CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I shivered as the cold wind hit me. I laid under a bench, covered with a thin blanket and used my luggage as my pillow. Sleep wouldn't come, as the cold and my thoughts kept me awake. Where do I go from here? How am I going to cope? These thoughts made me feel stupid for not thinking this through and just making irrational decisions.

I slept off early hours of the next day and woke to the rustle of a broom sweeping. I jerked awake and banged my head on the bench. I heard footsteps hurrying to the bench and the face of an elderly woman appeared as she crouched and looked at me.

"My dear, are you okay?" she asked tenderly.

I didn't answer. I was stunned by her beauty. "You are so pretty."

She smiled warmly and took a luggage, "Come on in. You must be cold."

I watched her walk towards a canteen behind the bench and followed her. We entered to find a young man wiping off the counter with a rag. He smiled at the woman and the woman returned it.

"Quick. Get me a glass of water," she told him.

We sat at a table. She watched me intently, "You slept outside with all the cold?"

The man brought the water and handed it to me; I gulped.

I smiled uncomfortably, "Pretty obvious."

"Why? Are you homeless? Don't you have a family you could've crashed with?" she queried.

I rubbed my arm, "No. I know no one here. I'm new."

Her eyes filled with sympathy, "Oh. Things were rough back at home?" I nodded. "What's your name?"

Back to the name issue. I've been wondering last night if I should use my real name. My name was bad luck. New life, new environment, new name and I must get a new disguise.

"I'm Alex Brown," I told her.

She looked like she was thinking, "Are you sure you're not related to the Browns?"

"I'm sure I'm not," I told her.

"I'm Miss Jane Donovan and that's my son, Jonas Donovan," she introduced.

I watched her son wipe off the tables and chairs. He was beautiful. Are people in this town all beautiful?

She stood, "Looks like you have nowhere to go. You're welcome to stay."

I was dumbfounded. Just like that? "Thank you ma'am. Do you need a helping hand here?"

"Yes, I do."

"What's the pay?" I asked.

"Food and shelter and some clothes. I'll let you look for a job that'll give you money. You can stay with us till you're settled."

Wow. She's an angel. But I was skeptical. Can I trust her? I have no choice, I have to.

"Jonas, take her to the house and show her to the guest room," she told her son and then turned to me, "Freshen up. There's a change of clothes in the wardrobe there. Come down when you're ready and I'll give you food, then you can start work."

I embraced her, "Thank you so much ma'am. I'm so grateful."

As I walked with Jonas, I studied him. He had a good body build up and was tall. He wore a tank top that showed his flexing muscles.

"What's your name?" he asked me.

His voice was a rich baritone that soothes. I smiled. "Alex."

"Alex, my mother can be too trusting but I am not," he told me.

"Okay?" I asked unsure of what to say that.

Their house was behind the canteen. It was a bungalow. We entered and he showed me to the guest room. There was an adjoining door that he said was our bathroom. I didn't quite understand what he meant by 'our' since the door leading to it was in my room, but I brushed it off.

"Do you have a scissors?" I asked him after he told me where things were.

He looked at me skeptically, "If you want to commit suicide, it shouldn't be in my house."

I laughed. "You're being paranoid. I just need to fix somethings on my body."

"Save the details. It's in the bathroom. Knock yourself out," and he walked out.

I smiled. It'll be fun riling up this not-so-trusting Jonas. I got to the bathroom and got to work.