The Boy Next Door by Staci Parker

and watched the people running around the airport. She pulled tight against Mitch as she started to get overwhelmed by what was going on around her.
    Mitch patted her hand. “It’s okay,” he said as he led her to his car. “You’ll get used to it.”
    Nairobi let out a small laugh. “I think I will never get used to this,” she said, wide eyed.
    Mitch smiled at her. In a way he hoped that she never would. He liked the way she pulled against him when she was afraid. She was already beginning to trust him and that made him feel better than he had in years. He helped Nairobi into his car and walked back to the driver’s side. When he was inside of the car he looked at Nairobi noticing that she had no bags.
    “You brought nothing with you?” he asked her gently.
    Nairobi looked down at her dress and wrung her hands. She had nothing to bring with her and knew that he would not understand the life that she had come from. This man seemed as if he owned the world. He had everything and she had nothing.
    “That’s okay,” he said, brushing his hand across her cheek, causing her to look up at him. “We will get you everything that you need.”
    Nairobi smiled, unsure what he meant, but she could sense that he was a good man. For the first time Nairobi felt as if she were safe. She knew that no one was coming to take her away, she knew that this man meant her no harm. She leaned back in her seat and for the first time in her life she completely relaxed. Nairobi fell asleep quickly only waking up to Mitch placing his hand on her head.
    She looked up at him as he was standing outside of her door. “We are home,” he said softly. “Let’s get you inside. We will get you cleaned up and then you can rest.”
    Nairobi blinked her eyes, trying to get them to focus. She had forgotten for a minute that she was with this man in a new country and starting her new life. She stepped out of the car, taking Mitch’s hand, looking around in amazement. She wondered if she was lost in a dream.
    In front of them stood a huge house that was three stories tall. She had never seen a house that large and wondered what one man needed with all of that space. She saw a fountain sitting in the middle of a circle drive, and bushes that were in the shapes of all different types of animals. Flowers bloomed. Birds sang. Such riches!
    There were flowers growing everywhere. The grass was perfectly trimmed. On the porch was a beautiful swing that looked as if it would fit two people just fine. Mitch gave her a gentle tug and led her toward the front door of his house. As she walked up the stairs, she felt like a child. She had never felt so small. Mitch opened the front door and led her inside.
    What stood before her took her breath away. There were two staircases in the center of a huge room. Above the staircases hung a large chandelier. On both sides of the staircases there were doors leading deeper into the house. Mitch looked at Nairobi. “Would you like to look around or save that for later?” he asked her.
    Nairobi was already overwhelmed. She wished that her mother could see this house. It was large enough for everyone in her entire village to live in. “Later, I think,” Nairobi replied.
    Mitch led Nairobi up one of the staircases then down a hallway. He opened a door and showed Nairobi into it. In the center of the room sat a large round bathtub. There were white towels, a white bathrobe and all types of soaps sitting on the edge of the tub. Everything in the room was perfectly clean and looked as if dirt had never touched it.
    Again Nairobi looked down at her feet that were filthy and she felt as if she was not good enough to be in the house. Mitch released Nairobi’s hand and walked over to the bathtub. He turned on the water and squirted something into it that Nairobi had never seen before. It was a strange green liquid that smelled very sweet.
    “Take off your clothes and get into the tub,” Mitch said. “I’ll be back as soon as