A oneshot for HHYtheking
Harriet's POV
As I walk down the streets of New Haven, I happily hum, I'd had a great day after all. You see, my boss, Oscar Trefusis, finally paid me. He also let me go home early from work for some reason, but I don't care about that. That means that I get to spend more time with my cow, Daisy. She's been my companion since I was five. I love her so much, she always has a way to cheer me up when I'm upset. She will lick my face and I will laugh. It's great when I'm having a tough time. Daisy is lovely. My cousin, Mary, is taking care of Daisy whenever I am at work or out of the house. I'm happy with our arrangement since she's so kind and caring.
I arrive at Mary's house and come inside. I walk through the house and head out to the backyard, wanting to see Daisy. I don't see her when I step outside. I walk around the backyard and look for her but I can't find her. I go over to the shed and open it. Sometimes Daisy will stay in there when it's cold or raining or dark. Mary doesn't let her inside, but she can always still wander in the house. I walk into the house and begin to look for Daisy. I don't find her anywhere in the house. I step into the kitchen and find Mary. She has her back to me and she is crouched over a book and writing in it, although I can't see what she's writing.
"Mary, have you seen Daisy? I can't seem to find her anywhere!" I ask.
"She's been sold," Mary replies.
I feel my heart drop into my stomach. "What?!"
"I sold the cow." She repeats, flashing me an evil smile.
I panic and rush outside. She cannot have been sold! Mary couldn't have done it! I check the backyard once more. There's no sign of Daisy anywhere! I storm back inside and walk into the kitchen, a lot of emotions swirling around in my head.
"I sold Daisy to a farmer and his daughter, who was just as tall as you, and they paid me enough money that we won't need to worry about money anymore!" Mary says, flashing me a cheerful smile.
I grab her by the collar, anger filling my bones. "How could you do this to me? She was family!"
"That bloody cow is not family, it's a waste of space! Ugh, it's your fault that we're in this place, you are the one who brought me here!" She exclaims, her voice loud as she gets angry.
Mary pushes me and I trip over my feet, falling to the ground. I'm starting to get scared from how mad she's getting. She takes the book that she was writing in and then tosses it at me, landing right in my lap. I can now see what was written in the book, which is Mary's account book, Daisy, 500 Concordian Shillings. She yells that the only thing that made me happy was my cow!
Suddenly, I feel a hand touch my cheek from my laying down position. I turn to see who it is. It's Aidan Moran, laying next to me with a predatory grin on his face. Moran is a sailor who roughed me up after I refused his romantic advances. I feel terrified.
"Why is he here?"
"Moran paid me 200 Concordian Shillings to do whatever he wanted to you and I agreed for the money," Mary says.
I try to leave, but can't, I discover that I am now chained up by rope and not able to get off the ground. I cry as loud as I can for help but no one is coming to help me. While I'm crying, I try to observe my surroundings, but only see my boss, Oscar Trefusis, throwing away my belongings into the fireplace, things like my passport, ID card, and pictures I took with Daisy and my loved ones.
Trefusis sees me and says, "You won't be needing these anyway."
"You can't throw-" I start, but someone interrupts me as they step into the room.
It's Rivke Gilber, the widow who blamed me and Daisy for her family's death when I didn't even know who they were.
"I will have my revenge and I've got the perfect person to do it for me!" Rivke hums, snapping her fingers.
Before I could ask her what she meant, a hand slammed down, pinning me down. I have never been this terrified in my life. It's Colin James, the man who tried to kill me! Now he's wearing a prison uniform. He squats down and flashes a switchblade at me.
"Surprised to see me?" He greets.
I could only stutter out "Mr. C-C-Colin, you're f-free?!".
The five stand around me and stare down at me with ominous smiles. I continue to cry and I beg for Mary to save me but she shakes her head.
"I can't do anything and I shouldn't. You bring nothing to the world, and no one will miss you." Mary hisses.
I hang my head, hopeless.
Mary walks away, wishing "Goodbye, Harriet."
Before I could react, Colin stabbed me with his switchblade. I sit up and scream, "NO!" Oh. I'm safe. That was only a dream... more like a nightmare. I'm in a dark, dirty, cluttered room. I'm in my apartment. I sit up and look around to see that I'm sitting in a chair at my desk. I fell asleep here, I must've been tired. I ran a hand through my hair and it was wet with sweat. I'm breathing heavily too. I was about to get up but there was a harsh knock at the door with a yell of "QUIET!" and then silence. That's my landlord, I can tell by the voice, and it's definitely something that he does often. He's a very rude person and is like that to everyone. I would normally yell back but I don't have the energy to do so. Now that I'm up, I have a very bad headache, probably from drinking too much. I must've drunk too much at the bar last night, and then I drank more when I got back to my apartment and saw the letter Mary left me. I get some water and take two aspirin.
I guess I should explain the content of Mary's letter. In the letter Mary sent, Mary wants me to send her more money, again and was also complaining about having to take care of Daisy. I just react with a sigh. I love Mary so much and I know that Mary cares about me, but Mary dislikes Daisy because she had to pay for two tickets to bring her along with me to Concordia. I promised her that I would pay her back so she would calm down, and I'm still in the process of doing so. Within a month though, Mary has complained about this 5 times already. I'm disappointed in Mary, I thought that Mary would have changed but I guess that is wishful thinking now. Sometimes I think that all Mary cares about is money, more than she cares about me, and it's upsetting. Perhaps that's why the nightmare happened? I don't want to think about this anymore. I quickly distract myself by doing something so I don't have to think about that disaster of a dream. I grab my diary from my desk and check my diary and then realize that today is the day that I'm supposed to report my work results to my new boss. I glanced over at the clock to check what time it was to make sure that I wasn't late. I was told to do it by 6 am and it's 5:50 right now. I'm going to be late!
I hurry over to my dresser and then quickly get dressed. I need to get ready. I brush out my hair and then brush my teeth. I speed through my daily routine and then step over to the mirror. I split my hair into two sections, braiding it into two thick braids. Once I get finished getting ready, I leave my apartment. I start running to the brothel I work at. I run past mobsters, prostitutes, and just gross people in general. Well, I was until I ran into Eamon Gilligan, who stepped right into my path. He smiles at me.
"Eamon, get out of my way, I'm trying to get to work!" I say, trying to get around him but he keeps stepping in front of me to stop me.
"That doesn't matter, Mad Dog doesn't have time for this," Eamon states.
I instantly become confused. "What? What happened?"
"You see, yesterday, we caught a con woman trying to steal our moonshine. Mad Dog is planning on what to do with her. You should stay here, it's safer that way until we figure everything out." He explains.
"I will even though I hate this place," I reply.
Eamon laughs, pats me on the shoulder, and then walks away. I agree with my previous statement. This place, Mister Flanagan's office, really disgusts me. I take a seat and begin a polite round of waiting. I waited for a while, and soon I was starting to doze off, I heard noises coming from the office. I sat up and, being curious, peek around the corner to see two mobsters dragging a woman out of the office. The woman has messy black hair and a white dress. The white dress was supposed to be fancy, I think, but it was not, it's dirty and wrinkled. The woman looks scared and exhausted and I could see why. Mister Flanagan is way too intimidating to deal with, yet she had the nerve to steal from him? I can only imagine what that terrifying scene looked like.
Eamon pops his head into the room. He smiles and comes over to me. I raise an eyebrow at him and he just continues to smile at me.
"Finley's ready to see you now. He's in his office waiting for you, Harriet." Eamon hums.
"Thanks for letting me know," I mutter, getting up.
I walk down the hallway and step into the office. Finley Flanagan was waiting on me. He looks at me and I smile at him. I twiddle my thumbs, I feel nervous in his presence.
"Hello Harriet, are you ready to give your report?" Mister Flanagan asks.
I nod. "It's nice to see you, Sir, but yes, I've got it all ready for you."
I hear someone sneer. I turn my head to see Finley's sister, Fiona Flanagan. I softly greet her too and get nothing but the cold shoulder from her. Ugh, she's so intimidating. Fiona is cold and demanding, which is why I feel like I have a hard time with her. As Fiona leaves, I finally pass over the report to Finley, feeling comfortable. Finley looks it over.
"What does the mark near 'Moonshine' mean? What is wrong with our moonshine?" He inquires.
"I was coming back from Crimson Banks and went through Coyote Gorge, but I got ambushed by some Italians," I inform.
"What happened next?" Finley wonders, seemingly concerned.
As I continue to explain, I can only feel sweat dripping down my face. I'm only getting more and more nervous as I look him in the eye. I just know that he is mad.
"I escaped due to some help from the local police, they were coming to deal with the Italian hooligans." I continue.
Finley grumbles "What did the cop look like?"
"The cop had pale skin and black hair," I answer.
Finley begins to brood. "Is something wrong?"
"The Italians have cops as informants all over Coyote Gorge! I needed to make sure that that cop was not one of them. It seems like it's just a normal cop though from your description." He thunders.
"I understand." I nod. "But what are you going to do about the girl who stole your moonshine?"
"You are going to take care of it, since you are so good at creating fake documents, you're going to make 'legal contracts'. But is there anything else you needed to know? Since you like asking questions today?" Finley huffs, his smile looking mischievous.
"No," I said.
He dismisses me and then says, "If there is anything that I needed to be smuggled, I will call you."
"Okay," I answer.
I leave the office and slowly make my way outside. Once I make it outside, I wipe the cold sweat from my face. This is just too intense for me. I sigh and try to calm myself down, although that just allows my thoughts to wander. I... really have no idea how my life ended up like this or where I went wrong. I left New Haven when I got my passport back, and then I tried to find a job but could never succeed. It was either due to my temper or not being paid fully. In the end, I joined the Irish Gang as an informant and have been working with the gang for 2 months. I need to smuggle either guns or moonshine from Sinner's End to Crimson Banks every 2 days every week. Coyote Gorge is the place where I must pass through if I want to smuggle things and it's painful for me because the Italian gang sometimes patrols that area. If they ever catch me, they will cut off my fingers, but luckily for me, I've never experienced that, although I still fear for my life. The weather in Coyote Gorge is also very hot, there have been times when I have almost passed out due to lack of water. Overall, I am really sick and tired of this job, but I would never tell Finley my feelings because Finley is the first boss that has paid me actual checks and since I don't want to leave a "decent" boss, I'll still smuggle for them whenever I'm asked. Do I like my job? No. Do I want to continue this job? Yes. Currently, I'm living in an apartment in Sinner's End. This district is on the wrong side of the lily pad for me. Sun never appears here and it's strangely foggy at night. It's full of criminals and bums, most of which are dying. This place is downright hell or Little London. I hate London and will make fun of it whenever I can. I don't like this place but I have no other choice but to stay.
As I walk down the stairs of the brothel, I look up at the sky and notice it looks like an early night. A dark blue sky without sun. If there was no clock around, I would have thought that it was 10 am, I am not good with time. I am also starting to feel a little mad since I woke up early and had to wait four hours to talk to the big shot. Right as I go to leave, I see the girl from earlier sitting on the steps of the brothel, eating something. God, that looks disgusting. She's eating a sandwich with some sort of old meat, it looks like it was from the 1600s! The vegetables look like there was a bite taken out of them before they were put on the sandwich. I can't tell if they were from an animal or a human. The girl takes a big bite from the sandwich and sauce goes everywhere, spilling onto her dress and dribbling down her cheeks. I was born on a farm, but even I have better manners around eating than she has. A crisp cough slices the silence. I looked up and I noticed that the girl was looking at me.
"Why are you staring?" The girl wondered.
"I've never seen anyone in a dress like that. I was curious." I respond.
"Why do you think that I'm so intriguing?" She says, laughing.
I didn't realize I was smiling. "Oh, sorry."
Although I still think the girl was weird, I start to leave, but the girl shouts "Wait!" I spin around on my heels and ask her what she wants.
"Please, can't you provide me with a place to live?" The girl begs.
"Oh, yes, I can do that." I agree.
"You agreed to do this so swiftly?" She questions.
"Well, I heard that you will need to be doing damage control for Mad Dog, and it won't do you any good to do that without having a place to live. I figured I could help you out." I reason.
"Where will you let me live?" The girl asks.
"Just follow me, and if you don't mind, could you tell me your name?" I say.
The girl introduces herself as 'Eliza Fairfax'. I took her hand and we began the walk to the place where I had in mind to bring Eliza to. Fifteen minutes later, we arrive at a bar.
"What? Why are we here? And not a hotel?" Eliza queries, sounding extremely confused.
"I can't afford that, but I do know where a person can live for free!" I beam.
She looks like she doesn't believe me, but I lead her inside nonetheless. I open the door and there are four people in the room. There is a man with a deep red jacket with ginger hair that is writing something in a book, a shirtless man who was lifting weights, a blonde woman in a red corset with black lace details and a jewel in the middle of the corset, and a strong red-haired bartender who was graying and cleaning the glassware from the bar. I smile and greet them all.
"Hi, Eamon, Kev, Adrienna, and Dermot!"
"Back so soon- wait, what is she doing here?" Eamon hums, pointing at Eliza.
"She wanted some help! She needs to work for Mad Dog and needs to have a place to live." I answer.
"I'm confused Harriet, why was she brought here? This is no place to live." He replies.
"The storeroom is empty and available so she can stay there if she wants." Kev pipes up with his funny Irish accent.
"Have you lived in the storeroom before Kev?" Eamon questions.
"I opened the door with a crowbar because I had an idea of mixing all of the booze together that was stored there, wanting to taste how good it was." Kev hums.
"Did it taste any good?" Dermot wonders.
"It was not good. It tasted awful and all of the flavors were messed up." Kev replies.
"It tasted bad because the booze stored there has been there for 20 years and it was only stored there for collection purposes." Dermot reasons.
"Is there enough room in the storeroom for someone to live there? Or not?" I ask.
"Yes, there sure is." He hums.
"You can live here! Isn't that perfect?" I say to her.
"Am I really going to live in the storeroom?" Eliza inquires, looking scared.
"As long as you are okay with the rats and the dampness of the room, you'll be fine." Adrienna remarks.
Eliza looks like she is on the brink of puking before I drag her away and lead her to the storeroom, but it actually looks really clean and nice, contrary to what Adrienna said. Eliza asks about the cleanliness since it is oddly clean and I tell her that I had cleaned the room when I had some free time, that's why I thought it would be a good idea for you to live here. After getting her settled, I leave Eliza my phone number and begin to leave when Eliza calls for me.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"I wanted to thank you, I appreciate you for what you did." Eliza returns.
"I'm happy to hear that, you're welcome!" I grin.
"I wonder if I actually could drink the booze here?" She mumbles quietly.
"Sure, if you can handle the taste of rotten eggs." I giggle. "One day I drank the booze here and it tasted and smelled like a rotten egg. This booze won't make you sick but rotten eggs will. I ate a rotten egg by accident and it had a terrible aftermath."
With a questionable glance, I leave Eliza and the storeroom. I leave and went to the bar, ordering a glass of water.
"Why would someone order water from a bar?" Kev mocks.
"Well, a girl who drinks too much sometimes needs a glass of water to calm herself down, you donkey!" I exclaim in a snarky tone.
I take a good sip from my water. Adrienna sits down next to me and passes me a piece of paper, explaining that someone gave her this paper this morning and that she was supposed to give it to 'Lady Leprechaun'. Everyone burst into laughter, which pisses me off.
"Who was that 'someone'??" I exclaim.
"I don't know, it was our first meeting," Adrienna replies.
"It was such a creative nickname!" Eamon beams, laughing some more.
"You guys need to stop, I don't like people making fun of my appearance!" I shout.
They just keep laughing. Kev was rolling on the floor laughing, the douche. I let out an angry huff and left without finishing that water. I storm out of the room in a rage and angrily grumble something about going to beat up whoever wrote this paper, they deserve it. I unfold the paper and read it. It reads "Thanks for the ride." I was confused until I noticed the bloody knife symbol near the bottom of the page. Oh my god, that was the symbol of the Italian gang members, the same ones that ambushed me on my past smuggling mission. They must be in Sinner's End right now! Oh no, what am I going to do?! I hurry back into the bar in a panic. Kev grins at me.
"Back so soon Lady Leprechaun?" Kev teases.
"Are you okay Harriet? You look exhausted." Eamon wonders, sounding concerned.
I am about to say something and I open my mouth but nothing comes out. Everyone's confused. In my head, I stop my thoughts of telling them what happened because it will cause a lot of trouble. There's no way that they would let me leave without beating the shit out of me. There's a group of Italian mobsters in the area for who knows how long for crying out loud and they're after me! To save my life, I decided to tell them what happened to defuse the awkwardness.
"Well, you see, I bumped into Fiona in the street and she threatened to kill me if I did it again." I lie, but it seems like they are buying it.
"That Black Widow once did the same thing to me. I wonder why Finley keeps her around, to be honest." Kev remarks.
"She was nicer back then, like Harriet, before she became the person she is today." Eamon protests.
"Hey! Me and Fiona are nothing alike, that's an insult, Eamon!" I object.
"Then why do people call you 'The Mob Princess'?" Kev questions.
God, that awful nickname. That nickname sort of appeared out of nowhere, I can't deal with it, but it's better than 'Lady Leprechaun'.
"Are you making that up?" Dermot asks.
"It's true! Finley made it up himself." Kev replies.
Crap! I forgot all about that thing I was supposed to do! Oh my goodness, I'm so stressed right now. I leave the bar and walk to the storeroom. Maybe Eliza could give me some advice on things. She raises an eyebrow at me. I tell her about the situation and she says that she's lost, she can't really give her thoughts on the matter but recommends that I should tell the whole thing to Finley. She can't possibly suggest that! I told Mad Dog that there were no problems so if I do tell him, it'll be harder for him to accept the truth! But... it seems like my only option!
"Why did you befriend these mobsters in the first place? You're such a nice and kind girl, while everyone else here is rude or uncivil." Eliza wonders.
I sigh, guess I should recount my story. "I was working at a shop nearby when two Irish Gangsters raided the shop. The person who was working with me, the shop owner, told me to be cool so there won't be problems. I knew them, they had been coming in twice a week and doing lots of bad things, I was angry about it. I told them that they should leave before I called the police, but got slapped. One of them tried to drag me away by pulling on one of my braids, which is one of my biggest pet peeves by the way, and I used all of my strength to push him and grabbed the blackboard, then slammed it against the man's head. After that, the other guy carried me out and Mad Dog forced me to work for him since the guy I knocked out couldn't work anymore due to his head injury. I'm not upset though, I met a group of friends, even though they are problematic."
Eliza sits there, staring at me in stunned silence. I was quiet too, however, we could hear laughter coming from the bar. The four of them are making jokes about how Fiona loves women and saying a bunch of other bad things about homosexuals. That's problematic even to their standards! I look at Eliza giving her a 'See what I am talking about?' look and she returns it with her own look of 'I get what you mean.'. I sigh, my mind is going back to the issue at hand.
"You need to tell the Irish Mobster the truth." She hums.
I nod, even though I am still unsure about the matter. I head home, figuring that I can think about the situation. I walk in and lie down on the bed and try to think about a solution but can't figure out an answer that doesn't involve telling Finley, which is the one thing I can't do, I don't want to tell him. I'm almost on the verge of tears but then I get an idea. I get up and walk to the landline phone, calling Eliza and asking her if she could do something for her. My idea isn't a good idea morally but it should work. If she agrees, I can get Eliza out of the area. Eliza instantly agrees when I tell her of my plan. I give her the plan although it's not actually what I have in mind. Eliza won't like what I have in the back of my mind!
Three days later, it's Monday. There are always people gathered at the train station. In the underground station, it's especially busy since it's noon, peak busy hours. Everyone is minding their own business, not noticing me whatsoever, so I nervously head over to the locomotive. I sneak in and open the electric box under the control desk. I'm stronger than the average girl my age since I have always helped my parents with farm work back in Ireland. I cut every wire with my switchblade and then quickly leave. I'm hurrying to the staircase that leads to the surface, and when no one is looking, I pull out my gun from inside my dress. I aim the gun at the ceiling but don't shoot. I'm nervous and trembling, but I take a deep breath and finally pull the trigger. As expected, people panicked and the staff are in a frenzy. I sigh, feeling relieved, but then realize something is missing while I am leaving, my clover earrings! I don't wear them but they have a lot of value to me, it was a gift from my parents when I left Ireland to come to America. I keep them with me when I sleep to be reminded of them. I don't want to leave without them and head back, although it's difficult since everyone is running in the other direction. I found them on the ground near the train tracks and picked them up, then hurried to leave. However, I run into someone and fall, I sit up and turn to see who I ran into, and it's one of the Italian mobsters! They see me and exclaim "You!" and scrambled to come to get me. Panicking, l get my gun and fire it in their direction, the bullet hitting him in the shoulder, who screams in horror. He didn't expect a girl like me to shoot him! I move to fire and he runs away. There are no more bullets, I only prepared two, one for the chaos and one for backup. I'm crying and breathing heavily on the ground but I must leave, but wait, there's only one earring! The other one probably fell on the tracks. I simply can't stay, it will ruin the plan, so I run up the stairs and finally leave. I ran and hoped I wouldn't ruin the plan, but I always regretted the loss of my other earring." I conclude, taking a sip of water from the cup that Timmy handed me.
Timmy and I are sitting in the living room. I had just finished telling him about my past as I told him I would do when we got back from that horse race. I can't believe that I talked for this long. I stare at Timmy, wondering what his reaction will be. Timmy let out a small sigh.
"I'm happy that you live a peaceful life now, especially after hearing all of your past," Timmy says.
"Could you forgive me, Timmy? I feel bad for not telling you sooner, but this is hard for me to say to you, considering both of our gangster backgrounds." I request.
"I was never angry with you, I'm happy that you feel like you can talk to me about things," Timmy replies, giving me a cute bright smile.
I blush. "I know that Samson wanted us to do some shopping today, but could you do it? I'm tired and wish to take a nap."
"Okay! You rest easy, Harriet!" He agrees, grabbing his wallet from the counter and leaving.
Once he leaves, I walk over to the phone, and begin to dial a number. My smile fades to a serious look.
"Hello?"
"Eliza you two-faced lying sack of shit! What the fuck is your problem?" I exclaim.
Eliza doesn't respond instantly but mocks me when she does, "Wow, listen to your language! I thought your boyfriend-"
"Cut the crap, Eliza! I don't want to listen to your dirty jokes!" I yell.
Eliza murmurs "What a killjoy! Why do you think I was lying when I would never lie to you?"
"I never did anything wrong but the thugs in that station did!" I answer.
"An aristocrat got shot and I think it's all your fault, Harriet." Eliza retorts.
I'm quiet, taking deep breaths so I don't clock myself out of anger.
"I understand why you told Timmy and l already apologized to you, so you shouldn't be upset," I say.
Eliza changes her tone "An apology is not enough to make up for what happened that day."
I guess I should explain what happened that day. That day, I informed her about the plan and asked Eliza to fake some paperwork so they could leave Sinner's End. I went to all of the places that Eliza went to and made it look like she was the one who was wandering around the train station that day and no one would suspect me since I had papers saying that I was at the library checking out books at the time. She may get to leave Sinner's End early but Eliza was not happy about the possibility of becoming the main suspect in the fiasco.
"I already apologized and if you still hate me then that is your problem. I live with a government official and can expose you at any time." I tell her in a calm and callous tone.
"How could you do something like that? How could you do something so heartless to a friend?" Eliza hums.
I laugh "I have a copy of your ID! I got a copy of it during our time in Sinner's End when you trusted me with the info but I copied it behind your back! I always considered you a friend, this is why we are having this conversation because if I wasn't your friend from the start I would have already told everyone that information, after you told Timmy about my past."
I stress that last part and maliciously laugh, knowing Eliza is done for.
Eliza sighs, "What do you want?"
"You need to stay away from Timmy and never come to Ivory Hill unless I want you to. I don't know how it will affect your career and I don't care." I demand.
Eliza pauses "The only thing that you can enjoy is yourself."
"What are you talking about?" I query.
She doesn't answer and continues. "You have never been true to anyone and will lie your way out of anything."
I'm offended!
"How could you possibly-" I start but she cuts me off.
"You lied about having a fear of knives because I saw you use one and be just fine. I bet that you told Timmy what happened in the past but didn't say everything!"
Well, I did tell him of my past but left out all of the negative things I did.
"Get to the point!" I demand.
"You are selfish and insecure, that you acted like you were scared of knives so Timmy would worry, you like him to worry, you don't care for Timmy, and only want you around to 'protect' you." Eliza shrieks.
"I care for Timmy!" I yell back, anger filling my veins.
"You are using him as you did to me." She replies.
"I wouldn't do that!" I reply.
"Do you know why you're called 'The Mob Princess'?" Eliza asks.
"Why?"
Eliza explains, "You will always have power since Finley favors you and you get what you want through manipulation and power, like evil royalty, or a princess."
Eliza then hangs up, not even giving me a second to respond. I slam the phone down in anger. How dare she! I, however, start crying. Everything Eliza said was true. I do fake cry so Timmy will worry, it makes me feel safe, and I lie about my story so he won't know the truth, so he won't leave me. I feel like no one cares about me except Timmy. I never wanted a life like this. If I would have known this is what awaited me in America I would have never come. Land of freedom and opportunity my ass! I feel ashamed that I was using Timmy but I am more scared for my future! A hand is rested on my shoulder and gently shakes me. I turn to see who it was. It's Timmy!
"What happened Harriet? Why are you crying?"
I need to think of an explanation. "I... I got scared from telling my story, afraid of my past and future. Maybe coming to America was a bad choice..."
"No, if you didn't come, I would still be in the streets, I owe you big time! I will always be grateful to you." Timmy beams.
I stop crying and take out the earring from my pocket, putting the earring in his ear. Timmy yelps.
"What are you doing?" He questions.
"This is my favorite earring and I want you to keep it since you are so reliable, Timmy!"
He smiled, "I will always keep it for you."
I start to cry again. I really appreciate him and we hug. I swear to myself one thing. I will protect Timmy at all costs, like how I protected myself back in the day.