"Time to eat, Legan. You having fun watching SeaNanners?" Mark walked back into his room and put a plate of fried chicken in front of me. 

I began to stutter, "Oh...uh...yeah. I-I like it. W-who is this guy again?" I got enough to figure out his name was Adam and he had a girlfriend on YouTube as well, but besides that, he was mostly a mystery. 

"SeaNanners. He's funny to watch. I like him. I think his name is Adam...yeah. I haven't met him yet, but I wish."

Mark went to his bed and ate his plate there as we talked. "He's really funny. I like him." 

Mark shrugged as he took a bite from his chicken, "I've been thinking about meeting him, but he also seems like a jerk sometimes. But you want to, I can try and get into touch with him."

I shrugged, I don't exactly want to meet him. I just think he was funny. I shook my head, "Nah, I'm fine." 

"Good, because, I just want you to be happy 'round here." 

I was about to click on another video, but then what Mark said had caught me off guard. I turned towards him as I was choking on my rice, "W-wait, what?" 

Mark shrugged, "I want you to be happy." 

"Why? I'm a girl you picked up on the street." I was being honest at this point. There was no point in trying to ignore the fact that we were two strangers. 

Mark was almost finished with his plate, but he still put it down beside him and looked at me with the most serious look I've seen from him, "I've seen you more than once around town. You'd be always be walking around the street with some guy."

My heart dropped. That guy he was talking about was my brother. I looked down and tried to focus on the fact that he's seen me before. "Why were you all the way in the poorest part of LA? It's not like you live there or something."

Mark shrugged, "I help around at the local Boys and Girl's Club, and since I've seen you before and that guy wasn't with you, I figured you were in some trouble. Was I right?" 

I was getting slightly annoyed, I decided to speak my mind, "What's the big deal if you are right? I could've done just fine on my own. I didn't need your help!" I didn't understand why was getting loud. I guess it was the fact that my brother was in the subject. I knew if my brother was here, we'd do just fine on our own. We wouldn't need any help. Just me and him. The best duo ever. 

I felt hot tears swell up in my eyes. I looked away before Mark noticed. I didn't want him to see me in a weak state. I was already broken. "Legan. If you didn't need help, why did you get in my car? Why didn't you say you had a place to go?" Mark got up and put his hand on my shoulder, "Why were you about to rob that store?" 

I stood up from Mark's seat and pushed him away, the hot tears running down my cheeks. "You don't know me! I would've done fucking fine out there! I'm no one's charity! You can go fuck yourself!" I ran out the room. I didn't know what I was doing. My body was just acting. My mind didn't want to go out into the cold. But that's exactly where my body was heading. My stubbornness knew I couldn't make it on my own. What am I doing? 

My legs took me out the door and down the hall to the elevator. I just realized I didn't know where I was. I've never been on this side of town before. I hear Mark following behind me. "Legan, get back here! I want to help you!" 

The tears simply kept streaming out. The only person who actually cared about me and I'm running away. What is wrong with me? A stranger cared about me. Why am I running? I wanna be safe for a once? I wanna actually be home. I don't wanna be alone anymore. I hit the elevator button, but couldn't go any further. I fell to my knees and cried my eyes out. I was never okay. I could never make it on my own. Who am I kidding? I'll just end up like my mother. I'd rather be dead. There's no running from this life. I'm forever just fucked. 

I sat at the end of the hall crying. I forgot about Mark following behind me, but I wasn't focused anymore. I felt I had no purpose for anything anymore. Why am I still here? What do I have to live for? Why can't I just die? I felt arms wrap around me and pick me up. I didn't move. I just felt Mark was gonna rape and murder me. But at the same time I trusted him. He's my only hope of life. 

Mark carried me back to his apartment. I simply buried my face in his chest. Before he closed the door I heard him talk to other people who were being nosy, "Nothing to see here. Mind your own business."  

Mark was able to carry me back to his bed and laid me down there. I was still in my ball and I had no intentions on trying to even move. My thoughts simply bounced around in my head. Mark pulled up the covers over me and whispered, "Just let me help you." There was a couple of moments of silence before he walked out the room and closed the door behind him. 

I simply sat there in the silence. Thinking. Why am I even here? Why do I need to be here? Why did I have to have a life like this? Why couldn't I just be normal? Lucky? My life is hell? I can't even go on anymore? I could die tonight and no one would blink an eye. Am I that little? That irrelevant? Who am I kidding? I'm worthless. I've been worthless from day one. I've been trying to tell myself other wise, but why? Why am I hiding the truth from myself like this? I'm worthless. I have no reason to live. Worthless. Worthless. 

Worthless.