"P-p-p-please d-don't h-h-hurt me..." came a voice. Tom thought he was scared but the voice sounded like it was even more terrified. Tom let Marvin out of his hold and edged back into the bedroom. With shaking hands and a cautious step he made it back to the bed.
"I think you better come out," Tom said, trying to keep his voice steady. There was a very long pause with no movement. "I'm going to wait over near the door,"
"I'm... I'm sorry," and then a young man emerged. His hair was dark and curly, falling over his eyes. His jeans were thin and his shirt even thinner with a hole at the side. He looked tired, scared, alone, like he needed a long, hot shower. Tom gasped loudly as he took in the man that had just emerged from underneath his bed.
"Who are you?" Tom asked, staying on edge and ready to run.
"I'm sorry...I'm Danny..." the young man answered, keeping his head down, eyes cast to the floor and his bare feet.
"Ok...I'm Tom...This is my house, obviously," Tom said. "How did you get in?"
"There was a window downstairs open..." Danny replied. "I'm sorry,"
"It's ok..." Tom said. The more he looked at the man in front of him he began to feel more and more sympathetic towards him. He realised that he could be feeling sorry for an axe murderer, but there was just something about Danny. "You need a shower,"
"I'll just go..." Danny said as he took a step towards the door but when he looked up for the first time he stopped and took several steps backwards.
"Hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you..." Tom said softly as he realised Danny was beyond terrified. He watched as Danny cowered "Danny...I'm not going to hurt you, I promise...I'm not mad that you broke into my home, or that you hid under my bed..."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Danny cried.
"I am not going to hurt you, I promise," Tom said. He sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. He walked into the wardrobe and pulled out a towel, throwing it onto the bed near Danny. "There's a towel, go and have a shower –Tom pointed to the bathroom- I'll put some fresh clothes on the bed for you to change into, and then you can come downstairs and I'll have some dinner..."
"Ok," Danny's whisper was almost inaudible. Tom gave him a smile which went unseen and then he closed the bedroom door and went downstairs. As he stepped into the silence of the kitchen realisation hit him like a hard slap to the face. He steadied himself on the counter top.
Ok. There's a strange man showering in my bathroom. He was hiding under my bed for God knows how long and somehow he broke into my house. He looks so bloody scared! But...It could be put on and he could be a bloody axe murderer...or worse...Oh, God! What if he's a rapist and an axe murderer? What if he's a cannibal? He could do all sorts of things to me! What if he roasts me? Or maybe he'll steam me? Shit! My heart is beating so bloody fast, I'm gonna have a heart attack in a minute! Just calm down Tom! Take some deep breaths. In and out, in and out...
"Hi..." a small whisper came from the door. Tom let out a small scream and spun around to face the door. He saw Danny standing in the doorway, looking much better than he did with their first encounter.
"Shit, you scared me," Tom gasped.
"I'm sorry," Danny said, looking to the floor.
"It's ok, don't be sorry," Tom said. He'd noticed that Danny always apologised even when he hadn't anything to be sorry for. There was a knock at the front door and Tom remembered the food he'd ordered earlier. He slipped past Danny and to the front door. Paying for the Thai food he closed the front door and turned back towards the kitchen. Danny was standing in the hallway taking in the pictures that lined the walls. Tom couldn't bring himself to say anything and so he walked into the kitchen and started to plate up the food. He had ordered enough food to last him a couple of nights for dinner, but now that there was two of them it was still enough to feed them well.
"I don't have any money to pay you for dinner..." Danny said as he walked into the kitchen.
"No, it's alright, don't worry about it," Tom smiled as he handed a plate to Danny. He walked into the dining room and watched as Danny cautiously followed him. "So, Danny...Why are you here?"
"I just needed somewhere to rest; I promise I'll be gone after dinner," Danny replied quickly.
"No, no...There are plenty of spare rooms and plus, it's freezing outside..." Tom said. Instantly he mentally chastised himself. All the thoughts about a murderer, or worse, in his house flooded his mind again. Yet there was just something about Danny that he couldn't help feel sorry for. It was quite as they ate. Tom couldn't help but notice everything Danny did. They way he would pick at his food and eat slowly as if he needed to be told to eat. The way he kept glancing around the room, looking nervous and ready for somebody to jump out at him. He'd bite his bottom lip as he fought the urge to speak. Fifteen minutes later and they had both finished eating.
"Thank you very much for dinner," Danny said.
"You're welcome. You know, it's nice to have someone to eat with for a change," Tom smiled as he collected Danny's plate. "I'm sure you figured out where everything was earlier..."
"I'm so..." Danny started.
"Don't... Stop saying you're sorry. I am not angry," Tom cut him off. Danny nodded. "Right, so...Yeah, you can take the guest room, but for now we should go into the living room and watch some TV,"
"Ok," Danny replied. Tom, followed by Danny, walked into the living room and sat on the couch. He picked up the remote and switched the TV on. As he flicked through the channels he watched Danny from the corner of his eye. Danny sat with his feet tucked underneath him as he nervously played with the hem of his shirt.
"So...Ahh..." Tom wasn't entirely sure what to say to start a conversation.
"Is it alright if I go to bed?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, sure," Tom said. He showed Danny to the spare bedroom he could use. "Night,"
"Goodnight," Danny replied. Tom closed the door behind him as he left Danny in the spare room. He went to his own bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He let out a sigh as he put his head in his hands. When he'd left the house for work that morning everything had been normal. How could his life change in such a short space of time? More importantly why had Danny chosen him? Had it been a coincidence? Or had Danny been roaming the streets and thought 'oh, this nice house looks good to break into'? Had he been watching Tom for some time before he made his move? Once again Tom kicked himself for letting Danny stay. All of the negative possibilities ran through his mind one more time. He got up and walked into his ensuite, discarding his clothes as he went. He ran the water hot and stepped into the shower. The hot spray and steam engulfed him as he tried to relax. Slowly he stared to let the tension drain from his body. A slight shiver ran through him as he pressed his back to the cold tiles of the wall.
Why me? He wondered. He began to tense up again as his mind filled with question that had no answers. He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He walked back into the bedroom, picking up his clothes along the way.
Sorry the update took so long. Had an interview to prepare for, but now that I've done the interview I can update more :) Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter xx
