It was just another warm Summers day in Rome, Italy. The schools are getting out for Summers break today. I am excited, I fidgeted in my chair impatiently and ran my fingers through the German sheperds soft fur that sat beside me. I felt the dogs cold nose touch my hand almost worriedly but I could tell he was excited too, I could hear his tail swishing across the tile floor of the classroom. The other students in the room chattering about what they would be doing over Summer's break, going to beaches, shopping all the time, and of course lounging around and getting dates. I had no idea what I would do, there were so many things I wanted to do but couldn't, I couldn't go shopping like a normal girl could, I had no problem with it though, I was provided with what I assume are very nice clothes, by my family. And at last finally what the entire school was waiting for, the bell, it rang loud and clear and I bet you could hear the cheers of the students from maybe 25 miles away. I jumped out of my chair happily and ran out of the classroom to my locker with the sheperd by my side helping me along the way. I had been blind all my life ever since I was born, the weird thing was nobody knew why or how. Without my sunglasses I look just like any normal person, as if I wasn't blind. I grabbed my bag out of my locker after the commotion settled down I looked down at the dog beside me, of course I felt his fur so I knew he was there. "Let's go home now Teddy." I said with a soft smile. The German Sheperd stood up and walked off leading me outside of the school and onto the street.

It was nice outside, not to hot and not too cold either, perfect weather, I walked down the streets with a smile on my face, the cafes and shops were open and at their busiest today, I could smell the delicious food as I walked past many of them. The warm breeze blowing through my hair, it was nice, I loved days like these. As I continued down the street I had a sudden uneasy feeling in my chest, I heard low growls coming from Teddy's throat. I just placed my hand on Teddy's head and continued walking, I could hear laughing from behind me as I was all of a sudden grabbed and turned where I was face to face with someone, a man, the only way I knew was from his strength and his voice. "Hey babe, you know this is the Northern Mafia's territory, and me and my buddies here thought such a cute beautiful lady such as yourself shouldn't be walking alone." I heard the man say, I knew he had a smirk on his face by how he sounded. Teddy growled and I petted him to make him stop, I didn't want him to hurt someone if I wasn't getting hurt. "I'm sorry to pass by through your area, but I can get home just fine, I walk through here all of the time, and I'm not alone, I have Teddy." I said calmly, the men looked at Teddy and I could hear soft laughter coming from them. The one that was talking to me was obviously the leader of the group, "Yes of course, but one little pooch isn't much protection from men with weapons don't you think?" He said. I smiled softly and kindly, "You may be right, but I will be just fine, I do not require your help at all." I said then turned and walked away only a few steps before I was grabbed again and pushed into a cold dark alley. I tripped and fell to the hard ground and tried to sit up before I was grabbed by my hair. I shrieked from the pain and heard a thud and a whine, they had hit Teddy with the handle of the gun. Tears streamed down my cheeks, "Teddy!" I cried out . "You can't see can you girlie?" The man said before kicking me in the stomach hard, I felt my back make contact with a trashcan , I lost what breathe I had in my lungs. "W-Why.....Why are you...doing this?..." I asked trying to regain lost air. I felt blood running down my chin from my lips, it was warm and tasted awful as it came out of the corner of my mouth. I got up as quickly as I could and grabbed Teddy, I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly and close to me, I hid my face in his fur as I cried, not only from the pain but I was scared. Was this is? A nineteen year old girl just about to graduate and only out for the Summer, I was going to die here?

"Looks like you need help afterall, don't ya?" The man laughed before pointing his gun at me. When I heard the gun fire I knew it was over, but it wasn't the man's gun that went off, it was someone elses. "Hey you bastards!! Are you guys such cowards that you pick on a girl? " A male's voice called out. "Shit! It's the Southern Mafia's Leader! Let's get out of here!" The leader called out, after that I heard a lot of footsteps hitting the ground as the men ran off, then I heard another pair of footsteps get closer to me and stop as the male stood near me. "Get...G-Get away!" I said trying to back away but stopped to grab my ankle, it hurt so much that I couldn't move well. "Hey..calm down, you're hurt. I just want to help." The male said in a calm soft voice, but I could tell he was a bit annoyed by the commotion that went down. Teddy stood up and nosed my hand, I placed my hand on his head petting him gently. "You want to...help me?" I asked looking up at where the male stood. "Well it's impolite to not help a pretty lady in trouble." The male said. I don't know why but when he said that it made my heart skip a beat. I could feel that he was smiling at me, not greedily, but kindly. It made me smile as well, I giggled softly because my chest was still hurting. The male held out his hand, "Here let me help you up." Teddy used his nose to guide my hand up to the male's hand. I grabbed his hand and he gently pulled me up, I held my injured ankle up a little so I wouldn't have any pressure on it. All of a sudden I felt the back of my legs being grabbed and then my whole body was pulled up onto a flat surface, I guessed I was on his back. "A-Ah! What are you doing?" I asked, I could feel a light blush burn across my cheeks. "I'm carrying you home because you are hurt." He said, his tone almost sounded annoyed but it sounded as if it was always like that, so it didn't bother me. "So where do you live?" He asked. "Uhh...Umm..Teddy can show you." I said, "Teddy, can you show this kind person to our home?" I asked. The Shepherd let out a bark and turned walking out of the alley and onto the street. As the male carried me I had millions of questions running through my head. Who was this man? Why did he help me? What does he want? I wanted to know, maybe he had something to gain from it, but he seemed like a kind person so I didn't think about the questions too much, but one thing in my mind stuck out more than anything, he smelled really good, like clean cut grass and fresh water from a stream with a hint of a green apple smell. I didn't want to tell him that he smelled nice, I would have probably embarrassed him and he would have left me alone on the street, vulnerable. I heard Teddy bark after a few minutes, "This is it." I said, "This is where I live."

The male put me down and the both of us stood in front of a two story house, the bricks covering the house were a peach color the ones on the surrounding fence like wall were cream. The front yard was fairly big, large rose bushes stood on each side of the door, a silver stone path led to the door. The grass was a bright green and cut perfectly, a large oak tree stood near the corner of the yard. "This is a very nice place." The male said as he helped me towards the door. I unlocked it and opened the door, "Well be careful going down that street from now on." The male said and turned to leave. "Wait! I haven't gotten to thank you properly for helping me. Please stay for a few minutes, I can make some tea if you would like. If you're not busy that is.."I said. "Well..I guess since you're offering, it wouldn't hurt to stay for a bit. But wouldn't your parents get mad?" He asked. "No, I don't live with my parents." I said as both of us walked inside. "Oh, so you live with your boyfriend then?" He asked. I just laughed, "No, I live alone, and I'm single." I said sitting on the couch taking off the shoe on my left foot, I gently moved my hand around my ankle. It was badly swollen and it hurt when I touched it.