Merideth was so thankful that the gentleman in the wheelchair had intervened when he did. Her knight in shining armour, with a wheelchair for a horse. The thought made her smile. That was Garrick that had been bothering her, pestering her to do a trick for him.
“You did before. What’s wrong with ya? And ya can get yourself some dope. You like that, don’t ya”
He knew I had changed, but he wouldn’t listen.
“Too good for me now or somethin'”
Yes, she had done it before. Not just with him but with many others. Men of all ages and the odd woman. It sickened her, brought to the fore all the reasons that she had fled Cork in the first place. The touching and the fear of hearing footsteps during the night. But the draw of the next fix had been too much. She wondered what would that nice guy in the wheelchair think of her if he knew? Would he have bothered to come to her aid?
She had been quick to leave. Not, because she wasn’t thankful but because she was embarrassed by her appearance. It was different because he had really seen her, something that hadn’t happened in so long. Afterwards, she fled to the only spot where she could feel secure, under a disused bridge. It provides shelter and the heaps of rubbish along with the rats dissuades any threat of company.
It pained her to think that this might be the closest thing she would ever have to a place called home. She tried her best never to think about the future, because it was something that didn’t exist for people like her. There was no future, only future torment.
A few days later, she spotted her Knight. She was walking behind him, but no sound would come from her mouth. Not just the one time either. Better to stay in the shadows.
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