Perfectly Timed by Jamie Campbell

Author:Jamie Campbell [Campbell, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-05T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“Miss, are you okay?” The voice makes me jump. My head snaps up to see a man peeking his head around the wall. I’m still slumped in my position in the alley, refusing to make myself move. He’s dressed in the outrageous costume of the circus performers. He doesn’t move from his position, probably for fear of startling me.

“I’m fine,” I moan, not even convincing myself. He takes a step closer.

“Oh, good then. But if you don’t mind me saying, a pretty girl like you doesn’t cry like that because you’re fine.” He makes me smile, I can’t help it. His words are so kind, he didn’t have to say that.

He comes closer and sits on the ground beside me. Up close, I can see why he’s in the circus. He’s not in the big top but in the side alley, he’s part of the freak show. His skin is covered in what I can only call scales. His flaky skin covers his face, his arms, and probably everywhere I can’t see as well. It looks sore, and itchy. The poor guy, my heart goes out for him.

“Mind if I hang out here?” he asks.

“You sure you want to be seen with a blubbering weirdo like me?” I shoot back at him, letting my head rest on the brick wall.

“Have you seen some of the weirdos I hang out with? Trust me, you’re like a pretty little flower in comparison,” he jokes. “My name’s William but my friends call me Bill, in case you were wondering.”

“Ella. It’s nice to meet you. So do you go around finding crying girls often?” I tease back. I kind of want to stay angry and frustrated, hoping it will achieve something. But I know it won’t. The only way I’m going to find my way back to Noah is to keep going. To do that, I need to cheer up.

“Only the pretty ones. Have you been to the circus? I’m kind of a big deal there, you know.”

“I snuck a peek inside the big top. I don’t like clowns very much.”

“I hear you, they’re creepy.”

“I know, right?” I lean forward to look at him, he’s returning my grin. The skin on his lips is dry and cracked, probably painful too. There’s probably something a doctor could use on him, like a cream or something. It would make him far more comfortable. I wonder if that kind of medicine exists in this time. Surely they had skin cream in the twenties?

“I know what you’re thinking.” Bill rolls his eyes. “How did I get so handsome?”

“Actually, I was thinking that your skin must be painful. But now you mention it…”

His face lights up and I realize he actually is quite handsome. Even with the skin condition, his brown eyes are piercing and dance with amusement. He shifts on the ground, for the first time being serious. “It’s painful some of the time, but I can handle it. I’ve been doing it my entire life.”

“Have you seen a doctor about it? There’s probably a cream to fix it.

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