sign on the office window says they're closed," Hayden groaned.

"So we camp out here tonight. Not a big deal."

"Somewhere free that won't make us look homeless?"

"Listen, if you keep setting your standards so high, you will never be satisfied."

Hayden rolled his eyes. "Fine, but only the finest cardboard box."

"Picky, picky."

We left the lot with our bags on our backs and started wandering through the streets. Right now, things appeared fairly calm. While that could change any second, right now I would take it. I'd let myself feel safe enough to not be watching everything around me. This may have been a shady part of the city, but people lived here. If more people lived than died, weren't those odds in my favor?

The crosswalk said it was okay for us to go. That didn't stop the driver from nearly running us over as we passed. He flipped us off, despite the fact that his light was red. What was with all the anger?

"Maybe we shouldn't be staying here tonight," I said.

"Where else would we go? We need a cheap car," Hayden replied. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."

"Unless you're not safe."

"We'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Seriously."

Of course he was saying that until we rounded a corner where some poor guy was being beaten in broad daylight. We stopped short at the end of the alley, not sure what to do. Help the guy? Walk away? Call the cops? One of the assailants kicked the victim in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground.

Then the other one turned and spotted us.

"Hey!" he screamed. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Uh, nothing," I said. He walked towards us while his friend continued the beating. Christ.

"Then why the fuck you here?" he demanded.

"We were just walking past. I swear," I replied.

He looked me up and down, his violent nature seeping off of him and chilling me to the bone. Then, he eyed up Hayden. I could have sworn he was about to pull out a gun and shoot us. That's how it felt.

"You seem awfully nervous for someone just walking past. What did you see?" he asked.

"Nothing," Hayden said, nothing but confidence. I, on the other hand, wanted to throw up.

"Then why were you staring? Something interesting happening?" he asked. I didn't get it. He knew we'd witnessed what was happening.

"Not at all," Hayden said again. His voice didn't even waver.

"What about you?" The assailant turned his attention back to me. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. What was I supposed to say? I was visibly terrified.

"What about me?" I asked.

"See anything interesting?"

"No. I'm sure that guy totally deserved it."

His eyes narrowed. Before I knew it, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face with the back of it, saying, "You squeal a word, and I'll do a lot worse."

My cheek stung, the impact loud. I cried out a little bit, trying to hold back tears, and held my cheek. Fuck. We needed to get out of here. Hayden had other ideas, though. He grabbed the guy's shoulder and punched him clean across the face, knocking him to the ground.