I Found You, Something Told Me To Stay - (Jason Berry/Zacky Vengeance)

Chapter Seven.

Instantly, my hand darted under the seat to check that my bag was still there. I was relieved to find that it was, and I quickly yanked it up, ready to go find the toilets in the airport and freshen myself up as much as I could.

I felt a bit weird, getting dressed inside a toilet cubicle, but it was probably the most normal thing I’d done over the past couple of days. I proceeded to brush my teeth over one of the sinks, brush through my hair and tie it into a messy bun, and finally applied a little bit of makeup before I decided I was ready.

Not even the largest amount of makeup could keep me from looking exhausted, though. It was obvious I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages, and staring at my appearance was making me feel slightly self-conscious. I quickly grabbed my bag in my hand and shot out of the toilets again.

It was then that I caught a glimpse of what this airport was like in the daytime. Like any other airport, it was busy, but it seemed to be absolutely packed. It was literally hard to push through all the people, and it took me a couple of minutes to get out of the exit and into the air.

I felt even more stuck then. It seemed impossible to know where to go, but I must’ve been doing something right. It wasn’t hard to tell when I was there a couple of moments later.

The place was absolutely manic, even though it was just about nearing seven o’clock in the morning.

I could do nothing but stop still on the pavement as I stared at the place in awe. People passed me in tons of different directions, some even bumping into me, but they were paying too much attention to the screens of their phones to notice that they had done.

“Whoa...” I whispered to myself, staring up at the huge buildings. My knees grew shaky as a sense of vertigo began to wash over me, and I had to quickly rip my gaze away from the building and stare forward, trying to walk in a straight line.

I didn’t have a clue where to go, but I was in need of something to give me some sort of energy boost...something caffeine-related.

I seemed to be wandering for ages before I finally just walked into some cafe. I’d passed so many of them that I was sure which one to go in, but I gave up searching in the end. A few people were in there, quietly having their breakfast. The person behind the counter looked up when the bell of the door dinged, and I wearily made my way over to him, taking a seat at the counter.

“Hi.” I quietly said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Hey, there.” He politely replied, sending me a smile. “What can I get you?”

“Uh...” I murmured, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the ten pound note, alongside of a few pound coins. I stared down at the money, hoping that he might just put it in the till and not even notice that it was English money. “How much is a cup of coffee?”

He raised his eyebrows as he also eyed the money in my hands, his gaze then flickering to my face.

“Uh, I’ll tell you what,” He said, “You’re obviously new around here...you can have the coffee for free.”

“Really? You won’t get in trouble with your manager or something, will you?” I sheepishly placed the money back into my pocket, my cheeks heating slightly.

“I am the manager.” He chuckled. “I own the place.”

“Oh. Well, it’s a nice little place you’ve got here.”

“Thank you.” He chuckled again, sliding the cup of steaming coffee towards me. “So, you’re British, right?”

“Yep.” I nodded, taking a sip.

“Have you just moved here?”

This time, I shook my head, placing the cup back down. “I’m just visiting.”

Obviously, I wasn’t going to sit here and explain my situation to him. He’d probably think that I was insane, searching for one person in a city so big.

“That’s cool.” He said. “If you’re looking for anything to do, my daughter’s been hyped about some band playing at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night. Heavy metal, I think. You look like you could be into that sort of thing.”

His eyes then lingered on the piercings on my face, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes, having had so many people looking at them like that before.

“So, how long are you staying for?” He then questioned, when I didn’t provide him with any answer to what he said before.

“I’m not exactly sure.” I shrugged. “However long I need to, I guess.”

He was obviously becoming intrigued by what I meant by that, as a look of interest appeared on his face.

“However long you need to do what?” He frowned.

“Just...spend some time to myself.” I answered, not feeling completely comfortable in the conversation now. I felt like it was best to get away before he started asking more questions, so I took one more large sip, trying to ignore the way the liquid was burning my throat. “Look, thanks for the coffee. I think I’m going to go. You know, look round the city and everything.”

“Hey, not a problem.” He smiled, while playing around with the buttons on the till. He began scooping a couple of notes up, before thrusting them towards me. “Take that. It should get you by for today.”

My gaze flickered from the money to his face as I tried to work out whether he was taking the piss or not. He seemed to be completely serious. I just didn’t understand why he’d do that when he’d not know me for more than ten minutes.

“W-what?” I stammered, looking down at the money again. “I-I can’t just take your money, I mean—‘’

“Relax! It’s only twenty dollars.” He pushed it towards me again, sighing when I didn’t make any movement to take it. “Listen, I’m trying to do you a favour. I guess I’m just a nice guy, but I don’t know of many people that would give money to some teenager they don’t even know. I can see you’ve only got English money on you and that’s not gonna get you anywhere. It’s just some cash to pay for food.”

I still couldn’t quite believe the generosity of this guy, but I reached out a shaky hand, taking the money and shoving it into my pocket.

“Thank you so much.” I thanked him. “Seriously, that’s really kind of you.”

“My pleasure.” He smiled. “It was nice meeting you. Hey, and enjoy the city.”

“Thanks.” I repeated, waving once more to him and leaving the cafe.

I was still so overwhelmed at how nice that man had been, that I was sort of jolted when I stepped back onto the street, and I was met but the business of the city.

I guess living in some small town in England my whole life didn’t really do me any favours when I was faced with a place this big.

But I began to wander back down the street, trying to find somewhere I could go, before I had to find somewhere to sleep again tonight.