"Collins, I don't know how to thank you. I didn't know what I was gonna do. Where I was gonna go." the young blond said as they walked up the stairs of the building on Avenue A on the way to the loft.
"Don't mention it Babygirl. You need somewhere safe to stay and I have friends who have an extra room, it's all good." he smiled carrying her bags.
"Are you sure your friends don't mind? I don't want to impose on anyone." she asked looking up at him as they stood outside the loft door.
"I'm positive. I mean, Mark doesn't mind, Roger on the other hand... well, just try to stay out of his way. He's a bit pissy at first, but once you get to know him, he's a great guy." he smiled looking down at her.
"Thank you again Collins. Really." she said looking up at him.
"Listen, you needed help and I could help you. It's the least I can do for my favorite student." he said looking down at her before opening the door.
"Hey, you're here. Hi, I'm Mark and..." Mark started just as Roger got up from the window seat and went into his room, slamming the door.
"That's Roger. You'll get used to him." Collins smiled looking down at her.
"Hi Mark, I'm Fiona. Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate you letting me stay here." she smiled looking up at him.
"Well you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to. Just stay out of Roger's way for a little while. He's not good with new people at first." he smiled looking over at her.
"Watch it pumpking head, she just broke up with her fiance." Collins teased as Mark and Fiona looked down at their feet uncomfortably.
"No, I wasn't... I didn't mean to..." Mark stuttered looking up at Collins as he laughed.
"I'm kidding. Geez, you white boys are so jumpy." he laughed picking up Fiona's bags. "Come on sweetie, I'll show you to your room." he smiled looking down at her.
"It was nice meeting you Mark." she smiled looking over at him before following Collins to the bedroom where she's gonna be staying.
"Who was that?" Roger asked coming out of his room putting on his leather jacket.
"Well if you stayed to say hi, rather than running to your room, you'd know who it is." Mark said looking over at him.
"Well I didn't, so who was it?" Roger asked looking over at him.
"Collins student who needed a place to stay. The one that just broke up with her fiance. Remember, you agreed to this?" he asked looking over at him.
"Yeah. Right. I remember. Um... I'm going out for a little while. I'll be back later." he said looking over at him as he left the loft.
"Was that Roger?" Collins asked coming out of Fiona's room.
"Yeah, he's going out for a little bit. He'll be back later." he said looking over at him.
"Figures. Um, listen Mark. Fiona's had a really hard time lately and she really doesn't need Roger's less than friendly demeaner, if you catch my drift." Collins said quietly as he went into the kitchen for a beer.
"What do you mean?" he asked going over to him so Fiona wouldn't hear him.
"Her ex fiance isn't exactly a law abiding citizen. He's in a little criminal organization and she witnessed him tuning a guy up. He kind of threatened her life. She's kind of scared. When she came to me and asked for my help and I knew stashing her here would be perfect. This would be the last place he would look for her." he said opening his beer before taking a swig.
"You mean, a mobster?" Mark asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, you can say that." he said looking over at her.
"Did she go to the cops?" he asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, she tried to, but they wanted her to go back to him and find out more so they can build a case. There is no way she's doing that. He'll kill her just to keep her mouth shut." he said looking down at him.
"What about school? Doesn't he know she goes to NYU?" he asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, she had to drop out. If he ever found her there, there would be no way for me to protect her. She had to clean out her bank account and drop off the radar." he said looking over at him.
"Don't worry Collins. I'll take care of her." he said looking over at him.
"Thanks man. She's a good girl, you know? She just got involved with the wrong guy." he said looking over at him.
"I understand Collins. I'll keep her away from Roger. I wouldn't want him to scare her." he said looking up at him as Fiona came out of her room.
"Hey guys. Whatcha talking about?" she asked walking over to them.
"Nothing Babygirl. What do you want to do?" Collins asked putting his arm around her.
"I'm hungry. Do you guys have anything to eat around here?" she asked looking up at him.
"Sure. If you like ramen soup or cereal." Collins laughed looking over at her.
"OK. Is there any place around her we could go for a bite to eat. My treat." she smiled looking over at them.
"Are you sure going out is such a good idea Babygirl? What about your ex?" Collins asked looking over at her.
"He's more of an uptown type of guy. Isn't that why you decided to stash me down here? Because he wouldn't find me in the East Village. And anyway, I cut my hair. He wouldn't recognize me even if he came in and stared at me." she smiled looking up at him.
"OK, but I see one jamoke, we're out of there. Do you hear me?" Colliins said pointing at her.
"Deal." she laughed looking up at him before putting her coat on as they left the loft.
"I'm gonna go to bed, OK Mark? It's been a long day." Fiona smiled looking over at Mark.
"OK, good night Fiona. I'll see you in the morning." he smiled looking over at her.
"Mark. Thanks again. You have no idea how much you letting me stay here means to me." she smiled looking up at him.
"No problem. You needed somewhere safe to go and we had the room." Mark smiled looking up at her.
"Well whatever the reason, thanks Mark. I appreciate it." she smiled before going to her room.
"Where's the new girl?" Roger asked coming out of his room.
"Her name is Fiona and you could be a little nicer. She's been through a lot." Mark said looking over at him.
"Yeah well, the last thing I wanted was a new roommate." he said plopping down on the couch.
"But you agreed to let her stay here." Mark asked looking over at him.
"I only agreed because Collins made a good argument. I swear, he should have been a lawyer." he said looking over at him.
"Roger, just try to be nice to her, OK? That's all I'm asking." Mark asked looking over at him.
"What do you think Mark? I'm gonna make her cry? I'll be nice." he said looking up at him.
"Thanks Roger. I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Mark said going to his room.
"Yeah, see ya." Roger said looking over at him before picking up the remote and turning the television on. As he sat there, he flipped through the channels looking for something to watch. Finally he caught a re run of Miami Vice. He tossed the remote onto the couch next to him and laid his head back.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... Um... you must be Roger." Fiona stammered coming out of her room in a long night shirt.
"Yeah, you must be Fiona." he said sitting up straighter on the couch.
"I um... didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just coming out for a glass of water. I won't bother you." she said looking over at him before going to the kitchen.
"It's OK, I'm just watching a bad re run of Miami Vice. Do you um... want to watch it with me? We can make fun of Don Johnson's clothes." he asked looking up at her.
"No, it's OK. I'm just gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." she said looking down at him before heading back to her room.
"Fiona, I'm sorry if I acted like I didn't want you here. I'm just not good with new people." he said getting up from the couch.
"It's OK Roger. I understand. I mean, it can't be easy having some girl you don't know just move into your apartment like I did. It's just, Collins knew I was in trouble and he offered to help me. I'm sorry for barging in like this." she said looking over at him.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." he asked looking over at her.
"Um... I was engaged to this guy who wasn't who I thought he was. I saw him hurt someone one day and he said if I ever told anyone he'd kill me. I struggled with what I was gonna do, but ultimately I knew what I had to do. I went to the police, but they wanted me to stay with him and help them make a case against him. They didn't care that my life was in danger. All they cared about was putting him and his "family" away. I needed to get out. All I wanted was my life back." she said looking down so he wouldn't see her breaking down.
"It's not your fault Fiona. You're safe now. No one's gonna hurt you. Me, Mark and Collins are gonna protect you. We're not gonna let anyone hurt you. I swear." he said looking over at her.
"Why would you do that? You don't even know me." she said looking up at him wiping her eyes.
"Because you're with us now. We're not gonna let him hurt you." he said looking over at her.
"Thanks Roger. I appreciate that." she smiled before sitting back on the couch to watch Miami Vice with him.
