Chapter 1: Shield

 

It is a common acceptance in this world and beyond, that if one is in desire of anything, then one must work for it. Nina learned that a very long time ago.

That was why she was walking home in the dark on a cold day like this, wearing only a jacket that didn’t keep her very warm, despite it being a good jacket. It wasn’t that Nina was insensible.  It just came back to the original problem at hand. She had been working.

And she was walking home, because she didn’t work enough or make enough. And that was because she didn’t have that great of a job. Some might argue that working in a casino wasn’t a respectable job, but she wasn’t in Las Vegas. It was Atlantic City, and while it was known for its casinos, it wasn’t nearly as extreme as Vegas was, not that Nina would know. She’d never been out of the east coast. And by east coast, it was probably more accurate if Nina said she’d never been out of the original thirteen colonies.

Still, she usually never found herself in this position.

Usually, Nina would change into regular clothes after her shift, but when she’d returned to the locker room today, her clothes were gone. Sam, another employee, had seen Nina’s dilemma, but the only thing she could offer her as a friend was a jacket, which was two sizes too small. It was better than nothing.

Nina always tried to be grateful. But sometimes, it was harder than it should have been. Especially when life was crappy to her again.

She knew one of the other girls must have taken her clothes, and Nina usually had a second pair in her car for when this happened, but her car was out of commission for two days and she’d been hitching a ride with a friend or using public transportation,

Today was just an all bad day for her.

It was exactly the kind of day Nina tried so hard to avoid.

A sound at a distance made Nina freeze. She took a deep breath and let it out, watching as the warm air fogged around her. It’s nothing, she told herself, forcing herself to believe it. Just keep going.

The chill that had overcome her moments before now felt nothing compared to the panic that she was feeling now. She was alone, in the dark, walking wearing practically nothing. Nina knew she looked like an open invitation. An invitation to come and do whatever. 

The sounds of laughter weren’t close, but Nina was still afraid. After all, distance was merely that. It was in its nature to glow closer and further apart.

Then, she spotted a beacon of light. Two beacons.

The bus was coming after all. She quickened her pace to get to the bus stop and waited. This route had a stop right in front of her apartments, and Nina could hope to make it there safe and sound after all. The bus came to a stop, and the doors opened.

Nina quickly made her way on, giving a nod at the unfamiliar driver, who gave her an appreciative look that made her feel uneasy. The bus was empty apart from one man, who was sitting towards the middle of the bus. Nina could sit in the front or in the back. There was no way she was sitting close to the sleazy driver, but she didn’t want to sit all alone in the back, either.

She finally decided on the seat across from the man and then one back, so she could look at him, but he would have to turn to look at her. The seat felt cold against her skin, but she sucked it up, relieved to be away from random hooligans on the streets. At least she felt safe here.

Nina caught the driver of the bus checking her out from the front and she tried to close her jacket to better hide her boobs, but since the jacket was a couple sizes two small and her breasts were a size too big, she couldn’t do anything about it.

“You know what he’s thinking, right?” The man across from her spoke, all the sudden. His voice was quiet, and Nina knew the driver couldn’t hear. His words were meant only for her. He was referring to the driver.

Nina sighed. “I’d have to be a total idiot to not know. I’m not a stranger to these kinds of looks.”

She didn’t know why she responded. The man still hadn’t even turned around to look at her. He chuckled. It was a deep and masculine sound, and Nina was surprised to realize that she liked it, and the way that it sounded.  She was staring at the back of his head. A perfect stranger.

“He’s probably thinking,” The man said, quietly still. “that once I get off this bus, he’s going to come and talk to you, see what you’ll be willing to give him and for what price.”

Nina’s eyes widened.  “I’m not a—” She began to say.

“I know.” He said, interrupting her. “I didn’t think you were.”

There was a bit of a silence after that in the air. In Nina’s head, the world was spinning. She’d known she looked a little slutty, but she didn’t think she looked like a prostitute. She looked at the man with suspicion now. Just because he had a nice voice and he used it to say a few friendly-ish words, didn’t mean that he was a good person. Nina learned a long time ago that not everyone who seemed nice really was. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Nina finally asked, unable to keep the question to herself for much longer. “What do you want from me?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I want absolutely nothing from you?”  He asked her.

“No.” She said. “I wouldn’t.”

It was the truth.

“Good. It’s not good to be too trusting. I’m telling you this, because I am curious. I don’t know anything about you, and you don’t know anything about me, and as much as I would like to keep it that way, you’ve intrigued me.” He made it sound like it was a bad thing. Still, talking to this man-made Nina nervous, and not in a good way, but also not in a bad way. At least, not in the way the driver made her feel.

“I’ve done nothing to make you curious.” Nina said, carefully.

“True.” The man agreed. “But that doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I’m just a little bit curious by nature. And when I see a woman as beautiful and intelligent as yourself enter a bus alone in the middle of the night, I wonder if you’re as smart as I think you are.”

Nina didn’t say anything. She’d expected a comment about her looks, but she didn’t know what to do with his comments about her intelligence. She wasn’t as educated as others, and there was nothing about her tonight to make anyone think she was smart. “Why do you think I am smart?”

“Because you’re on the bus going in the opposite direction from the direction you should be going in.” He replied, easily. Nina knew that was true, but she also knew this route would still take her where she wanted to go. It would just take longer. She didn’t say any of that.

“That proves nothing.”

“Maybe you’re right. I’m just an observant person. You look like you’ve had a horrible day, and it has not yet ended.  I can’t make you feel any better, because I honestly think your day has become worse, since you’re here with me.” He said. “You’re a working woman, but you work the hours no one else wants to work because you get paid more. You deal with dirty men daily, but you try to stay confident, even though they do make you nervous. You must if you want to keep your job at the casino. I make you nervous, but you’re curious, too.”

“Are you trying to play mind games with me? Because if you are, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.” Nina said. “I’ve had a long day and I want to go home.”

There was a long silence. “You’re right.” He said. “I’m sorry. It’s something I do naturally. Very few people have ever called me out on it.” 

Nina said nothing. She didn’t know why she was conversing with this stranger in the first place. “It doesn’t matter. I just don’t appreciate people thinking that they know me when they don’t.” 

“Fair enough.” The man said. “I feel the same way.”

Nina sighed. This was probably the most honest conversation she’d had in a very long time, but now they were at this standstill. Nina wondered when the man was planning on getting off, but he made no move to do so, as the stops passed, and he remained glued to his seat.

“So,” Nina began, casually. “Where is your stop?”

The man didn’t reply. Instead, he turned around and looked at her—directly at her—for the first time that night. Nina was blown away. This man had to be the most handsome man she’d ever seen. His luscious brown hair was thick and full, something she’d realized as soon as she’d seen him, but his eyes were the warmest brown. Nina realized then that she was staring.

“The one that comes after yours.” He replied.

Nina narrowed her eyes. “How do you know what stop comes after mine?” She asked him.

“That’s easy. I’ll know when you get off.” Nina swallowed a knot that seemed to have lodged in her throat.

“I don’t need a babysitter.” She said with a huff.

The man turned around, relaxing into his seat again as the lights of the night passed by. “You certainly don’t look like you do, but the thing is our good driver makes me worry about you, and it’s not in my nature to worry about a stranger, but I can’t seem to leave you alone here with him, either. So really, I’m doing this for me, so I can sleep peacefully tonight.”

While it seemed like a good enough reason, Nina wasn’t convinced, and there was no way she could trust a perfect stranger on a bus, no matter how handsome he was.

“If that’s what you want.” She said, with a shrug.

“You don’t seem to trust me very much.” The man said, observantly.

“You haven’t done or said anything to make me want to trust you.” She responded.

“Good point, but I’ve got no intention to redeem myself.” The man responded.

“Why not?”

“I’m beyond redemption.” He answered casually. Nina stared at the back of his head. The man was strange, and while Nina knew she couldn’t trust him, she was intrigued by him. She didn’t know if he knew that she was, but she was. The man was a sort of pessimistic realist, not too different from Nina herself. Judging from what she could tell, she assumed that he, too, felt like the world was a bad place, and he represented some of that badness.

“No one is beyond redemption.” She said. She didn’t know why she said it, but she just felt like it needed to be said.

“You don’t know me.” He replied.

“I think we’ve already established that I don’t know you and you don’t know me.” Nina replied.

“I guess we have.” He said, quietly.

Nina looked out the window and realized that her stop was finally coming up. She didn’t realize when the time had passed while talking to this handsome stranger.

“Looks like you won’t have to wait too much longer, now.” Nina said. “My stop is coming up now.”

He looked out the window. "If I were a gentleman, I would walk you to the door. This isn't the best kind of neighborhood to live in."

"If I could afford to live in a better neighborhood, I wouldn’t be riding the bus, my car would have been fixed by now, and I wouldn’t be sitting here wearing clothes that make me look like a stripper." Nina replied, with the truth. There was no denying that she didn’t live in the best of situations. "But I don’t, so this is where I live, and I'm okay with living here."

The stranger didn’t say anything, and there was a long silence from him, making Nina wonder if she'd said something that had offended him. So, what? Even if she did offend him, that was life.

"I can fix your car." The stranger finally said.

"And why would you do that?" Nina asked. She knew that nothing in life was for free. The stranger couldn’t offer her his services without expecting something in return.

"I haven't done anything. . .nice in a while." The stranger replied after a moment of hesitation. "Who knows? It might help me get started on that redemption path you just spoke about."

"Redemption isn't cheap." Nina finally said, not knowing what else she possibly could say.

"Let's just say I haven't had anyone to really talk to in a really long time, and you gave that to me." He said. You did the same thing for me, Nina thought back. "In return, I can give you the promise that you won't have to walk home tomorrow night."

Just then, the bus came to a stop and Nina made her move to get off, ignoring the strange man's offer. What could she do? How could she accept help from him? Someone she knew nothing of? Nothing about? She didn’t even know his name. But then again, he didn’t know hers.

She shook her head. She was a woman in today's time and women weren't safe. They never were. She shouldn’t forget that no man offered a woman anything without expecting anything in return.

She heard shuffling behind her, and knew that the man had gotten up, as well. He was following her out. Nina's chest tightened and her beating felt irregular inside of her chest. Why was this man following her? One look at her driver reminded her that it was better the man than the driver. The intentions of the driver were written on his face.

Besides, this was where she lived. She was fortunate enough that the bus route passed very closely to her apartments. If she screamed, someone would hear, even during this time of night.

So, she took a deep breath, put on her imaginary big girl pants, and got off the bus. The man followed her a few seconds later.

Nina didn’t move. She watched as the doors to the bus closed. The driver gave her a final lascivious gaze of longing, before driving away.

And now, she was alone with her stranger.

A stranger. Yes, a stranger. But not her own.