In his eyes, she’s an angel for sure. A figment of imagination, a halo seen only by him. Living a dream, a dream with no escape. The life of the Damned.

Walking through the streets in the rain, he walks up to a payphone, writhing in unseen STDs. He pulls a couple of quarters from his pocket and pushes them through the slot. He dials until he hears a voice on the other end.

He opens his mouth to speak, but only a whisper comes forth, “Kill me now, I swear.”

“Grey, you know I can’t. Come over here, right now. Actually, you stay there, and I’ll come get you. Do you know where you are?”

He whispers again, “By the river, at the park.”

“Okay, I’ll be there. Just sit down and please, please, don’t do anything stupid.”

I grab my coat, phone, and stick my feet into my shoes. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Grey is pretty unstable, but he has the heart of a child, naive and confused.

But at least he has me, savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned.