Your Worries are Known

It was cold out and dark. Rose rubbed her two palms together trying to generate warmth, but all she got was a faint shimmer.

Elm's street was a ten-minute ride from Bon Appetite. Without her car, it would take her close to 25 minutes.

With her school bag behind her back, she made her way home.

Everyone knew that the streets of New York weren't one to be taken lightly. She avoided alleys at all costs and made sure she was walking beside someone.

She heard some commotion behind her; people hooting, tires screeching.

She looked back and gasped when she saw a group of cars coming her way.

They were so close that she began to sweat. She broke out from her shock and increased her pace.

People cleared out. Some even began running. No one wanted to be a part of what came next.

She gulped. This was why she always took her car.

Rose speed-walked past a lamp post. She was almost home, only five minutes away.

But she didn't make it.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here boys." She heard the cars screech to a stop around her.

She froze. This could not be happening, here of all places. A door to one of the cars opened.

"Rose is it?" She heard a deep voice ask.

Her eyes widened. She knew that voice. It was the redhead from this morning. She knew something was up when he kept looking at her.

But he wasn't alone this time. This time he had company.

"What could you possibly be doing out this late?" He asked dismissively.

Joe looked so intimidating that she took a step back. He was a very dangerous person, she knew. She'd even heard rumors that he was part of a dangerously notorious gang. She could see the tattoos peeking out all over his body.

"I-I, I don't want any trouble." She whispered, lowering her gaze. Rose's eyes did a quick sweep of her surroundings. There was no one else on the streets. Everyone had cleared.

"Hey, I asked you a question." He held her by the collar and pulled her towards himself. She squeaked as she came face to chest with danger itself.

"Well?" He pressed. She could hear his friends laughing behind him. He smirked.

"Oh, I see. Sneaking out of your boyfriend's are we?" Joe said, glancing at some of his friends with a smirk.

Some oohed while others snickered.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head rapidly, you'd think it'd come off.

"No, that's not-" He cuts her off before she could finish.

"Didn't know losers had people who actually want them around."

They all burst into fits of laughter. Her stomach dipped.

"Look I'm sorry about this morning." Her voice shook as she apologized again.

Anything could happen and no one would know. Her blood froze at the thought.

Fear was an understatement of how she felt at the moment.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't see you coming, I swear." She apologized for the third time since that morning, knowing it was one of the reasons he was out to get her or worse–he had no reason at all.

She chanced a look at his car and saw two guys tied up with ropes in the back of the car, struggling in fear. If she wasn't afraid before, her fear meter just went up 100 notches.

She was shivering like a leaf.

'Don't be afraid.'

She could have sworn she heard a soft voice in her head say, but how could she not be?!

"Hey. Hey!" Joe tapped her cheek with his fingers.

"Look at me." Rose kept her head down, saying nothing. She was too afraid to even move.

"Rose, for God's sake look at me!" He yelled. She flinched. His grip on her tightened and she winced but quickly met his gaze.

She chanced a look up at him and a fearful gasp left her lips.

His eyes- She quickly lowered her eyes back down.

The usual moss green had taken on a much darker shade.

He was fuming.

No one had to tell her before she knew he had serious anger issues.

This was bad. This was very bad. This wasn't the first time something like this happened. She saw it every day at school, how he'd beat the light out of anyone who so much as looked at him funny. She doubted the fact that she was a girl mattered at this point.

"The next time you-"

"Is there any problem Miss?" A voice suddenly boomed in the distance, cutting him off.

Her savior came in the form of a police officer not too far off from where they were parked.

"We're fine," Joe yelled over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of hers. He saw the panic in them and he smirked. He obviously thrived on the fact that she was scared of him.

"No offense sir, but I didn't ask you." The officer said.

Joe frowned at the police officer.

"She's my girlfriend." He said effortlessly. Her eyes widened the size of saucers.

Say what now? She wasn't!

She felt his hand lose their hold on her shirt as the officer drew closer.

"Miss, are you alright?" The officer asked her. He completely ignored Joe.

"I'm f-fine. I was just leaving." She quickly stammered out.

Under the protective watch of the police officer, she slowly backed away and turned on her heels, heading the other way as fast as her jellied legs would allow.

"This isn't over Rosie!" She heard Joe call out as she rounded the corner.

What had she gotten herself into?

**************

Two blocks from home, she stopped.

Her heart was beating irregularly at the close call, she didn't even want to think about what could have happened if the officer hadn't come when he did.

His car was parked out in front of their house already. She shivered involuntarily.

She doubted mum was home yet. And unfortunately for her, Marcus, her mom's boyfriend was home as he always is every night.

She gulped as her hand balled into fists.

She closed her eyes, exhaling.

As she walked on with her heart in her throat, preparing for the worst, her mind couldn't help but go back to today.

It was alright from her perspective.

Not.

She'd been yelled at, embarrassed, harassed, insulted, and finally-

Saved. She'd been saved. She recalled as she moved closer to the front lawn.

If it weren't for the policeman-

She'd probably have ended up like those guys at the back of Joe's car.

Her eyes burnt as she remembered everything she'd been through, in school, at work, even in her own house.

Before she could stop it, a sob escaped her lips. Thoughts of the previous two years invaded her mind and her heart constricted again as it always did when she remembered.

She stood in that position for what felt like minutes, or even hours, crying, debating whether she should move forward or not. She didn't know if she could endure another night.

She exhaled wiping the tears away from her eyes with her sleeves. Slowly the hiccups died down and she was close to normal again.

"It's okay Rose, you can do this." She whispered to herself. She exhaled closing her eyes.

Her mind and body screamed as she walked towards her house.

While at the front door, a cat walked past her house carrying a piece of crumpled paper in its mouth.

Surprising her, it changed its routes and walked towards her. She loved cats.

She smiled faintly, kneeling to pet the feline.

"Hey, kitty." She winced at the sound of her cracked voice.

'Meowww....'

She giggled as the black and white-colored bundle of fur purred and rubbed on her leg.

"What do you have there kitty?" The cat dropped the piece of paper it was holding in its mouth at her feet and began walking away.

"Wait, you dropped your- " Rose sighed, smiling. She was long gone by now.

She took the piece of yellow paper and straightened it. Her eyes widened as she read what was written in it.

In big letters it said:

"Your Worries Are Known."