RP: Nightcrawler: Faith In Love ( Horror_Show & Super_Panda)

[Horror_Show]

Even in the darkest moments of life there is always a way to find light as long as someone is willing to push through all the pain, all the suffering and all the guilt and anger that can consume them. It can take just one person to make that happen, one person could make it all change. Have you ever seen someone so beautiful it makes you want to run? You get so caught up in so much excitement it makes you burn. They can make you see the light and have faith in love. That’s exactly the kind of person Nina Oswald was going to meet.

A young red headed female sat at a booth in the back of a little diner in town. She was oddly by herself on a weekday at two in the morning. The young girl was eating a cheeseburger, onion rings and a shake. Now and then she would look outside, as rain was drizzling downside the window pain. You could tell the girl had an appetite, which was rare when someone was still in shock from a tragedy.

It was only a week ago her life had changed and taken a turn for the worst when her father was brutally murdered. It wasn’t known how he was killed as the autopsy was still being performed and then his funeral would just be a small family gathering. Nina was on the edge of nineteen and how that her only parent was dead she was finally on her own. She had talked to a lawyer a few days ago to be told what was left in her fathers name would go to her. Luckily her father had made a decent living and had money saved back to go to Nina but considering it was supposed to be for her college tuition, it meant she would have to pay to go to school, as she would have to use a big hunk of the money to live off of. It wouldn’t last forever.

She had already used a very small portion to get her bills caught up for the month. Her car payment, which her father was paying along with car insurance and her phone bill. Nina had been very lucky to still live at home and be taken care of, she had almost anything she wanted or needed but she wasn’t a spoiled brat. She made decent grades and was planning to go to college to be a veterinary technician and then from there possibly attempt vet school. Right now she was staying at her home which was a town house condo that she lived at with her father but the rent was to expensive so the landlord was giving her a month to get everything sorted out. She was too stressed but knew she would have to find a small apartment she could stay in and would have to find a full time job.

Things seemed so surreal, like it was just a nightmare she could never wake up from, that any minute she would wake up in her house and her father would be asleep or at work. She just wanted to the funeral over with, and get the house ready to be sold.

Though at the moment eating seemed to be the only thing good. She took a huge bite off her deluxe cheeseburger when the doorbell went off letting you know someone else came in. It was a man, maybe an older man who was oddly peculiar. He was dressed in khaki pants, a plaid dress shirt that was buttoned over a black t-shirt with a rain jacket pulled over with sneakers. His hair was longer and combed back. He looked very thin, very gaunt.

Nina was holding a cheeseburger looking a little in awe as he turned to face her. The moment was awkward but they locked eyes as she took a bite and was chewing with a mouth full of food.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Lou Bloom is a freelance journalist. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to make sure he got his story and his big break.

His newest case happened to be Nina, and as fate would have it, Nina happened to be sitting in the same diner Lou goes to every morning. As he steps in, his eyes locked with Nina's and they shared a brief moment of awkwardness. Lou sits down at the counter and orders his usual black coffee, after taking a couple of sips. He turns and looks at Nina again, he hesitates for a bit before getting up and walking over to her and says "You look like you could use some company, would you mind if I joined you Nina?"

 

[Horror_Show]

Nina continued eating and leaned back in the booth munching on onion rings watching the journalist go to the counter. A waitress at the counter brought him a cup of coffee and she watched him nod his head as she sat it in front of him. It thundered outside and Nina looked out the window. The city street was busy as usual with cars and taxi’s filling up the streets. The lights reflected off the thick steady raindrops coming down. When Nina turned back around another couple, a little older walked in chattering as they made they’re way to the other side of the diner. She caught the guy at the counter looking around and they made eye contact and he smiled.

His smile contradicted the rest of him, as it was welcoming, handsome and genuine as the rest of his thin body gave him an almost stalkerish type look. Then again she found maybe she was being to judgmental but what the hell did it matter, what did anything matter anymore. When he asked if he could join her she was quiet for a few moments and then hesitantly nodded. He looked safe…for the most part. As he came over and slid in across from her she noticed his hair was a little shiny and moist from the rain outside.

As she got a closer look he features were very defined. He was indeed very skinny. He had high cheekbones, a straight nose, very strong jawline and medium lips and straight white teethe. He had dark brown hair combed back. His eyes and smile really caught you off guard with emotion. Nina went back to spooning mouthfuls of her strawberry shake when she realized she was awkwardly staring at him.

 

[Super_Panda_]

As Lou sat down, he flashed Nina a slight smile and sat in silence watching her eat her strawberry shake. While you could see his attempt at being friendly on the outside, inside he was debating on whether or not if he should ask her for a statement. As he was contemplating this, he continued to sit there with a slight smile on face, while Nina continues to just awkwardly stare at him while eating the rest of shake. He had to act fast as her shake was almost gone, and if he decides not to ask her for a statement. What are the chances he'll find her again in this city? It was already luck and fate that brought him to this moment. But if he comes off a little too strong, he might end up scaring her away and ose his chance anyway. As he finishes that thought, Nina happen to just finish her shake, but to his surprise she has not gotten up or signaled that she is leaving anything soon. Perhaps it was better to comfort her before asking her questions about the recent murder of her father. As they continues to sit in silence, her could see in her eyes that she wanted to break the ice and he was sure he was giving the same impression. But to his surprise, he could not say a word. Finally! He works up the nerve and says "Hi there, I'm Lou Bloom". He decided to hold off on telling her that he is a journalist for the time being, after going through what she went through, a journalist is the last person that she would want to talk to right now.

 

[Horror_Show]

There was silence between the two as he she finished her shake and started back on her onion rings. The waitress came by to refill Lou’s coffee and she ordered a soda, as her shake was gone. Nina didn’t really want to deal with reporters or journalist or news crews. She had to stay in her house and resort to calling the police a few times in order to get camera crews to leave her house after the incident happened. Luckily the murder didn’t take place at her father’s house but on the other side of town. The autopsy was close to being completed and she knew then things would be released and she would have to testify. A lot of local news stations were even offering her a good-sized amount for an interview, its just she was still in shock, she had just lost her father. She wasn’t really wanting to publicly say anything, she wanted to be left alone, to dwell in peace.

When Lou finally introduced himself she smiled and nodded. “Nina,…Nina Oswald.” She finally muttered being hesitant on even saying her last name because it was all over the news. Even her picture had been all over the media in town, its why she was out so late now.

 

[Super_Panda_]

When Lou heard Nina replied, he was excited the ice has been broken. Maybe now he can carry on a normal conversation and get to know her a little better before trying to interview her. Lou sipped at his coffee, while Nina drank her soda. But to Lou's amazement, he did not know what to talk about which is a first for him, being that his career is ased on him talking to people. So for another brief moment, they both sat in silence and just stared at each other. In the background, Lou could hear the late night news playing on the TV. As he turned to look at it, he saw the current and trending story was about Nina. He looked back at Nina, who hung her head in embarrassment. Lou went up to Donna (the waitress) and asked if she could change the channel or turn off the TV. As he sat back down, he whispered to Nina, "that's probably the last thing you want to see and hear right now isn't it?" He reached out and gently held her hand.

 

[Horror_Show]

After she introduced herself back the silence came back over and all you could hear the was noise of staff in the back cooking, light oldie music playing and the TV playing the news. The late night news was touching on the newest story, her story. The murder of her father and how they speculated it was a recent kill that was somehow involved in a series of murders that was happening in the city over the fall. Nina’s head fell in shame and annoyance. She turned up when Lou slid out of the booth to go talk to the waitress. He came back and slid in leaning over whispering friendly and his hand gently held hers. His hand was warm to her cold skin. Though it was a forward action she didn’t mind it. It didn’t seem weird at all a man twice her age was sitting, conversing and being remotely affectionate. Then again, in her state of mind she probably wasn’t the best to decide what was right and what was wrong. She nodded letting out a small nervous laugh.

“Yeah…. guess its hard not to know who I am. I’m famous.” She said rolling her eyes meeting his again. “Its kind of why I’m out at this hour. It seems to be the only time a full news crew isn’t beating down my door wanting my story.” She breathed and saw he was carefully listening. “I’m not really….I don’t even know.” She sighed leaning back. “Plus its not like I can sleep.” She said looking back out the window to watch the rain falling down into the city street.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Nina's hand was ice cold upon holding it, he could see that Nina was a little uneasy at first, but after a brief moment she gave in and embraced the gesture. Lou continued to listen to Nina, this is probably the first time she's had anyone to talk to since the incident. Her only parent was killed, no next of kin as far as he knows. Excluding the reporters and journalists that follow her around, she must have been feelin really lonely lately. After she finished speak and gazed outside at the rain, Lou said "To be honest with you, I knew who you were the moment I stepped into the diner, like you said 'you're famous now'. Do you want to talk about what's on your mind? It might help you sleep at night."

 

[Horror_Show]

When Lou finally started directly talking his tone changed. It was hard to describe but he said everything in a very fluent smooth tone, something about it really brought attention to him. She kind of shimmied in her seat and looked at him. All she knew was hanging on a single thread; everything she knew had been shattered. Her mother hadn’t really been in her life. She disappeared and her father gave her enough love and nurturing she didn’t seek her out. She had other family but none of them close enough that she wanted to burden. She was officially adult even though still a young teenager.

“I don’t really know what to talk about. Everyone keeps wanting me to talk about it, but I really don’t know what to talk about…ya know,” she said peering up at him, “My dad got murdered and I don’t know how or why…. he was just taken from me. I don’t know what to say or what to do.” She spoke as if she was begging for someone to rescue her. To save her from all the pain and fear she was bearing. “I don’t think talking about it will help me sleep…. nothing will, maybe drugs.” She said, as if some part of her might be willing to try even though you could also take it as her joking.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Lou listened as she went on about what everyone is expecting from her and how she is so unsure of everything in her life right now. Her life seems to be unraveling faster than anyone should be able to cope with. As Lou listened, he debated on whether or not to invite her back to his apartment, on the one hand it would give her a place to lay low for a while and on the other hand, they have only talked for all of an hour. Lou didn't want to come off as a creep or anything, after all he looked old enough to be her father. After she jokes about using drugs in order to get some sleep, Lou says "Look... I know we've only been talking for about an hour, the sun is going to come up soon and as soon as that happens the reporters will be out looking for you. You can go back to your place and deal with them. Or you can come lay low at my place, we can talk about anything that's on your mind. You won't have to worry about any reporters or journalists showing up at the front door. You can get a decent night of sleep." He takes a brief pause and jokingly says "and if all that doesn't work, i'll personally go out and buy you drugs if that means you getting some sleep. Do we have a deal?" He holds out his hands for a handshake and smiles at Nina awaiting her reply.

 

[Horror_Show]

Nina was looking around the diner. Her eyes focused on the older couple at the other end. The woman was laughing and sharing smiles, they looked happy. Almost perfect which made her just stare, almost with a frown. Lou started talking and this time his tone went from very obvious to almost a masked dominant one. At first she didn’t know what to think. Was he actually asking her to come over to his place? How old was he? Her mind was racing and then he joked about getting her drugs? Did he even know she was joking and meaning like hardcore drugs as in narcotics or sedatives. She thought about pulling out money and just trying to run out of the diner. Something about Lou was so inviting yet frightening. He held out his hand and she eyed him with a weird but cautious smile cocking her head.

“What’s in it for you? How do I know your not some pervert or rapist or something?” She said with a straight face but saw his smirk and let a half way grin play across her own face. The waitress came back and Lou pulled out his wallet giving the waitress a credit card before she could even pull out cash to pay her own check. The waitress went to go ring them out as Nina was left to answer Lou.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Nina asked Lou some valid points, why should she trust him enough to go back to his place. He was just trying to be nice and hopefully she caught on that he was joking about the drugs. As the waitress came and handed both of them their check, Lou whipped out his wallet and paid for both check in an attempt to buy him some more time. But then Lou thought, he's paying for both checks and she hasn't left yet. She has no reason to stay other than she wants to stay. So Lou replied with "There's nothing I can say that will fully convince you that i'm not a pervert or a rapist. Other then the fact that i'm not. And there is nothing in it for me, I saw someone that looks like she could use my help. And if I do end up helping you, then that's all I care about." The waitress return with the receipt which Lou proceeds to sign and leave a generous tip.

 

[Horror_Show]

Nina sat there still quiet as he bluntly told her that there was probably nothing he could say to convince her of his clean record. Kindness was something she was accustomed to other than from her father who was now gone. Nina bit her lip as a nervous habit watching him smile and nod at the waitress as he grabbed a pin and started signing the receipt. Another thought was how did he know the news crews were constantly at her house? She knew she spoke of it but had mentioned the cops were doing they’re best to keep them away. As he finished sighing the check he looked at her and she finally nodded. At this point what did she have to lose? The only person she ever cared about was gone so what did it mattered if her life was in danger? This was the ill-rational logic she had right now.

They both got out of the booth. Nina grabbed her sweat jacket and threw it over her t-shirt and watched him do the same. They headed out of the diner with him giving one last thanks to the waitress. They left the diner to step out into the fresh crisp c fall weather. It was still sprinkling. Nina had driven her car here as it was parked right in front of the diner. He mentioned she should drive her vehicle home so everyone would think she’s home. He would follow her and she could grab a few things. Walking to her door she opened the drivers door looking ahead to see him walking to his orange dodge charger. He turned back as she was opening her car door and once again caught his eyes.

 

[Super_Panda_]

As he sat there waiting for her reply, he could just see a dumb found look on her face as he told her that he's basically not a threat to her with no way of backing that up. Soon after she gave him a nod of approval, as they both got out of the booth. They both put on their jackets, before leaving the diner, Lou turned to the waitress and held his hand up as a "thank you for everything" gesture. Outside, he suggested that she should take her car home and he'll follow, that way she can fool the press into thinking that she's at home and it would give her the opportunity to grab anything she may need. As they briefly part way, Lou walks up to his orange Dodge Charger and gets in. He looked back to see if Nina had gotten in her car yet only to lock eyes with her once again. He patiently waits for Nina to pull out of the diner parking lot, and he follows her down the cold wet street of LA. They eventually arrive at her condo, it was still too early for any reporters to stay outside, but as the sun was going to soon rise, that would quickly change. He follows her into the house and is surprised with how homey it feels.

 

[Horror_Show]

It took about ten to fifteen minutes to drive to a secluded upper class neighborhood to the condo she now resided in by herself. Getting out of her Honda civic she locked it with her keychain and waited for Lou to pull into the driveway. She felt very weird bringing a man twice her age to her actual home. Her father would have no approved at all. Then again he probably wouldn’t have even been very approving of even a young guy her own age, as she didn’t really make the effort to date. She wasn’t particularity interested with wanting to focus on her schooling.

They headed into her condo and Nina turned on the lights and quickly headed into the living room. The house was a little messy but looked normal as if a broken family, a broken girl didn’t live in it. She turned to Lou who was standing very respectfully in the hall with his hands in his pockets. He almost looked vulnerable in that exact moment.

“Um…if you want anything to drink there’s water and pop in the fridge. I’m gonna go run upstairs and grab a few things and feed my cat.” When he smiled she jogged upstairs. Nina ended up grabbing a duffle bag and throwing a few outfits in and some personal hygiene products, grabbed her mac-book and ipad and ipod. She fed her cat and then quickly descended the stairs to see Lou sitting on the couch. He got up and offered to take her bag and she gave it to him.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Lou stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets, waiting for Nina to gather her things. Then he heard her say "Um…if you want anything to drink there’s water and pop in the fridge. I’m gonna go run upstairs and grab a few things and feed my cat." Lou walked around looking for the kitchen, then he proceeded to grab a bottle of water fromt he fridge. He then sat on the couch and waited for Nina to return, he could hear her footsteps as he hurried around gathering her things upstairs. Then Lou heard her footsteps decend down the stairs, he looked up to see her standing at the base of the stairs with a duffle bag. Lou got up and offered to take her bag for her, she agreed and handed it over. Before leaving, Nina does a once over to make sure that she has everything, once she was 100% sure she was good to go. They started to make their way to his car, Lou walks to his car leaving Nina behind to lock the door. He throws her duffle bag into hi trunk, walks over to the passenger door and opens it for her. She gets in and he carefully closes the door. He proceeds to the driver door, gets in, and starts the car. The engine roared to life, he left her driveway and drove to his apartment on the other side of town. No one said a word the whole drive there, there was an uncomfortable silence, Lou tried to break the silence with some music. So he turned on the radio and some country song was on. As he approached his apartment, he slowed down and parked the car in his parking spot. He went over to Nina's door and opened it for her. He then proceeded to pop the trunk and grabbed her bag. They enter the lobby and take the elevator to the 4th floor, he proceeds to lead her to apartment 14B. Upon arrival, he gently places the bag on the floor while he fumbles with his keys to unlock the door. After they enter, he turns on some of the lights to reveal his apartment.

 

[Horror_Show]

The drive back across town was silent. The rain had slowed but everything still reflected off of the white cement. She watched the city lights blur by as he took the expressway. Now and then she would slightly turn to see Lou driving with one hand on the wheel. He looked so focused on driving. He turned on the heat to warm the car since the fall-wet air was a little chilly. He knew Nina was staring at him but he didn’t want to let her know he acknowledged it afraid he might make her uncomfortable. What he didn’t know is something about him was peculiarly intriguing. As they sped under the highway street lamps, every time they went under one she noticed how the light reflected off of him skin. She lay back against her seat feeling sleepiness.

Finally they took an exit on the south end of town and drove a little off into a suburb. He parked in the parking lot. She got out of the car slowly to feel a strong breeze blow against her face. Red leaves fell from the tress. She followed him up to the building. They took the elevator up and he let them into studio apartment. It consisted of one medium sized room, a small dining room that was part of a kitchen and a bathroom. The living room was cozy enough; his bedroom was part of it as his bed was in the back with a couch on the other side. Nina kind of liked it. As they walked in she glanced around noticing textbooks, newspapers, and small messed lying around but nothing major. He offered her to make herself at home and he meant it. She took off her jacket just being in a layered t-shirt and jeans and walked over sitting on the couch. The apartment had a nice warm glow from the lamps.

She took off her shoes and curled on the couch while Lou was taking off his jacket, shoes and unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his t-shirt underneath. Nina looked back to watch but quickly pulled her head away.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Lou told Nina to make herself at home and she did. He sat on the couch and took off her jacket, next she kicked off her shoes and curled up on the couch. Lou went to change out of his semi wet clothes and walked over to Nina. "So because my apartment is fairly small, I only have the one bedroom. So I guess since you're the guest, you can have the bed and i'll sleep on the couch tonight. The bathroom is over there if you want to change into something more comfortable." Lou said while pointing towards the direction of the bathroom.

 

[Horror_Show]

Nina nodded now feeling the sudden realization that she was in a total strangers house and on top of it being a stranger’s house. He was an older man. Plus there was this eeriness about him. When he pointed out the bathroom and kitchen she gave a small nod and looked back at his bed. The strangest thoughts coursed through her mind. Had he ever slept with anyone in that bed? Was there stains in it she didn’t want to know about, luckily she kept her paranoid thoughts to herself and got up to go to the bathroom to change.

She found his bathroom was small but very tidy and clean. She ended up washing her face and changing into more comfortable clothing, which for her was work out clothes which was a pair of gray leggings and light pink tank that was cup and pulled over one of her striped pink and white sports bras. She combed out her hair and crammed her dirty clothes in a bag and came out.

She didn’t see Lou and then he popped out from behind the door in the kitchen smiling. A totally different smile, more soft and friendly; though even his creepy smiles were attractive. He asked her if she wanted some tea and she asked for some hot honey tea. He had already made the bed and it looked really comfortable. She sat on it and he came in handing her a cup of hot tea.

“Thanks….I guess. I really have no idea what to fucking say.” She breathed out in a small sigh with a smile. “I’ve never…ever been in any guys house. Last time I slept over with a friend was years ago…. you’ve been very generous….I just don’t get it.” She said taking the tea. She wouldn’t realize he actually added some over the counter sleeping medicine. He could tell she from her blood shot eyes and shadows she needed rest.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Nina replied with a nod to hot tea, as she left to go change out of her clothes. He went to the bedroom and changed the sheets and pillow cases. Lou then went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. As he was alone in the kitchen, he went to his medicine cabinet and crushed up an Ambian pill and poured it into her cup. He heard the bathroom door and panicked as he heard her approaching. He quickly poured the tea into her cup and went to hand it to her as she was sitting on his bed. He watched her take a couple of sips and sat next to her and listened to what she had to say. He replied to her confusion with "I like to do good in this world, I want to leave the world knowing I did something that made a positive impact on the world or to a single person. And you're that something, I know that if I help you. I might have made your life a little better. And that is enough for me, if i can change your life for the better... I can die happy." About 5 minutes later he saw her eyes start to slowly close and anything she said was either slurred or didn't make any sense at all. He knew the Ambian is taking effect and not 5 minutes later, she collapsed onto the bed. He repositioned her head on the pillow and covered her with a blanket.

After he tucked her in. He left his apartment, and walked across the hall to another apartment that he leased under a different name. Inside the apartment was a mess, there were pizza boxes and chinese take out containers everywhere, cups of Starbucks coffee also littered the floor. He has newspaper clippings and articles tacked onto the walls of all the cases he has ever worked, if anyone were to see this, it would look more like the work of a serial killer than a journalist. He walked up to the wall that has the case of Nina's father's murder and started to map out timelines of certain events. Anything that had was related to her father was up on the wall; numerous articles printed off the internet, anytime he was mentioned in the paper, and detailed hand written notes of anything he was mentioned on the evening news. At this point, you can considered him with being obsessed with this case, more so than any of his previous cases. In the past he has brought justice to the city by solving crimes and cases that no one dared to even look at. He's brought corrupt politicians, law enforcement officers, drug and prostitution rings down, and he'll be damned if he isn't able to solve this case. He needed to solve this case, if not for him, then for Nina. After a couple of working, he looked at the clock which read 10 AM, it was time for him to go get some sleep. He didn't want to take the chance of Nina waking to find him not there, he went back to his apartment and collapsed on the couch.

 

[Horror_Show]

After Nina had taken quite a few sips of the hot honey tea she felt sleepiness rapidly overcoming her. She was trying to talk but everything was starting to not make sense and her head felt incredibly heavy. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut with the last vision being of Lou sitting on the bed looking at her concerned. He caught her limp body before she could hit the mattress and lifted her up bridal style as he pulled back the sheets and comforter to gently lay her down and took the extra time to neatly tuck her in and make sure she was comfortable. He was admiring her and then quickly grabbed his keys to head over to do what he needed to do, his purpose, and his work. He would lock the apartment to keep Nina safe as he was across the hall.

Even after a few hours had passed and Lou came back to the apartment, Nina was still passed out in a deep sleep. He knew she would be out for a while. He would crash on the couch and the apartment would be silent except for the steady sounds of they’re breathing. The evening would approach making it about six in the evening when Lou would wake back up. He would notice Nina was still asleep and would go over to comb back her hangs and check her vitals. She was still peacefully dreaming, she had shifted in her sleep. Nina had already slept over thirteen hours.

He would leave her to sleep more as he got in a quick shower and change into darker cargo pants, a dark blue shirt over a charcoal gray t-shirt leaving the over shirt unbuttoned and rolled up to his sleeves. He would come out of the shower drying his long dark hair as Nina was slowly trying to wake up yawning with bed hair. She groaned and sat up cross-legged tangled in the covers and could smell his aftershave and fresh soap, it was pleasant. She opened her eyes to see him give her a grin.

“I look and feel like shit….I don’t even know how long I slept.” She literally slouched falling back on her side laying on a mound of covers as he walked over. The weirdest part was she was showing no shame, even though Lou was just an older guy who was a stranger she met last night.

 

[Super_Panda_]

Lou woke up at around six in the evening to find that Nina is still deep asleep. Even though she had already slept through 13 hours, he decided to continue letting her sleep, she needed it. He walked over to her and brushed her bangs out of her face and made sure she was still alive from the Ambian. After confirming she was still alive and dreaming, Lou took a shower and changed into a set of nicer clothes. As he was drying off his hair, he heard Nina wake up. She sat up on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed and messy hair. He grinned at just how adorable she looks at this moment, Lou replied to her remark with "You've been sleeping for about 13-14 hours." He walked over and sat next to her as she slouched back into a laying position, he again brushed a part of her hair from her face and asked "how are you feeling?"

 

[Horror_Show]

As he brushed back her bangs she yawned and kind of smiled rolling over holding a pillow to her chest. The covers and sheets smelled of fresh laundry and his scent. It was a combination of musky with a hint of wood and aftershave. “I feel like shit…. I know I probably look like it.” She mused as he continued to comb back her hair. She hardly knew who this man was but here she was on his bed letting him be affectionate. He said he just wanted to help her because he wanted to do good but anyone could see past the bullshit but she didn’t question it, cause right now this girl had no one and even if he was using that to his advantage she didn’t care.

“How about some coffee?” He asked and she pushed up on an elbow and yawned again while nodding. She pushed herself off the bed and realized she still felt exhausted. She could hear him turning on his coffee pot. She grabbed her phone but all that was on it was a few messages from friends she didn’t even really hang out with. Her grandmother had been trying to call but she kept avoiding them. The last thing she wanted was to burden her grandmother

 

[Super_Panda_]

"No... you don't look like shit. And I mean it." said Lou as he held his hand on her cheek. "How about some coffee?" he asked. She nodded, he got up and went to the kitchen and turned on his coffee pot after filling it up with ground coffee beans and water. He heard her trying to get out of bed as he took out his sugar container and got the creamer from the fridge. He walks in on her checking her phone and says "Coffee's just about ready, there's cream and sugar on the counter out for you already." She thanked him and made her way to the kitchen. He went over to the living and turned on the TV and checked the channel guide to see if anything interesting was on. He finally agreed on old reruns of "Supernatural", as he sat down on the couch he wondered if Nina was hungry. After all, the last time she ate was at the diner some 14-15 hours ago. He stood up and poked his head into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" he asked.