Loretta watched him disappear around the corner. She picked up her grocery bag and walked home, convinced she'd never see him again. She had no idea she was wrong. She had no idea that in less than 12 hours, the ground beneath her feet would start to shake. And when she opened her front door the next morning, nothing in her life would ever be the same.

Loretta made it halfway down her block before the judgment started. "Girl, what were you thinking? " Mrs. Patterson stood on her porch, arms crossed, face twisted in that particular expression reserved for disappointment and fear mixed together. She was 72, had lived three houses down from Loretta for 19 years, and had never once offered to help with anything, but she had plenty of opinions. That man could have hurt you, Loretta.

You see what he looked like? All them tattoos and that vest? Mrs. Patterson shook her head like she was watching a tragedy unfold in real time. You too old to be playing good Samaritan with thugs.