Ezra allowed her to drag him along as he forced his eyes open. He felt like everyone was staring at him, like they knew he was Jewish and didn't belong. He grew scared that they would follow them when she shoved him into the cab. His leg began to shake and he could feel the cab driver looking back at him wondering what was wrong. Did he know? Would he listen and take them back to his store? Marta dragged him from the car to his front door and he stood there confused at her words. Key. He needed to find his keys. He began to pat himself down until he felt a bulge in his pocket. 

"I...I..." he couldn't get the sentence out his voice was shaking.

He hadn't realized how traumatized he was from the attack until this moment when he felt like the air was no longer in his lungs. He couldn't suck enough of it in. He passed her the keys and grabbed her hand in the process scared to let it go. "Not safe," he said to her, his eyes wild. "They'll kill me...they'll see you and they'll say I hurt you," he said finding his words once more. He grabbed her hand tighter digging the keys into both of their palms. His mind was scattered and nothing was making sense. He was back home, why was he scared still? Why did she stay with him? He finally released her hand, but he kept his on on her wrist. 

The feeling of her skin reminding him that he wasn't dreaming right now. This wasn't one of his terrors. This was real life and he was failing at it. He glanced around at the people and caught a couple stares from older women. Some of them looked concerned others wondered why this girl was with him. He was sure they'd ask his parents about it, but they wouldn't come up to them. Not when he looked like someone punched him in the gut. He could hear the keys in the lock as she opened the door for both of them. 

He felt himself moving closer to her body. His front pressed against her back as his arms found their way around her stomach. He was scared to let her go, that if he did she'd disappear and he'd be alone again on the side walk bleeding out. He could hear the chants of Hitler still in his head from earlier. He'd never seen so many slurs on one piece of paper. That was who he was now. He wasn't a person to most of these people anymore. He was just the problem that would soon be eradicated.

The made it up the stairs to a small home with one bedroom. The living room was tiny and on the floor were a couple blankets and pillows from where he'd slept the previous night. He pushed her gently toward the sofa and forced her to sit with him. He wasn't sure why he needed her comfort, but he refused to let her go. Ezra curled his legs in close and laid with his head resting in this strangers lap while he shook, partially from the cold and partially from the fear.

"Don't go. Don't leave me, please," he begged quietly.