Androphobia

ii. stranger danger

"But still, I'm not sure where I'd be if you didn't help me so, um, really, thank you."

"They deserved what was coming," he said ominously; it was somehow augmented by the distinct accent of his tongue. I couldn't help but shiver.

"You didn't hurt them... that badly, did you?"

There was an unsettling pause.

"I dealt with them fairly. I can promise you won't hear from them again, to put you at ease." He didn't really answer my question. "Was that all you wanted? To give me your thanks?" There was a tension to his voice, almost like he wanted to get away from the conversation because it was painful for him to have. I didn't want to bore or discomfort him.

"Well, I also wanted to ask if... you had a safe journey home too?" I queried weakly.

I squeezed my clammy hands before I heard movement on the other end. And then, the quietest of laughs; it was deep and one of slight amusement, perhaps interest, or I could have been misinterpreting it all. The sound made me blush embarrassedly. I wanted to shrink into the corner of the room and hide but I found myself glued to the spot, listening to the enticing sound.

My heart was still beating wildly in my chest from the nerves of speaking to a stranger but when he spoke, I could feel those worries dissipate a little. "Thank you, but I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about," he rumbled. "You take care of yourself first for me, alright?"

"But what about what my cat did to you?" I reminded him, silently glancing over at the small animal snoozing on my duvet.

"Consider your name as repayment."

"What do you mean?"

"Your name. I want to know your name."

I pondered to myself while still playing with my lip. "I'm not really allowed to give my name to strangers," I said apologetically, wandering back over to my bed to sit beside my cat. The mattress sagged at my weight as I stroked Ruffles' head, but my heart rate quickened when I realised that the man wasn't talking anymore. "I-I'm really sorry. I'm still grateful for your help but my parents said-"

"Eres absolutamente adorable, ¿lo sabes? Pero eso no me impedirá averiguar," he rumbled. I didn't know why but when he spoke that language, it made me squeeze my legs together.

[You're absolutely adorable, you know that? But that won't stop me from finding out.]

"I don't understand," I admitted embarrassedly.

"That's what makes it fun, no?" he said and I huffed in response. I felt like Ruffles being teased by a treat; no wonder she looked so grumpy all the time.

"Well, is there any other way I could maybe repay you?"

I thought I heard the man murmur something under his breath but I must have misheard again. It sounded like he was speaking his language (which was starting to sound more and more like Spanish rather than Italian). Then, his strong, powerful words turned into a soft command, and I almost melted at the sound.

"Don't go home on your own."

I squeezed my phone tightly.

"And I'd like to ask you a question," he added.

"O-Okay."

"When I found you last night, something wasn't right. I know you were scared. I know they tried to hurt you, but why were you hurting... yourself?"

With that, reality struck me like a lightning bolt.

Here I was: conversing with a man; a man whom I hardly knew; a man whose name I couldn't even fathom. I'd clawed and tried to tear apart my own neck last night at the fear of a man touching me, and now I was sitting here giddily and waiting to hear a stupid man's voice. I wasn't supposed to be talking to a stranger like this, let alone a male stranger. What would Mama say?