Jessica's Trail

4. Handsome as Hell

I'm just gonna say this. I didn't get much sleep last night. How could I? It's Saturday morning and Harvey's already awake and getting ready for work. He's sitting at his kitchen table eating what looks like a plain doughnut and drinking coffee.

He offered me breakfast but I declined politely. I wasn't in the mood to eat nor did I honestly trust have of the food he owns right now.

"Listen," Harvey speaks up suddenly. "It's up to you if you wanna come with me to work today. It might be safer, but if you think you wanna spend some time alone you can stay here."

"Can I try and see if a boy named Tommy is around? We met on the train when I came here. He's from Gotham." I suggest.

"Sure." He shrugs and grabs his coat before heading out.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

It's not because of Harvey. It's because I haven't had room to breath since my mom died. Everyone has been crowding around me with questions and pity and crime. Even on the train I was surrounded by people who love their lives with their families, while I'm alone on the train without my mom. My true family.

I was lucky actually. Looking back at my last conversation with my mom, I got to say 'I love you'. My mom and I were really close. We never really fought and if we did we never called each other any foul names or said 'I hate you'. Some people are stung for the rest of their lives by their last conversations with people. How they may have fought or not cared before. My mom and I always wanted to have the best conversations before I went to school or she went to work or either of us went out. We knew the world was dangerous, we wanted those goodbyes to be the ones that count the most.

I shake away the thoughts of our last goodbye and grab one of my bags from the floor and pull out some new clothes to wear today. I pull out a long sleeve black hoodie and a pair of dark blue jeans. I don't own many pairs of shoes. I have sneakers, combat boats, black high heels, and ice skates.

Slipping on my sneakers I reach for my phone out of my bag and stop when I notice what it's by. A picture of me and my mom. That day in the picture we were celebrating my mom's first surgery as a doctor. I smile down at the picture and place it back in the bag and grab my phone.

I send Tommy a quick text asking if he wants to come over and do something in the city. Within a few seconds he responds with a sure and what's my address. I send him Harvey's address and go over to the window to have a look at Gotham. There's not a fire escape on any of Harvey's windows. But there's one next door.

From this few you'd think it was just a low life New York City. The skies are grey, the ocean is dark almost black, and the only birds I see are pigeons or crows. The buildings are tall and silver, grey, brown, or black. A bunch of a alleyways leading to either dead ends or empty places. Truth is, you could be told this city was any city in the world, and you'd believe it. Isn't that sad?

Suddenly there's a knock on the door and I walk over to it. Opening the door, Tommy stands there looking fine in ripped jeans, navy blue v neck long sleeve shirt, and grey sweatshirt.

"Hey Timmy." I smile and join in him the hallway, locking the door behind us.

I'll be able to open it later because earlier this morning Harvey gave me the spear key he kept under the mat to use. He said he'll make a third one to replace that one just in case. Something tells me he loses his keys often.

"Why do I have a feeling you know my name but just insist on calling me Timmy?" Tommy smirks as we start to walk down the stairs.

"Because you have a brain." I laugh.