Rosaline

II.

The man looked at me expectantly as I stared back dumbly. My mouth was so dry, it felt like I stuffed a mouthful of sand in there.

Spit it out, Rosaline!

"Well?" He barked.

"I-I-I'm lost and I need help...p-please" I stuttered, and I blushed at the squeak in my voice. I looked down in shame and embarrassment.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I felt myself shrink further and further into my shell. I was never good with confrontation, especially when the anger was directed at me.

It's why I always followed along with my peers in high school and college. Whenever they snapped at me, I immediately apologized. If they ordered or asked me to do something, I did it.

I hated that I let people walk over me, but I couldn't seem to stand up for myself. I was and always would be a coward. It was the biggest quality that I hated about myself.

A deep chuckle brought me out of my dark thoughts and I looked up with wide eyes to see the man smirking down at me.

"Did you hear me, kid?" the man asked, this time in a softer tone. I looked at him in confusion. Wasn't he about to turn me into mush? I noticed that he had taken a few steps back, giving me some space.

He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Are you going to tell me where you need to go? I can't help you if you don't give me more information." The man explained.

I flushed at my foolishness.

"I need to get to Maiden Lane, Sir," I said quietly, tugging the ends of my hair.

The man eyed me curiously, his eyes moving up and down my body.

"That's a forty-minute walk. How did you get here?" The man asked me.

I automatically tugged harshly on my dark hair. I quickly put my hands in my pockets, not wanting him to think of me as a lunatic when he was being kind to me.

"I was looking for a job and got whisked away into the crowd. I got lost and tried to ask for directions. I-It started getting dark outside so I came in here." I mumbled as I eyed the poles on the stage.

I'd never been inside a club before. I'd seen and read enough books and movies to know it wouldn't be a place for me. The idea of so many people crowded in one place made me nervous. It seemed like too much stimulation for me to handle.

"You need a job?"

I snapped my eyes back to the man who started walking towards me again. I stepped back in fear. The man stopped and raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm not going to hurt you, little one." The man said as he took another step closer. I kept still as he walked around me in a circle, examining me head to toe. I tried not to squirm under his stare. He hummed as he faced the front of me.