The pain of my empty stomach causes me to wake up from my deep sleep once again, so I have no choice but to begin another day. I stretch my aching body and look around the broken down room.

The candle I lit last night was now burned down and I knew I had to steal another one from the store soon or I would surely freeze. I ruffle my hair a little as I get out of bed to put on my shoes.

I grab my personal hygene items that I carry in a brown paper bag and walk out of the room. It's still early so I can take a quick shower in the park's small waterfall without anybody noticing me.

I make my out of my room and go down the street where the piblic park is. I run through the big playground and tall trees until I get to the waterfall.

I take off my clothes and place them beside a dry rock. I quickly make my way into the waterfall and shiver once the water hits my body. It's really cold outside but I really need to clean off all the dirt from my hair and skin.

After a couple of minutes of rubbing and scrubbing my whole body I step out of the cold water and put back on my clothes.

I walk over to a water fountain and take out my toothbrush and toothpaste from my paper bag. I quickly brush my teeth then make my way back to my room.

Once inside I fix my bed and clean my room up a little so it could atleast look decent. I run my hand through my wet hair and make my way towards the window.

I look outside and notice people are just starting their days. I can see people eating breakfast a couple windows down and others having simple conversations.

If only I could have both..

I shake away my negative thoughts and instead leave my room to go search for anything good I can find.

The warm sun shinning through the grey clouds helps my hair dry off faster and makes me not shiver as much from the cold air.

I walk down the busy street and get the usual glances and stares from people curious about my hair. I avoid them and continue to walk without letting it bother me.

Not too far away I spot the bakery that I know always has bread in their trash cans. My stomach growls just of the thought of eating something.

I quickly make my way through the back alley way of the bakery and search through the trash for anything good.

But it seemed luck was not in my side today since all I found was actual trash and no left over food.

With a heavy sigh, I walked back down the street and passed the bakery with an upset face.

I stared at the glazed cupcakes and freshly made bread with so much want it hurt my head.

"Can I help you young man?"

I turned my head and saw an old woman with a kind smile staring at me.

"I'm sorry..I was just leaving." I apologized, not wanting her to call the police on me.

"Wait, why don't you come inside and taste my new home made bread swirls." she offered sincerely and dragged me inside the bakery without giving me a chance to decline her offer.

I was surprised at how nice she was being towards me. Nobody has ever done anything nice for me except once when I was in the orphanage but that was about it.

The old lady sat me down on a chair beside a plate of delicious looking swirls and left to get a glass of milk.

I took the chance to look around the bakery that always seemed to feed me when nobody else would. Even if it was only stale bread, it was something.

And now that I was inside it made me feel uneasy but warm at the same time. Only a couple of people were in here enjoying some muffins and chatting on their phones.

"Here you go, now please be honest about the taste." the old woman said in a warm tone as she sits in front of me and places a tall glass of milk on the table for me.

I sit in my spot a bit shock at the request. This kind woman thinks I'm doing her a favor when in reality she's feeding a boy who has not had a proper meal in years..

I take a bread swirl and take a small bite from it. My mouth savors the wonderful taste of the soft bread and sugary topping. I try not to show how badly I wanted to shove all the bread into my mouth and run away.

I sip some milk and cleared my throat before I spoke.

"Really good, I love how soft the dough is." I tell the old woman honestly.

She watches my every move with her soft brown eyes and smiles brightly at my compliment.

"Your not saying that just to butter me up right?" she teases in return then grabs a small bag to put the bread in.

She hands me the bag and I look at her confused.

I stand up from my seat and stand awkwardly by the table. "I uh don't have any money..sorry."

"Oh don't you worry about it dear, it's on the house for doing me this favor." she replies with a heart felt laugh.

I smile back at her and accept the bag full of goodies. "Thank you so much..may I know your name?" I question.

"It's Margaret and yours?" she questioned back.

"Oh uh my name is Luke." I reply with an extended hand.

Margaret takes it with delight and nods. This old woman really was probably the best thing that has happened to me.

I leave the bakery with a smile on my face and walk down the street again thinking maybe today will be a good day.

I end up going to a variety of stores and shops. I ended up stealing candles, matches, a water bottle and a small radio.

I held the radio in my hand with joy and couldn't wait to listen to some music. I turned it over and realized it needed batteries.

So with that in mind, I went to the closest market and snatched a couple of packets before the owner got suspicious of my presence.

The stores were now closing so I knew I had to get home before it got dark. I walked down the alley way that lead to the empty building that I considered my home as I tried to put the batteries on the small radio.

I was then suddenly pushed roughly against a brick wall. I looked up and saw a disgusting looking hobo staring back at me.

His hand was wrapped around my neck tightly as he snatched my radio with his other hand.

I clawed at his hands from the lack of oxygen I was getting and tried to yell but couldn't.

"Thanks for the radio you little white haired freak." he said a little too close to my face.

I could barely see his face but I did notice his yellow rotting teeth and red eyes, obviously high on some type of drug.

I tried to get his tight hold off of me but my lack of nutrition made me weak and vulnerable to these type of situations.

"Now that I see you up close, your pretty cute. I haven't gotten any lately so why don't we have some fun?" the hobo harshly whispered by my ear as I heard him start to unzip his pants.

I panicked then and knew if I didn't do anything this disgusting man was going to hurt me physically and mentally.

So with all my strength I pushed his dirty hands off of me and started to run through the empty alley way.

I turned around and saw him following me not too far away. My legs ached and my vision was blurry but I kept running.

Heavy pants left my mouth as I tried to look for a way to ditch him but there was no way out. People were now safe in their houses and would never dare to even set foot a place like this.

I was screwed...

^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*

...

I hid behind a large trash can and covered my mouth so my heavy breathing wouldn't echo through the walls.

It was dark now and I was still running from the disgusting hobo.

I should head home and make it safe there but I didn't want to risk him finding out where I lived.

I could hear his footsteps as he searched behind each trash can lined up against the wall. My heart started to beat fast as I realized how close he was to finding me.

I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle, just anything that would save me from the abuse of this cruel man.

"There you are you little bastard!"

My face paled as I saw the hobo approaching me with such a hateful stare it made my skin crawl in fear.

I made a run for it again but didn't make it far when I bumped into a firm chest. I was about to fall down until an arm wrapped around my waist holding me still in my spot.

A sudden comfort came over me knowing somebody would be able to help so I hid my face into the man's chest and wrapped my arms around his torso.

I glanced up and looked at the man's face. I was blown away at seeing the handsome face that belonged to the stranger.

He had a sharp jawline and bright eyes that made me want to look at them forever.

"Hey he's mine! Hand him over if you know what's good for you!" I hear the hobo yell not too far away from my spot.

I whimpered at his voice and hid my face again in the stranger's warm chest. He keeps his arm around my waist in a secure way as I feel him laugh.

"What's good for me hu? That's really threatening, I shiver with fear." the handsome stranger mocks.

I turn around and see the hobo glaring at us. He reaches for something in his pocket and I see him take out a small blade.

My eyes widen at the object and I know this is not going to end well. Guilt takes over me knowing I got the stranger into this mess.

"Bring it on then bastard!" the hobo yells and starts to approach us.

The handsome stranger lets go of me and pushes me away from the situation. I land on my butt and watch in silence as they start to fight.

However, it doesn't take long for it to be over as the hobo lets out a horrible scream once his own blade ends up on his neck.

I crawl towards the wall and lean my back against it with fear coursing through my body again. I watch as the stranger ends up on top of the hobo and slices his throat one last time before he wipes his hands on the hobo's shirt.

My breathing is rapid as I realize I have no idea who this stranger was. He just killed a man in front of me like he's done it plenty of times before.

I stand on my feet and start to run away again, this time heading home. I turned around and almost stopped in my tracks when I saw the stranger standing in his spot looking at me with those bright eyes of his..

Something in them told me this wasn't going to be the last time I saw him.