The blonde shivered, the cold winter air blowing against her face as she walked the empty streets. She stared up at the moon every so often so she didn’t have to feel so alone.
It was only in the early hours of the morning that she finally gave up looking for a potential client for the night. She let out a small sigh as she reached the end of the street, leaning her back against the side of an abandoned building.
'Looks like I’ll be sleeping on the street again,’ she thought, 'not really a promising start ..'
She glanced up at the lone street lamp opposite her, watching the light flicker and die like her hopes for a rush of potential clients in this new area.
She jumped, pressing herself against the wall, fear clutching at her chest as she heard heavy footsteps walking in her direction. She felt her heart start to race as she heard muffled whispers getting louder and louder. She held her breath, hoping that the darkness would conceal her and that whoever was there would simply walk straight by her.
When she heard the footsteps stop, she stood as still as possible, hoping that the figure had already passed by. She gasped in shock when she felt someones warm breath tickle her neck. Not wanting to stick around and find out who’s it was, she ran around the corner and disappeared down a nearby alley.
She was breathing heavily now as she touched the wall at the end of the alley, signalling that she was at a dead end.
'You don’t need to look anymore baby, your next meal is right here.'
She jumped as soon as she heard a deep slurred voice from behind her. Her eyes widened in fear when she turned around and saw a dark haired man, his suit dishevelled as he knocked back the vodka in his hand before smashing the empty bottle against the wall.
She shivered as he looked her up and down, 'I’m not that kind of girl ..' she stopped as he moved closer to her, 'but even if I was .. my prices are a lot higher than someone like you could afford,' she said, trying to sound brave as she backed away from him. She saw the anger flash in his eyes and swallowed hard when she felt her back hit the wall. She was trapped.
'Well then, maybe you should give me a freebie,' he said with a smirk when he reached her before suddenly grabbing her wrist and throwing her on the ground.
'Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!' she shouted at him, the panic clear in her voice as he slowly moved on top of her. She tried to struggle against him, but even in his drunken state he was too strong for her to get away from.
'Ssshhh ..' he whispered as he put a finger to her lips while awkwardly trying to undress her, 'try and enjoy it, I know I will ..'
She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to let herself go numb like she did so many times as a child, trying to distract herself with the few good memories she had.
She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when she felt something warm splash against her face.
'Is it over?' she thought as she she reached up to touch her face, slowly opening her eyes to see blood on her fingertips.
She screamed when she felt his lifeless body fall onto her and she quickly pushed him away. She sat there shaking as she watched the blood drip down from the gunshot wound on his forehead.
'Are you ok?'
She screamed again when she felt a hand on her shoulder, becoming silent when she turned to see a red head smiling down at her.
'I .. I ..' she stumbled over her words, still trying to figure out what had just happened as she watched the woman walk over to the man. She bent down and searched through his pockets, pulling out his wallet and taking what little money he had from it.
'Here,' she said gently as she handed her the small wad of cash, 'it’s the least he can do for what he just put you through.'
She nodded slowly as the woman reached out and took her hand.
'Come on, someone will have heard that,' she said, nodding towards the dead body beside them as she pulled her up, 'we need to go.'
____________________
She sat naked in the woman’s bathtub, hugging her knees to her chest, still in shock over what she had witnessed.
'I’m Jessica,' the woman said as she knelt beside the bathtub and wiped the blood from her face, 'I work at a club downtown,' she said, trying to lighten the mood a little, 'it’s a lot safer than working on the streets at least.'
'How do you know I ..' she started as she turned to Jessica.
'Oh, I used to do the same thing when I was a teenager,' she said with a small smile, 'I know what sort of things you've had to deal with.'
____________________
'I’ll be right in the next room if you need me,' Jessica said with a soft smile after pulling the bed covers over the blonde, 'things will start to look better in the morning, trust me.'
'Thank you, Jessica .. for saving me,' she said quietly as Jessica reached the bedroom door.
'I was just glad I passed by when I did,' she said softly as she turned to look at her.
She nodded, 'by the way, my name’s Odette,' she said and smiled.
'It’s nice to meet you Odette,' she smiled brightly back at her, 'sleep tight,' she whispered before closing the door quietly behind her.
