Triangles.

Harley ran down the bleak, grey pathway, her beaten plimsolls slapping against the smooth concrete. She had been running for a while now. Her feet had past the level of hurting – they were now in agony. But, no matter how far she went, she couldn’t outrun the darkness. It caught up to her like a cheetah, stealthily sprinting up behind her while she just waited for it to attack.

In her case, the metaphorical cheetah was her ex-boyfriend. He crossed the barrier of obsession. She was his and only his – no one could look at her, smile at her, even open their mouth to speak near her. But she had had enough, and she’d left him behind.

I didn’t really think my whole running away fiasco through.

Her lungs finally gave out and she collapsed heavily on her knees in the middle of the path, leaving tattered marks on her already ripped skinny jeans. She managed to choke out her breaths, inhaling as much of the sweet oxygen as she could. The constriction wrapped around her organs finally weakened and her brain stopped throbbing painfully from lack of air as she sat back, palms pressed down against the stone.

I need to go somewhere. I can’t spend the rest of my life on the street, can I? I’m only 18, I need a life. For now, though… I’ll settle on a decent meal. Even if it’ll hurt my pride.

Groaning, she slowly picked herself up, her thighs and calves protesting angrily against any movement she made. She pushed them with her pure strength of will towards the nearest house on the road.

It was a cute little house, brown brick with a grey slate roof. It had a dark green painted door, but the paint was peeling off a bit and the small window was grubby with dust and dirt. Still, it had a certain…charm, to it.

She pressed the small off-white doorbell once, slumping against the doorframe to rest her body for a second. Suddenly, the door was violently pulled open, revealing a quite short young woman with wavy dark brown hair and side swept bangs, small designer frames sitting comfortably on her petite nose.

"Thank..." Harley paused and drew in a large breath, "Thank God you answered."

"Um... can I help you?" The woman asked her, her dark blue eyes glittering with mostly confusion.

"Please... can I come in? I... I'll explain everything, I promise," she breathed. The woman stood aside, welcoming her in with a puzzled look. She smiled at her warmly as she closed the door behind her and Harley fell against the light blue wall, her breathing slowing but not quite normal yet.

Harley watched her closely as she took in her appearance, studying every little detail of her torn shirt and matted, coal black hair. "What... uh, who are you?"

"...Har-Harley," Harley stuttered quietly, her legs buckling under her weight as she slid to the wooden floor boards. "Um, Harley Fraser. P-Please, don't call the police. I'll explain everything to you," she gabbled quietly, her voice fading into a strangled whisper as the hot tears finally found their way to her amber eyes after days. She blinked, releasing a single tear to roll over her eyelid and down her pale cheek.

"Shh, no, no need for that now," the woman said with a soft smile, leaning down to her. She threw her limp arm over her shoulder and pulled the weary girl up, helping her stagger into her modern kitchen.

She helped her into a grey plastic folding chair before taking another colourful mug from the kitchen cupboard and sitting it down on the table in front of the girl. She dropped a tea bag in and quickly re-boiled the kettle, filling the mug up, adding milk and sugar according to Harley’s nods and stirring gently.

“Here, drink up,” she said, sitting opposite her with her own cup of coffee. The two sipped in silence for a while, just enjoying the verging-on-awkward silence while it lasted. The birds sang half-heartedly outside the kitchen window as they fluttered past, almost sensing the damp mood coming from inside.

“So…” the woman started slowly, but Harley cut her off.

“What’s your name?”

“U-Um… Anna. Anna Thompson. Why?”

Harley shrugged, staring into the rainbow dotted mug clasped between her pale hands. “I feel better knowing your name.” She sniffed and wiped away the water on her cheeks.

Anna nodded almost understandingly and sipped her own hot drink, taking to looking out of the window until Harley felt comfortable enough to explain the unexpected visit.

“I ran away from my ex-boyfriend.”

Anna returned her attention to the teenager, studying her features carefully. She didn’t detect any lying.

“He… got too… possessive,” Harley sighed. I don’t want to explain everything yet… I barely even know this woman. But, she deserves a reason…

“Ah, I see,” Anna replied, nodding her head. “It can get quite annoying.”

“You understand me?” Harley asked her, looking up from the cup.

She immediately turned back to the window, beginning to get uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “You… could say that. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

Harley frowned, but didn’t press. She didn’t have the right to – after all, Anna had let her into the house without calling anyone or pressing her for information. In short, she owed her one.

“I guess so,” she said glumly, going back to sipping her tea slowly. Tea – it has its comforting qualities.

“So, are you hungry?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by her own stomach grumbling noisily from under her shirt.

Anna laughed and stood up, walking over to the oven. “I’ll take that as a yes.”