Crossing the Boundaries

She wrapped her jacket around herself, the wind briskly passing, floating and biting every bare patch of skin. A glum expression remained upon her face, as she looked at the little money she had made that day, two pounds maybe… not enough, she was starving, and very few shops allowed her in, those who did stared, watching as she traipsed the aisles. She raised her head, as she saw people pass, puppy dog eyes appearing, she hated begging, for her it was the lowest, most demeaning experience, but it was all she had left…1

She had applied to one of those agencies for jobs for the homeless, but had they written back, no. Her hopes had been lost at that point, she had no where to go, nothing to be, she was just the stranger on the side of the street. She only had one friend who stood beside her, River. He was an unusual guy, curly brown hair, bright green eyes, and a jaw bone that stood out, angular, as stubble lined his chin. He was scruffy; always wearing ripped jeans, an old top, with his grey hoody and black leather jacket. Many looked down on him, saying he’d thrown away something that everyone would have dreamed of, but she and River knew better. He’d run away almost four years ago now, at the age of thirteen. And although he had a posh accent, spoke well and knew a lot, he had missed three years of education.2

‘Hey,’ he whispered, sitting beside her.3

She smiled, looking down at his bag, ‘what did you bring today then?’ she asked.4

‘Oh, some chocolate, bread, fruit, hash, the regular stuff…’5

She smiled, as he passed her a piece of bread, which she quickly chewed on.6

‘Leela,’ he whispered, turning to her.7

‘Yeah?’ she replied, glancing into his eyes.8

‘I think I was seen…’9

‘What? When?’10

‘In the shop, I don’t know, it was this girl, she was really pretty, she kept on looking at me, so I looked back, I was distracted…when Steve came in with the hash, I hesitated, and dropped the stuff, she was staring the whole time…’11

‘Oh.’12

‘Come on,’ he whispered, taking her hand and helping her up.13

They walked down the streets, his peering eyes flickering, his feet light, ready to run, her hand tightly gripped to his, fearing the worst. If she was to lose him, she would have no one, she would be lost, and most probably fall into depression, just as she had done at the start…14

He turned, as they reached an alley, feeling her hands shake, he rotated to see her tearful eyes.15

‘Hey, don’t cry…’16

‘What if I lose you? What if you end up in jail?’ she whimpered, her teary eyes staring into his glistening green ones. 17

‘I won’t, I won’t, I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you… I’ll always be here,’ He whispered, gently wiping away her tears. 18

‘How do you know that? If the police get you-’19

‘They won’t, ok, now come on,’ he said, gripping her hand again, walking on, towards the edges of town.20

‘Stop right there.’21

‘Run,’ he whispered.22

She staggered, and then they both sprinted away, the sirens loudly buzzing around them, cars zooming everywhere, as men ran after them from every direction. She became breathless, and so did he, but both attempted to run on.23

‘Round here,’ he shouted, turning into a car park, knowing they could no longer run. They both reached the top level, sitting up against a wall, catching their breaths. He wrapped his arm around her, and then peered up over the top, seeing if any police were around, none to be seen…24

She exhaled, as she watched his chest moving quickly. 25

‘What time is it?’ he asked.26

She glanced down at her cracked watch, squinting in the darkness, ‘nine.’27

‘They’ll give up soon…’28

She rested back, taking a sip of the water he had passed to her, he watched, looking her up and down, her black hair draped over her face, her eye make up smudged from so long ago, her eyes were red, deprived from sleep, she only felt the least bit safe when he was there, otherwise she lay, her pen knife ready, to attack anyone who came near. Her clothes were dusty and ripped, black jeans, with a tight white top almost too small, and a grey jacket he had stolen for her, with untied fake converses, holes lining the soles. 29

He suddenly glanced up, feeling a drop of wetness on his shoulder.30

‘Fuck,’ he said, watching as the rain grew stronger and heavier.31

She leant into him, as he wrapped the waterproof coat around them both.32

‘Hey mate.’ 33

River turned in shock, at the corner of the car park stood a policeman, an angered expression upon his face. River stood up, rolling his sleeves up slightly as Leela grabbed everything, shoving it into his bag. She wrapped the coat around, her hair beginning to stick to her face as the rain became stronger. River approached the policeman, his fists clenched.34

‘Come on, get the cuffs on mate,’ he roughly stated, in his London accent. 35

‘I’m not your mate, and there’s no way I’m getting those cuffs on.’36

‘Really?’ he asked removing his baton.37

Leela watched, petrified fro River, but she knew he had done this times before… River reached the policeman, now only yards from him. The policeman swung his baton at River’s chest, only to be grabbed and thrown to the floor. River’s muscles clenched as he threw his fist into the man’s stomach and then into his face, as he fell to the floor. He reached up, scratching River across his cheek, River kicked him, and then smashed his radio.38

He ran towards Leela, taking his bag, so they could run.39

‘Got you for assault too now mate,’ said a policeman, surrounded by several others.40

‘Fuck, it’s over,’ Leela said, taking his hand, not wanting to let go.41

He gripped her hand, whispering, ‘make sure you come with me ok, don’t end up on the streets alone, be brave.’42

The men approached, beginning to handcuff Leela, she winced in pain as the metal tightened on her weak wrists.43

‘This is what you get for assaulting an officer,’ they said, kicking River in the back, sending him to ground, hitting him continuously with their batons. Leela could only watch, being held tightly, seeing blood cover River’s face.44

‘No!’ she whimpered.45

‘Get up,’ they shouted, cuffing him tightly, as he staggered away, his blurred eyes fixed upon Leela as she followed.46