After escaping from the home of her crazy soon to be ex-husband...Hope finds herself alone on the streets; surviving on nothing but her wits and the clothes on her back until one day, help comes from an unexpected source...
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May 13, 1989
**Prince POV**
While it's only been a few seconds since I teasingly tossed out my ultimatum, it's felt more like a hundred years. With twinkling eyes, my earnest gaze has been locked on Hope's in an attempt to get any sort of read on her feelings.
Her face has managed to remain blank, but from the look in her eyes I can tell her mind's turning...mulling over my proposal. Come on mama...say something...
Eventually the silence becomes too overwhelming. "What's the matter, Hope? Cat got your tongue?" I offer in a lighthearted teasing tone, complete with playful pout.
Gemini takes that moment to poke her tiny feline head out of my jacket pocket to give me the evil eye and a perfunctory hiss as I let out a low, gravelly chuckle. What the hell is with this kitten?
"Are you serious?" she asks hesitantly, breaking the moment as she reluctantly locks eyes with my concerned gaze, and backing away slightly when my eyes turn serious on her and I offer her a decisive nod.
"I don't know...." She offers shuffling her feet, and dropping her gaze to the ground uncertain. I guess it's time for plan B...
"Well mama..." I reply in a firm tone, keeping my eyes gentle despite the seriousness of the situation. "If you're not gonna come home with me, then I guess I'm just gonna have to stay here with you."
One look at her astonished expression assures me that whatever response she was expecting, this wasn't it. Prince-1, Hope-0.
As she's still standing there staring at my dumbfounded, I casually extend my hand exchanging glances between my hand, my car, and finally her eyes before offering her my most winning smile. "Well Hope...it looks like we're camping al fresco tonight. I've got some camping gear in my car..."
She doesn't say a word as her eyes dart nervously between my earnest gaze, my outstretched hand, and the ground, she eventually reaches her shaky hand out toward mine, palm sweaty, offering me an uneasy handclasp. This is gonna be one hell of a long night, but if she trusts me afterward, it's worth it....
--
A few hours later I started to regret my earlier optimism. It was cold, it was drizzly, and oh my god...is that a rat?!
On the plus side, Hope looked as comfortable as I'd ever seen her. I'd decided to forgo my sleeping bag....allowing her to have the first good night's rest she'd had in who knows how long. She looks so peaceful...
I'd kept true to my word, standing guard over her on this chilly Minneapolis night. True to my prediction, this was the coldest night we'd had in a while...with temperatures hovering near freezing.
So with my teeth chattering, I continued to shiver even as I did my best to snuggle into my coat and hunker down. My back was resting uncomfortably against the chilly dumpster as I once again heard a telltale squeak. Uhhh...that can't be good...
