Gray, a different color from the usual sky in the morning. Eyes opened slowly, the girl on the couch realized that beneath her was not concrete, it wasn't garbage, it was rather soft, where was she? Her mind wandered and soon the Bat from the night before walked into the room, but she didn't know him, she hadn't seen him pick her up the night before, she didn't even know that Bruce Wayne was the Bat at all, she just saw a man and her reaction was to glare at him. She moved to get up, or even lift her head so that he wasn't looking down at her, but the pain, made her hesitate and she remembered the night before. Men with clubs beat her into the ground, they waited till she wasn't moving anymore and left her against the wall laughing, he body felt so numb that she didn't even feel the garbage that was dumped over her so it would hide the object that smelled so profusely horrid. Her hand lifted to her head and she felt the bandage that now covered her once bloody and leaking scalp, why wasn't she still in the alley? She had wanted to die so much that she played herself dying in her head many times before she lost her hold on the real world, the picture stayed, like a dream she couldn't escape she saw herself die many times, she had heard herself scream and scream in her head, and now her throat hurt just thinking about it. She wouldn't speak anymore.
Bruce looked at the girl with pity, it was awkward to just walk up and start talking, she didn't freak out like he thought she would, she seemed more curious then not. The Bat had been up all night and found her near midnight, she didn't even look alive anymore, and as Bruce the Bat searched the news, police reports, and newspapers, there was nothing about a lot teenager that fir her description. Bruce looked back at the girl to see that her eyes had glazed over again, this worried Bruce and he put his hand on her arm lightly. Bruce expected her to jerk away from him but all she did was look up slowly and stare at his hand, it was almost like she was half asleep even though she was most certainly awake, this was the first time she looked alive in the three days that she had been at his house. Bruce retracted his hand slowly, she kept her eyes on it until he brought it up to his head so he could scratch his scalp, she stared blankly at his face before Alfred walked in carrying a tray with food on it.
"Miss, would you like something to eat?" Alfred asked her kindly. She stared at him blankly as well.
"What is your name miss," Bruce asked softly. She turned her attention towards Bruce slowly, the girl seemed that she was a remote control that was stuck on slow motion.
The girl looked at them, she hadn't spoken in a while, but they seemed nice, they helped her, maybe she could say her name, maybe this time it wouldn't hurt her, they weren't going to beat her for talking were they? No, they didn't seem the type, why would they beat her after taking care of her wounds? She couldn't find a logical reason.
"Bo," her voice came out roughly and coarse as if sandpaper had been rubbed over her vocal cords. It hurt. She wouldn't speak again for a while, she didn't like her voice, it sounded clogged and forced to her, Bo hated her voice. She wouldn't speak for a while.
"Bo?" Bruce questioned. He'd thought he heard wrong but frowned when she shook her head, he was hoping for a full name instead of just a nickname or her first name, whatever Bo was.
"Miss Bo, would you like some food?" Alfred asked again. Bo nodded softly, her name was the first thing she had said since the Bat found her, she didn't even groan in pain when she was injured and bleeding, she just looked dead. Bo nodded in response to Alfred and he set the tray of food down in front of her on the coffee table that had a first aid kit on it.
The tray had an assortment of food on it. Bo glazed over all the food until she saw a muffin, she guessed it was morning due to the fact that the food was mostly food she would see people eating on the T.V, she never really ate breakfast before, her parents wanted her out of their sights as quickly as possible so she would always run out of the house before they woke up. Bo picked up the muffin shakily, she hadn't eaten in a week and she noticed how hungry she was right then. It was soft and sweet, it tasted like cinnamon and it reminded Bo of when her grandmother would make cinnamon rolls for her when she was little. Her grandmother died when she was young.
Despite how hungry Bo was she ate slowly, she didn't want to be disrespectful to her comfort suppliers, this was the first time she had woken up warm in four months, it was the first time she had spoken to someone in three years. She hated her voice.
"Bo," Bruce got the girls attention, she looked up as slowly as ever. "Would you like to stay here until your ready to leave?" Bruce asked. During the three days that the girl had been asleep Bruce tried to find where she had come from with no success and therefore figured that she had either run away from an abusive foster home or an Orphanage that she never got picked to leave. It had been a year since Rachel's death and he couldn't get his mind off the fact that it was his fault, Bruce figured that he could take care of the girl until he found someone to really take care of her, Rachel would have been a wonderful mother.
Bo nodded her head hesitantly, would they yell at her to go away? She didn't have anywhere to go at all, the last thing she remembered was getting beat in the alley, she really didn't have anywhere to go.
"Okay let me show you where you will be staying," Bruce said kindly, smiling at the girl. Bruce was surprised to see the girl's face written with confusion, Bo wasn't used to seeing people smile softly at her, they always gave her an evil smile before smacking her across the face and telling her to get the fuck out of their faces. Bo stared blankly at him while Bruce walked slowly to show her where her room would be, she planned on leaving that night, she didn't deserve to stay in a house like this, she didn't deserve it at all.
"Poor girl," Alfred sighed walking behind them with the tray of food in his hands. Bo walked into the room slowly, it was the nicest room she had ever been in, no beer bottles, or blood on the wall, it felt safe, maybe she wouldn't leave tonight, maybe she would stay until she was ready to leave just like the man had said. Bruce realized blatantly that his name had yet to be told to the girl.
"Bo, my name is Bruce, and this is Alfred," Bruce motioned towards himself and then Alfred. "We well take care of you," he said. Bo looked at them, again she had the dead look in her eyes, but it felt good to know that she knew who he was and that he wasn't going to harm her in any way.
"Miss Bo," Alfred said putting his hand on her shoulder lightly, he had already set the tray down. Bo looked at it blankly. "Soon we will go out to get you some clothes, where would you like to go?" Alfred asked her politely. She didn't know why he would even ask, did they expect her to answer, she wasn't going to, she hated her voice, how folly of them to expect an answer, she wasn't going to speak. "Right then," Alfred started to answer for himself. "It will be a surprise then," she smiled at her. She hated surprises.
Alfred had left with the girl two hours ago, Bruce did not want to go, he had some work to finish anyway. Bo and Alfred walked through the door, Bo had many bags in her arms and Bruce looked at Alfred questioningly, why was she holding her own bags? She certainly didn't have to.
"She wouldn't let me," Alfred told him. Bo was happy, she had her own clothes and a room to herself, she was so happy, but she wouldn't let Alfred carry her bags, Bo was afraid that if the kind man carried her baggage he would be mad that he had to, and she would be thrown out. Bo didn't want to be thrown out, she liked the two men very much, they didn't hit her. Alfred was kind and she though he might break if she was to excited and careless, could a person break? Bo wondered. Yes, she held her own heart, yes they could.