She swayed again, much to his surprise, almost as if she were about to faint but somehow she stayed conscious.
"No, I really can't. Don't take pity on a stranger. I don't really know you either," she pleaded, a level of remorse in her voice that Leo was almost certain could win an Olympic medal.
He raised his hand gently to silence her. "I was just heading to a restaurant around here. Besides, my mother always told me to treat any girl in need to a meal."
He watched her shrink further into the crowd and sighed, turning to leave. "I apologize again for spooking you."
But before he could take a step, he felt her hand grip his shoulder with surprising strength almost monstrous in its insistence. Her voice came in choppy stutters. "No… don't… go!" He could hear the faint rumble of her stomach even over the ambient noise, the sound raw and desperate.
