It's been a week since I spotted Anthony. Now I sit hiding away in an abandoned building. I tidy up my sleeping arrangement, checking my food storage, I grit my teeth. The shortage aggravates me as I look down at Venus. Her head looks up at me from her position on my sleeping bag.

"You stay here girl, I need to make a trip to the store." She looks at me almost confused but I shrug my shoulders and step foot outside of the crumbling building. Walking down the crippled sidewalk, I keep my eyes ahead of me making sure to watch where I'm going. The sidewalk soon turns smooth and I cling to myself. 

The cool bite of air in the early hours of the morning causes me to shiver. These days I've been stealing food and necessities. It won't hurt to steal more, I'm just trying to live. I spot a man and a woman loudly arguing causing a ruckus. The girl slaps the man and storms off dramatically as if purposefully trying to draw attention to herself. 

I usher over to the man, "Are you alright sir?" I look up at him and meet his striking green eyes. My breath is taken away for a split second but I instantly snap out of it. The man shook his head, "Me and my girlfriend simply just broke up because she was cheating on me. Now, on the other hand I should be asking if you're alright. You look like you've been through hell."

I laugh softly to myself with little humor. "I suppose I have been through a bit of hell, I'm homeless right now with my dog. Me and her are barely holding on. But we're managing." He nods, acknowledging my situation. 

"I could help you kid, you and your dog. I could help the two of you out." I perk up but shake my head quickly. "No, I'll be alright." He shrugs, "Alright but if you need anything my house is just down the street." He points to a building and I nod. 

"Have a good day kid." He walks off and I follow his back with my eyes until he's out of sight. I sigh, he was a pretty man but why was he so adamant on helping me? Shaking my head I make my way to a store and step in. 

This is a store I haven't been to so they don't know I steal. Grabbing a huge amount of items I book it out the doors. Yelling from behind me pushes me to run even faster. "Get back here you stupid boy!" The man screeches from behind me, his voice fading in the distance as I lose him in the early morning workers. 

Relief washes over me as I crash inside the crumbling building. Venus is standing, almost about to bark before she realizes it's me. "Hi pup, I got more food!" She softly barks at me, a small woof causing a warm bubbling smile to appear on my face. 

I open up a small bag of chips and plop down on the sleeping bag. With soft crunches I happily wiggle in my spot, eating my gracious bounty. It may be hard to survive now but anything is better than where I was to begin with. The only question is how to get to the States from here? I don’t have any money and Puerto Rico isn’t as big as the United States. My fear escalates, the images on the news flashing in my mind like an old tape recorder on repeat. 

Shivering, Venus curls up beside me as if sensing my fear. I look down at her and peet her soft fluffy head. While at the beach I had gotten her and myself cleaned up. She was a stunning mix. Her fur was absurdly fluffy as she was a mix between a doberman and an australian shepherd by the looks of it. Whether I was wrong on the prediction or not, she was a stunning dog and I was awe-inspired by her. 

The luxury of a simple bath was mouthwatering as well as the treat of one more orange sherbert from that ice cream parlor. I whimpered to myself and finished off my chips, setting it down in a small pile of trash. I lie down on the sleeping bag, Venus beside me as I let out a soft sigh. I felt homesick but not for my home in the States but for my home with the Mafia. I had only been there a short time but it was long enough to become attached. I clung to the large hoodie wrapped around my thinning frame and let out a choked sob. Why was I so stupid? 

Why can’t I just move on from that hell? Though soon a week turns into a month and that month turns into my eighteenth birthday by myself with a dog in an abandoned building. I slouch in my position on my bed, “My first birthday alone, no friends and no family to wish me the best. Just me and a dog in a cold building in the early mornings of December.” My fluffy hair is growing down to my shoulders and my body went from lean to boney. The bones in my body protrude no matter what I do. 

I stand slowly, “Come on pup, let’s go on a walk, we have nothing left to lose.” Her own skinny body stands alongside me as we pad our way out of the build.

My body sways with each step I take, my long past cunning attitude seeps to the ground. Without noticing I've carried myself to a building, pointed out by a stranger. I knock gently then fall to the paved ground. My eyes feel sore and dragged as they close and the background noise fades away.

My mind eases itself into a void of pain and fear as my brain takes full control of my dreams from this point on. The thoughts of death and mafias plague me in my subconscious state. 

Indulging in pleasantries between the devil in disguise and his foolish allies I think of possible downfalls to my character. My judgment drifts to the owner of the building I arrived on the step of. 

Hoping he had answered to my calling, I just hope Venus does not fear him. She's a smart dog, but she's most likely willing to kill someone to protect me. I just hope today isn't that day. 

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The soft beeping of a heart monitor alerts me awake as I look around with looming eyes. My vision is a soft blur as I spot the figure of the familiar man walking in. "You're awake!" He rushes over to the side of my bed as my vision finally clears. 

"I saw you passed out on the sidewalk of my house and I rushed you to the hospital right away. I was extremely worried, I didn't know if you'd be okay…" He continues to ramble off on how dreadfully worried he was as a pounding headache forms in the front of my head. 

The green eyed man slowly hushed as I squinted my eyes shut. "Why am I here?" My voice is nothing as I remember, the once bright bounding voice I held above breaks into a mass grave below. I'm greeted by silence before he mumbles out, "You were almost dead, severely dehydrated and famished. Your body fat mass was too low as well. They want you on bed rest until your body is in a stable condition." 

I hum softly and before I can ask another question I'm interrupted by a soft knock and the door creaking open. My eyelids part as I spot the doctor. "Master Findear, we ran the test you asked for." I furrow my brows in confusion, that's what Anthony would call Damien, Master. 

His last name must be Findear then. I feel as though I've come to the wrong person but I can't help to feel at home here. Though dressed like a hospital it feels like a home. I close my eyes as the clicks of shoes on the tiled floor leave the room. With a sigh I pull the hospital blanket over me even more. 

Sleep screams for me yet in this unknown area, my own mind screams. My heart, on the other hand, yells for something else, someone else. I let out a drowning whimper as sleep grasps me like the deep blue sea.