With a sniff and a yawn, Raile awoke from her position against the brick of the building she'd fallen asleep next to. The rain had stopped and thankfully she still had a couple of dollars in her pocket. She threw the bottle she'd been holding, hearing it smash satisfyingly off the brick, and stood up to wipe off her hands and pull her jacket tighter around her. She made her way to a local marketplace, ripping off a sandwich but using her money to buy a coffee. She sipped at it and slipped out the front door where she leaned against a wall and decided to watch the passersby. About twenty minutes later she saw a man wearing an expensive leather jacket, carrying a bag of food. Her stomach growled, and she looked down at the sandwich until a set of boots impeded her circle of vision. Looking up, Raile was shocked to see the same man.

"Here," he told her. "You look hungry, and I saw you when you walked in. Also paid for the sandwich you took."

Her eyes widened.

"No, I-"

"Don't try to deny it. The owner saw you, and you're lucky you disappeared before he could press charges," he shrugged. "Although, I don't think standing near the building is gonna help you there."

He pushed the food into her hands and gave her a ten dollar bill.

"You shouldn't be out here. Bad things can happen," he told her before walking off.

Raile looked at him, but he'd already started to walk off before she could find her voice, and soon he was lost in the throng of people.

Her vision was fuzzy and she couldn't breathe. It felt like there was ice in her veins and she couldn't even enjoy her high properly.

She stumbled around, following the lights of a bar, and fell against the outside wall.

"Hey sweetheart, you don't look so good," a voice said near her as a pair of hands helped her up. "How bout I take you back to my place and get you right?" She could hear the grease dripping off his tone and struggled a bit, trying to get free.

"Hey, let her go, man," another voice said, dragging the grease and the hands away from her. "She looks fucked up, what the hell are you thinking?"

"Ain't none of your business," the other hissed. A violent crash came soon after and another pair of arms circled her. She looked down to see the familiar boots from earlier in the afternoon.

"Help," she whimpered. "I'm gonna die."

"You're not gonna die," he said softly, picking her up and carrying her to his car. "You're gonna be alright, honey. What's your name?"

"Raile," she gasped, her eyes rolling back in her head as she fell unconscious.

Scott swore under his breath as he laid her in the backseat of his car, making sure she was comfortable. The back of his neck tingled and he whipped around just in time to see the man he had thrown to the ground about to stab him. With a snarl, he grabbed the guy and slammed his head into the door, taking care to smash him with it while closing it to protect the girl.

There was blood on his boots that the rain washed away. He glared at the unconscious man before walking to the driver's side, opening the door and taking one look back to make sure the girl -Raile- was safe. She was still unconscious, and he could see she was seizing badly.

"Fuck," he swore as he held her upright and tried to keep her from biting her tongue, calling 911. He wasn't going to be able to get her to the hospital in time.

Raile awoke to the sound of a machine beeping and something obstructing her airway. Immediately, she began to panic and tears welled up in her eyes as she began to try and fight her way into a sitting position.

A hand grabbed hers and she turned, wide-eyed, to see a curly-haired man standing next to her.

"Relax," he said quietly. "They had to pump your stomach and give you a sedative. You're at Dierks County Hospital."

She whimpered around the tube and squeezed his hand, and he rubbed a thumb over her knuckles.

"Name's Scott. You were at the bar I was coming out of and some guy tried to pick you up. I beat him up and called 911 after you passed out and started having a seizure. You're okay, Raile."

Raile yanked her hand from his grip as he said her name. How did he know who she was? He saw the look in her eyes change and looked at the clipboard on the door.

"I didn't know your last name, so they just called you Raile Doe. You told me your name before you passed out."

He -Scott, her brain reminded her, looked back to her and waited.

"Can you write things down? You can't talk until they take that thing out, but maybe you can tell me what happened?"

She nodded slowly and he got her another clipboard and a pen.

"What were you doing at the bar?", he asked, handing it to her. Raile took it, writing slowly, her eyes downcast.

I went to score some coke. I did it, and it wasn't coke.

Scott's eyes widened and he looked at her, pity and understanding plain to see in his eyes. It hurt to see, so she closed her eyes and looked away. She didn't need pity, or sympathy, or even caring. It was useless to her.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Where are you gonna go when they let you go, Raile?"

She shrugged, still avoiding his gaze, and he growled.

"Look at me," he said, his voice low. "Right now."

That startled her and she looked back to him, her eyes wide and watery.

"I'm not going to yell at you," he told her. "But if you think I'm just gonna let them drop you on the streets again to get high, you're wrong. You could die next time, girl, don't you realize that?"

He reached for her hand again and she let him take it, he rubbed his thumb over the back.

"Stay with me. You'll be safer than you would on the street. I can help you get clean," he offered, and her eyes darkened as if a door closed in their depths. He saw her reaction and pushed harder.

"You're going to die if you use again. Do you want that?"

Raile yanked her hand away, fighting to pull out the tube, and the monitors began to go off again. He sat back in his chair as the nurses came in and removed the tube, watching Raile glare at them until they left again. As the door shit, she pinned him with a look so desperate and longing that it hurt, a physical ache in his chest.

"Yes," she croaked quietly, tears coming to her eyes again. "I want to die.