Taking Chances (3 page)

Alex put his arm around her and pulled her to him. She let him hold her; resting her head on his shoulder. He brushed his fingers through her hair before tucking a stray strand behind her ear.

“You know… I figured as much. I’ve been in your shoes, so to speak. I know what being homeless looks like… and how it feels. Don’t worry about it right now. Get some rest. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll talk more about this in the morning.”

But Clair knew there wasn’t anything else to talk about. There was nothing he could do. Clair wasn’t used to being a burden. Tomorrow she would say goodbye, no matter how much she wanted to stay.  

              The smack to her face caused Clair to wake with a jolt. She was aware of her surroundings and didn’t scream out this time. She saw Alex slumped over in his chair, snoring softly. His feet were propped up on the coffee table, a blanket draped over his lap. Clair didn’t remember falling asleep. She looked down at the blanket that covered her, but knew she hadn’t put it there. All she could remember was Alex holding her during her meltdown. Even though she didn’t know him, she liked the security and comfort of his arms around her. It was as if he were protecting her from the world, if only for the brief time it took her to drift away to dreamland.

Clair smiled as she watched his chest rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm. Every breath pulled his shirt tight across his firm chest. His bangs splayed across his forehead, hanging in his eyes and her gaze drifted to his lips. Slightly parted, Clair couldn’t help but wonder if they were as soft as they appeared.

No! Clair thought. These “thoughts” she was having were the exact reason why she needed to leave. Getting attached to someone she hardly knew was bad. Her past experiences reflected how bad it could end. Plus, she knew Alex wouldn’t want to be with someone like her anyway. What did she have to offer? Absolutely nothing.

Clair got up to collect her belongings. Quietly, she tiptoed toward the door. In the kitchen, she found a pen and a pad on the bar and wrote him a note. It was the only way. If she woke him to say goodbye, he would only want to try and work out a more permanent solution for her, one that didn’t include her running away. This way was easier and the best for both of them. Life wouldn’t stop for a homeless girl and Clair was sure Alex had enough to deal with, without having to worry about her too.

Sneaking out of Alex’s apartment was a lot easier than she thought. Clair felt sure Alex would wake when he heard the squeak of the door as she opened it. The sound seemed to echo through the entire building, but he slept peacefully in his chair. She quietly crept down the stairwell until she got far enough away that she knew Alex wouldn’t hear her.

The sky was deep purple, with hints of orange radiating behind the clouds. Humid air, thick with moisture, weighed against her skin. The soft breeze that brushed across her arms left goose bumps in its wake. The sun was rising on a new day and Clair guessed it had to be close to six in the morning. Her stomach growled
, reminding her of last night’s nausea. With food on her mind, Clair headed to the only place she knew, the diner.

Surprisingly, the diner was emptier than Clair thought it would be for the early morning. She checked the clock on the wall to find it was only five forty-five a.m.
Walking slowly, her legs aching from everything she’d been though, Clair sat at the same table she had the night before.

A waitress filling the sugar containers on each table said, “Welcome to Johnny’s. I’ll be with you in a second.”

It was the same waitress from the night before and Clair wondered if she would remember her. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself and hoped the woman wouldn’t call the police once she saw how battered her face looked.

“What can I get you to drink,
hon?” the waitress asked from across the room.

“Orange juice, please,” Clair said without looking up. She slouched in her seat, leaning her elbows on the table.

Clair kept her head down when she saw the waitress approaching her with a glass.

“Here you go,
hon,” she said, placing the glass on the table.

“Thanks,” Clair mumbled. She continued to look down, letting her hair create a curtain around her face.

“Are you having a hard time getting started this morning? I don’t blame you; mornings aren’t my favorite time of day either.”

Clair peeked up, a tight-lipped grin spreading across her mouth. “Yeah… my days have been pretty rotten lately.”

“Hey, you look familiar. Have you been here before?”

Clair cringed. Crap, how does she know? She saw me for like two minutes last night. I might as well get it over with, she thought. Clair looked up, “Yeah, I was here… for a really late dinner last night.”

Immediately the woman gasped, “Oh, hon! What on earth happened to your face?” she asked, reaching out to touch her lip. She abruptly drew her hand back and covered her mouth.

Clair was surprised. Apparently, the swelling hadn’t gone down like she hoped and she neglected to look at herself before sneaking out of Alex’s apartment. Touching her fingers to her lips, Clair flinched at the tenderness. “Ooh… umm… Yeah, I
kind of had an incident with some guys who followed me after I left here last night. They seemed to want to have a little more fun than I did. They weren’t happy that I didn’t want to participate.”

“Oh honey, did you call the police?” she questioned, as she eased herself into the seat across from her.

“No ma’am. There was no need. A nice man came by and helped me. He ran them off and helped me out of there.” Embarrassed, Clair played with the wrapper of her straw, twirling and un-twirling it around her finger.

“Did you go to the hospital to get checked out? It doesn’t look so good.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. This kind of hit usually doesn’t take that long to heal.” Clair said nonchalantly, as if getting hit in the face were a usual occurrence. She braved a look at the waitress, her eyes catching a glint of the silver nametag pinned to the top of her shirt. “Roz,” it read. When their eyes met, Roz looked shocked and she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when the bell rang on the door. Four older men, wearing workboots and hard hats, entered the diner.

Roz smiled at them, “Morning, boys… Coffee as usual?”
she asked, as they sat in a booth near the front window.”

“You got it, Roz!” one of them called out.

She looked back at Clair, “You want anything to eat while I’m back there, hon?”

“Oh yes, please. Could I have
a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and a pancake on the side?”

“You’re not that hungry this morning are you?” Roz teased.

“Maybe just a little. Besides, it’s not a complete breakfast without a pancake,” she said with a grin.

“Well, now that you mention it,” Roz said with a laugh, “I guess it’s not. Stay as long as you like and I’ll bring you another orange juice when your order’s up.”

It didn’t take long for the sky to brighten, sending rays of light through the diner’s front window. Its bright light streaked across the white-tiled floor, illuminating the room in a bright hue of gold. Clair watched the people come and go, some grabbing a bite to eat, before starting their day. Roz zipped around the floor, taking orders, and delivering plates full of food, all while talking with everyone like an old friend. She envied her skill of managing the constant rush of people and the pace in which Roz effortlessly carried the trays of food. Every so often, Roz would glance over at her with a smile. Whenever she noticed her glass was empty, she’d bring her another refill without even asking. Clair checked her bag and counted the cash she had left. She’d have one more glass. She just couldn’t afford the luxury of drinking so many glasses of orange juice when she knew she would need that money later, for something more important. Clair hoped in the next town she would have less complications than what she’d already encountered here.

CHAPTER FOUR

Alex

The bright light streaming between the window and the curtain hit Alex
’s eyes. He could feel the warmth of the sun on his face. His first thought when he rubbed his eyes open was Clair. He looked towards the couch across from him, but it was empty. The blanket he had draped over her the night before was neatly folded across the back of couch. He knew there was no need to look around the apartment for her. She was gone.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, Alex looked at his watch. Shit. He was going to be late and he didn’t feel like hearing Stu’s diatribe about getting to work on time today. Maybe he’d get lucky and Stu would be out running errands instead of on the jobsite.

He stumbled to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he looked in the mirror, he was surprised to see his busted lip looking better than he expected. He wondered where Clair was and how she was feeling this morning. It made him sick to see the marks on her face from the bastard that attacked her. Having to see her in that condition, made him think about Mia. Time and again, Mia sought his comfort after being abused by one of her boyfriends. All the guys she hooked up with were the same--egomaniacal and controlling.

He could never understand why she allowed herself to be treated that way. Her last boyfriend, Eddie, killed her and it infuriated him to know he was never convicted. A piece of Alex was lost forever the day she died. No matter how long he dealt with her death and tried to move on, he still regretted not doing something more to protect her.

Alex snatched his keys off the counter, pulling a piece of paper with it that floated to the floor. He bent down to pick it up and saw that it was a note from Clair.

Thanks for everything! Your help means more to me than you will ever know–Clair.

Alex smiled when he saw her name but wondered where she would go now and if she’d be okay out there on her own. He knew from experience how harsh the world could be; it was rough and people were cruel. No matter what kind of front she tried to put up, Alex knew she would have a hard time on her own. He only wished he could have done something more. If she would have stayed a little longer, Alex thought he could have found a way to help her.

He stuck the note to his refrigerator with a magnet, almost as a memento. For once in his life, he was able to help someone who couldn’t help herself. As he opened the door to leave, his cell phone rang. Roz’s name flashed across the display screen and he held it to his ear while he hurried out of his apartment. She asked if he could stop by on his way to work and help her move a couple of big appliances in the kitchen. She promised to call Stu to let him know that Alex would be late. Thankfully, Roz and Stu had been dating for a while, and she currently had him wrapped around her finger.

The diner was always crowded in the mornings. He’d been to it a million times since moving in down the street. When he walked in, he sighed, shaking his head. Roz was halfway up a ladder, changing a lightbulb, barefoot with her high heels on the floor. She was wearing khaki slacks and silk blue blouse, which told him she wasn’t working today. It didn’t matter what her attire was, if she needed to get something done, she’d find a way.

Alex stood behind the ladder and crossed his arms. “Umm… If you called me down here to help you, could you not wait five minutes and let me change the
lightbulb?

“If I can do it, I’ll do it. If not, you’ll know about it. Well, you or Stu. You know how I am.” After changing the bulb, she climbed down the ladder and turned to give Alex a hug. “What the hell happened to you?” She touched the corner of his mouth.

“Hey watch it; that hurts,” he flinched, pulling away from her. “I had a little run-in with a couple of guys last night. No biggie, I’ll be fine.”

Roz crossed her arms over her chest, “Was last night “assault-me-night”? See that poor girl back there?” she said as she nodded to the booth in the back corner. “She came in early this morning. Poor thing looks pitiful. What the hell is this town turning into? I remember when I was…”

Alex grabbed Roz by the shoulders and shook her excitedly. “Roz! That’s her,” he said. “Thank God she’s okay. I’ve been worried. When I woke up this morning, she was gone.”

Roz leaned back slightly, eyeing him suspiciously. “Alex, have you been keeping secrets? Do you have news you’re not sharing?” she smirked.

“What? No, of course not. It’s not like that.”

She cocked her head to the side, “Well what‘s it like then?”

“I heard a woman screaming and when I went to check it out, she was on the ground with this guy trying to tear her clothes off. It was horrible. If I hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened to her? You know I can’t tolerate seeing that happen to someone, not if I can help it.”

“My goodness,” Roz reached up to touch his lip again but he pushed her hand away. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” she asked, concerned.

“Nah, it’ll be gone in a few days. I’m not worried about it. But she looked horrible last night,” he said, looking at Clair across the room. He caught her eyes before she quickly looked away.

“When I talked to her this morning, she mentioned a nice man coming to her rescue. She seems like a very sweet girl. Maybe she could use a bit more help, after what happened to her.”

“I let her come back to my place to get cleaned up and rest a little last night. It was an emotional night. Like she wanted to trust me, but just couldn’t. She’s been hurt and not just physically, but deep down. I can feel it. Her eyes are sad and distant. I’ve been there; I know what it’s like.” Alex paced the floor behind the counter, looking over at Clair with every pass he made. “I want to help her, but I don’t know what else I can do.” He stopped pacing and looked at Roz, “What can I do? She’s got no one and no place to go. I need to help her.”

“You know…” Roz said, tilting her head to the side. “I’ve actually been looking for someone since Jackie quit on me last week. I’m getting tired of picking up all these extra shifts. I own this damn place and I shouldn’t have to work this hard.”

Alex studied her, his brow wrinkling up. “What are you getting at, Roz?”

“Well, why don’t I see if she wants to work for me here? I can let her move into the apartment above my garage like I did for you when you first came to town. Do you think she’d accept?”

“I don’t know. She’s got a lot of pride about letting people take care of her. At least that’s what I got from her. You really don’t mind doing that for her?”

“Of course not.
It’s what I did for you. Nothing’s different.”

“I’m going to go and tell her and see if she wants the job.” Alex started to walk toward her table, but was stopped by a tug on his shirtsleeve.

“Whoa, wait a minute.  I don’t think that’s such a good idea. All she’s going to hear out of your mouth is sympathy. You should know from experience, that’s not the kind of help you want to offer her. I’ll talk to her about it without you around.”

“You’re right. I’ll just go over, see how she’s doing, and when I leave, you can ask her about the job. Hopefully, she’ll let you help.” Alex wrapped his arms around her, “Anyone ever tell you you’re the kindest woman in the world?”

Roz chuckled, “No, not recently, but thanks.”

Alex pulled away from her, “I’ll be back in a few.” He walked up to her table. She had her head down as she played with a piece of paper between her fingers. He knocked on the table to get her attention, “May I join you?”

“Okay,” Clair said without looking up.

“How are you feeling this morning? How’s your head?” She gave him a faint smile and he smiled back, trying to conceal the sadness he felt for her as he looked at her swollen, busted lip.

Clair touched her head and winced. “Yeah, it’s still sore. I guess it will take a few days for all of this,” she pointed to her face, “to get better. ‘Til then, I guess I’ll just look like one of those girls whose boyfriend or husband abuses her. At least, I can hide behind my hair.”

“I’m sure you’ll look perfect as before in no time,” Alex said, smiling at her.

“Maybe,” she said, keeping her head down. “Sorry I slipped out this morning. I didn’t want to disturb you and it was just… easier that way.” Clair said, as played with the straw in her glass.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I was disappointed, but I understand.”

Clair nodded over at Roz behind the counter. “You know, I don’t think I’ve met anyone as sweet at her. She seemed so concerned about me. And not once has my glass been empty. Most places try to get me out as soon as they can.”

“Oh no, not Roz.
She’s the most caring person I know. I was lucky to have met her when I did over a year ago. Who knows where I would be now?”

“Wow, you’ve been together for a year… I wouldn’t have thought… I mean, you’re really lucky; she seems like a great woman.”

Alex choked out a laugh. He looked at Clair like she’d lost her mind. “Roz has done so much for me and I’d do anything for her, but dating… oh gross! That wouldn’t be one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but she’s more like the mother I never had than a girlfriend.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to assume,” she said, looking at her drink again.

Alex chuckled, “Don’t worry about it.” He looked at the clock and saw that it was eight a.m. “Well, I better get to the kitchen and help Roz with whatever it is she called about. She may have my boss wrapped around her finger, but that’s still not going to keep him from chewing me out for being late.”

“Oh, what kind of work do you do?

“Construction. I work for Cityscape Construction. We specialize in building new homes and remodeling. Right now, we’re working on a new subdivision called Hillcrest Manor. We’ve been working out there for a couple months. It’s going to be a pretty big neighborhood. Roz’s boyfriend owns the company and she’s the reason I got the job in the first place.”

“That’s hard work, isn’t it?” Clair asked.

“Well it sucks working when it’s really cold outside or when it’s hot and humid, but I don’t do much of the construction part of it anymore. I’m the foreman now. I manage the jobsite and make sure everyone’s working. The pay is pretty good, and Stu’s not such a bad guy. I like to give him a hard time, just for the hell of it sometimes,” he grinned.

“Well, it looks like you have a pretty good life here,” Clair replied, looking around the diner. 

He stood up from his bench seat and walked to Clair’s side of the table. “Yeah, I do. It didn’t used to be that way, though.” He paused for a moment, wanting to say more but decided against it. “Well, I get off about six tonight. I usually eat here after work, so I’ll be in around seven-thirty. I’d like to talk with you more, if you’re still around.”

“I’ll probably be leaving soon, so I doubt I’ll still be around.

“Oh, okay.” Alex said, disappointed. He wanted to ask her now about the job, but it wasn’t his place. He wanted to know more about her. There was more to her than just her tattered shirt and unpatched jeans.

“Well, in case I don’t get to see you again, it was a pleasure meeting you, even under the circumstances,” Alex said, laying his hand over hers.

“Thank you, Alex… for everything. It really was nice meeting you.”

“Goodbye, Clair.”