"So, what is it that you want?" Cathy stands up next to me. "That girl has been through some bad stuff, and I won't let it happen to her again."
I turn to face her. “Do you know what happened?” I ask. Am I about to find out who hurt her?
“I don’t, never asked her. But just looking at her you know that some fucked up shit happened to her.” Cathy sounds upset. “So again, what is your plan with her?”
“I don’t have a plan; I want to help her…” I stop and turn to her, as she starts laughing out loud.
“She won’t even look at you, never mindtrustyou. You have a hard mission in front of you." Cathy walks back to where she was sitting, and I gaze back over at Hope, as she stares up at the sky.
CHAPTER11
HOPE
I saidbye to Cathy and told her I would be back next week to see her. She was the first person that helped me when I got here. I had a group of guys following me every night and she noticed it. Told them if she ever saw them again she would kill them. After that, she kept me close to her. Never asked questions about what happened to me, or told me that I was weird. She was looking out for me, and I will never forget that.
“Shall we have some lunch?” Leo asks as we walk along the sidewalk. Even though I know I’m not going to eat anything,hestill has to eat. I give him a nod and he stops. “Hope, you can look up when you walk.”
I stand in front of him, still trying to work out his plan. Is this a new game that they want to play with me? Get me to break the rules and then punish me in ways that break me more than I already am. I don’t think that’s even possible at the moment.
"I fancy a burger," Leo tells me as he starts walking again and I follow him. I wonder how long it will be before he loses his temper with me. The other man lasted two days, but Leo has gone a week and isn't pushing for answers to any of his questions.
Walking into the restaurant, I hear Leo talking to the front of house man as he leads us to our table. I look up a little as I don't know where everything is in here, and I don't want to hit anything.
Leo pulls out the chair for me, and I sit down. He sits opposite me and I look at the tablecloth.
"I'd like you to look at me; otherwise the people around us will think that I'm forcing you to sit here and I'm not. You can get up and leave whenever you like," Leo tells me. And that's true. He's not making me stay here. He has taken me out of the house, and I could run; he leaves to go to work and I could leave then as the doors aren't locked. I know this because I checked. I ran back to my room the first day I opened the door, worried I had failed and he would come back to punish me. But it wasn't a one-day thing, every day this week the house has never been locked and I could run. So, why haven't I? I have no idea.
Slowly I lift my head, not fully so that he can see my whole face, but enough to make it look like we're here together.
"What would you like to drink?" A male waiter stands next to the table, and I move to the right a little so that I'm not too close to him and I know Leo sees that.
“We’re not ready yet,” Leo tells him and the waiter walks away. I let out the breath that I was holding in. Leo asks, “Is there anything that you would like to drink?”
"Water, please." I hear Leo tut, and I look up a little more. "I've only ever been given water, so I never ask for anything else."
“How about food?”
I stay quiet and look over to the side a little where a group of girls are laughing at something. They look over at Leo and talk to each other; I already know what they’re talking about. What is someone so good looking doing sitting at this table with me? Well, that’s something that I would like to know too.
“Are you ready, or would you like a few more minutes?”
"Can we have two cokes, the double burger, and the pasta please," I hear Leo tell the waiter, and I sit up straight.
That was one of the first lessons I had with Uncle Jack.Never, I repeat never sit at the table without a straight back, you sit straight, and you stay quiet unless spoken to.
I hear the girls at the table next to us laughing again, and I hear Leo's chair move.
“How are…”
I hear the girls at the table talking, but there's a pause for a moment, and I look at him through my eyelashes. He's looking over at their table.
“You like something over here?” I hear one of them say. “I’m sure I can make you smile more thanshecan.”
“No, I don’t like anything over there. And she makes me smile enough thank you,” I hear Leo say and the girls go quiet.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…” The waiter puts our drinks on the table, cutting of the girl from talking.
“Can you make our order to go? The company around us is not to my liking. And can you send the manager out please.” I see Leo put his hand up so that the waiter can’t say anything to him.