description: an escort; a millionaire; a hotel that breaks the boundaries of technology, time, and space; a flashing red light; and a shit ton of cocaine.
warnings: brief scene of assault
lmk if u wanna get added to the taglist 4 this story or 4 all my works :)
ok before we get into it, a quick author’s note: hello! long time no see! yes, it is I, returned from the dead. quick life update, I just graduated high school!!!!! which means I have a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders and will have far more time to write and be active!!!!!! so expect more from me from now on. thank you for being patient. xoxoxo
back to your regularly scheduled programming
“I know you saw him last night.”
Brielle could do nothing but stare down at her phone in fear. She knew that she was, in the simplest of terms, dead.
“I think we need to sort this out in person Princess. someone’s forgot their place.”
She threw her head back in frustration. “God, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I swear I didn't plan on seeing him, Enzo.”
“I’m fucked. I am so, so fucked,” Brielle grunted. One of Enzo’s many favors to Brielle had been an apartment for her to stay in, one directly across the hall from his. This meant that at any given moment he could waltz into her living room, ready to tell her what to and what not to do.
And that’s exactly what he did in the following moments.
Before Brielle could even begin to compose herself, the front door swung open and footsteps thundered through the apartment. Within seconds Enzo stood in front of Brielle, his face red from anger.
shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit
“You've got a death wish, don't you Miss Roux?”
Brielle’s lip began to tremble as Enzo slowly began to inch towards her. She shuffled back to prevent from being any closer to him until her back thudded against her dining table and Enzo placed his hands on either side of her to trap her in. They stared at each other in silence, Brielle shaking in fear and Enzo waiting for her to defend herself for a long while until she gulped loudly and spoke up.
“It was purely coincidence that I saw him.”
Enzo only narrowed his eyes and chuckled. “It was a coincidence that you got into his car?”
Brielle only stuttered for a moment.
Brielle had no idea what to say to Enzo, she knew he would punish her for this and she was terrified of making him angrier. However, her pride seemed to get the better of her and she refused to let him bully her over something that really shouldn't be any of his business. It took her a long moment to think of what to say, but when she did her eyes went dark and a Cheshire cat smile crept on her face.
“You know, you really shouldn't be jealous.”
Enzo’s eyes widened at Brielle’s snarky remark and he almost immediately shoved himself away from the table.
“You're fucking joking,” he muttered. He expected Brielle to react in fear, as she usually did, but this time she kept her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her.
“Because it's okay, Enzo, Alex and I are just friends. You can still obsess over me if you'd like to.” Brielle kept the smile on her face and chuckled to herself at the last part of her comment. Enzo’s face immediately contorted into a grimace, it was obvious he was livid. Brielle had never stood up for herself like she was, nor had she ever acknowledged Enzo’s obvious crush on her.
He gritted his teeth and approached her once more. “Get out.”
Brielle shook her head and looked up at him, this time the fear apparent in her face.
“We’re through, Brielle. You've pissed me off one too many times. Leave the fucking apartment before I throw you out of it myself.” Enzo stooped down to Brielle’s eye level, his face was only inches for hers, and he spoke in a hushed tone. This, however, only scared Brielle more.
“Where am i supposed to go?” Brielle whispered.
“Don't know, don't care,” Enzo sighed. He backed away from Brielle once more, ushering for her to leave. “Feel free to leave all of the shit I’ve provided you with over the years. I'll give all your dresses to whichever dumb slut takes your place.”
Brielle furrowed her brows. “Dumb slut? Who's a dumb slut? Because I know you're not talking about me…” She stepped away from the table and towards Enzo. “And I’m taking my fucking clothes, no matter how much you don't like me right now I have still worked day in and day out for you and every penny I’ve made has been well deserved. Those are not your clothes to take, they're mine.” She approached Enzo and put a finger on his chest, testing him a bit. “And I hope you do try and replace me. We both know you'll only be sorely disappointed.”
Enzo looked down at Brielle in shock. “Did you just touch me? Did you just lay a finger on me?”
The fear returned to Brielle’s eyes once more. “I- uh-”
“Get out. If you don't leave this apartment right now I’m going to lose my shit.”
Brielle's eyes shifted from the door to Enzo and back to the door again a few times before she crossed her arms in front of her and turned away from Enzo. “I’m getting my things and then I’ll leave.”
Brielle was sure that Enzo wouldn't do anything, in her mind she thought there was nothing he could do, she was just going to shove her things into a suitcase and check herself into a motel room. But, before she could take even a few steps, Enzo grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her back to him.
“That's not what I told you to do though, is it?”
Brielle chuckled nervously and tried to push away from him. “You can't tell me what to do anymore, you just fired me.”
This sent Enzo over the edge. He inhaled sharply and forcefully pushed Brielle off of him, she fell to the floor and before she had the chance to get up he pinned her down and hovered over her. Brielle stared up at him with wide eyes, terrified of what he would do.
Enzo lowered his voice once again. “If you don't leave this apartment the moment I let you up, I’ll fucking kill you. If I ever see you again, I’ll fucking kill you. If I ever hear of you going to the police and ratting me or any of the guys out for anything, I’ll fucking kill you. You and I have bad blood now, do you understand?”
Brielle held back tears and nodded her head shakily. “I understand,” she choked.
Enzo muttered a few profanities at her under his breath. He then puckered his lips, looked down at Brielle with resentment, and spat directly in her face. “That's your warning.”
When Enzo got off of Brielle she scrambled up off the floor and wiped off her face with her sleeve. She stood paralyzed in fear, completely unable to move her legs and leave the apartment, until he yelled at her to leave one final time and she darted out the front door. Fuck her clothes, fuck her wallet, fuck her things, she knew for a fact that if Enzo told someone he would cause them harm he meant it and the last thing she wanted was to end up on the headlines of the Los Angeles Times.
Brielle didn't stop running until she was out of the complex completely, she had practically flown down the stairs and out the front lobby door. Once out and safely down the street, she collapsed onto the sidewalk.
She shivered uncontrollably and could not stop the tears from streaming down her face. She frantically rummaged through her jacket pockets for her carton of cigarettes and yelled out in frustration when she realized that she had left them sitting on her couch. Brielle did, however, find $20 in her phone case, and figured that it would be only right to spend her last few dollars on the one thing she really had regretted leaving. As she slowly made her way to the corner store, still shivering from the adrenaline of her fight with Enzo and the impending anxieties surrounding the idea of what she’d do now, her phone rang.
“H- hello?” Brielle stuttered. The number had been one that was not saved in her phone and she prayed that it wasn’t Enzo trying to scare her.
“Oh, thank God it's actually you,” the voice on the other end sighed. Brielle’s face softened and her body relaxed slightly when she realized who it was, it could not have been further from Enzo.
“Al-alex, hey,” Brielle smiled. “How d-did you get m-m-my number?”
“That's unimportant, where are you? Are you safe?” The voice on the other end asked. He sounded very concerned to Brielle and it made her wonder how he knew she was in trouble to begin with. But, before she could even ask, he answered her questions. “Enzo called me to tell me that you had to cancel. He sounded very strange and it would be very unlike you to cancel, so I knew something had to be up… and judging from the fact that you can't get out even a word without stuttering, I guess I was right.”
Brielle sniffled and let out a shaky sigh. “Enzo got angry with me and kicked me out. I'm not really quite sure what I’m going to do, as of right now I’m walking to the 7/11 to buy myself a pack of reds.”
“The 7/11 down the street from your apartment complex?”
“Yeah. On the corner across from that Italian restaurant you like.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, okay? Go inside the store and don't leave until I come get you. I promise you'll be safe.”
Brielle let out a long sigh of relief into the phone. “Okay. Thank you, Alex.”
The voice on the other end of the phone just paused for a moment and let out a small chuckle. “It's not a problem, Bri. I'm just glad you're alright.”
Brielle muttered a quick goodbye to Alex as she walked through the threshold of the corner store, and when she hung up just gleamed down at her phone. She hadn’t the foggiest idea of what she would do now, she didn’t have many friends that she hadn’t met through Enzo and she really had never worked a real job, but at least in the meantime she knew that Alex was on his way. Oh, and she was going to get her cigarettes. That was very important.
“Hey, can I get a pack of Marlboro reds?” Brielle walked up to the counter with as much conviction as she could muster. The last thing she needed was for the man working behind the counter to sense weakness or unsureness in her and ask for her ID, as it was still in the apartment. Fortunately for her, though, the man only nodded and began ringing her up.
The man asked her if the cigarettes would be all, to which Brielle thought for a moment before gasping, “Oh, and a lighter. The pink one.” She smiled at the man and gave him the bill in her phone case.
Brielle made her way towards the door, but once she placed her hand on the cold metal handle the ghost of Alex’s voice replayed in her head. Don’t leave until I come get you.
Now, typically Brielle would have disregarded the instructions, she was just dying for a cigarette and she thought that no harm would come to her if she was just sitting on the sidewalk, but something about Alex… something about the way he spoke to her… made her want to listen. She slowly retracted her hand from the handle and turned back around to face the clerk.
“Is...is it alright if i wait here for a moment? I’m waiting for a friend and I… I don't feel comfortable being alone on the street in this area.”
The man nodded in compliance and Brielle bid him a quick thank you.
Brelle settled herself next to the door and scrolled through her Instagram for a moment while she waited for Alex, but she soon grew bored and decided she would wander the aisles instead. She did so for a good five minutes, got completely lost in her head while her eyes scanned the shelves of snacks and drinks, until she hit the wine fridge.
Wine. Oh, how I’d love to be able to afford some wine right now. She thought to herself. It had been a long day, even if it was only twelve-thirty in the afternoon, and Brielle prided herself on being quite the wine snob. (It’s my French heritage! she often told people.) Brielle opened the fridge door, picked up a particularly expensive bottle of Cabernet, and lost herself reading the label. “Chateau Montelena. Napa Valley… 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon… hey, Mister clerk guy, this is a really good bottle of wine. I didn't know corner stores carried this shit!” Brielle didn't look up from the bottle as she continued to talk, completely ignoring all other sounds and movements around her. “This winery is world famous, it's like really good even compared to French wine. My mom, she used to go to this spa in the Napa valley and she’d take me when I was little, we’d go for tastings at this Chateau and it was really boujiee. Oh, I didn't taste the wine of course, I just tagged along so I could walk through the castle. It's absolutely beautiful. But now I love the stuff. It's got such an authentic taste, it really is comparable to some of the most prestigious wineries in Fra-”
Brielle was cut off by the feeling of a hand on her back and she clenched the bottle for dear life. The figure behind her gasped when she jumped and chuckled a bit as she attempted to catch her breath. “I’m sorry Love, I didn't mean to scare you. Just didn't want to interrupt your story.”
Brielle’s entire body relaxed once she realized who it was who had approached her, and she turned around to greet him, still holding onto the bottle. “Alex.”
When their eyes met they both let out weak smiles, Brielle's eyes welled up with tears and Alex pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her. She sniffled into his chest, doing her best not to break down in the middle of the 7/11, but Alex’s comforting grip made her vulnerable and she couldn't stop herself. They stood there for a moment, Brielle buried as deep into him as she could be, and Alex just resting his head on the top of hers and muttering sweet affirmations to her. Brielle could have stood there forever, just engulfed in his arms… in his scent… but Alex soon broke the embrace and put his hands on her shoulders.
“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
Brielle shook her head. Tears freely streamed down her face and she sniffled loudly.
Alex’s chocolate eyes softened and he beamed down at her. “Is the wine really as good as you say it is?”
Brielle nodded and hummed through her tears.
“Alright then, it's a good thing I brought my wallet. I think we could both use a glass of wine right now,” Alex winked at Brielle and gently took the bottle from her arms, which made her blush, before wrapping his own arm around her shoulders. He didn't move his arm from her as he paid for the wine, or as he opened the door for them, or as they approached the car. It was the same one that they had ridden in the night previous, and to Brielle’s silent delight Nick was waiting for them.
“Miss Roux, we meet again,” he chirped.
Brielle giggled as he opened the back door for the pair. “It's a pleasure to ride with you again, Mister O’Malley.”
Once settled in the car, Alex’s arm found his previous spot around Brielle, and she leaned into him. Her tears had ceased but she still let out the occasional sniffle, to distract herself she began twiddling with the hem of Alex’s blazer (which Alex definitely did not mind.) Alex’s calloused hands soon found themselves in Brielle’s hair, he still continued to mumble words of solace into her and ask if she was alright, to which Brielle only let out soft hums of agreement and nodded her head. They stayed relatively quiet for the car ride, Brielle never thought to ask Alex where they were going or what they were doing, she was just happy that he had been there for her when she needed it.
As the car ride became more drawn out and they left the more urban area of Los Angeles, Brielle drifted to sleep in Alex’s arms. He hadn’t noticed it at first, she had been quiet even when she was awake, it wasn’t until he felt her breathing become slow and heavy under him that he realized. A small smile crept onto his face and when Nick glanced back at them through the rear mirror he let out a small chuckle.
“Is this really what’s best for her, Al?” the driver sighed.
Alex narrowed his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. “She has no other options. At least she’ll be safe from the outside world at the hotel.”
“Yeah, but what about what’s on the inside?”
“We just can never let her discover what’s on the inside.”
*************************
“Brielle. Brielle darling it’s time to get up… Bri…” Alex cooed. He did his best to wake her without scaring her, but the moment he gently peeled his arm from around her shoulders, she jolted up.
“Wh- oh, hey Alex,” she mumbled. “How long was I out?”
Alex’s eyes crinkled as he looked down at her with delight. “Only about fifteen minutes,” He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, “You’re absolutely precious when you sleep.”
Brielle blushed and gazed dreamily into his eyes for a moment, still not quite completely conscious, but her facial expression changed to one of confusion when she looked past him and out the window.
“Welcome to the Tranquility Base, Brielle”
Brielle couldn't speak, she only looked up at the behemoth building in awe. She had driven past the property before, sure, but never had entered its elusive gates. Only the wealthiest of people stayed in the hotel, it put the Chateau Marmont to shame. It was a playground for the ridiculously rich and wealthy; only the most prestigious of politicians, A-list celebrities, billionaires, and world leaders stayed at the Tranquility Base. The casino, which was the only building on the property that actually touched the outside world, was nearly impossible to get access to, it was extremely popular. So popular, in fact, that it operated in a similar way to Los Angeles’s clubs, you needed a reservation or to be on ‘the list’ even to be let inside. If you weren't, have fun waiting in line outside for hours and hours.
No one actually knew how big the property that the Tranquility Base resided on was, it was said that the original owners bought nearly eighteen square miles of land surrounding the hotel and no one, not even regulars at the hotel, knew what existed beyond the hotel and its few gardens. There were rumors that there was something the original owners were hiding out there in the surrounding desert landscape, perhaps something similar to area 51 (it would explain the overall eerie feeling one got when passing by the property), or some sort of giant illegal oil mine.
It was also rumored that there was a series of tunnels underneath the property that connected to the hotel, almost like a series of catacombs, which the most elite of hotel stayers used to get around in an attempt to avoid paparazzi and the public eye.
Now, Brielle thought that these sorts of rumors were bullshit, especially since she knew the owner of the hotel, but now that she was actually on the property, past the gates, about to enter the castle-like hotel, her mind raced.
“I just- I thought we’d go to… you know… your house.”
Alex only smiled softly at the still disoriented girl. “This is my house. Or, my house is here, at least. Not the whole hotel.”
Brielle furrowed her brows. “Oh. Right. I guess I’d live here if I owned it too. It's absolutely gorgeous.”
“Have you ever been inside?”
“Well, not exactly,” Brielle mumbled sheepishly, “I’ve been inside the casino but don't remember much of it.”
Alex chuckled. “Wild night?”
“Usually is at the Tranquility Base. That's how I like it.”
“I get that vibe from the casino for sure. It's like stepping onto the Lunar Surface.”
Alex paused at Brielle’s mention of the moon. “You know, that's exactly what I modeled the casino after. It's a place where technology and the unknown can form an almost perfect union.”
“It was my first project after my uncle retired and I took over.”
“Well, you did a lovely job.”
“Do you gamble any?” Alex slowly stepped out of the car and gently took Brielle’s hand to follow.
“I don't like to let luck decide my life,” Brielle ventured.
“Good girl,” Alex mumbled in response.
This caused Brielle, whose hand was in Alex’s and was stepping out of the car, to direct all of her attention from where she was stepping to the sultry words leaving his lips. In return she stumbled a bit, tripped over her own two feet, and was only saved by the hand of a very smug looking Alexander.
“Careful, Darling,” Alex cooed.
A deep red hue crept onto the brunette’s cheeks. “Two left feet, sorry,” she muttered.
Alex only laughed in return and snaked an arm around her waist. “Only teasing.” He then kissed the top of her head -- beckoning for her blush to return -- and gestured for them to continue on towards the hotel. “Off we go then, come along.”
The hotel truly was a haven for everything grand. Upon entering, Brielle was immersed in a very specific frame of mind. The large foyer, which Alex explained that he had redone to ‘efficiently harmonize the classic atmosphere of the building with the more postmodern ambiance we here at the Tranquility Base strive to instill’, was… well… just that. A perfect harmonization between the Baroque inspired interior of the building and the neon dazzle of the 1980’s.
The domed ceiling was spangled in intricate depictions of royalty, sacred events, and mythology. Stone sculptures of all sizes resided in all corners of the foyer, lit up by various colored neon lights at their bases. The front desk was decidedly an 80’s ode to the Art Deco era, it sported trapezoidal engravings on brass walls and a glass counter top, and was also overly saturated in various colors of neon lights. The man sat at the desk, who Alex introduced to Brielle as ‘the man running the show, the face of the Base, Monsieur Mark’, typed away on a suspiciously fast computer that looked fresh out of an 80’s sci fi movie and would occasionally answer a corded phone in the shape of a bat.
As Alex guided Brielle through the main floor of the hotel, he showed her Roman statues, Baroque art, and Renaissance paintings that Brielle thought should be in a museum rather than a fluorescently lit hotel. He guided her through a cherry red dining room which Brielle claimed looked ‘straight out of the shining’; a day spa with a quite peculiar hot tub (“It’s not just bubbling in the water, there are bubbles rising up out of it! How does it do that, Alex? It looks like you threw a bucket of dry ice in it!”) and a lovely view of the hedge maze below; an extremely vaporwave-esque bar with the largest selection of liquor Brielle had ever seen; and once again Brielle found herself in the casino. She hadn't noticed its brilliance the first time around, the mosaic glass ceiling and the dim neon lights complimented the rows and rows of classic slot machines and card tables quite well.
The juxtaposition between hotel and the casino was somehow huge and yet not at all noticeable, it seemed so seamless walking out of the castle and into the neon space age streamline moderne lounge that was the casino.
Brielle’s eyes were consistently wide with wonder as she trailed behind Alex, all of her senses engulfed in the dazzle before her, and yet she also felt consistently… uneasy. The hotel was neither busy nor empty but there was a certain hollowness that followed her, the rooms seemed to swallow her whole as she entered them and spit her back out as she left. A very faint buzz bounced around her head, she assumed it must be from all of the neon lights and 1980’s technology but something about it still made her chest feel tight. The employees, all of which wore bright red uniforms and seemed to go about their tasks like robots, gave her strange stares as she walked by. Alex joked that they were just not used to seeing him with a girl on his side and that they would warm up once they got past the initial shock of having Brielle around, but Brielle still felt off. It seemed as though all of her troubles with the hotel had logical explanations, yet none of them calmed her anxieties. However, seeing as that she had nowhere else to go and was rather enjoying her time with Alex, she shoved them aside and carried on beside him.
“Are you ready to see your room?”
Brielle stopped in her tracks as they approached the glass elevator. “My room?”
“Well, not your room. It's my room. It's- Well- We’ll call it our room.” Alex hesitated for a moment. “That is, if you'll stay.”
Brielle said nothing, only furrowed her brows and began chewing on her lip.
“If it makes you more comfortable I’ve got a rather large chaise that I’d be more than happy to sleep on, I'd get you your own room if I could but we plan on being overbooked these next couple of weeks, with spring holiday coming up and all,” Alex stressed.
Brielle gasped and shook her head frantically. “Oh! No, that's not what I’m thinking about, I'd be delighted to stay in your room, I just really hadn't thought about what was going to happen. I mean, I have no clothes, no job, nowhere to go. I just don't want to be in the way.”
The last part of her comment left her lips in a whisper, she seemed to shrivel up at the thought of being a bother and was reduced to nothing but a mouse in front of Alex and it melted his heart. Without hesitation he drew her in close to him and wrapped his arms around her. He felt warm around her, Brielle’s head rested perfectly against his chest and she could feel his slow, even heartbeat begin to pick up against her cheek.
“I’ll take care of everything. Don't you worry about a thing. You can stay here for as long as you'd like, it's absolutely my pleasure. I’ll take care of you.”
