@devoidache sent: “i got you. you’re safe now.”
She was panting, her hands gripping his arms twice as tight as his own were wrapped around hers, hands shaking as fingers clutched at his jacket sleeve. Her head turned back toward the alley, but there was nothing there, no shadow-drenched figures, no silhouettes of threat, no almost-silent crunch of boots on gravel. “They- there were guys there, I swear, ‘Day, please you have to believe me-” She turned back to him, the high ponytail she’d worn for her shift swinging into her face as she turned back to him, fear still etched across her expression and in her eyes. “They got on the bus after me I didn’t even think about it but they got off at my stop and I recognized them from the club tonight.” She hadn’t sped up, hadn’t ran- prey instinct was her main instinct and she knew running inspired a chase.
Instead she’d text Thursday, a desperate ‘please come down and meet me at the street’ text, in hopes that she could get to his apartment before anything uncomfortable or downright dangerous happened. She had mace- she wasn’t stupid walking home in the dark- but there was a sharp tang of fear that it wouldn’t have been enough, not against more than one person.
He’d met her though, there were no shadows lurking behind her and his deep, reassuring voice told her she was safe. Her fingers still shook around the fabric of his sleeve, but her breathing had calmed somewhat and she laid her forehead against his shoulder long enough to take a deep breath before letting go of him and straightening her spine, unable to help the glance backwards. “Can I hang out for a little while?” She asked softly.