bianca was feeling pretty shit tonight. it was rare that any man ever turned her down, and it hurt even worse when that rejection came from someone she cared about. she wasn’t supposed to be working the club tonight, but she needed to get out of her apartment and out of her head. calling up her boss, she asked if she could come in and work. since she was one of his most popular girls, he said yes, and with that, bianca took a cab to HEAVEN’S DOOR STRIP CLUB.
it didn’t take her long to get ready, her makeup and hair was already done, since she had been anticipating company earlier. changing into the sexiest lingerie she had, she looked herself in the mirror, for the first time feeling insecure about the way she looked. she ran her hands over her flat and toned stomach, her head tilting as she looked her body up and down. maybe this was all her body was meant for: to be on display for men to enjoy. her body jolted when she heard her name, well her stripper name, “roxy, let’s go.” she nodded, hurrying to slip through the curtain and onto the stage.
being on stage, that’s where bianca truly learned to shut off her emotions. she saw no faces, it was all a blur. her body moved as if on autopilot, as if it already knew what it was supposed to do in order to make these men happy. the only thing in focus for her was the pole that she spun herself around on. nothing really mattered, she didn’t matter. money flew at her, men grabbed for her, their grimy hands just wanting a feel. around the pole she went.
when her time was up on stage, she made her way to the floor. men were immediately grabbing for her, wanting her, but her boss stopped them, “you have a very important client waiting for you in room 3.” bianca nodded, fluffing up her hair as she walked towards the back of the club, down the hall of closed doors, till she was in front of room 3. taking in a deep breath, she entered the room with a sultry, “i heard you’re a very important person.” with the door closed behind her, her eyes met with the man sitting before her: anson.
the room was spinning around her and bianca did her best to swallow, but she felt as though her throat was closing, she was choking on air. he smiled, a smile so familiar, bianca might puke. she stood there, completely motionless, as he stood and moved slowly towards her. once his face was mere inches from hers, she heard him speak, “bee- or should i call you roxy? i missed you. i’ve been keeping tabs on you, ya know, and i just... i saw you tonight up there and it brought me back to when you were young, with me. damn, i miss you, you know that?” bianca couldn’t speak and that angered anson. he placed his hand on her chest and slowly moved it up till his hand was around her throat. as he spoke, his grip grew tighter and tighter, “got nothing to say to me? after you just up and left me? now that’s not something you do to someone you love. i thought you loved me, bee?” her hands shot up to grab at his wrist, her mouth open and gasping for air. he pushed her back against the door, his hand fully cutting off her airway now, “i got stuff to do tonight, but i’ll be back. then we can have some real fun.” he tossed her carelessly to the ground disappearing out the door and leaving her alone in the room.
bianca gasped for air, on all fours on the floor. she couldn’t stop the waterfall of tears that fell from her eyes. her hands grabbed at the floor, grasping for anything, anyone. pressing her forehead to the ground, she sobbed uncontrollably. her whole body was shaking. nothing felt real, everything was so upside down and wrong. this couldn’t be real. this wasn’t real. please.
If you need me, wanna see me
Better hurry 'cause I'm leavin' soon
Grace had been getting in her own head too much lately. It felt too loud in her mind. She couldn’t write, play music, do her schoolwork. Her head was congested with bad and sad thoughts. It was all too much. Needing to get out of her dorm and do something, do anything, she found herself at a party. Most people probably thought she hated parties, but she really didn’t mind them, some could even be fun. Hopefully tonight’s would be fun.
Entering the crowded dorm room, her eyes drifted around aimlessly. It was dark, there was colored lighting illuminating the walls, but otherwise there wasn’t much light. It was comforting, somehow, to know that these people couldn’t fully see her face and she couldn’t see theirs. She was no one tonight. No one that anyone would remember.
Grace was quick to find the beer, grabbing one that was laying in a bucket of ice and cracking it open. She took large gulps of the drink as she weaved through the crowd, just getting lost in the crowd, swaying and sweaty. By the time she reached the other side of the room, her beer was half gone. Seeing a hallway off to the side, she decided to slip around the corner into it. Leaning her back against the wall, she sighed, closing her eyes and swaying to the music that was blasting just around the corner.
Her head nearly hit the wall behind her and she dropped her can of beer when suddenly there was a man in front of her, his hands against the wall on either side of her head. Grace looked at his face, but it was darker in the hallway than it had been out in the main area everyone else was in, and much of his face was in shadow. She swallowed thickly, pressing herself against the wall as if she could phase right through it if she tried hard enough, “Um, can I help you?” Her voice betrayed her by quivering and she tightened her jaw, trying to get her nerve back.
The man kept his face close to Grace’s, close enough that she could smell the beer on his breath, “You’re that bitch always yelling about sexual assault, right? Trying to get my buddies in trouble for fucking the wrong girls.” Grace’s eyes turned to slits and she bared her teeth, “You mean, I’m trying to hold your RAPIST friends accountable?” He slammed his hand against the wall beside her, making her jump, “I swear if you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll shut it for you.” She hated herself for it, but she felt fearful right then, but she was too stubborn to back down, “Is that a threat? Cause if I were you, I wouldn’t be threatening me. You think I’ve been speaking up too much? I’m only getting started, asshole. I’m gonna bring you and all your friends down.”
It was then that Grace saw a shift in his eyes and quick as lightning, his arms were locked around her waist. She immediately cried out, but her voice was drowned out by the music. He laughed as she flailed and tried to push him back, “I’ll teach you to keep your mouth shut.” He said to her, in a way that made her skin crawl. One of his hands aggressively shoved up her shirt to grope her, while the other arm stayed around her to secure her against him. She fought but couldn’t get herself out of his grip. She felt helpless. She felt weak. She hated this. But then, she managed to get her leg in just the right place, ramming her knee upward, right into his crotch.
He stumbled backwards, curling into himself. Grace stood there in shock, her heart racing, tears falling from her eyes. She couldn’t even think straight, couldn’t even move, and that gave him just enough time to gain enough composure to cock his arm back and punch Grace right in the face. She saw stars, the pain was unlike anything she could have ever imagined, but it snapped her out of it and she started running. She stumbled through the crowd, pushing and shoving people out of the way.
Bursting out of the apartment and into the hallway, Grace didn’t stop, didn’t look back. She just ran. Down the stairs, out of the dorm building. It wasn’t until she was out of sight of the building that she let herself fall to her knees and catch her breath. But she couldn’t catch her breath, cause suddenly she was curled over sobbing. She had to restrain herself from crying out, from screaming, when that’s all she wanted to do. Scream. Scream and never stop screaming.
Shakily pushing herself back up onto her feet, Grace walked the rest of the way back to her dorm. Her tears had dried on her cheeks by the time she entered her room. The safety of her room. But suddenly, it didn’t feel so safe. And Grace had never felt more alone in her entire life. She forced herself to look in the mirror, touching next to her eye, where she had been punched. She really hoped no one would dare ask her where she’d gotten a black eye from. It was just another thing she had no desire to ever talk to anyone about. Another thing to add to the long list of trauma she endured alone, with only herself to hold her as she cried herself to sleep.
It usually took them three days or more to find any group of looters after the survivors had signaled them. The team Quinn always stuck with, which included his wife, would leave for days at a time, scouting and rooting out the filth around their new home. The NWRF had many groups stalking around prior to their colony days, many who brought back survivors like they would later do around the colonies, and kill or capture anyone who was against their more favorable way of living. The ones who had to watch their back the most in the states were the infected.
For some reason, most of them had banded together to create groups of looters like none had seen before, and they were dangerous. It was starting to seem like an all out war, which was why the NWRF had been focussing most of its resources on rooting out these misfit bands, and getting rid of them before they could form bigger packs.
Quinn and Ceres had been among the scouting groups from the moment they joined the NWRF at their headquarters one cloudy spring morning, and still had no doubts about their choices a year later when the spring morning showed the same kind of faded colors.
They had located a group of six looters off the main road in an old warehouse where they used to bottle drinks. The signs had been so terribly destroyed that none of them could see what company the building had once belonged to. None of their nine-odd scouting party cared though. They had a clear goal, some of them as old as the movement itself, most of them hurt one way or an other by the coming of the Infected.
Their group didn’t have a leader, but three. Quinn was one of them, and he always took the lead. He wasn’t reckless, he was more cautious than the others, having witnessed the power of the Infected up close, he knew he had to watch everything, and keep watching it until he was no longer to see it, because things moved beyond his vision, and he didn’t wish to be surprised. Ceres had his back, but she followed a different leader. They had agreed that it would be better for both of them not to be too close in a raid like this, they both knew they would come to each other’s rescue and forget all their caution.
Quinn took his group of three with him around the back, slowly as they knew they would be the ones there to catch anyone who might want to exit the building when they found out what was hunting for them. He placed them near the doors, waited silently, and was rewarded for his patience when four adults flew through the door nearest to Darren.
They tackled three of them, knocking them to the ground.
“Bound them! I”m going after number four!” Quinn ordered directly, starting a chase within the span of a minute from the opening of the door. If only he didn’t have to talk, he would’ve been much faster.
Luckily, Quinn had been given enough food to survive around here, while the looters lived on scraps. He was able to catch up with him within the first ten meters. He kicked him against his leg, which made him fall. Quinn quickly jumped forward, pointing his gun at him. But the man wasn’t unarmed. A knife flashed from under his belt, going upward to hit Quinn in his stomach if he hadn’t reacted quickly enough. He grabbed the man’s arm, turned it, and pushed the knife into the man’s side. “Stay down!” Quinn pushed the man to the ground, the knife still in his side, the gun pointed at his shoulder.
He saw the man frightfully looking to his left, where Quinn’s men were securing his friends. One single look, and Quinn knew he had enough leverage to keep this man from escaping.
“If you try to escape again, they’ll die,” he snared.
The man went silent, hopelessly regarding Quinn - who stood over him with a gun and a knife - his knife wound, and his friends. He was in his thirties, no older, had a nasty looking scar on his forehead, and stinky clothes. Something was off about him, he had an infection, and Quinn knew it, he just couldn’t decide what it was.
Just when he was about to bind the man’s hands, did the man show his unfortunate infection, as if possessed by the devil did he jump forward, and throw his whole body against Quinn. Who despite his earlier intent, was never really focussed in a situation where his life was threatened, and fired the gun just as the man was about to take the knife back from him. The infected, who Quinn concluded was deluded, fell back to the floor, shot through his head.
Quinn took a deep breath, and stood back up, pushing the body away from him, before he returned to his group. The two had successfully bound the infected looters by the door, waiting for the last two to appear, who hadn’t yet. Nor had there been word on the other two groups. Which had Quinn’s nerves set. He only had to stare around for five minutes to decide he was going in, telling the other two to keep their guns on the prisoners, and ensure them seven people could handle the last two looters.
----
He moved through the door into the old factory, closing it behind him to ensure no one would be following. He moved his gun in front of him, and waited a few minutes to catch any sound that was echoing through the old building. But he heard none of it. Which alarmed him. He at least expected some sounds of footsteps, but there were none. Only a strange silence, one he was unable to place.
Quinn moved along some machines towards the middle of the main hall, tapping one of the iron tubes on a machine in order to make the rest of the team aware of his presence. A series of tapping that wasn’t easy to repeat for other people who heard it, but familiar to those he had been working with for a long time now. Although it might make other people too aware of his position, he had to ensure no one was going to shoot him from his own team. He quietly positioned himself near enough old machines to ensure he wasn’t surprised if anyone came up to him. The iron made the sounds of footsteps echo throughout the area he was in.
Just as he pushed his sleeve away to look at his watch, something hit him on the back of his head, and Quinn fell down to his knees. Surprised and suddenly on edge - a feeling that had subsided after his first meeting with the looter a while back -, Quinn turned around and pushed the back of his gun into what seemed to be empty air, only it connected with something solid.
He knew right away what he was dealing with. They didn’t have official terms for the infected so close after D-Day, so they simply referred to them as “Ghosts”, people who could walk in your presence, and you didn’t even notice them. Quinn knew it had been a Ghost who had slipped past him the day when his little girl had been killed, and since that very day he had been afraid of them. But this person had made the mistake of attacking him up close.
A boy of about fourteen sprawled down on the ground, holding his hands up to his forehead, which was bleeding. A pipe lay down beside him, with which he had hit Quinn, who also felt blood tickle down his hairline. But he was wearing a helmet, this boy wasn’t. Both of them got back to their feet, and looked at each other. Both their eyes were wide with fear. The boy attacked first. He ran up to Quinn, who only didn’t shoot because the boy was barely a man grown, which made him stop for just long enough for the boy to reach him. The pipe connected with his jaw, and Quinn was forced back into the machine. He shot his gun instinctively and the sheer force of the gun up close, send the boy a couple of feet backwards until he collapsed on the ground. Blood flowed from a bullet wound in his neck, which he was trying to close frantically, but with every second the blood loss was seeping away his strength, and then he was dead.
Quinn took a deep breath and stood up, walking over to the dead boy. One more down, which meant one more looter was in this building. And considering the shot, he must’ve made everyone aware something was wrong. He hoped the others would be alarmed to his position, if they hadn’t been already.
He had barely time to register what the boy looked like, when he heard footsteps race towards him. He looked up quickly, seeing a girl of about sixteen head his way, clearly it was his sister. He took a step back as she had only eyes for her diseased brother. Tears were running over her cheeks as she saw how his body wasn’t moving. Then he looked up at Quinn, who raised his gun. She was still a threat.
Angry the girl smashed her hand against the gun with sheer force, which made it jam back, and then she kicked him in the stomach, making him fly backwards into the machine. He cried out as his body connected with the machinery.
This kind of infected too he had been familiar with before his days as a NWRF scout; three broken ribs and a brushed lung, and Callista. The power of this Infected had been the end for his little girl.
Enraged himself, Quinn quickly drew the gun again, just as she ran up to him to fight him once more for killing her brother. This time he didn’t even try to aim. He just shot bullet after bullet as the girl went for him, and she collapsed after four had made her slow down. Collapsed right into his him, breathing her last breath as she fell against him. He kicked her body away from him, and pulled himself up by the machinery.
All six accounted for.
“Quinn!”
He hadn’t even heard the footsteps, but now suddenly he was faced with the entirety of his crew. Some seemed surprised, looking at the two dead kids. Ceres had only eyes for him, walking up to him to check the head injury.
“What were they?” Darren, leader of the team Ceres fell under, asked, not even a hint of emotion in his voice. His hate too was far too great.
“One was a Ghost,” Quinn said, as he pointed at the boy, and straightened his back. “The other a Hulk.” Some of their nicknames for the Infected were dumb, but calling them all Zombies - as Christ, the youngest of their team, had suggested - was even worse.
No one asked any more questions. They followed Quinn outside and took note of the three dead infected, and the three held under watch by the last two members of their team.
Quinn motioned to his crewmembers and spoke to them softly as he briefed everyone on what happened. He ended with a few simple words that were understood by everyone. “We killed their kids, there is no reason for them to work with us anymore. I don’t think they will.” He then took his hand gun, an example the two from his crew followed without question, walked over to the three captives, and shot when the others were also holding their guns just inches away from one of the captive’s heads.
Title : Family Troubles
Place : Queens Apartment Building, Room 506
Time : Monday, 16 May 2016
Character : Katherine White & Aiden White (father)
Summary: After his plan of trying to buy Zachary out, paying him to break up with Katherine failed [x], Aiden went to Katherine’s apartment for his second plan to make sure they break up their relationship.
After the horrible family dinner last Friday, Katherine felt like everything is up in flame, though maybe her parents might not scare Zachary off, her accidental blurt-out of her being in love with him might make him run away from her so far. Even few days after the dinner, they haven’t have ‘the talk’ they were supposed to have and Katherine couldn’t lie that she was nervous, sad, and a little bit hurt that upon knowing that she loves him, his first reaction was to run.
Still feeling all around terrible, Katherine had been cooped up in her apartment with her junk food and tv shows, drinking and eating ice cream to slightly dulled her pain with the high feeling both alcohol and sugar can provide. She was in the middle of indulging on some of those alcohol and sugar when she heard a knock. Her heart leaped, hoping it would be Zachary, but then again he owned a key, why would he need to knock? Placing her ice cream tub on the table, she opened the door, only to find her father standing with his back facing the door while he seemed to be observing something on the ceiling.
“Dad?” she frowned, this can’t be good. She knew it must’ve got something to do with the company or Zachary and she has no desire in talking about it or hearing her father talking about it. She waited for her father to turned around, “Katherine,” he greeted her with a nod, “Are you not going to invite me in to see your place?” he asked, peeking inside over Katherine’s shoulder. Realizing that they were still at the door, Katherine stepped aside to give him a way to come in, “Come in,” she invited him in, to be quite honest she was surprised to see her father there. Though Katherine still hated the way he does things, but Katherine respected her father and she didn’t hate him just as much she did her mother, maybe because her father always had her back when she was growing up, he always offered her warm smile and a hug on the rare occasion they see each other, but by the end of the day, Katherine realized nothing was real when it comes to her parents.
“I thought you went back to Wilmington already,” Katherine said to him as she closed the door behind her while her father looked around Katherine’s apartment, sizing it up, judging it, seeing if it’s even an appropriate living space for someone, “Your mother did, I decided to stay,” he answered. “You know you can just live in the hotel right?” he asked Katherine, clearly wasn’t fully approving of her apartment, but Katherine decided not to respond to it.
“Why are you here? I’m sure you’re not here just to see where I live,” Katherine snapped bitterly because ever since she moved in here, none of her parents even bother to come and see her place, to visit her, to showed her that they care about her.
“Katherine, don’t be so dramatic, I’m here to see you,” he said at first before sitting on the couch, picking the fashion magazine she had lying on there with two fingers and placed it on the table, then proceed to poured the wine onto the almost empty glass, sipping it before frowning, “You used to have a much better taste than this,” he commented and Katherine knew the double meaning on that sentence. “I adapted,” Katherine quipped back to him, “And maybe I find what I finally like without you or mother dictating it to me.”
Aiden placed the glass back on the table, “I see what you like from him,” he started, clearly was talking about Zachary, “Strong will, hard working, very honest, and he’s about everything your mother and I against,” Aiden spoke slowly, “But he’s not from our world, Katherine, you’ll only end up hurting him if you continue this relationship. Do you really think he can keep up with your lifestyle in his bartender salary?” Katherine could pick up the distaste in his words as if being a bartender wasn’t worthy even to be mentioned by him and it made Katherine’s blood boiled and ended up groaning at her father, “Maybe not from your world, but this is my world now, I live here and I actually do something with my life. I thought all you want is for me to be successful, well I am. I have my face on a front cover of international magazine, I’m the face of so many fashion campaigns, I’m working on my own brand, I made it here, this is my life now and I don’t want to be a part of your world anymore, that’s not my world, being a trophy wife for one of your business partner’s son? Or continuing the family business when I have no interest in that? I don’t want it,” Katherine shook her head, trying to tell her father what she wanted.
“Don’t be a child, Katherine,” Katherine heard her father said in a dismissive tone, “You know very well that it is your responsibility now. We can’t have the company being run by one of your idiotic cousin, I will not allow it. Once Logan stop becoming an option, you are supposed to do this and you know that, so what’s the point in fighting it?” he shook his head, for a second he does look a little tired of all this, “And this life you think you have? You can’t be in that business forever, and that man you think you love? You have no idea who he is, you’ve been in this relationship for what? Three months?” he raised his eyebrow, surely his PI had been informing him about that also.
“That boy doesn’t worth all the trouble, but I know you, and I know you love him, which I think foolish because he doesn’t deserve a White,” Aiden’s tone was serious before handing her the folder he was carrying.
Katherine opened the folder and there were pictures of Zachary, his arrest report, his record, everything on him, every piece of information about him and before she read any of it, she closed it, she didn’t feel right reading his personal information, in fact she felt sick at the realization of what this all could mean, what her father could do with this information “What the hell do you think you’re doing digging into my boyfriend’s life?! And why are you giving me this?” Katherine waved the folder in front of her father’s face.
“My lawyer is drafting a purchase letter for this small pub here in Denver, some place called Pub on Penn? Once it is our property, I will tear it down, I will fire everyone of their employee and I will make it into something else entirely,” Aiden told Katherine, though clearly it was a threat, his tone wasn’t threatening at all, “And you see those arrest records? Do you know how easy it is to stopped someone in traffic and put something on them? Three times convict isn’t a very good reputation,” he continued.
Katherine looked at her father with disgusted face, “I can’t believe you! You’re just as horrible as mom, you’re... fucking diabolical! I can not believe what you’re willing to do to just make me break up with him. What the fuck is it matter for you anyway?! I’m a grown woman, stop trying to control me!” Katherine was shouting in anger.
Still looking calm and poised, Aiden stood up, “You are my daughter, I will not stay quiet watching you wasting your time doing some stupid silly thing and being with someone who doesn’t deserve to be a part of the White family,” he said in a firm tone, “You know what you have to do and you know what I can do,” he walked towards Katherine, gave her a kiss on top of her head, “I hope you make a wise decision,” and with that he left Katherine’s apartment, leaving her livid and frustration but also scared of what he will do to Zachary if she doesn’t break up with him.
Summary: Bianca has been rejected from every job she’s applied to. She’s walking home after another rejection when something catches her eye. Memories flood back for her and soon she’s sucked back into a life she never dreamed of having.
One week. It’d been one whole week since she’d applied to 15 different places, all of which said she’d get a call within the next week. And she had. Each and every one of them continued to turn her down, telling her they’d found someone else. There was always someone better than Bianca. Each time she got turned down it was a pretty hard blow to her. She couldn’t pay for her own food and everything else she needed to survive on the salary she now made at the dance studio. Her auntie let her live there and that was it, everything else was up to Bianca. She had her bank account filled with money she was saving for university, but she couldn’t touch it, she wouldn’t let herself. There had to be another way to make money or she could say goodbye to university, or at least the nice university she dreamed of attending.
The brunette walked down the snowy streets of Toronto, her boots crunching the white fluff beneath them. She had just gone to the last store she could think of, but they weren’t hiring and now she was walking home in defeat. Her eyes watched snow slowly drifting down from the sky before they focused on something else, on a strip club she recognized. Crossing the street, she stared at the joint where sleazy men stood outside and scantily clad women ignored them as they smoked a cigarette. She read the name of the club and it all came back to her. Before she could fully process her realization, a girl yelled her name in excitement, “Bianca? Anson’s girl? Is that you?” Turning her head, she looked into the eyes of a beautiful girl, only a few years older than Bianca, but she looked tired; she could see it in the girl’s eyes. It took a moment, but suddenly her mouth dropped, “Casey?” She hurried over to the girl and the two embraced one another in a tight hug. When they pulled away, Bianca spoke first, “I can’t believe it’s you. It’s been so long.” She remembered this girl, Casey, from her days in the gang. This was the gang’s favorite spot and Anson brought her here a lot. The girl’s here saw how young Bianca was back then and they always helped her and took care of her any way they could. They were her angels back then.
Casey ushered Bianca into the warmth of the front entrance, dusting off the snow on Bianca’s shoulders and in her hair, “What are you doing here? You’ve been out for so long, don’t tell me you’re with that gang again.” The girl smiled and shook her head, “No, I’m not. I was just walking by after getting hardcore rejected for a job and I guess I just had some sort of flashback when I saw this place.” Casey was smiling, there was a slight light returning to her old friend’s eyes and it warmed Bianca’s heart, “Girl, how could anyone reject you? I would suggest working here, but I wouldn’t wanna see that for my Little B.” She rolled her eyes before her smiled faded, thinking that maybe this place was a good job for her. For now. Looking back at Casey, she took the girls hands into her own, “Actually.. I’m in desperate need of an income. You think I could get a job here?” Her old friend hesitated, obviously feeling torn, but eventually she gripped one of Bianca’s hands and pulled her inside. The girls weaved through the dark and crowded lounge until Casey was pulling Bianca back stage where all the girls got ready. As she recognized people from her past, she said hi and told them all soon they’d be able to catch up.
Her friend knocked on a door and a man inside yelled for them to come in. Entering the small office area, Bianca immediately recognized the man behind the desk. He was the owner, and he had been a good friend of Anson’s. He made sure no other gang but Anson’s could ever get into this place. Casey pulled Bianca forward in her haze of remembering her past, “Look who decided to visit us, Ray.” She plastered on a smile as he looked up and immediately knew who she was, “Hey, it’s Baby B! Damn, have you grown. What brings you back here?” Glancing at Casey, her friend gave her an encouraging smile before she took in a deep breath and spoke, “I was hoping to get a job here. You know I dance. And I still do. So I’m really good.” She bit her bottom lip as Ray leaned back in his chair and looked at her, obviously contemplating. After a moment he stood and rounded his desk to stand in front of Bianca. His hands came up and brushed her hair behind her shoulders before they held her shoulders and he smiled, “Of course. We’d be happy to have you. So pole dancing and how about a special burlesque show?” Bianca looked over at Casey and the girl nodded excitedly, motioning with her hand that she’d make a lot of money. Looking back at Ray, she nodded confidently and smiled, “I’d love to.” Ray shook her gently and laughed with happiness, “Great. I feel honored to have you, B. Now all you need is a new name.” The brunette bit her bottom lip and looked over at her old friend, someone she was actually happy to have back in her life and then she looked Ray in the eyes, “How about Angel.”
Bianca ventures out of the safety of her auntie’s apartment and attends a party, but she can’t seem to get past the pain she feels.
occurred: tonight, april 2.
Bianca tugged on the skirt that was currently hugging her hips, fidgeting in front of the mirror. She didn’t know why she was going out, she could barely handle being in crowds and now she was putting herself in the middle of a crowd of people that would be high or drunk, or both. Taking in a large breath that filled her chest, she told herself to pull it together, to stop being such a wimp. She slipped on a pair of heels, grabbed her small clutch that had her essentials in it, and left the apartment with shaky legs. It’d only been 2 weeks since... god, she couldn’t even think the word, it was still too terrifying, too horrifying a word. She shook her head, like she’d be able to shake the thought right out of her head, but that night wasn’t going to go away so easily. It was as if that night sparked the beginning of bad things, like a domino effect. Katie was no longer in her life, Vince was in jail, and she was literally all alone. At this point, she’d take Vince over this complete and utterly numbing loneliness that had made its home inside her battered and bruised heart. Getting into her car, she hoped this party tonight would ignite something inside her, she needed to feel something other than pain, it was growing tiresome hiding how awful she felt.
Pulling up to the house, the brunette found a place to park her shitty car. She looked over at the house, the distant sound of music emanating from the venue. She didn’t know why she was doing this, she didn’t need to prove anything, she could just hide in her room like she’d been doing for 2 straight weeks nearly. But that was no life and she knew she couldn’t just allow herself to spiral into some pathetic place. She was strong and she was even more stubborn, she wouldn’t allow herself to be a weepy bitch. Forcing herself into motion, she got out of her car and made her way over to the house. Walking up the front steps, her quivering hand lifted and knocked. After a few moments that were agony for her rapidly beating heart, the door opened and a familiar face greeted her, it was the guy who had invited her. She stepped into the home and gave him a quick hug hello before she let him usher her inside. He told her where the drinks were and to help herself and then he told her that he’d find her later. She smiled and nodded her head, it was all she could do as she made her way through packs of people. Her body kept twitching, trying to move away from any type of contact with anyone, she hated touching. As the two parted ways, she made her way for the drinks. Sifting through the bottles, she found whiskey and poured herself a cup. She started to take gulps of it, taking only a few beats in between each, she was so nervous and on edge, it was making her sick. The cup was quickly empty and she poured herself another, emptying that one as well before she put the cup down and ventured into the crowded party.
Her mind was muddled from the whiskey, but somehow the nerves were still there, waiting to be provoked into action. She pressed her lips together, looking around before she locked eyes with an attractive dark haired boy. A soft smirk appeared on her lips and she dared herself to go over to him. Her heeled feet moved with precision, her mind overpowering her heart as she told herself to find her confidence again and to have some fun. As she got closer to the mystery man, he held his hand out, asking her for a dance. Bianca laughed and agreed. He pulled her into a mess of moving bodies, forcing the two strangers to be uncomfortably close. She looked at him as his hands grabbed her hips and pulled her to him. Her body turned hot with fear, but she forced her emotions back, instead bringing her arms up to drape over his shoulders. Their bodies moved together, grinding against one another as music blared around them. Feeling him begin to turn her hips, she turned around and pressed her ass against his crotch. Her eyes closed for a moment as she felt a terrified shaking begin to start in her body. The random boy didn’t notice, he just wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her neck. Suddenly she shoved her elbows back and forcefully pushed him away, a scared expression on her face. Without looking back, she ran from him, shoving through the crowd as tears built up at the brim of her eyes. Her breathing was growing heavy as she made it to the front door and stumbled out of it. Bianca couldn’t stop running, wouldn’t until she was away.
The girl ran straight for her car, stopping herself by running right into the side of her car, her palms pressed to the cool metal. Placing her forehead on the coldness of her cars exterior, she struggled to take in air, her chest heaving, while tears began to escape and she started to sob. All she could imagine were Katie’s soothing hands on her body, her sweet lips soothing the spot on her neck where the random boy had kissed just a moment ago, and her melodic voice whispering sweet things into her ear. Just the thought of Katie made her cry harder, she could no longer go to the girl for comfort. The world seemed to close in around her, everything around her seemed so lonely and meaningless. Bianca slid to the pavement, leaning her back against the car as she cried out, wishing something could give her some sort of comfort, that something could fix how terrified of human contact she had become. She was so lost, she was so tired of everyone using her and hurting her, she was so very tired.
«¿Vienes con nosotros?» preguntó el alto muchacho a Sienna. La morena lo pensó durante un momento, pero finalmente aceptó y se levantó de la arena. Se sacudió los pantalones y siguió al grupo de chicos hasta el interior de la feria de invierno. No tenía mucho ánimo de acudir ese año, a pesar de que siempre era absurdamente entusiasta y volvía locos a todos en casa. Las cosas habían estado muy mal entre su mellizo y ella en éste último tiempo, pero ambos intentaban dejar eso atrás. Bien, había sido una equivocación y una estupidez exponerle lo que sentía, pero también era culpable él por besarla tan largamente. Los dos habían quedado en olvidarlo tras una profunda charla. La morena estaba de acuerdo aunque sentía una herida que escocía y picaba dentro suyo, a pesar de lo mucho que había llorado al pensar que ella había estropeado la relación que tenían. Tenía que pasar página.
Una pequeña sonrisa afloró en su rostro cuando cruzaron la calle desde la playa y se encontraron en la entrada de la feria. Había colores y música por todas partes, luces centelleantes que cegaban, divertidas voces se alzaban sobre la multitud para anunciar los premios de la tómbola. Sienna miró al chico que acaba de conocer y le hizo un gesto para comenzar finalmente a adentrarse en el bullicio. Habían estado bebiendo un poco en la orilla, pero ella no estaba tan cafre como los chicos que la acompañaban. La hacían reír con sus locuras, con su borrachera y sus gritos, pero a medida que pasaba el rato la actitud del que más la acompañaba comenzó a incomodarla. Estaba siendo demasiado pulpo y pegajoso, y su ánimo eufórico le hicieron ver que debía haber tomado algo más aparte del alcohol. Sería mejor sacarlo del ruido y la alteración del lugar y buscar que se relajase. —Oye, ¿me acompañas fuera? Venga, ven —instó, tomándole de la mano y abriéndose paso entre la gente para salir de allí. Habían pasado unas horas divertidas, pero ya era suficiente para él. Tiró de su mano hasta la playa, no sin antes haber comprado una botella de agua, y le dejó caer en la arena. —Ten, bebe algo —ofreció, pero el chico agarró su muñeca y tiró de ella con rudeza. Sienna cayó sobre él y luego se vio acorralada bajo su cuerpo tras un repentino giro. —Muy divertido, pero ya es suficiente —se quejó, intentando quitarle de encima. No lo permitió. —En serio, quítate ya —gruñó molesta. Sentía una de sus manos en la cadera, lo que la ponía nerviosa. Dudaba que fuese a hacerle algo malo, en realidad, pero era igualmente molesto. El chico sonrió un poco y Sienna rodó los ojos, dándole un golpe en el brazo. —No es gracioso, no quiero besarte ni nada por el estilo —advirtió. Tal vez lo habría hecho si todo hubiese sucedido de otra manera y él no estuviese drogado. El joven chascó la lengua y lo intentó de todos modos, a pesar de que la morena apartó la cara. Emitió un pequeño grito de frustración y, con una patada, salió de debajo de su cuerpo. —Sólo quería ayudarte, idiota. No te traído aquí para una sesión de besos —espetó, dándole una patada a la botella de agua.
Con las risas de fondo, Sienna caminó enfadada hasta la feria nuevamente. Ya era muy tarde, la gente casi se estaba marchando en sus coches. Ella olvidó mirar si venía alguno cuando comenzó a cruzar la carretera. El sonido de la bocina tan cercana la dejó ensordecida un instante, el instante que el automóvil tardó en golpearla y hacerla rodar por el capó para caer al suelo con un fortísimo golpe, varios metros por delante. Escuchó el ruido de la gente alrededor, fijándose en lo que había pasado, pero no lograba captar nada. Sólo era consciente de lo que su propio cuerpo sentía. Y el punzante dolor de la cabeza sólo desapareció cuando todo se volvió negro.
It was weird to think back and remember that they had avoided each other for the majority of the week, in fact they hadn't had a decent conversation since that night in Vegas, but just knowing the other person was in the mansion had to help. Dylan just found it weirdly quiet, like his thoughts were haunting him now that she was gone. It was wrong to even think about the girls now that they were gone. It kind of helped that he was allowed a day off since there wasn't much to do around the mansion besides clean and look after the animals, and whatever guest decided to show up for lunch or just hang out by the pool. He spent the day with some of his friends. They didn't do much, just went out to get some food and talk about life, since they barely saw him anymore. One of his friends actually did the same job Dylan used to do so he understood the Playboy life a bit more than the other two. They talked about relationships and if Dylan had the chance to slip a playmate his number, and the laugh he let out was more nervous than anything. It brought Grace to the front of his brain again and he had to sit through countless stories his friends had while trying not to think about her. Of course he failed. He was still wondering if she worn it or if she just pushed it aside. Dylan really shouldn't have cared but he did, even though it was wrong to even want her in something of his, it meant something entirely different than just sleeping together.
By the time he got back to his own bed, the one he barely slept in anymore, he realized he probably cared a little too much. He was able to sleep a lot more comfortably in his own bed, surrounded by the army green walls and a few posters he still had up from his teenage years. But he still dreamt about Grace, and he woke up for work with a loud groan, knowing he wouldn't see her when he got there. Instead it was Olive who got breakfast and dinner, it was all of their dogs, and it still felt empty. Dylan had spare time on his Friday night, the second last day before they all came back, to just sit in his room and listen to music. There was literally nothing else to do besides eat, listen to music and think about Grace. It was just a comfort knowing she was in the mansion. He didn't know what she was doing at all, if she was thinking about him, if she would come back home and tell him that the sweater was a stupid and wrong idea. Maybe she wouldn't say anything. And that seemed more likely considering the way they worked around each other, they just avoided. It was honestly starting to become a little too much to handle by the last day. Constantly thinking about her, stressing himself out, missing her. Dylan was actually sad over her. They were all due to arrive that night, in the early hours of the morning when mostly everyone would be sleeping. Dylan would be deep asleep by then, he needed to make sure of it.
