Wanna Come To My House?

To shelter herself from the cold night, Elena hid in an old payphone box. Luckily there were still payphone boxes like this scattered across town that could be operated with coins.

Elena found some coins that she could use to contact someone. Her phone fell from her bag when she was chased away by her aunt and now she didn't have anything on her to get help.

"Hello, good evening Bella," said Elena as soon as the call was answered. "It's Elena, I'm calling from a payphone."

"Hey, Elena? What's wrong? Why are you calling me from a payphone? Did you lose your phone? Where are you?" Bella was one of the staff at the shop where Elena worked. Actually, Elena and Bella weren't very close, but Elena had absolutely no other friends to turn to for help.

"Bella, can I ask you a favor?" Elena asked reluctantly. "I'm locked out of the house and I lost my phone."

"Sure, tell me, I'm listening," said Bella immediately. Then she talked to someone sitting next to her. "Shut up, honey! I'm talking to a friend of mine. Sssh..."

The sound of a man's small laugh from the other side made Elena feel uncomfortable. It seemed, she was bothering Bella during an intimate moment with her boyfriend.

Nevertheless, because it was urgent, Elena began to convey her request. "Can I… uhm… can I stay at your house, just for the night? Like I said... I was locked out of the apartment because... uhm, my aunt went to another town and I was mugged... I lost the keys and my phone."

Before, Elena had never asked anyone for help. She didn't want to be a burden. However, the situation this time was truly an emergency.

"Aahh… I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't mind if you want to stay. But, now I live with my boyfriend. And there's only one room here. Eh, honey… don't be naughty!" Bella warned her boyfriend, who kept bothering her with sensual touches. Elena tried to deafen her ears when she heard Bella moan and the man continued peppering her with kisses.

"Uhm... I'm sorry for bothering you," Elena took a deep breath and faked a smile. Her voice sounded cheerful when she spoke. "You know what, I don't want to trouble you. I think I can stay at my other relative's place. It's a bit far from the shop but I'll manage, or I can stay at a cheap hotel nearby."

"Hey! You don't need to apologize. You're not bothering me. We were just in the middle of something, but it's okay. I already said we're friends. Hey, you know what, just come here. You can sleep in the living room. We can pull out a couch for you if that's okay with you."

"Don't worry, I can manage," Elena faked a chuckle. "My aunt will be back tomorrow. I can just stay somewhere closer. It's okay."

"Mm… all right, Elena. Where will you be waiting?" Bella asked in concern

"I can easily stay in a hotel nearby. It's only for one night."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elena lied. "I've got money with me."

"Hm… alright. Then take care of yourself. Let me know if you need any help. See you later."

"Yes, Bella..." The call then ended.

Elena leaned her head against the glass wall of the payphone. Sleeping in a hotel was an option that Elena couldn't take because she didn't have enough money. She only had two 10 euro bills in her pocket. Just enough to buy food and drink for tonight and tomorrow.

Elena looked at her watch. It was almost midnight now. Should she go to the convenience store and sleep there? Oof… but if she was caught, she could be fired from her job for being a trespasser.

Mrs. Ballerin was not a bad person, but Elena thought she must not risk her job by doing something that the shop owner would not like. Mrs. Ballerin had tolerated her enough all these years.

Elena sighed, staying here until morning was impossible. There would be a lot of thugs like before. Elena then opened the door.

Just as her feet were about to step out, from the end of the road, a bunch of young men came. From their appearances, Elena could see that they were gang members who were out to do crimes. Elena was already frightened and put her feet back in, locking the rectangular box room from the inside.

She crouched down on the floor, trying to hide from their view when the young men passed. She hoped they wouldn't see her. The sound of their steps made her heart race and she was attacked by anxiety.

Gosh... everything felt like they were running in slow motion until the young men all passed by the payphone box.

After they left, Elena needed some minute to calm down her racing heart. The experience earlier where she was nearly assaulted gave her a trauma. She finally realized that being here was not a good choice.

She took out her 20 euros and looked at it dejectedly. She decided to look for a cheap hostel. Perhaps she could get a bed in a dormitory with this money. If there weren't any, she'd beg to be allowed to stay and offer to clean the hostel tomorrow.

She finally walked out of the phone box. After only three steps to the curb, the headlights of a car from the end of the road shone on Elena. She raised her hands to her forehead to protect her eyes from the glare.

When Elena narrowed her eyes to see more clearly, she saw a black convertible car stop in front of her. It was the same car that had saved her from the three thugs earlier.

This time Elena could observe the man driving the car under the light of the street lamp. This was the same man who had helped her. Elena would not be able to forget Xavier's handsome face and his cold demeanor.

Again, he was wearing his dark shades even though it was nighttime. Elena didn't understand how he could see with it. Maybe he had sensitive eyes? Or he just didn't like showing his eyes to the people?

Xavier was silent for a few seconds, then he took off his shades, and looked at Elena. Their eyes met.

"Wanna come to my house?" Xavier asked in his deep voice.