Chance

Davis's clothes had become heavy from all the sweat he had gathered throughout the day. His body felt like a load of metal from all the tiredness he was feeling. He was struggling to keep his eyes open but whenever he thought about the unpredictable reaction of Lizzy he got too nervous to even blink let alone doze off.

He even thought about leaving, going back to the cruel streets he knew nothing about felt better than the chance that he would end up in a police cell again. Let's say it like it is. He did not believe her when she said that it was her neighbors that called the police. This made him think hard about deciding to come back to her apartment.

His eyes were red and were hurting like hot pepper on the tongue. He had spent the entire day being subjected to extreme sunlight and the salt from his sweat did not spare them either. However, his focus was on how things would go once Lizzy got home. His heart beat as if it wanted to reap itself out of his chest. He knew that he was tensed.

"You again, I knew I could smell you from downstairs." She was home.

Davis stood and looked straight at her. Their eyes met and this made him tremble. It was difficult to gauge her reaction based on her introductory statement. He was shaking like a loose leaf in a storm. He felt a stream of sweat run down his face and drop into his eye as if the pain he was feeling was not enough.

"I had nowhere else to go." There they were again, the same words he had been telling her every night from the night they first met. She was done with hearing the exact same statement. She didn't believe them at first and from her body language, she didn't believe them now.

Lizzy just stood there and this raised all the stress hormones that a human body could contain in Davis. The only thing that remained was losing his consciousness. She looked down and looked back up. Her posture was suggestive of the rage she had. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak but chose to maintain her silence.

"Should I leave?" Davis was not willing to continue engaging in the torturous act of silence. The neighbors were already on every window, waiting to see what would transpire between the two. Lizzy just shook her head and removed her keys from her purse and opened the door. She did not utter a word to him.

The confusion in his mind was too significant that he found himself seated on the cold floor again. With his hands on his cheeks and his eyelids getting heavy by the second, he could not enter the house without being invited. Davis needed Lizzy's acceptance if he was going to ask him to spend time at her place. At least until he knew what to do.

"You might as well lock my door if you are planning on sleeping out there." She was not so much welcoming.

Davis dragged himself up with the little strength left in him. With a hunger that had lasted the entire day and his aimless strolls, he could not think of anything else besides a satisfying meal and a good nap. He looked like he had been swimming in the hot desert sand.

"You know, I'm starting to believe that you are actually insane. You keep coming here despite my constant suggestions that you stay away from my place. Do you have hearing issues? And why do you smell like you are coming from the sewer, last night was bearable but tonight you must take a shower."

Davis wondered what to tell her. He watched as she moved up and down the house preparing herself to sleep. He stood next to the bed and gathered all the courage he could to ask her whether he could stay. It was clear that he couldn't begin with his cliché of not having anywhere else to go.

"I know that you don't trust me at all right now but I am begging, please let me stay here until I can figure out something." He decided to get over with it. He was taking a big chance with this and hoped that for once his guardian angel would choose to come out of the apparent holiday that he had been on.

"You never listen, do you? What is it with you?" Lizzy wondered. "I keep speaking the same language as you but I feel like you don't understand English." She was in her full pajamas ready to sleep. She gave off the do not disturb vibe.

Davis was too tired to persuade her. He sat on the floor all worn out looking like he would collapse at any moment. Lizzy's heart began softening. She could feel the suffering of this man as much as she could smell his stench. She was always the compassionate type otherwise how else could she have allowed him into her house the first night.

"The truth is that you are here now. Go take a shower, make some food from the fridge then we can talk. And hurry up because I am about to sleep, had a rough day at work." Her heart was not able to keep up the high wall that was there before.

Davis felt energized by the words he had just heard. He knew that she was one step to giving him a home. Her voice was filled with concern and he could smell the compassion right off her heart. This was the best news he had received the entire day or we could say month because technically if he had received any news he wouldn't be aware of it.

He quickly got himself up and rushed to the bathroom. Even though he could not get rid of the odor completely he would at least reduce his smell to an acceptable level. He didn't have any extra clothes on him and this was going to be a problem he was supposed to handle as soon as possible. After a warm bath and a good meal, Davis felt his strength flow back into his muscles.

He was back to his old aggressive self but had to be careful or else he would lose his only chance to a roof over his head. He crept slowly to the bed and woke Lizzy who had just dozed off.

"Can we talk now?" Part of him was excited about this day. It did have a better ending after all. The start was hectic but at least the light at the end of the tunnel got closer.

"Not now I'm sleepy." Lizzy didn't even open her eyes. Her voice was too weak to make a conversation. The only thing to do here was to wait till she woke up so that this case could be heard and decided.

This meant that tonight's battle had been won. However, Davis was not all excited yet because he understood that from the relationship he had with Lizzy things may change by morning. The vibe that he was getting from her in the night may have been a misunderstanding that meant he was still being kicked out in the morning.

Luckily it was all up to chance. He chose to stay optimistic. This was not so easy because as he finally shut his heavy eyelids, he only had one question in mind. He had won a battle but will he win the war?