Fingertips

Maverick

I woke up to a hand rubbing small circles on my back. I lifted my head up from my knees and saw that my mom was the one who woke me up. 

"Phoebe? Honey, are you alright? The police officer told me that a man pulled a knife on you! Is that what happened?" She asked, her eyes filled with concern. I cringed at the sudden onslaught of questions. 

I nodded and said, "He chased me down the street and threatened to kill me if I didn't do as he said. And then some guy came along and called the police." I thought I'd be crying at this point, but I felt no emotion. Maybe it was deferred shock. "Oh my gosh, honey are you ok? Did he injure you?" She said, pulling me into a hug. "No, I'm alright now, mom. Thank you for coming to pick me up. Can we go home now?" I replied. 

"I'm sorry, honey. We can't leave just yet. I need to have a word with the police officers. We need to sort some things out. You can stay right here. Don't go anywhere. I don't want you getting hurt again," my mom explained, fixing my hair. I nodded. I watched as she walked toward the two police officers.

I took out my phone and called my dad. I told him that I was ok and that we would go home soon. I made sure to tell him that I would explain everything to him tomorrow. I knew that as soon as I got home, I would probably knock out. As soon as I got off the phone with my dad, I turned my head to looked around the neighborhood. The houses looked similar to the ones we had in our neighborhood. I rested my chin on my hand, slowly growing sleepier.

I was nearly asleep when a voice made me jump awake.

"Hey," I heard a familiar voice say. I turned my head and saw the guy who saved my life. 

"Hi," I replied as he sat next to me. 

"How are you? Are you feeling ok?" He asked, giving me a small smile. I nodded. 

"Just a bit shocked I guess. Thank you, for saving me back there. If you hadn't called the police, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now," I replied. 

"No problem. It's good that my dad and his partner were around the area. I'm also glad that you're ok. I was scared that I wouldn't get here on time. I heard you scream but I didn't hear anything after that. I thought I was too late," he said, a sad look on his face suddenly replacing the smile. 

I lay a hand on his knee. I don't know him, but after what he did for me, I felt compelled to do something to comfort him. Even though I was here, he didn't seem convinced that I was ok.

"Hey," he said tracing something on my hand with his cold fingertips. 

"What?" I asked. I looked at what he traced and realized that he was tracing over multiple scratches I had on my hands. I noticed that I had some on my legs too. The wall of bushes I crawled through must've had some sharp branches. I also had a large gash on my knee that was still bleeding. I froze. I hated the sight of my own blood. Show me anyone else's blood, just not mine. I nearly snapped my head looking in the other direction.

"You're bleeding," he said, reacting much calmer than I had.

"I know," I replied.

"Are you afraid of blood?" He questioned me, noticing my discomfort.

"Only if it's mine," I responded, still looking away from him.

"Let me go ask my dad if I can bring you to our house real quick to patch you up," he said as he stood up. I nodded and let him go. As soon as he returned, he spoke again.

"My dad and your mom are cool with you stopping by at our house. Let's get those cuts taken care of," he said, extending his hand out to me. 

I took his hand and he helped me up off the sidewalk. 

_______

We finally arrived at a house with two cars parked on the driveway. 

"Here we are. Let's get inside," he said happily. 

We walked up to the front door and he rung the doorbell, waiting for someone to open it. The door swung open, and we were greeted by a cute little puppy that looked like a German Shepherd and a woman who looked extremely worried. 

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick trying to contact you Mavy!" She scolded him. The puppy simply jumped and scratched at my legs. I bent down and gave the puppy a scratch on the chest and its little leg started shaking, making me laugh. 

He explained the whole ordeal to his mom and she quickly introduced herself and I did the same. She was very friendly and she let us continue with what we came to do. 

He led me upstairs and told me to wait on a couch in his room while he went into the connecting bathroom to grab the first aid kit. I looked around and noticed that his room was simple. The walls were white, and his closet had two large built-in mirrors that slid open. His room was incredibly clean, but he didn't have much stuff in it anyway. 

He came out of the bathroom carrying a medium-sized box, a bowl, and some cotton balls.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi. Thanks for helping me again," I replied. He nodded in response.

He knelt down in front of me and opened the first aid kit and began taking out band-aids, isopropyl alcohol wipes, and some larger band-aids. He ripped open one of the wipes and before applying it on my knee, said, "This might sting a little." 

"It's fine," I replied. Things like that never really hurt that bad anyway.

He pressed the wipe onto my knee and I felt a little sting, but it quickly subsided. He wiped the area to clean it and opened a large band-aid and applied it to my knee. 

"Oh, by the way, my name's Maverick, but most people call me Mavy," he said, finally introducing himself.

"My name's Phoebe, but you can call me Bee if you want," I replied. 

He smiled and said, "Bee? What a name." I smiled back.

I finally got a good look at his face. His hair was black, wavy, and messy, I'm assuming he didn't bother fixing it before heading out. His nose was scrunched up as he focused on the scratch he was cleaning on my hand. His eyes were a light blue color. 

He noticed me staring at him, smiled, and said, "What?"

"Nothing," I replied.

_______

"Done," he declared as he finished putting the stuff away. "Let's go meet up with our parents," he added. I stood up, and we head out. I made sure to thank his mom on my way out.

_______

I got into the car and said another thank you and goodbye to Maverick and his dad. I buckled up and one thought came to mind before I dozed off...

Would I ever see Maverick again?

A.N.

Another filler chapter! But it is a bit important considering she met someone new in this chapter. Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!