Trapped Soul

Chapter 3 - Please Stay

Once we were in the elevator I tried to sneak out before the doors closed but the guy insisted on holding on to me.

"I won't be able to get into my loft by myself, plus I need to thank you" he said and I clenched my teeth.

We rode the elevator and when the doors opened I realized we was at the top floor. We walked out and he led me to his door. He fished his keys up from his pocket and put them in the door. When he opened I helped him get inside. He took off his shoes and told me to do the same which I first tried to avoid doing but he said he needed help to the couch and he didn't want dirt on his floor. I didn't really see how that would make a difference but I took my shoes off and I felt embarrassed for all the holes my socks had. I helped him get to the couch. Once he sat down I turned around to leave.

"Hey! Please, let me give you something as a thank you" he said and I narrowed my eyes.

"No, thank you" I said and was about to start walking towards the door when I heard small footsteps in the stairs coming down.

"Daddy!" a little redheaded girl screamed with pure happiness and ran to the guy, crashing into his opened arms.

Dad? He was a dad? He had a daughter? I was shocked and I froze in my pace looking back at the two.

"Richard, you're home" a redheaded elder woman said coming down the stairs, not as fast as the little girl. "Oh, who is this lovely lady?" she asked when her eyes laid upon me.

My eyes widened and my heart started pounding faster. I felt the panic rinse through my body. The redheaded looked at me and I could see her lips moving but I couldn't hear a thing. I glanced over at the man in the couch with his girl and I could see his lips moving too. I had a hard time focusing on the same spot and I started to feel dizzy. The woman walked slowly towards me and I took one step back. She didn't look like she was going to hurt me, she looked concerned. Suddenly her voice broke through my dizziness.

"Take a deep breath, honey, deep breath. Come here, sit in the couch, you look like you're going to pass out" she said and when she got close enough she gently laid a hand on my arm and led me to the couch slowly.

I sat down and the dizziness started to fade away.

"Are you okay?" the little girl asked and I looked at her.

"She looks frightened, and pale. Richard, what do you think? Water? Wine?" the elder woman asked.

"I think water, but I can't get it, I twisted my ankle" the man said and the woman nodded.

She walked into the corner of the room where the kitchen half seemed to be. I tried taking deep breaths as the woman had said. The dizziness disappeared and the woman came back with a glass of water. She gave it to me and I tried to decline but her eyes told me there was no way I could escape it so I accepted it. While I was drinking the little girl looked at me with a smile. All I wanted to do was hide. I didn't want anyone looking at me and especially not a little girl. She looked at me like I was one of them. Like I wasn't a homeless person who was all dirty and didn't deserve their attention.

"I should go" I breathed and I tried to stand up but the woman put a hand on my shoulder, signaling I wasn't going anywhere.

"Honey, you should stay for a while until you get back those rosy cheeks I bet you have in normal circumstances" the woman said and I bit my inner lip.

The woman wandered off into the kitchen again and she started take away some dishes that laid there. The guy, Richard, didn't stop looking at me. I felt uncomfortable, not because of his stare but because of all the kindness they gave me.

"Sorry for asking but are you homeless?" the little girl asked curiously and I heard Richard say "Alexis" in a tone that was meant to teach her not to say something like that.

"I'm sorry, she's a curious one" he excused but I was actually glad the little girl didn't look at me like I was a freak even though she knew I was what I was.

"Yes, I am" I said low and she looked me into my eyes.

Her eyes was in the same blue color as her dad's was. They fitted her perfectly, and her face was cute. She must've been about 5 or 6 years old. Her eyes lit up.

"Then you can live here, we have a guest room next to mine, you can sleep there and we could have a pj party" she said all excited and I looked at her with wide eyes.

I tried to hide my shock from the redheaded girl but I was absolutely terrified.

"Alexis, maybe you should go up and play? Take gram with you" Richard suggested and the girl looked disappointed.

"Okay" she said and jumped out off his lap but not before Richard had kissed her forehead.

She ran to the woman and the two walked back upstairs again. Both Richard and I looked after them until they disappeared.

"Richard" I started but he cut me off.

"Rick" he said and I looked at him with a questionmark hanging in the air. "My mother is the only one calling me by my full name, please call me Rick" he added and I nodded.

"Rick" I corrected myself "I should really get going, I appreciate your effort but I can take care of myself" I said and he looked at me with a wounded expression.

"You know, my daughter is right, if you want to you can live in the guest room until you get back on your feet again" he said and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen" I said and he looked at me with a wrinkle between his eyes.

It was actually kinda cute the way he looked at me. Snap out of it Kate! I stood up and I walked out of his reach in case he was going to try to stop me. When I was at the door Richard cleared his throat. I glanced at him.

"Let me at least know your name, your real name" he said.

I guessed he knew that if he only had said name I would've lied. Now it didn't feel like I could and by the way, what could go wrong with him knowing my name? It wasn't going to change anything. He wouldn't be able to search for me anywhere since I'd been out on my own for years, the only thing he could find on me was that I dropped out of school for some tragedy not many people knew about. So I decided to tell him.

"Kate Beckett" I said, turned the knob on the door and walked out.