"The guestroom's in there," he said and pointed at a door.
She stood still and just looked at him, trying to figure out whether or not to trust him.
"Look, you don't know me but I won't do anything to hurt you. There's a key in the door. Just lock it if you feel the need to. I won't go in there. Just get some sleep, alright? You look like you need it," he said.
She slowly nodded and made her way towards the room. She opened the door and turned around to look at him.
"Thank you," she said.
"Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning," he said.
She closed the door and he heard the lock click. It was alright. Whatever she needed to do to feel safe around him.
"Come on, Xander," he said as he walked towards the bedroom, his dog following him in there.
She woke up the next morning and saw that he had stayed true to his word. He hadn't come in there and she had actually gotten a good night's sleep. She stretched her body, got out of bed and quickly put on her jeans before unlocking the door and walking out.
She smelled coffee right away and followed the smell to the kitchen where he was sitting with a cup in front of him.
"Oh, you're up. How did you sleep?" He asked.
"Good. Thank you for letting me stay here," she answered.
"Don't mention it. Coffee?" He asked.
"Yes, please," she answered.
He got a cup for her and handed it over. For 30 seconds they just sat there in silence, sipping on their coffees, watching each other a bit, trying to figure out how to start the conversation they both knew they had to get through.
"You're probably still mad at me for reading your diary and I do apologize for that but I was only trying to find you to bring your backpack to you," he finally said.
She nodded. He was right, she was mad about that but there was nothing she could do about it now and she didn't wanna get into a fight with this kind man.
"It's okay. What's done is done. Let's move past it," she said.
He sighed in relief and smiled at her. First problem was over with. Now he needed to deal with the second one.
"How much do you owe these people?" He asked.
She was the one sighing now and she put down her cup of coffee.
"That's none of your concern," she answered.
"Just tell me," he said.
"3000," she answered.
"That's a lot of money," he said.
"I know. I was supposed to pay off 500 each week and I have for the past couple of weeks but I couldn't come up with it this time around. It's not like being a stripper pays off," she said.
He felt for this poor girl. He reached over and took her hand. She twitched as if she feared he would hurt her but she didn't move it. He gently caressed it as he looked at her.
"Will you let me help you?" He asked.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully.
She wasn't sure how to feel about this. She liked his kindness but she didn't wanna mooch off him.
"Just stay here for a couple of days and think about what you wanna do," he offered.
She nodded. That she could do. She could even repay him by cooking and cleaning. The place could use a woman's touch by the looks of it.
"I'd like that," she said.
