Stranger No Danger

Escaped

Not being able to watch him leave, I walked back into the station and sat down at a seating area to wait for my bus. I couldn't hold back my tears any more and cried for a few minutes, completely distraught that I no longer had my savior by my side. I hope I know what I'm doing now. I didn't move until the bus came, obsessively wishing over and over that I hadn't confessed I loved him so we could have stayed together longer.

I boarded the Greyhound bus and enjoyed the grueling, mind-numbingly boring 13 hour trip back to Los Angeles. Every time the bus halted at a stop for passengers, I became tense with apprehension, my mind conjuring the possibility of the female captor finding where I was. Despite my wariness of my surroundings much of my time was spent thinking about Arlen and the absolutely insane experience we'd shared together.

Am I really never going to see him again? The thought saddened me. Maybe I can find him on social media or something... I rolled my eyes at how pathetic I sounded coming up with every last idea to get in touch with him.

By the time the Greyhound pulled up to the station in Los Angeles, I was absolutely mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. As I clambered down the steps into the warm LA summer night, I saw a figure standing by the building. Butterflies soared in my stomach when I recognized my savior stranger.

"Arlen?" I was in shock. "How the hell did you make it down here?"

He approached me, and I was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Alright look," he started, his voice quivering. "I think I've fallen in love with you too. I was really trying to convince myself that I wasn't developing feelings, that it was naïve to think we could be together, and that it was ridiculous to be feeling this way for someone I've known for less than a week. And then when you said you loved me... for fuck's sake, I didn't know what to do. So I said that stupid 'that's nice!' bullshit even though that's not at all what I wanted to say. God I'm dumb, please forgive me."

Tears of happiness started falling from my eyes.

"I was driving back to San Francisco but it felt so off without you. And I didn't know if you would be safe. So I was like fuck it, I don't even care how crazy this is, and made my way down here." 

He gestured towards the bus behind me. "Did you know Greyhound buses are slow as hell? I've been waiting here for 4 hours!"

I laughed giddily, and, not knowing what to say, stretched my arms out to embrace him.

He squeezed me tightly and continued, "I don't even know how this happened so fast, but I love you Michelle. Really."

"Really? You do?" I whispered.

"Yes, absolutely." 

He held my face in his hands and we kissed.

I looked up into his eyes after we pulled away and started laughing quietly.

"What?" he asked amusedly.

"This is completely insane, isn't it?" I said through a smile.

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Yeah, a little."

We collected my belongings and decided to rest on some benches, sitting in silence to reflect on the stressful endeavor we had endured together. It felt unreal; falling in love after three days through a human trafficking scheme was something straight out of a romance novel. Arlen seemed quite happy, though, and I was too, so I decided not to think about it and focused instead on the fact that I had survived and narrowly escaped a much worse outcome. If I was to fall in love with someone, I mused, I guess the best option anyway would be the person who saved me.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked over at him and asked, "Hey, so what are you gonna do about your things back in that hotel?"

Arlen shrugged and played with my hand that was intertwined with his. "Honestly, I don't really care about them."

I nudged him playfully. "Come on."

"No, I'm serious!" he exclaimed. "I'd rather have you with me."

I rolled my eyes and blushed.

We stayed there for a bit and then decided to check into a hotel and stay the night together. By the time we arrived we were both exhausted from everything that had happened. To both of our reliefs, the woman that had kidnapped me was arrested, as were a few more of her assistants. No other girls were found in the hotel despite two thorough searches. A larger investigation was being launched to bust the trafficking ring. I prayed that there wouldn't be more victims, but if there were, they would be found. Or, like I commented to Arlen, a kind stranger would save them.

Even though it was a terribly traumatic ordeal, I couldn't help but feel glad that it happened. If it hadn't I wouldn't have met Arlen, and been given an incredible whirlwind love better than anything I'd experienced before. I knew no matter what happened, he would protect me and I would always be safe with him.