I woke to the hissing of the bus’ air brakes. I mumbled to myself as my eyes slowly opened. As I did, something moist hit my forehead. I looked up, confused, only to find Veronica resting her head on mine. Her mouth was wide open, pooling with saliva, and another drop hit me. I jerked, suddenly more awake than before. Veronica mumbled as my sudden movements sent her spiking upwards.

“Was happenin’?” she asked groggily. “Is ‘is our stop?”

I simply responded with a nod as I wiped the drool off my forehead. She looked at me, unaware of what just happened.

“You feverish, mate?”

“Just a little clammy,” I responded quietly, not wanting to rag on my savior.

We hurried to my home, Veronica continuing to shadow me as carefully as she could. It was dark, but I could make out the look she had in her eyes, focused to the point of being unfocused. Every little thing seemed to catch her attention as a possible threat.

“You know, I might need to teach you a few things in case I’m not around,” Veronica said calmly. “Still can’t understand why he had such a hard on for kicking your teeth in.”

“He probably just needs someone to make him feel stronger. Low and behold, I’m on the bottom of the food chain.”

I exhaled loudly. I winced as I keeled over, struggling to breathe. Veronica moved closer to me. I lifted a hand, stopping her in her tracks. I groaned loudly as I straightened up and kept walking.

“Christ, I don’t even imagine what his dad puts him through if this is what he needs to feel better,” I said quietly.

“You better not be defending him.”

“You think I’d defend this?” I asked, motioning towards myself as I looked back towards Veronica. “Just because he has a reason doesn’t mean he has an excuse. Shit like this is why Jess dumped him.”

I realized the words escaped my mouth. I could feel the judgment from Veronica’s gaze as I did my best not to look her in the eyes. I frowned as I looked to the side. He was always kind of dick. I wasn’t always the literal punching bag. Sure, I was the butt of jokes and mockery, but that was mostly it. Jessie always did her best to shut it down.

“At least she saw it,” Veronica said.

“Yeah,” I responded, nodding towards her. “She tries her best. Like really tries.”

Veronica wrapped an arm around my neck and gave an encouraging smile.

“Then you’re luckier than a lot of us.”

I looked at Veronica. Curiosity suddenly started to get the better of me.

“What about you? Any family back home?”

Veronica’s smile dimmed as her grip relaxed. She let out a muted grunt as she gave me a gentle push forward, as if trying to shove the question along with me. I simply nodded, not wanting to press her further. I focused on leading her to my home. We eventually reached it. In most cases, I probably would have felt embarrassed bringing anyone, let alone Veronica, to see where we lived. After everything else that had happened, my pride was the least of my concerns. If anything, I surprised myself.

“Do you want to come inside?”

Veronica’s cautious look cracked. She was probably as surprised as I was. She laughed uncomfortably after her lips trilled, shaking her head as it sank.

“You don’t want me in there, mate,” she laughed. “Your sister’s going to have so many questions-”

“Just let me thank you properly.”

“You’re already on the meal plan. You don’t have to pay me-”

“As a friend.”

Veronica was taken aback again. This time, she couldn’t even respond with a reaction. It was silent for a few moments before I gave her an awkward smile.

“A warm meal and a bed isn’t the worst thing, is it?”

I could see the wheels turning in her eyes. Her lips pursed to the side as she thought to herself, weighing the options silently.

“Just don’t make a big thing of it, yeah?”

I smiled and nodded. I opened the door, only to find Jess on her cell phone, shouting at who I could only assume was the police. I looked at her like a deer in headlights. Unfortunately, my phone had been discarded by Ryan and I couldn’t call her. She dropped her phone and practically tackled me, wrapping her arms around me and crying like I had risen from the dead. I could barely make out what she said. All I could do was hug her back and give her the time she needed to realize I was okay. Relatively speaking, I mean.

I recounted what happened for the most part at the kitchen table. I told Jess that Ryan had abducted and attacked me, and that Veronica came across us and fought him off. I didn’t mention that I had been visiting her for a couple of weeks, or that she’d been protecting me. Knowing Jess, I’m sure she knew something was up. I could see she was connecting the dots, but I think she was so grateful I wasn’t floating in the river that she was willing to let it slide, at least for the moment.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Jessie muttered to herself. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

“I can take you there if you’d like,” Veronica said with a smirk.

Jessie looked between us and buried her face in her hands, letting out a loud sigh. She looked back towards Veronica with a smile.

“Look, bringing back this dink was enough,” Jessie responded, her voice breaking slightly. “Thank you.”

Veronica simply smiled back and chuckled quietly. My eyes were purely on her. She looked oddly uncomfortable, like she hated the praise.

“I just happened to be in the neighborhood,” she responded nonchalantly.

“Thank God for good Samaritans.”

Jessie seemed happy enough that it felt like an opportune time to try and ease in the idea of giving Veronica a place to stay. I leaned over, motioning for Jessie to come in closer. She gave me a curious look as she leaned in.

“Look, Jess, after everything she did, do you think maybe we could… let her crash on the pullout for a while?” I whispered.

Jessie gave me a serious look as she looked between me and Veronica. I realized right away that just because she was grateful, she didn’t throw reason out the window. That shrewdness was another difference between Jess and I unfortunately.

“Jack, I know she helped you, but we don’t even know her,” Jessie whispered back.

My eyes and mouth widened. Another difference between Jess and I was that she was much better at staying calm under pressure. The only time I ever had a poker face was when I was actually playing poker. Put me at a Texas Hold ‘Em table and I can lie my ass off to get out of murder. And unfortunately, my obvious shock was picked up by Jess like a radar.

“Jack?”

“Uh… about that…”

“What?”

“I may have been… bringing her some food every now and then.”

“... WHAT?”

Her voice grew louder with each word she uttered. I could tell she was trying to restrain herself from throttling me like I hid a murder from her. My eyes shut and lips pursed tightly as I groaned quietly.

“She may have also taken care of Ryan the last time, too,” I said in a low, nervous voice.

Jessie winced at the words. I could see a look of guilt on her face as she exhaled sharply. She sat back up and looked at Veronica with a conflicted look, like she was looking at any and all logic to say no. She let out a low groan.

“You can stay a couple of nights,” Jess said to Veronica in a resigned tone. “It’s the least we can do after… everything. But any funny stuff and you’re back out on your ass, got it?”

“Can’t trust a Samaritan?” Veronica asked jokingly, leaning forward on the table and resting her chin on her hand.

Jessie frowned as her lips pulled to the side. I could tell she was already regretting her decision. Her gaze shifted towards me, making me her target again. I tensed up.

“And you… stop thinking with your dick,” she said quietly.

“I didn’t! I-I-I mean I’m not!”

Veronica snickered quietly. I could feel it. I was making the same face I did before. Jessie’s eyes widened. She leaned in towards me with that look of an interregator that always broke me.

“What aren’t you telling me?” she asked in a low voice.

“N-Nothing!”

Veronica covered her mouth, hiding a smile as she looked to the side. Jessie looked between us again before shooting to her feet. It was so sudden, I nearly fell out of my chair as I stumbled backwards.

“You’re taking advantage of her!” Jessie shouted.

“I swear, I didn’t do anything!” I shouted back fearfully. “Jess, wait-!”

“You little pervert, c’mere!”

Jessie approached me as I backed up, trying my best not trip over any furniture or my own feet. Unfortunately, she was also quicker in me. Being a waitress at a diner keeps you light and nimble on your feet, and she was easily able to catch me and wrap me in a headlock. I was beaten with a tire iron and suddenly I was the bad guy for something I didn’t even do. If it wasn’t for Veronica breaking into a laughing fit and our downstairs neighbor banging on their ceiling, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten out.

I didn’t regret inviting Veronica in. I owed her my life. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start to experience some trepidation.