Chapter 3

Anastasia POV

I didn't really realize how far the walk would be from the hospital to the shelter so by the time I got there, there were only scraps left but her, something is better than nothing.

I find myself aimlessly walking through the city. After my horrible experience last night I should want nothing more than to run away, however, I really like this city and I'm willing to stick it out hoping.. I haven't used that word in a long time, I forgot it was even in my vocabulary. What those people did to me was inexcusable even if they were drunk or high or whatever, but I still want to move past it. I am DEFINITELY not going back to that park ever again. I guess I'll have to settle for some of the smaller parks throughout the city if I can't get in to shelters from now on. I soon find myself looking up at these large skyscrapers and imagining the type of lives these people might be leading.

I'm soon brought out of my thoughts by a delicious aroma. It is still really early in the morning, 7:30 at the latest and there's a bakery across the street. Dahlia Bakery. I smell many things but what draws me in the most is the various flavored donuts in the shop window. Before I even register what is happening, I am walking and already halfway through to the counter as if I was going to buy something. I almost laugh at myself knowing that I have no money let alone enough money the 7 dollars it would cost in order for me to buy a bag of donuts. Still, I look at the small menu torturing myself and see that they make english muffins. I smile and when I close my eyes it's almost as if I can taste them for a little bit of apple butter.

Taylor POV

Boss wants to get out of the apartment as soon as possible today and he practically drags me to the elevator only leaving me enough time to give Gail a shameful smile and shrug. I'm grateful that I have such a wonderful woman in my life who understands my job and keeps me sane around here.

He tells me to stop a Dahlia's, a small bakery not too far from Escala. Gail found this place one days and brought us some treats. She gave one to Christian and ever since, he requests that we, or rater, I stop in and get him something in the mornings.

I turn around and see a woman standing about halfway in to the store with her eyes clothes and a small smile on her lips. She looks peaceful at first but then it morphs in to something much sadder. Then I notice that there is a handprint on her face obviously from where someone obviously slapped her as well as a few other scars and bruising. I wonder what happened to her.

Some rude woman comes rushing in and bumps in to this girl, making her visibly wince with pain before opening her eyes. Her eyes latch on to mine and I can't make myself look away. We stare at each other for some time before I start to see her getting emotional and her body language suggests she's starting to panic.

Oh no. I see Mr. Grey coming in and man does he look pissed. I know what's going to happen before it happens but I can do nothing to stop it.

The woman turns and crashes straight in to Mr. Grey. She starts to fall backward but surprisingly he catches her before she can fall, in the process pulling her to his chest. I see the both of them tense up and Mr. Grey's breathing stills.

The woman looks shocked but then blinks and I see fear take over her eyes. She pushes Mr. Grey with as much as she can and it is apparently enough to get out of his grip as she runs out the door and out of sight. Christian is still standing shocked in the middle of the store. I'm conflicted as to what I should do: Check on Christian or go look after the girl.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the extra long delay. If you want full details, you can PM me if you like but to sum it up: real life has been hard these past few weeks and I haven't had the time to write.

Also, sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I really wanted to write this part differently than when I first posted the story and this seemed like a good stopping point. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.

In brighter news! - I have recently created a Facebook page for all of my fanfics. I haven't posted anything yet but I probably will later tonight. The page will just have updates as I'm writing, sneak peaks, and polls that relate to my writing. Just search Zaviarah in Facebook and you'll find the page!

Thanks for reading. Please review, like, comment, question, etc.