It was almost two in the morning by the time I was trudging up the stairs to my apartment. I shrugged my bag further up my shoulder and pulled my jacket tightly around me. It was cold as fuck in the hallway, being as this building was a shithole. You could barely get the heater to be above corpse temperature in your own apartment, so it wasn't a surprise that the hallways left you staring at your breath as it left your body.

It had been a long day, and I was coming home alone for the first time in a few weeks. I had hit somewhat of a slump at work, which was wasn't uncommon, and had been filling my nights with different fucks. But, tonight I actually had, had a job and was excited to just fall into my bed to sleep. Last night had barely left me any time to sleep as I finished off the girl from the coffee shop just as the sun rose. I didn't like sleeping with strangers, so I had to get up and make her coffee and send her on her way. Trust me, the irony of the role reversal wasn't lost on me. After that I spent way too much of the day getting my shit together for tonight's job.

I sighed as I rounded the last landing of stairs, lulling to a stop at the person I saw sitting on the stairs outside of my door. I knew who she was, I just wasn't sure why she was sitting there crying in the stairwell at two in the morning, considering she lived across the hallway from me.

"Hey," I said to get her attention. She was in my way. The girl looked up at me, her eyes red and streaks of black were left down her cheeks. She was wearing some kind of ridiculous club dress, which was to say she wasn't wearing much. My eyes trailed to her messed up blonde hair, to her busted lip and then to the runs in her black stockings. Even looking like a hot mess she still somehow ended up looking cute.

"Hi." She replied meekly, scooting over so that I could get by. She didn't look at me anymore, her focus on her lap, as her hands were rubbing her arms to try and warm herself up. Where the hell was her jacket?

"Are you okay?" I knew she wasn't, and frankly, and I really didn't want to get involved. But, she was young, and my neighbor. So, it would be awkward if I didn't ask. I needed to keep up appearances of being a somewhat decent human being. I lit a cigarette in preparation for what would probably be a long story.

She shook her head and held in a sob. I had been around too many sobbing girls to know when they were on the verge. She was about to lose it. I shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to run. I had never liked being around people when they cried, I didn't really ever know what to say or do. So, I usually fled.

"Lost your keys?" I offered after a few minutes of silence. She probably wouldn't be sitting out in the cold hallway otherwise.

I got a nod in a return. I don't know why I was trying so hard. I sighed, annoyed that I was going to have to deal with this tonight. I just wanted to sleep, not deal with an emotional girl I wouldn't even get to fuck.

I started up the stairs and passed her, unlocking the door to my apartment behind her. "Come on, get inside," I said as I heard her begin to cry. It was soft, almost muffled.

She resisted for a moment, but thought better of sitting out in the hallway all night and slowly got up. She moved slowly- it looked like she had gotten the shit kicked out of her and the way she moved so gingerly confirmed it. I held the door open for her and she moved inside.

I came in behind her, locking the door and moving past her to turn on a light. I briefly noticed how small she was next to me. She was still shaking, and looked even more upset now that she was inside. Her blue eyes wide and brimmed with tears. I squelched my desire to ask her what happened tonight. I really didn't want to know.

"You can sit on the couch." I dropped my bag in the entryway, and shrugged off my jacket, my skin prickling as the cold greeted me. I left the heat off while I was out, because I was cheap, and it was just as cold in my apartment as it was in the hallway.

"Here." I held it out to her as I stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray. She took the jacket and put it on, the black leather swallowing her. I ushered her to the living room, she was like a lost child. That wasn't too far off, I guess. I was going to see if I had any tea to offer her - people thought that was comforting, right?

I left her in the living room, moving to turn on the heater and heading to the kitchen. I opened my cabinets, looking for the box of tea I thought was still around. I didn't buy anything besides coffee and beer. But, occasionally, people brought things over and left them. I found it, checked the expiration, and put on some water to boil.

I allowed myself to glance over at her, still trying not to get too involved. She was huddled on the couch, head down, her blond hair hanging like a curtain in front of her face, and shivering. I went into my bedroom and pulled the comforter off of my bed and dragged it to the living room. Before wrapping her in it, I bent down to remove her muddy boots, and tossed them away from my sofa. I actually had a nice sofa, and I really didn't want this girl to ruin it.

She muttered a thanks after I had wrapped her in my blanket, which I barely heard as I made my way back to the kitchen. The water was ready, and shortly after I was bringing the mug over to her. I didn't have honey, but whatever. She should just be happy I had anything to offer her at all.

She took the mug from me and held it close to her face, and I sat down on the couch and cross my legs, ankle resting against my knee. I had to stop myself from thinking about how she looked cute huddled in my blanket and cuddling my sexy lady mug. (It's exactly as it sounds - a mug with sexy ladies printed on it).

She seemed content right now, but kept nervously glancing over at me. I knew she wanted to talk about it, and even though I really didn't want to be involved...I found myself curious about how this petite girl ended up looking like she went through a shredder. She was a little too cute, and I didn't have all night. Might as well get this started.

"So, want to tell me what happened?" I pushed my hair back, the long parts were getting in my eyes. Sometimes I wanted to shave it all off. But, I knew if I did I'd be pissed the next day. I usually kept it tied back, but today it was loose and being a bitch.

"...and that's when I went outside." I realized I hadn't been paying close enough attention and that I had missed the first part of the story because she was speaking so softly. I focused back on her, even though I didn't really care what happened. (I kept telling myself that). I just knew she would have to get it out before she left, or fell asleep or whatever was going to have to happen before I make my way to my bed.

I nodded a little to get her to continue. I noticed her skin was covered in a fine glitter. Of course it is.

"So, because Sasha didn't want to leave I had to walk home. I don't know why I didn't get a cab." The remorse that came across her face let me know exactly what had happened. "I got attacked a little ways from here. They took everything. My jacket, my purse. So, I lost my phone and my keys. They only stopped because someone walked by." She shuddered, from what I guess was her remembering all the little details of the attack and what what could have happened.

Unfortunately, it'd be awhile before she forgot. I debated about telling her that, but held off. Maybe she was stronger and could forget the shit that happened to her tonight and go on with her life.

"My mom works nights, y'know." I guess I did know, but only because I was observant and saw her coming home when I was often pushing people out of my apartment. "I didn't know what to do or where to go. All of my friends were still at the club. So, I just came back here and was going to wait for her to get home." She was looking down again, finally noticing the half naked women surrounding the mug. Surprisingly, I saw a hint of a smile.

Considering her story, she probably should have gone to the police. She should technically still go, but I wasn't going to offer to go with her so I let it slide. Instead of giving her any advice or commenting, I opted to watch her carefully for a few more moments.

"Well, you can stay here till your mom gets home." I offered, even though it was annoying. Sure, I felt sorry for the girl. It's bullshit that she got robbed and attacked by the looks of it. But, I didn't like having to look after her.

"Thank you." She was looking at me now, fully eying me. We had seen each other on a few occasions, passing in the hallway. But, from the way she was acting I could tell she was just now fully considering me. I shifted under her gaze.

"Whatever. Try not to get my couch dirty." I dismissed her, not wanting her to think this was something I normally did. Or I knew she'd be back at my house again in the future, telling me about her problems. She looked a little hurt, obviously wanting me to coddle her. I couldn't let that happen, even though a small part of me felt a little bad about being so short with her.

"Do you need anything else?" I stood up and stretched. I had spent most of my day hunched over and the dull ache had started to spread throughout my body. I caught her watching me before she quickly looked away.

"No," she said with a small shake of her head. I plucked the empty mug from her hands and took it to the kitchen. I dropped it into the sink on my way to the fridge, where I pulled out a beer.

As I opened it, I thought of something. "Do you want to use my phone to call your mom?" I looked over at her, but it was too late. She had slumped over onto her side on the couch, and was lightly snoring. It was kind of cute.

No. No, it wasn't.

She was like 16 and not anything I needed to think about, past getting her out of my apartment and into her mom's house in the morning.

I leaned against the bar and watched her for a few more moments as I sipped my beer. I probably should have cleaned up her lip before she fell asleep. And maybe given her a change of clothes, considering she was dirty. Fuck, now my jacket was going to be dirty and smell like her. Which probably smelled like some cheap fragrance lotion from Victoria's Secret. Which I secretly liked. Fuck.

I sat my beer down and wet a towel. I approached her quietly and dabbed her face with the warm towel, cleaning up the dried blood. She was cute, and would be beautiful in a few more years. My fingers trailed lightly through her long blonde hair, she had a chunk of it dyed pink in the back, probably trying to hide it from her mother. I had sat down on the couch without realizing, and got lost in time while I watched her sleep, feeling her soft hair against my calloused hand.

She rolled over with a small groan and I was back in reality. Fuck, I was being creepy. I got up and tossed the rag into the sink with her dirty mug and grabbed my beer. I would drink it in my bedroom and try and get some sleep.

Once in my room I realized I had given her my only blanket. I opted to cover up with a towel and I climbed into my bed after I changed into some worn out sweat pants and a plain tshirt. I let out a long breath before I finished off my beer, finally sliding down onto my back, and setting the bottle on my nightstand. It joined several of its brethren.

It made me nervous to have someone else in my apartment while I slept. I didn't like knowing she was here, and could do whatever she wanted in my space while I was unconscious and dreaming. I had to remember that she was a kid, who wasn't going to go snooping through my things in an effort to find something on me so that she could get into my pants again. Which is the reason I didn't let any of my one night stands stick around long enough to get nosy. I hardly ever even gave them my phone number.

I couldn't wait for it to be morning. In the morning she would be gone.