Loving Through Glass

Chapter One: Raining Glass

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Light rain descended upon the sleeping city of New York, skyscrapers reached towards the heavens and cars far down below glistened with the dew drops that fell from the sky.

In the center of the business district, many departments were just beginning to rise as were their workers as the gloom of the day fell upon them.

Buildings of all shapes and sizes decorated the streets, buildings so high and so tall with so much glass that there was no way to tell whether the building was made completely of glass or steel.

But as this story goes, we aren't going to be living it up in a penthouse suite, an office of a multimillionaire  or even an apartment with an up and coming star.

Oh no. This story chose to begin deep in the streets, the misconstrued alleys of NYC, the places that were so twisted and dark that many didn't even know they existed unless they were looking for them.

Hidden deep in the shadows on a rainy day in July sat Elizabeth Steele, Liz to most, who sheltered herself from the onslaught of water under nothing more than a brown cardboard box.

Tucked under the makeshift roof, she sat with her knees clenched to her chest wearing little more than a worn out leather jacket, a black tattered tank top, mud stained jeans and a pair of hole filled sneakers.

She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter to herself, shifting the mass of brown matted hair that clung to her skull while adjusting her stick thin frame to accommodate to the small space.

She could hear the sounds of motorcycles zooming past her, the vibrations running through her body.

Her dirt encrusted nails shuffled through the pile of newspapers that sat next to her, searching for something buried deep within the pile.

She pulled out a small rusted over locket that was in the shape of a swan, it's once gold entwined vines surrounding the swan now delicate and old from years of being exposed to the harsh weather.

Her facial expression remained neutral as she reached behind her neck and linked the two chains together to hold the swan, allowing it to rest on her collarbone.

A loud roar came from the end of the alley, the monstrous sound all too familiar to that of Elizabeth's ears.

She crouched further into what little shelter she had to virtually disappear from any onlookers sight.

The sound grew until four black rimmed tires slowed to a halt next to her hiding place.

"Lizzie! 'Ma girl where are you hiding out now? You and that pretty little scar a' yours let anyone within a miles worth of you know exactly what type of girl you are so you can't hide."

The voice drew closer, the jangling of the gold chains adorning the man's wrists a tell tale that he was near.

His snicker in her ears dredged up years of pain, years of torture, years that seemed to be never ending in their appearance yet oh so sharp in the attack.

The box flew, smashing into the brick wall on the opposite side of the alley with a resounding boom, her safe haven destroyed and the rain left to pound down onto her skin.

"Tsk Tsk," He said, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth, "Mi Niña, don't you know that we always find you? You can't run or hide, so what is the worth in trying to? You've already been beaten, it's no use to grovel in self pity."

She was silent, acknowledging him but refusing to respond.

He knelt down to her eye level and tilted her chin with his knuckle to look her directly in the eyes.

"I don't like talking to someone when they aren't looking me in the eye is that understood, Niña?" He crooned, stroking his finger across her jaw before yanking it away as if he had been burned.

She had bitten his finger hard enough to draw blood, and standing to her feet she leaned forward and spat into his face.

"I don't answer to you, André. I've made my choices and this if my life, I can choose how I lead it."

Her chest heaved in defiance, glaring at André who was now protected by a black covered umbrella, held by a blonde haired woman who looked like she had stepped off the front pages of Vogue.

André's fist swung before Elizabeth could pull her arms up to block it.

She landed sprawled out on the pavement, her arm shooting across the gritty surface with her fall, creating a long cut and a stream of blood to pool onto the ground.

André grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked her to a kneeling position, his slimy lips whispering harshly in her ear.

"No funny business with me, Lizzie. Is that clear? One wrong move and you'll see who gets hit next."

He kicked her in the stomach for good measure and strode to his car, starting the engine and driving off as fast as he came.

Liz hoisted herself to her feet and ignored the burning sensation in both her stomach and arm, she had grown numb to the pain long ago.

With horns beeping and people cursing morning traffic, Elizabeth Steele made her way through the morbid and garbage filled alleys while the rain poured down on her with the strength and pain of shattered glass.

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