Safe From Me

"Ouch!"

Hitting the corner of the wall with her pinky toe, Katelynn shrieked in pain. She curled down within her 'not-so-shabby yet not-so-neat either' apartment.

Sob*

"It's bleeding again... even though I'm so careful."

She complained but after bathing in pain, she sighed in relief.

"I hope my negative luck has been used already this morning!"

With optimism, she 'carefully' hurried to go back to her kitchen. Opening one cabinet, a stack of medical equipment and bandages were revealed. With quick hands, as if she had done this a thousand times already, she bandaged her pinky toe.

Indeed it was not the first time, that is why her toe right now was pitifully beaten that it needs some extra care.

Afterward, she was ready to set off.

"Oh, wait!" exclaimed Katelynn.

Before opening the door, she checked her sling bag again for the third time. Sometimes, things will fall from her sling bag even though she already had 'carefully' packed them up neatly inside.

"Wallet... keys... phone... portable alarm... pocket knife..."

While checking, she didn't let herself touch the pocket knife. Even though the blade is sheathed, there are times that it would 'malfunction' and open by itself the moment she touched it, cutting her again. That's why she always wore protective gloves which she also used for fashion.

"Still thirty minutes early once I got there, alright!"

Katelynn pumped her fist before opening the door.

"Oh, I was just about to knock. Miss, would you like-"

"Sorry, sir, excuse me."

Katelynn apologized before the suited man holding a briefcase could continue. Without letting him speak further, she immediately and tightly closed the door before walking away.

'First scammer evaded for the day.'

She sighed as she kept track. Katelynn didn't need to think twice to know that the man was a door-to-door scammer.

Why? It's because she had been offered scams more than she can count in the past month already!

Katelynn was scammed once the first time she moved into her apartment at the young age of seventeen. After that, she gained the instinct not to trust people in suits.

But never mind that, today was a happy day for Katelynn. Because today, she will be able to meet her parents again and bond with them!

This only comes once a month and that is why Katelynn unintentionally skipped her way to the bus stop.

"Ah! Miss, get out of the way!"

"Whoops-..."

"Sorry!"

"It's fine!"

After almost getting hit by a biker, Katelynn reached her destination. The bus came and she was intimidated by it. Normally, she wouldn't ride in any form of transportation, but today, the destination is quite far.

'Please be safe, please be safe!'

She anxiously got in and once seated, Katelynn began sweating bullets.

"Hey, can I sit here?"

A middle-aged man asked but Katelynn immediately knew what's up. She looked around and immediately saw an elderly standing up!

This is her chance!

"Wait, sir, let the elderly sit firs-..."

The elderly in question was just offered a seat by a stranger right while Katelynn was about to have her escape.

"Well, excuse me if you mind."

The middle-aged man smiled at her which made Katelynn shiver. Now, she's not a misandrist, generalizing men as perverts but in her case, she knew she will attract them.

Because she's pretty?

No, although she's not ugly, she's the most attractive woman out there. Katelynn just 'happens' to attract this kind of people.

"Miss, have I seen you before?"

'Here we go again...' Katelynn internally sighed while ignoring the man.

After being ignored, the man stopped speaking. But a moment later, as the bus becomes rowdy, his hand has traveled farther than where it should be.

Katelynn wore a long dress with long sleeves even though the weather is quite warm. But even with clothes between it, she felt gross that her thighs were being touched.

At first, she passively removed them but as time passed on, the hand comes back. At some point, Katelynn got enough of it.

"Sir, if you continue touching me, I will scream."

With a cold voice, she looked at the man's eyes. The volume of her words was not small either. Within a rowdy bus, others could hear her and this attracted judging eyes upon the man.

"... W-what are you talking about, girl? Don't get full of yourself."

The man immediately acted as if he was wronged and began scolding Katelynn. At the very least, he crossed his arms over his chest never to venture out more than it should.

"Not because I'm a man, I will do such acts. Can't you see how many people there are? Is it my fault that there is no space here? Are you intentionally making me a bad guy in front of other people?"

The man kept complaining and scolding her. But it was better than touching, Katelynn thought.

'What's the point of making you a bad guy? Also, we saw your hand on her thighs multiple times now...'

The other people thought, internally irritated at the man. However, no one voiced out their thoughts, not wanting to get bothered by the situation.

Eventually, the bus reached Katelynn's stop. She immediately went down, not caring for the man. Good thing though, the man was reasonable enough not to follow her. There were some cases where Katelynn was followed.

"Finally, I've arrived!"

Katelynn was already tired even though the day had just begun. However, she didn't want to show it on her face.

"Papa, there she is!"

A familiar voice entered Katelynn's ears, making her ecstatic. She looked at the origin of that thin voice and saw a young boy running towards him.

"Ken!"

She clasped her hand with a smile. But the young boy, Ken was immediately stopped by a man he called 'Papa'

"Ken, what did I tell you about running?"

He scolded the young boy before glancing at Katelynn apologetically. For which, she responded with an understanding nod.

Once they've walked closer to each other, Katelynn's father hugged her. She hugged back tighter before holding Ken, her little brother close to her.

"Is everything still holding up, Kei?"

"The same as usual, father." Katelynn replied with a smile.

Her father sadly smiled upon hearing this but not to ruin the mood, he made his face cheerfully bright.

"Well, that's good to hear! Come on, let's have breakfast first!"

The three happily chatted upon entering the mall. Thus far, nothing bad happened and this somehow shrouded Katelynn with danger. She felt uneasy that nothing bad was happening.

"Are you okay, Kei?"

Seated inside the restaurant, her father noticed her pale expression and asked.

"No, it's nothing, I... just have to go to the restroom."

"Oh, is that so? Then carry on."

Her father lightly laughed while she embarrassingly exited. The foreboding feeling within her has yet to disappear.

"Maybe, today is going to be okay."

Katelynn looked at the mirror with a smile. Even though her life has been harsh from birth, her father had always been there for her, miraculously not abandoning her. She strongly believed in fatherly love even though he was remarried to another woman years after her mother died.

When Ken was born, she unexpectedly received a younger brother. She couldn't hope for more. That little brother may still be too young to understand anything but Katelynn doesn't want to worry about the future.

That's why both of them are the most precious for her. No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration that the two of them are the only reason she keeps on going.

"That's why I have to keep them safe from m-"

Boom!*