A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the cool reviews/tips/shout outs! You are definitely encouraging me to keep writing. I'm sorry this chapter is a little late this week - I am sick. I can already tell you with the holidays and my editor traveling, the next chapter may be a little late. I hope you enjoy this chapter - thank you again!
We were back in my apartment now, my front door locked, my gun loaded and in its holster tucked into the back of my jeans. She had been a little too stunned to call whoever-the-fuck Erwin is back at her place, and after a few silent tears I led her back to the safety of my apartment. I left her alone on the couch and went to clean up and finish getting dressed. Today was already a bitch and was only going to get worse.
Thinking about it, she wasn't actually too safe here anymore. Even in my apartment. If the missing photographs were any indication, whoever did this was probably still looking for her. And, if they were smart they were watching her apartment. Which meant there could technically even be a hit out on me, depending on how serious these people were. Considering they drew a giant bloody circle on the wall, I didn't really want to fuck with them. What the hell they wanted with her and her mom was still beyond were obviously quite a few things I didn't know about my neighbors.
After realizing the toothpaste was running down my hand because I stopped brushing long ago, I spit out the blue foam and rinsed my mouth. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach that refused to go away. If I had known that letting this girl into my house would lead to being involved with some creepy-ass kidnapping, I definitely would have let her freeze to death.
Back in the hallway I could hear her talking - she must have finally called whoever. I mean, I would think she would want to call the police, but that was just me. I stopped, leaned against the wall, and listened. She couldn't see me from where she was sitting, which meant maybe I could learn a little bit more about this fucked up situation I had been dragged into.
"They have her." A small break, her voice trying not to crack. I had come to realize that I hadn't heard her speak without that quality in her voice during the entirety of the few hours we'd known each other. That's a pretty fucked up thing to know about someone.
"I don't know how. I wasn't home last night...I just know it's them." Some rustling, probably wrapping the blanket around herself.
"Where?"
Silence.
"I won't. Thank you."
A small thunk sounded as she put the phone down on the table, I was rounding the corner just as she ended the call.
"Talk to Erwin?" I asked, leaning against the chair I had sat in last night, feeling an awful sense of deja-vu to the previous night's events. She was tucked into the blanket on my couch again, boots on the floor.
"Yes...He wants me to meet him," she said softly. Her eyes were stuck on the black screen of my phone before pulling up to stare imploringly at me, blue eyes cutting to my core. "Can you go with me?"
Sometimes, when you look back on your life you can clearly see the crossroads of the fucking big important decisions you make. You can then see how different your life may have been if you chose to go another route, chose to listen to reason and logic instead of giving into a set of pretty eyes. This was definitely one of those moments. And, I knew I was going to make the wrong choice.
I stared back at her, as I willed my mouth to say something else. Anything else then what I knew was about to come falling out.
"Yeah, I can." Fuck.
She got up, came at me fast enough I couldn't even react, and then she fucking hugged me, effectively pinning my arms to my sides. Her grip was so tight I almost couldn't breath and her head was pressed against my chest, barely even reaching my chin. It would be cute, how small she was, if this were any other situation.
"Thank you…." she whispered.
I squirmed uncomfortably in her arms and looked down at her. Those silent tears were staining her cheek again, bleeding into my shirt. It felt really gross. I let her stay for a few more moments, because feeling from earlier that morning crept back up, causing me to feel guilty about pushing her away. I couldn't help it, though. The memory of the last time I had even received a hug evaded me, and it freaked me out. I didn't like being someone who got hugs.
"Uh, it's whatever." I managed, stepping away from her. She wiped her tears on the fucking sleeve of my jacket, and I bit down my jacket-rage as soon as those stupid blue eyes looked up at me.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Ymir."
"Ymir." She tested out my name, pronouncing it correctly. "I'm Christa."
I nodded a little, still slightly dumbfounded by her gaze on me. "Cool."
"Do you think I could borrow some clothes?" Once this question left her mouth, my eyes traveled up and down her petite body, realizing she was still wearing her tight club dress from last night. How had she even slept in that thing without tearing it? It clung to her every curve, which were quite impressive now that I had taken a few moments to appreciate them.
"I don't really want to go back...there. And Mr. Erwin said I wasn't allowed to take anything from the apartment anyway."
She must have taken my moment of stunned silence as a cue to explain why she needed my clothes. Which made me realize I had just fully checked her out and forgotten to speak. Goddamnit.
"Yeah, okay. Probably best you don't go back over there," I replied lamely and turned to head towards my bedroom. She was much smaller than me, length-wise and all around. My clothes were going to drown her. I stopped the small smile forming dead in its tracks. My face muscles were betraying me at the thought of how cute she'd probably look. She was not cute.
Not realizing she had followed me into my room, I was surprised to see her reflection behind me in the closet mirror. I had been distracted by thinking about just how creepy I probably came across. It was really inappropriate to even think about anything than getting this girl to safety at this point, though I had never considered myself appropriate. This was not the kind of situation I would ever ask to be in.
She was shyly looking around my nearly barren room. One beat up wood night stand, one lamp that was discovered next to the dumpster, twenty empty beer bottles, a low sitting bed, and the closet were the only inhabitants. Of course, my clothes were thrown on the floor, left there from who knows when. I did know the stuff in the closet was probably clean, but one couldn't be sure. Going to the laundromat was never on my to-do list. But, it's where I started.
I found an old t-shirt from a band I had never heard of (which means it was probably left by someone else) and coupled it with a pair of jeans that fit me perfectly - before my habit of eating out every night finally caught up to me.
"Here." I held out the clothes to her, drawing her away from analyzing my threadbare room.
"Thank you." She was looking at the clothes, that same curious gaze still on her face. "Oh, uh," Christa started out, my eyebrow raising at her obvious embarrassment to whatever the statement was. She was blushing, and it was hard to keep the voice in my head from screaming about how the flush in her cheeks made her even more adorable.
"Do you have any underwear I could borrow?"
She was speaking so damn quiet again it took my mind a second to put together what she had asked.
"S-sure." My voice definitely betrayed me.
I bent down to dig through the basket of my underwear and handed her a pair, my lucky pair, because she deserved some luck after these shitty turn of events (it was not because they were the cutest, and would look the best on her). And it was really fucking hard to keep my mind from going anywhere decent with the immediate image of Christa in my boxers.
"Thank you, Ymir." She was beaming up at me, so fucking happy that she had a new change of clothes. Her teeth were so straight, and her skin was so perfect and smooth. Why?
I shrugged in reply. Proud of myself for remembering to respond on cue this time.
"Is it okay if I take a shower?" Christa had already taken a step towards the door.
"That's fine. Warm water takes a bit, but I'm sure you know that already." I followed after her, glancing in the bathroom to make sure there wasn't any weird shit laying around. Mostly concerned I had left some dirty underwear or something on the floor.
"I only have one towel, sorry." I hung out by the door, watching as she placed the pile of clothes on the closed toilet seat lid.
"It's okay, thank you for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you." Her eyes were downcast, her arms folded in front of herself.
My right hand went up to scratch my head, and I looked down at the crack in the off-white tile floor. "Really, I didn't do anything. I'm sorry about whatever happened to your mom."
Christa stayed silent quiet for a long time, and I eventually turned my attention back to her. She was staring down at the floor now, the thick silence between us made me feel antsy, my fingers wanting something to do. I was about to leave when she started talking again.
"They were after me."
We stared at each other now, my blood pumping loudly in my ears. What the fuck? Who were they? Why did she know who was after her? No, I didn't need to ask. The more I knew the more I was fucking liable. The fact of the matter is that the longer she stayed here, the more I became a part of this. Whoever the hell was after some kid was fucked up, and I didn't need shit like this disrupting my groove. I had a good thing going on and it needed to stay that way. I had worked too hard.
But, I did need to know one thing though. No, I didn't need to know. I wanted to know.
"Is this Erwin guy going to help protect you?" My voice was serious now, my gazed focused intently on hers.
"Yes," there was a twinge of hurt in her voice. I chose not to dwell on why.
"Good. We better get you to him sooner rather than later," I said, closing the door between us.
I took up residence on the couch that now smelled like her and steadied my elbows on my knees, my hands creating a cradle to rest on my face in. My mind was swimming with questions and trying desperately to piece together the facts. Obviously, Christa knew whoever had taken her mom. She also had someone who she could go to for protection. This meant this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Were they on the run? Who were they hiding from? Why was I even thinking about it this much?
I knew I just needed to focus on getting her to Erwin. Then I could walk away, knowing I had done my due diligence. Still, there was something nagging at me, telling me that wasn't going to be enough. I was always going to wonder what happened to her. I didn't like living with regrets just as much as I didn't like getting personally involved with complicated shit. I hadn't included someone else in my life...ever. It was always just me doing what I wanted and if someone else was along for the ride for a few hours then that was fine.
Leaning back into the couch, my eyes staring up at the swirling patterns in the ceiling, I came to a realization. Something about Christa made me want to learn about her. Want to know what was happening, and how to help. I didn't just want to care, I already cared. I was officially fucked.
