Leona was sitting on a bench one summer night. She tried to light a cigarette despite the breeze. With a sigh she noted she was holding the last stick, this was inconvenient.
"Hey, sorry to bother you," Leona shocked at the voice, looked up, and met the extremely weary eyes of the stranger standing in front of her.
"I couldn't help but notice that you were almost out of cigarettes," the stranger said while smiling. "You look like you need some more."
He was handsome, Leona dimly noted, and then scowled at herself for thinking. This wasn't the time for hooking up with random kind strangers, not when she just got fired from her job, not when she still smelled like an old lady perfume, not when she had a scorched and tangled hair.
"Nah. I'll actually quit smoking after this," Leona declined.
"Oh, really?" the stranger said with a crease between his eyebrows. "So you're becoming a saint now?"
Leona narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her. The comment was odd, and she was becoming a bit uncomfortable with the man.
"Becoming a saint now," Leona accented, "Thank you then for the cigarette, but I must be getting home."
The stranger seemed to like her response, and much to Leona's dismay, his smile was back to full force. "You look more vulnerable than I've ever seen you," the stranger spoke carefully.
With that, Leona quickly rose to her feet, walking quickly down the empty road ahead of her.
"Wait a minute!" the stranger's voice called behind her as Leona rushed down the street. Leona's gut churned, this situation was getting out of control, and if this man did not stop pursuing her she was going to scream really hard.
TO BE CONTINUED
