Teena sat uncomfortably on the business man's lap. The train had lurched to a stop and the crowd on the train had surged, knocking her off balance.
"I'm sorry," Teena had tried to get up as soon as possible, but had been knocked back down by the crowd that had become even more tightly packed when more people had decided to squeeze themselves onto the train.
"It's ok," the business man had said. "It's not your fault."
Teena wasn't able to get up off his lap again. Not when a woman's backside was nearly pushed into her face.
"It's alright," the business man murmured. "You just sit comfortably for now. I'll help you when it's time to get off. What's your stop?"
"Market Station," Teena said. "You?"
"What a coincidence. Same stop."
"Great," Teena said, glad she wouldn't accidentally be preventing the man from getting off at his stop. "Then I won't be that much in your way. I'm really sorry about this."
"It's ok," the business man said. "It's not often that I get to have a pretty girl sit on my lap."
That made Teena lower her head in embarrassment. Unexpectedly, her head brushed against the woman's butt.
"Who touched my butt? You pervert, don't think of getting any ideas," the woman screeched, trying and failing to turn her head to look who was behind her.
"Sorry," Teena immediately apologised. "I fell earlier and now I'm stuck in an awkward position on somebody's lap. I only tried to turn my head and accidentally headbutted you."
"Oh," the screeching woman calmed down. "Then stay still and don't move. Once we pass Market Station, we'll have more space to breathe."
"Uh, actually, I'll be getting off on Market Station," Teena replied. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Less people means more space," the woman replied without trying to turn her head anymore. "Good thing there are only two more stops to go. They really should arrange for more trains to run at this time, then the press wouldn't be so bad and the air wouldn't be so stuffy."
The train lurched and the business man held onto Teena so that she wouldn't fall and disturb another passenger. Sitting in a stranger's lap like this, Teena couldn't relax. She sat poker straight, stiff as a board, trying not to move.
When the train finally arrived at Market Station, the crowd in front of them moved and roiled. The business man helped Teena stand up once there was space and fought to make a space in the crowd for the two of them to leave the train carriage.
"Hold onto the back of my jacket and follow closely," the man told Teena.
Teena took hold of the edge of his suit jacket with one hand and clutched her bag to her chest with the other. Once they had popped out the train door, they discovered that the train station was just as crowded as the train had been today. Most of the extra people in the train station were wearing football colours, meaning there was a game at the nearby stadium, hence the greater crowded crush than usual.
The press of the crowd forced Teena to release the business man, causing her to be pushed to and fro in the surging crowd of people going back and forth in the train station. She was being carried further and further away from the ticket barriers by the crowd until the familiar presence of the business man and his light blue suit jacket reappeared in her sight.
The business man caught her hand and pulled her to him, hugging her tight and protecting her body under his arm, making way for both of them to get to the ticket barriers to exit the platforms.
"Thank you," Teena said, wanting to look up to see his face but was swept away by a crowd of people just outside the ticket barriers. The crowd of people jostled her until she was pushed to the side of the walkway in front of a drinking station where the businessman found her again.
"You're really high maintenance," the business man joked, pulling her back under his protective arm. "Come on, let's get out of this crowded place and hope the street isn't so bad."
The street was only marginally better than the train station. There were revelling football fans, celebrating the victory of their team, and other drunken and morose fans making a fuss. The police were out in force on horseback trying to maintain order.
From the front of the train station, it could be seen that there was a long snaking line at the taxi and ride share lines, the busses were overcrowded and even the tram lines were stuffed full. Teena had never been out on such a crowded night before and felt a little at a loss for what to do.
In the crowd, darting pickpockets could be seen. A couple of them had been noticed and apprehended by the police.
"Which way are you going?" the businessman sheltered Teena against the wall of a shop. "I'll help make sure you get home. Tonight isn't a night for a young girl like you to wander around," he looked at drunken beer bellied male fans and some other hooligans who were trying to harass women who were passing by. "Wherever we go, it looks like we'll be walking."
"I was going to my friend's place to stay the night," Teena said, checking the address on her mobile phone.
"That building has been demolished," the businessman frowned at her. "Doesn't your friend have another address?"
"Ah?"
"Look, I'll bring you there so you can see for yourself."
The businessman once more tucked Teena under his protective arm and brought her out of the crowded area near the train station. A few streets later, the crowd finally thinned a little and Teena couldn't help sagging against the business man with some relief. They could finally breathe.
"Look," the businessman pointed her at an empty lot across the road where construction barriers and walls surrounded the land. "That's the address that your friend gave you."
Teena checked her GPS location and the address three times, feeling dumbfounded.
And then she called her friend for an explanation.
The phone rang for a long time before it was finally picked up.
"Yes? Who is this, disturbing us so late at night?" an annoyed man asked gruffly.
"Samson?" Teena asked with incredulous surprise, recognising the voice and tone. "Is that you? What are you doing with Gira? Didn't you say you were busy tonight? And why did Gira give me an address that doesn't exist?"
Indecent sounds could be heard coming through the phone. Sounds of her friend doing that sort of thing with her fiancé. Sounds her heart heart being doubly betrayed.
"Who is it?" asked Gira's panting voice.
"Just Teena," snorted Samson, grunting while the lewd squelching noises became louder. "No one special. It doesn't matter. I was going to break up with the boring woman sooner or later. Having her find out like this is fine too."
Teena's phone was snatched from her hand before she could drop it and the call was hung up. A strong arm supported her to a nearby bench on the sidewalk before her legs gave out on her.
"How could they? How could he? It can't be true," Teena murmured. "They would never... Gira would never... But we're friends. Samson said we were going to get married... It can't - I can't..."
Teena sat on the bench and brought her legs up to hug her knees and curl into a ball, sobbing. She completely forgot about the businessman who was by her side. After she had cried for a while, she felt somebody sit beside her and stuff some tissues into her hands, using another to wipe her face.
"Alright, little bunny. That's enough for now. It's getting late and we should find you somewhere to stay for the night. I made a few calls and all the hotels, motels, inns and backpacker hostels are full for the night. There's no where for you to stay. Luckily for you, there's a spare bedroom in my apartment. Are you willing to stay over with me for a night? When we go back, you can cry your eyes out and even faint, but not here on the street. Ok?"
Teena could only blink dazedly at him through blurry tears, not knowing what to do. Seeing she was at a loss, the businessman took charge.
"My place is a little bit further away. We'll have to walk there with the crowd in the city tonight, but it shouldn't take too long. It's a good thing you're smart enough not to wear heels. Come on. Stand up. Let's go. Let's go home."
Still tucked under the man's arm, this time so that he could support her tottering body, Teena followed him to his apartment, not even seeing the road as she walked. She was still caught up in her roaring emotions and disbelief, unable to pay attention to anything that was happening around her.
She woke up, blinking in the bright sunlight with a sore throat, bleary, heavy and aching eyes, still dressed under the covers of a comfortable but unfamiliar bed. The pillow she had been lying on was soaked with her tears.
After a moment of sitting in a daze, she remembered the double betrayal and dissolved into tears again, feeling her head aching with a throbbing headache of dehydration.
There was a knock on the door and Teena didn't know how to answer it. Before she could make up her mind, a tall man still in sleepwear strode in with a glass of water and some pills.
"Still crying?" he heaved a heavy sigh. "Here, have some water and some paracetamol. You must be dehydrated."
He touched her forehead and his body loomed closer.
"You've got a fever. After drinking the water and taking the medicine, lie back down and sleep some more. Try not to think so much. Think of it this way. It's a good thing those two wolves showed their colours before you got married or things could be worse. Such people aren't friends. Such a man breaking up with you in such a way is no man. Ok? Stop crying soon. I don't want you crying your pretty eyes blind. Everything is going to be ok. You're a good girl. You'll find a better man than that scumbag and make better friends than that woman."
Teena hugged him tight, sobbing and he sat on the edge of the bed to hug and pat her on the back, helping her shaking hands to hold the glass of water. After making sure she had finished drinking and had taken the medicine, the businessman patted Teena until she fell asleep again, sobbing in her dreams. Carefully extricating himself from her embrace, he went to the kitchen to make some soup.
The next few days passed in a strange blur for Teena. She could barely remember what happened. When she woke up, it was to hear a man's voice outside the bedroom speaking on the phone.
"Yeah. I picked up a pitiful little stray bunny on my way home on Friday night. She was bullied by other people and was so upset that she got sick. The fever and delirium have finally settled, but who knows when she'll wake up. She's miserable from being cheated on by both a malicious, so-called best friend and her fiancé. If she weren't so cute and obedient, I'd have kicked her out by now, but she needs someone with her right now. I won't be coming into the office until I've settled her. Help me take care of things first, ok?"
Teena got out of bed to go to the toilet but her legs felt weak and unable to take her weight. She stumbled into the wall, managing to make it out the bedroom door only to collapse on the ground, holding her lightheaded and spinning head.
"Hey," the tall businessman was by her side in seconds helping her up. "Where do you want to go? I'll help you."
"Toilet," Teena rasped.
The man helped her up and supported her into the shared toilet/bathroom. He sat her down on the toilet.
"Will you be alright on your own?"
Teena nodded and then he went out, closing the bathroom door behind him. How nice of him. Her mind was still blurry and fuzzy as to who he was and what she was doing in his apartment, but she knew it had been him taking care of her the past few days.
After a moment, the dizziness slightly subsided, enough for Teena to do what she needed to do. When she stumbled out of the bathroom, the man hurried over to help sit her at the dining table where a steaming bowl of porridge was waiting for her.
"You haven't been well and so it's best to eat easily digestible foods," he told her by way of apology. "If you weren't feeling better today, I was going to bring you to the hospital. How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Teena bowed her head over her food, feeling awkward and embarrassed. "Thank you for your help these past few days. I'm really sorry to have caused you trouble."
"I tried to use your phone to call your family, but couldn't help noticing that your contact list is pretty bare."
"It's - it's a new phone," Teena lowered her head even more, unable to hide the obvious lie.
"This is a phone model from nearly 10 years ago," the businessman said in a light voice. "Your only contacts are that scumbag and ex-friend who got together behind your back and your mum's phone number has been discontinued. Your boss's number has also been discontinued. What's going on?"
"Mum, my mum, she passed away in the same car accident that my boss died in. There was a big car pileup that day," Teena dropped her spoon, hugging herself without realising. Her head dropped so low that the man moved the bowl so that she wouldn't put her head in it. "I've been struggling to find work since then. Samson and Gira have been helping me, but they've helped me so much and I couldn't pay my rent. My landlord helped me sell everything I could and I gave the money to Samson to help pay towards the house Samson said he would buy for us to live in after we got married, but... Gira said I could stay with her until then, but..."
Teena's voice got smaller and smaller until it faded away. Drops of water fell onto the table.
"But you're unlikely to get the money back now and you've got nowhere to go or to stay? Especially since this Gira gave you an obsolete address and obviously didn't want you to stay with her."
Teena put her head down on the table and wept. She nodded her head.
The man sighed, moved a chair around to sit next to her and patted her back.
"I understand. It's ok," he said. "Aren't you here with me now? I've already looked after you for so many days. I can keep looking after you for a little longer until you find your feet again. It's ok. Everything will be alright eventually. The world isn't going to fall apart just yet although it probably feels like it is. I've got you. You're safe here."
"I can't even pay you back," came Teena's muffled voice from where her face was buried in her arms on the table.
"You will one day," the business man said. "You'll pull yourself together, find a job and make yourself proud. You'll start earning money, enough to pay me back and show that horrible couple what you're made of. They'll want to get back into your life and you'll send them flying with a kick. You don't need evil people like them in your life. And then you'll come up to me with a boatload of cash to repay me. That is, if you don't decide to marry me. If we get married, then there'll be no need to pay me back. We can have a few kids and watch them grow up, sending them to school. The girls will look like you and be our little princesses. The boys will look like me and grow into fine young men that will make us proud. The two of us can hold hands and..."
"Ok," said a muffled voice.
"What? What was that?" the man was taken aback. He thought he had heard wrong.
"Ok," said Teena, raising her head and sniffing. She threw herself into the man's arms and hugged him tight, making him stiffen.
"Uh, what's this an 'ok' to? To getting better, finding a job and paying me back or to getting married and not paying me back."
"Everything," Teena said into his chest, making his chest tickle when she moved her lips. "Whatever you said."
"Whoa. Hold on there, little bunny. Don't just going around agreeing to anything a random stranger says. I was just joking. You probably still don't even know my name, do you? We haven't even introduced ourselves to each other. Marriage is a lifelong commitment and a huge decision. Don't go making decisions on a whim. Aren't you worried that I'll sell you to human traffickers?"
"If you were going to sell me, you would have done it already," Teena said, hugging the man a little tighter. "You're a nice person. Not evil, or you would have taken me to the hospital and left me there, washing your hands of me. Thank you for being so nice and so respectful. Thank you for taking me in and taking care of a complete random stranger like me who fell on your lap on the train."
"Yeah. Nice guy. Me? Huh. You did indeed fall on my lap. Really must be Providence," the man mumbled, wrapping his arms around Teena and listening to her breathing.
He felt her tears wetting his shirt but didn't complain. He only shifted a little closer and repositioned her so that they would both be more comfortable. He didn't know why, but he quite liked this soft and innocent little bunny. He didn't feel impatient with her like he did with most other people. She had a soft and sweet natural fragrance he felt was soothing.
After a moment, he looked down and realised Teena had fallen asleep. With a wry smile, he stroked her head and cheek, giving her a kiss on the cheek before picking her up and carrying her back to her bedroom.
"Huh? What?" Teena stirred sleepily, struggling.
"Don't move. I'm taking you back to your bed."
"Oh."
The man laid Teena on the bed and tucked her in. He smiled at the cute and fluffy pyjamas he had bought for her. It suited her so well. Two hands caught hold of his before he could withdraw.
"Don't leave me," Teena whimpered, tears dripping from beneath closed eyelids and furrowed brows. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me."
"You're not alone. I'm here," the man took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her head and letting her hug his hand to her face. In comforting her, he somehow fell asleep, waking only when the doorbell rang.
He stroked her head and carefully extricated himself from her grasp, going to the front door to find a few of his friends there.
"Garland," one of his friends boomed and had a hand slapped to his mouth in reply.
"Shut up," Gareth Garland hissed, holding a hand over his noisy friend's mouth. "You'll wake my little bunny up."
"Your little bunny?" chuckled a few of the other guys. "We came to see what little bunny can have captivated our charming immovable rock such that he hasn't been to work for more than a week. Let us in. Let our Dr Houston check on her."
Gareth stepped aside and the crowd of his friends pushed their way in. They tiptoed over to her bedroom to peep in at her, looking at her as if they were kids in a petting zoo. They all touched her cheek and hair, wiping away the tears she was still crying in her sleep. And then they clumsily tiptoed back out.
"You bully," they accused Gareth. "You've obviously bullied her. Otherwise why would she be crying in her sleep? She must be in a lot of pain."
Gareth punched the speaker and then shared his girl's story, making them all click their tongues as they discussed and gossiped in low voices. Justin Houston, the only doctor in their circle entered the bedroom with his medical bag to give the girl a check up, accidentally waking her up, causing her to cry out in fright.
Gareth rushed to the room to calm her down and explain. Trailing behind him were all his nosy friends who clicked their tongues and whispered to each other upon seeing how gentle Gareth was with his little bunny.
"I'll have to enter all your details into the medical system when I get home," Dr Justin Houston said. "When I do, I'll send you a pathology slip. You bring that to get a blood test done, alright?"
Teena nodded and then gave all her details while Gareth and the doctor noted them down. After finishing giving her details, Teena happened to glance at the crowded door where a bunch of men were crowded, peering in at her with a myriad of amused expressions. She gave a small scream and buried herself under her blankets, shaking.
"Get out," Gareth glared at his friends. "You've scared her."
"Fine. I saw you cooked something earlier. We'll raid your kitchen," said one of the guys.
The crowd of men bustled away and soon the clanking of pots and spoons scraping could be heard.
"I'll go back first and register you as a new patient," said Dr Justin Houston, standing up. "I'll get all your things organised and put Gareth down as your emergency contact, using his address as yours for now. Do your best to pull yourself out of the dark emotions these next few days. Try and distract yourself a bit. Don't dwell on the negatives for too long."
"He said he was going to marry me," Teena pointed a Gareth. "That should be a positive, right?"
"I don't recommend you rush into any decisions now while you're still in a vulnerable emotional state," the doctor took a deep breath and glared at his friend. "Gareth is usually a gentleman. He shouldn't and wouldn't dare force or coerce you into making any important life decisions or I'll report him to the police. Wait until you are more emotionally stable and are healthy again before you start thinking about anything like marriage. This is my number - no, let's put my number into your phone contacts. That way you can call me if you have any problems and if you need help escaping from the stoneblock of a man. I'll help you."
"Thank you," Teena tried to get up but was stopped by Gareth and gently pressed back into bed when she reeled dizzily.
"I'll get going first. You'd better check on the guys in your kitchen before they tear the place down," Dr Justin Houston told Gareth with a wry smile. "I'll chat with you another time."
Teena fell asleep to the sounds of the men cooking and eating outside and then Gareth trying to chase them out of his apartment. She couldn't help feeling amused and smiling at all the things she heard.