Past Praying

Sierra didn't know how much time had passed. She just listened as the beating of her heart as it quickened and slowed, over and over. It was almost like her own internal lullaby. All she could do now is look up at the sky, and wait. Wait for what, she didn't know. Micheal? Death? All Sierra wanted to do now was fall unconscious to the world and stay that way.
A figure walked to Sierra in the half light of the street lamps, and her body went rigid. She at least hopped when he found her she would be in some altered state, floating away from reality and into the stars.
The figure knelt beside her and in the glow from the lights she felt her body stand alert. Her eyes were met by chocolate colored orbs shimmering in the moonlight.
"It's alright," the man whispered. This wasn't Micheal, but someone else. Were they there to hurt her? Do Micheal's dirty work for him? A million questions flooded her brain as her muscles locked in place, the fight-or-flight mechanism kicking in. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Sierra didn't know what it was that made her body relax, maybe his soothing voice or the sincere concern laced in his eyes, but in that moment she trusted him. The man held his hand out to her, and with some effort on both parts Sierra was standing, but unstable. "Hold onto me," he whispered in the same reassuring tone from before.
She did as she was told, leaning into his side as his hand snaked around her waist. If she wasn't so drained and uneasy, she probably would have flinched at the contact but the combination of the drugs and the concentration of her movements didn't give her a chance. Sierra felt like she could just fall back onto the pavement and sleep, because what was the use of this? Michael would find her anyway. She mentally scolded herself, the point of this is to keep you alive. Alive. The word felt funny even in her head.
"Come on, I'll take care of you." The boy spoke with a bit more conviction, as they made there way down the street. Sierra almost fell several times, but the boy kept her stable, making calming noises in her ear. She didn't even notice she was shaking. Was it from the drugs, or fear? After a few trials, she made it up the few steps to the boys apartment. He threw open the unlocked door and led her inside. It was warm in here, and Sierra was hit with a pang of guilt. She opened her mouth to try to thank the boy, but her eyes felt heavy and her bones weak. The boy seemed to know, and he smiled softly at her holding a finger up to his lips.
Here in the clear light of the apartment, she could see her savior clearly. He was such a strange looking boy, not handsome or cute but something else completely. His body was rail like, but his muscles well defined. His hair was dark brown and it caressed his face in all the right ways. The boys thick eyebrows furrowed as he noticed Sierra studying him. It was then he saw the blood, thick and dark dripping down her face.
He thought Sierra was just some drunk party girl from the local campus, to gone to get home on her own. But this, he didn't know what to think of this. He knew he should be more careful, bring a stranger into his apartment but she was injured, and as he looked into her eyes he noticed how blown they were; pupils dilated, and eyes wide in fear. fuck, fuck, fuck. What had he gotten himself into? Jack wouldn't be happy about this, but he couldn't just bring her back outside, bleeding and clearly some kind of fucked up. Carefully, he lead her to the couch, careful not to bump anything and lowered her down.
"Stay here, okay? Don't go anywhere," well that was stupid, she could barely walk on her own much less go somewhere he realized. He ran into the bathroom and turned on the warm water, running a washcloth under it until he decided it was wet enough to help clean the blood. Walking back into the room, his eyes found hers as she blinked continually, obviously fighting sleep.
"You can stay here tonight but right now, I'm going to clean you up." Showing Sierra the washcloth he gingerly began wiping the blood from under her nose and side of her face. Sierra's eyes fluttered shut as she tried not to focus on the tender swellings of pain.
"Would you like some tea or something?" He had noticed her still shaking, and his face twisted in concern. She could probably use something warm to drink.
Sierra opened her eyes again, and took another look at the breathtaking boy in front of her. That's what he was, breathtaking. "Only if it's not too much trouble," Sierra smiled weakly.
"None." The boy replied, leaving her to go make the tea for his "guest". When he returned, he found Sierra on the verge of falling asleep. He knew she probably couldn't do anymore walking tonight, given all the blood and the state of her in general. To his surprise, she reached out with shaking hands for the tea he had made for her. "Thank you, I've been through so much today." It was then the boy realized he wanted to know who she was, and why she was bleeding all over his couch.
"Well, I have all night," he replied, "I'm Alex."