Don't Drop Your Mask

Baltimore. The shithole of the world. I hope this city falls to the axis. Where am I? I'm currently walking home from the grocery store at fucking one in the morning. This is pretty much the most dangerous task I could be doing right now. But I just had to start craving fucking marshmallows. And then when I got there, peanut butter. And cinnamon. But not straight cinnamon, something with a cinnamon flavor. This is what my paycheck does to me.

Once every two weeks I get a paycheck, which I immediately organize into rent money, which covers cable, cell phone money, loan money, for paying off my college loans for a degree that currently isn't relevant, and food money, which I spend half of in the first night, and completely diminish by the end of the week.

I've got a pretty sweet bartending/waitressing gig a few blocks from my apartment.

Back to the matter at hand, though. So I'm just walking, carrying a paper bag half full of junk food at one in the morning, clutching the bag to my chest for dear life. I pass crack head after crack head, each one eying me up in my work clothes.

I'm a block away from my street, a few paces from my turn, almost home free, when an arm grabs me while I'm passing. I groan, more pissed off that they didn't do it further back. My groceries were, at this point, enticing me from the pavement. The marshmallows spilled out of a hole I'd made to sneak a couple in before I got home.

I looked longingly at them for a second, before lifting my leg up behind me and trying to kick the person in the knee.

"No, no, sweets. How about I take you home tonight?"

See, most people try to say a clever line, here. Maybe get away. Not me. I just keep kicking. My hands grabbing at an arm he's holding to my neck, pulling furiously. "Get. The. Fuck. Off me!"

He hand that's not holding a knife to my neck travels down my body. My hips. My ribs. My stomach. My boobs.

I stomp down on his foot to no avail. Flats v. steal toe boots? Fuuuck.

"Not a chance, babe," he says, leaning down and biting my neck.

"What are you, a fucking vampire?"

I felt his lips move into a smile against my skin. He opened his mouth to reply. I could feel his acidic breath trailing down the back of my shirt when BAM!

There was a loud THUNK! and I was on the ground, being weighed down by 160 pounds of dead weight.

The thug that was trying to rape me either rolled or got pushed off of me and a hand helped me up, a bit forcefully.

"Are you okay?" Sexy husky male voice. Must run. The hand held mine, securely, though.

"I'm... I'm fine. Th-thanks," I looked up. The streetlights were out, so I could only vaguely make him out.

"No problem. Do you need me to walk you home?"

I looked down at my dirty marshmallows. I almost started crying. As if shit wasn't bad enough, now I have dirty fucking marshmallows!

I guess he took that as a yes, because he leaned down and put the scattered groceries into the upturned bag. "Where do you live?" he asked, pulling me into him.

I shook my head. "You're not going to rape me, are you?"

He laughed. I took the bag from him and looked at him in the eyes. "Are you... wearing a mask?"

He grinned sheepishly. I busted out laughing.

It's fucking one thirty in the morning. I have dirty marshmallows. I was almost raped. And who saves me? A guy in a fucking mask.

"Where are your tights?"

His grin faded. "I just saved your sorry ass."

I slowed my laughter. "I'm... I'm sorry. Huh. I live that way," I pointed; perfectly secure that psycho in the mask wasn't going to harm me.

"So what's your name?" he asked me.

"Layla."

"That's a weird name," he said as we started walking.

"Thanks," I said, sarcastically. He looked over at me and smiled before grabbing my bag. "So what about you, Batman?"

He smirked. "Whatever you want it to be, doll face."

I looked at him. He's too much. "Alright, Leonard."

His smirk fell as I demolished every bit of the badass image he was going for.

We got to my door and started to walk up with me. I stopped. "Whoa, buddy. Soul train stops here. Back up, Johnny."

He smirked. "I thought I was Leonard," he said.

I laughed. "So do you take off your mask now?"

He just smiled at me and shook his head.

"Awe, come on, I want to see the face of my savior."

"Sorry, milady."

I smiled. "Not even for the damsel to kiss the hero?"

He looked a bit taken aback. "Well... my mask doesn't cover up my--"

I laughed and rolled my eyes, opening the door to my apartment building. "See ya later, Romeo."