Saved By a Stranger

Chapter One: On the Edge

She stands on the edge of the bridge, nothing but the murky green river under her. Her eyes are red and her throat is sore from crying. The sleeves of her shirt, once white, are stained red; her wrists bloodied from the razor blade clenched in her right hand. She stared blankly at the water below. A cold wind rushes past her, causing her to shiver violently. She sighs heavily and inches closer to the edge.

"Excuse me." She is startled by a small voice behind her. She turns slightly to see a girl behind her. She is short, with shoulder-length brown hair. She is child-like in appearance, with large emerald-green eyes and a splash of freckles across her cheeks. She wears a worn pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt with a familiar video game emblem on the front, a think black jacket with a large purple coat over it, a black scarf, and a black backpack.

"What?" she snapped, her voice shaking.

"It's just, well... I know you're not going to listen if I tell you to stop, but I'd at least like to know why you're doing this," she replied, looking up at her with a concerned expression. The girl on the edge blinked, unsure how to take what she had just said. She turned her gaze back to the water.

"What does it matter," she mumbled.

"Curiousity. It's not every day you see someone out here by themselves. Especially not about to... Well..." The girl looked down. "Listen, I'm not going to try to change your mind or anything, but it's cold and I know you're probably hungry... And as I said, I'd really like to know why you're doing this. So why don't you come down, I'll patch you up, and we'll go get something to eat somewhere warm?"

The girl looked back at her hesistantly. Another harsh wind blew, sending a chill throughout her entire body. I am hungry... Besides, what do I have to lose? "Fine," she mumbled, climbing down from the edge. "I don't have any money on me." The girl below stretched out her hand, helping her down.

"Don't worry about it. It's on me," she said, smiling. "Now, let me see your wrists." The girl looked down and pulled up her sleeves, revealling several cuts running up the length of her arm. She shook her head and took off her bag. "You really did a number on yourself..." she mutters, rummaging through the bag. She pulls out two small rolls of bandages, a bottle of peroxide, medical tape, cotton pads, and antibiotic ointment. She takes one of cotton pads and drenches it in peroxide.

"This is going to hurt a bit, okay?" she says as she begins to clean her cuts. The girl grimaces, but doesn't make a sound. Once her wounds are completely cleaned, she coats them in antibiotic ointment and bandages them. She then puts the items away and the girl pulls down her sleeves "I have another shirt you can change into when we get to the restaurant. For now, put this on," she says, handing her the purple coat. She gives her a hesitant look before taking it. She pulls it on and they begin walking.

"So where are we going?" she asks, zipping up the coat.

"This little place up the road. Not a lot of people go there, but the food is fantastic." the girl says, smiling.

"Oh... Okay..." she replies, giving her a sideways glance. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Hm?" she gives her a puzzled look.

"You're helping me out and all, I figured I should at least know your name..." she says, shoving her hands into the coat's pockets.

"Oh yeah. I'm Taylor. Sorry for not saying that earler. What about you?" she says, glancing over at her. "Blaire," she mumbled. "Ah. That's a pretty name," she said. Blaire smiles faintly.

"Oh, we're almost there. We just have to make a right at that opening right there." They turned down a small path leading into the woods. At the end of the path was a small cottage. There was a sign hanging above the door that read, "Home, Sweet Home".

"Alright," Taylor said, taking a shirt out of her bag and handing it to Blaire, "When we get inside, go change and I'll grab us a table." Blaire nodded, taking the shirt. they walked inside and Taylor pointed her towards the washroom. She looked back as the hostess led Taylor to their table.

She opened the door to the washroom and sighed with relief. Thank God. It's only for one person. She locked the door and removed the coat, hanging it on the back of the door. She moved her shirt and frowned at it. Damn it. I loved this one... She sighed heavily and threw it in the waste bin sitting in the corner. She held up the shirt Taylor had given her. It was a plain black thermal with a heart embriodered into the upper part of the left arm. Not bad. She smiled at it and pulled it on.