"Hello? Hey! Wake up. Are you alright?" Someone asked.

Shelbie felt a hand gently shaking her awake along with that deep male voice. She opened her eyes and stared directly into a beautiful face.

"I'm alright," she mumbled.
"You're on my property," he said.

She suddenly became fully awake. She got out of the hammock as fast as she could, only to let out a cry when she felt the pain in her knee again.

"Wow, easy there," he said.

He quickly grabbed her and supported her.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to trespass. I was just so tired, and my knee was hurting, and I didn't think anyone was home," she rambled.
"I wasn't home. I just came home," he chuckled. "Imagine my surprise when I found a beautiful woman sleeping in my hammock."

As good as it felt having someone like him call her beautiful, it didn't feel real. She was used to being called so many bad words that she couldn't enjoy this compliment.

"I'm not," she said.
"You're not?" He asked confused. "You look like a woman to me. I'm sorry, are you non-binary? I apologize."
"No, I am a woman," she said.
"Oh," he sounded sad. "You don't think you're beautiful?"

She didn't answer. She didn't need to. He could see it in her eyes.

"A shame," he said. "Can I call someone for you so you can get home safe?"
"No, please, don't," she quickly said.
"Fuck," he sighed. "Abusive partner?"
"Mother," she said.
"That sucks," he said. "Wanna sleep on my couch tonight?"
"I don't know you," she said.
"I don't know you either, and to be fair, you're the one on my property so if anyone should be scared and call the cops, it should be me," he said.

He gave her a wide smile, and she couldn't help but smile back. For some reason she just knew she could trust him.

"I'm Roman," he said.
"I'm Shelbie," she said.
"See, now we're not strangers anymore," he said. "So how about that couch?"
"I'd like that," she said.

He supported her inside and escorted her over to the couch.

"Wait here," he said.

She listened to him walk through his house. He came back with a blanket, a pillow, some clothes, and a bottle of water.

"This is the best I can do," he handed her the clothes. "There's string in the shorts so you can tie them, and if that doesn't work, my t-shirt should cover most of you."
"Thank you," she said.
"Kitchen is over there. Eat whatever you like," he pointed in the direction. "And the bathroom is down the hall. Last door on the left. Lucky for you, I'm a toothbrush hoarder. I'll leave an unopened one on the sink for you. If you wanna take a shower, there's towels in the cabinet in the hall. Other than that, enjoy your stay. And please don't steal anything."
"I won't," she said.

He nodded and smiled at her.

"If you ever wanna talk about it," he patted her shoulder. "I know I'm a stranger but sometimes it's easier to get it off your chest to someone you don't know."

He walked past the couch but only made it halfway through the room.

"She won't let me leave," she said.
"Your mother?" He asked.
"She was only 15 when she had me. As long as she lived at home, she had her parents take care of me. They kicked her out when she turned 18. She feels like I ruined her life and therefore I have to repay her. I do everything. Cooking, cleaning, anything she tells me to. And in return I get screamed at and pushed around. She pushed me into a wall today."

He walked back to the couch and sat down next to her.

"Is that why your knee is hurting?" He asked.
"Oh no, that came 5 minutes later when my sister's boys decided to play a prank on me. So funny that it now hurts to walk," she said.
"What the hell?" He asked.
"They're 8 and they've been trained all their life to treat me like my mother and sister do. My mother has never allowed me to work. I know it's crazy because I'm fucking 32 and can just walk out of that door, but where the fuck do I go when I got nothing?" She asked.

He placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze.

"You walked out tonight," he said.
"I did," she blew out her breath. "And tomorrow I'll probably have to walk back in if I want to eat."
"We'll see about that," he patted her hand. "You need a good night's sleep. Tomorrow everything will look brighter."
"I wish I had your positive outlook on things," she said.
"It's gonna be alright. Now get some sleep," he said.

He gave her a wide smile, then got up from the couch and left the room. She once again listened to him walk through his house. She heard him close the bathroom door, and later open it again. She heard him close the door to the bedroom, and then the house went quiet.

She waited for 20 long minutes to make sure he had fallen asleep before she tiptoed down to the bathroom and found a toothbrush waiting for her on the sink. For some reason that toothbrush felt like the biggest gift of her life. It was such a small thing but it meant so much. More than he would probably ever understand.