Torn

"Have you ever had ramen?"

Y/N POV

Touya looks at me.

I look at Touya.

Touya: Can I braid your hair?

Me: Sure...it's been a while since it's been fixed in an actual style...

I turn and face the window.

Touya takes the clip out of my hair and hands it to me.

My hair falls down to my mid-back.

"Your hair has gotten longer..." Touya whispers, running his fingers through me hair.

"Yeah...I need to cut it soon..." I whisper, checking the time on my phone.

I hold up my phone so I don't have to move my head.

3:30am

"It's early..." I mumble, turning my phone off and setting it down on my lap.

Touya hums.

While Touya fixes my hair, I let my mind wander.

Flashback

Lee opens the door. His apartment is so neat and what you would expect of a home. I guess it's what other people call normal.

"It isn't much but...this is where I live," Lee says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're apartment is amazing Lee!" I exclaim.

Lee looks slightly surprised for a moment but soon smiles. He pats me on the head and replies,
"Thanks, Sweet Pea..."

I flinch and get scared at the sudden physical contact.

Lee removes his hand and apologizes,
"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you..."

"It's...I..." I can't finish my sentence. I don't know how to respond.

No one has ever apologized to me before...I've only ever really read about what an apology was from the dictionary...It took a while to understand the odd word...

Lee walks over to his kitchen.

I quietly follow him.

"Would you like something to eat?" Lee asks, looking down at me.

He's...offering me something to eat? What...that's...

I hear my father's words in my head:

"Weak, useless little girls like you don't deserve to eat, don't deserve happiness, and, really, don't deserve to live. The only reason you haven't been killed is because we need rodents to test and experiment on. So I better never hear your stomach grumble ever  again. You don't deserve to be hungry. You whiny, weak, unintelligent, utterly useless little girl."

I feel tears fill my eyes.

"Sweet pea, what's wrong?" I suddenly hear Lee ask.

I look up and see him kneeling in front of me, his eyes are filled with kindness...and...something else. I think it's worry...worry for another...I've read about it in books, like how I read about kindnesses in books. I'm glad I've read so many story and picture books...without them...I don't think I'd ever be able so identify kindness in real life...Although, I never thought I'd ever experience kindness...until Lee came and held his hand out...

He helped me...

This only happened a little over an hour ago...

His hand...was...warm...