Mind Your Business

I sat on Bus 291 where I saw her for the first time, in the exact seat I had met her in. Her hair was as warm and golden as the sunlight although you could tell she had just colored it not long ago. I saw that her eyes were like a woeful river as tears flowed down her face. As she sat next to me, her face was still red and puffy from relentless rubbing, but I could make out distinct bruises under her eyes. I reached into my gym bag and handed her a fresh towel.

"I swear it's clean." I offered it to her to wipe her face and she looked up at me with two beautiful orbs of teal, giving the smallest hint of a smile, "Are you alright?"

"Mind your business." she scowled at me.

"Excuse me?" I was taken aback, "You sat down next to mess crying. I was just trying to be kind."

I tossed the towel at her anyways and turned away from her. "Thank you," she wiped her moist face reluctantly, still embarrassed to be crying on public transportation and snapping at me as well, I presumed, "I'm Caroline. I'm sorry for being such a mess. I'm just scared. I can't trust anyone. My husband hurt me and I just had to get away."

As I looked down I saw the burn mark on her forearm accompanied by several other bruises and wondered how I hadn't noticed them until now. What I had noticed was we were the only two people on the bus, other than the driver and an elder woman sitting towards the front, and for some reason it made me nervous as I observed the rest of her skin.

"You should tell the police," I told her as I pulled out some burn cream, "Luckily I work at a pharmacy, so I can at least help you with that nasty piece of work there."

I spread the ointment on her arm gently as she winced slightly. She told me her significant other was a cop which didn't make her feel safe anywhere, which is why she was just riding the bus until she knew where to go. She wouldn't even go to the police station.

"He always finds me no matter where I run. He uses his police resources to track me down." she cried and, as she looked at me with her helpless eyes, I began to get nervous, "He tells people lies about me so they won't help me. I have no one."

She leaned into me and I could see her light-colored top was almost see-through, soaked with sweat. The man inside me gave in and I invited her to my house to be safe, but I know my motives weren't entirely pure. I found myself inside my apartment waiting for her to get out of the shower, as I made us something to eat. A violent pounding appeared at my door.

"Open the door!" came a booming voice, "This is the police!"

Caroline screamed from the bathroom.

"Oh god, no! It's him!"

I was surprised he would find her so quickly since he was a stranger. More pounding at the door as I tried to get to the phone, which was nowhere to be found. I looked through the peephole and saw a policeman standing there speaking into his walkie talkie before kicking down the door, knocking me to my feet and nearly blinding me. His gun was already drawn, but Caroline had yet to leave the bathroom.

"Where's the girl?" he shouted, "I know she's here. Just give her to me!"

"What girl?" I played dumb.

"I heard her yelling!" the cop pointed his gun at me more aggressively, "Give me the girl!"

"Please don't let him hurt me!" he turned as he heard Caroline through the bathroom door and I knew I had to stop him. I grabbed the closest weapon I could find, a kitchen knife. Pointing it at him, I told him to leave.

"Sir, I have your money." he said, confusing me, "Just let the girl go."

"What?" I was rendered speechless as he pulled out an envelope full of cash and placed it on the coffee table, "Give us the girl."

My eyes glanced at the bathroom door still clutching the knife. I could hear more officers coming down the hall while the one in my apartment reached for the door of the bathroom. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew somehow I was in trouble. He kicked the door down to find a pool of blood on the floor and the bathroom window open. The other officers reached us and were looming closer towards me and I fled through the fire exit window. As I reached the bottom, my foot slipped on something small and smooth. Hitting my head on the pavement, I saw that it was a cellphone, my cellphone? I still had no idea what was going on as I was wrestled to the ground.

Even as they explained to me how I kidnapped her from the bus, I still didn't understand. Even when they showed me my phone where I had sent ransom messages from, I was still losing my mind. Every time they asked me where the money and the girl disappeared to, every time I told them my truth. No one believed me. As I was finishing up my time, I met a man with a familiar story. He met a girl crying on Bus 291. When he asked her what was wrong, she told him those same familiar words.

"Mind your business."

He never laid a finger on her, but they found her tied up in his bathroom before she vanished without a trace. Still charged with kidnapping and assault despite the lack of victim, he hung himself a week later. I refused to give up. I refuse to let her win. So here I sit on Bus 291 where I saw her for the first time, in the exact seat I met her in, so no one will have to mind her business again.