Work in Progress from my Google Drive

Certain Difficulties PART 1 (an original from my very own noggin)

Martha calms down a little and focuses on Dustin. "Why?" she whispered. Dustin looked a little surprised at her question and tilted his head to the side. "Why what?" he asked her. "No one's ever nice to me. So why are you?" she asked, sounding sad and confused.
Dustin looked at her, looking a little sad himself, and pulled her closer. "Because that's who I am. I'm a nice person. And you need some kindness." he whispered in her ear.
Martha started to cry. One, because he was being nice to her, and two, because she was scared. She had been neglected as a child, so her mental and emotional health had not been the best. Neither had her physical health, which he could clearly see because she was so thin.
"Martha, what's wrong?" Dustin asked, concerned. He wrapped his arms around Martha and pulled her into a hug. "N- nothing. I- I just..." she took a shuddery breath. "Let's go to my apartment... I have bandages and things," she said, though she made no movement to get out of his arms. 'She must trust me a lot if she isn't pulling away,' he thought. "Do you want to go now?" he asked. He didn't quite know what to do, so he just held the poor woman.

Martha just shook her head and didn't move. "I..." she stopped, hesitant. Why was she about to tell him? He was a stranger. But... he seemed so nice. No, kind.
She took a breath and started again. "I was left alone, as a kid. Everybody ignored me. No one-" she paused, and gulped. "No one cared. Not even now. And you just... do. You care. I've always had to struggle on my own, and even my friends don't really bother to ask if I need anything, because I always say no." she said. Martha leaned on Dustin, and he stayed there, supporting her. He was like a rock. She was a tidal wave of confusion, and he stayed put. Solid and immovable.

Taking a deep breath, Martha shakily stood and Dustin wiped her eyes. "If you ever need anything, don't..." he paused for a split second, taking half a moment to realise he was going to break the most major rule in The Pack. "Don't hesitate to ask, Martha. You... are the sweetest person ever. And if you need help, just ask me, okay?" he asked softly. Martha teared up again and nodded. "You're going to make me cry again. Let's go," she said and smiled as she took his hand.
Dustin pulled her to him and hugged her tight against him. She buried her face in his chest, and he put his chin on her head. He saw a person watching them from across the street and stared at them. He blinked, and they were gone. "Show me the way, darlin'," he said softly and followed her.

She led him through large crowds, and the sky darkened as they walked. There was a bolt of lightning, and they heard thunder, at which Martha bolted. She paused at the top of Main Street and looked behind her. "Where's Dustin?" she asked herself. She saw him and waved. "Over here," she shouted. Martha saw him smile, and he ran up to her.
"Why'd you run?" he asked her, looking around. "I- I'm afraid of thunder," she said quietly as it started to rain. Dustin smiled. "Go ahead, laugh," Martha said, and looked away. Dustin tipped her chin up so she'd look at him. "I'm not going to laugh at you. It's perfectly normal to be afraid of thunderstorms," he said.

It was pouring a minute later, and Dustin pulled up his hood. Martha walked close to him, arms folded across her chest, and soaked. He's about to offer her his jacket when she turns left and walks through an alleyway. Pulling down the fire escape to a building, she hoists herself up the ladder, which is slick with rain. She motions for Dustin to follow her. They climb to the fifth floor and hop in through the hallway window.
Thunder booms from outside and Martha sways a little as she walks. She falls on a door that has the number 510 on it in peeling gold numbers. A key slips out of her pocket and Dustin picks it up. It's an ordinary key, with the same number as the door. 510.
"Want me to unlock the door for you?" he asks softly. Martha nods and stands. Dustin unlocks the door and helps her inside.
He's met with a nice looking living room, with black furniture, grey walls, and a dark maple hardwood floor. There was a white rug under the black ebony coffee table. The island in the kitchen was light grey stone, as were the counters. One thing Dustin noticed was there were a lot of fluffy pillows on the couch, colours ranging from black to grey to white, so there was enough room for only one person. He turned his attention to Martha, who was leaning heavily on him. She looked a little pale, she was shivering, and her breathing was shallow.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" he asks, flicking the light switch on and off. He growls in frustration, and Martha hits the wall with her fist. The lights turn on. They flicker, and with the next roll of thunder, they all make a pop! sound and go back off.
"Nothing's wrong," she says loudly. Dustin pulls off his hood as she stalks away, fists clenched, and looking ready to cry out of anger. He grabs her arm. "Where you going?" he asked. Martha seems to soften as she looks at him, and takes a deep breath. "I need to go to the fuse box. And -and find what's wrong," she said.
Dustin lets go of her and takes off his jacket. "Oh, let me hang that up for you," Martha says, holding out one hand for it. "Um, that's okay," he said, still a little concerned for her. "Where do you want me to hang it up?" he asked. "The coat rack in the closet," she whispered and pointed to the door by the windows.
He hung up his jacket and heard a thud in the hallway. Running to Martha, he hears whispers of "ow" being repeated over and over again.