No Way Out

Chapter 5- Recollection

My eyes shot open, and I lurched upwards, my breathing ragged. I looked to find myself on my couch, in the relaxation room in the tattoo parlour.

Rex, my boss, looked up from where he'd been making a coffee, the frown on his face causing his lip piercing to glint in the light. "You good?"

I fought to get my breathing back under control, running a hand through my bangs as I eased my feet to the floor. "Bad dream." I rubbed my bare arms, the tank top I was wearing helping me cool down.

Rising to my feet, I let the tones of Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana soothe my racing mind. "You finish your appointment, Rex?"

He nodded, yawning as he gulped from his mug. "Guy tapped out after about an hour. I warned him getting a full back piece was gonna take a while. Dumbass didn't listen."

I laughed, grabbing myself a bottle of water from the fridge, smirking at the array of magnets and stickers littering the front. "Wasn't he a body builder or something."

Rex shrugged. "Something like that. Must have a shit pain tolerance. Anyways," he said, downing the rest of the coffee, "your appointment's here."

My eyes widened as I looked at the time. "Ah crap. I completely forgot."

Taking my bottle with me, I dashed from the room, skidding through the hallway and into the main lobby of the tattoo shop. The work tables were empty, the faux leather tables and seats still shining under the lights. There was no buzz of tattoo guns, and I almost missed Roisin - our watercolour expert - in my mad dash, who sat drawing up some designs at the light box.

"Running late?" She mumbled. Her voice was always calm, like she had indifference to absolutely everything. In a world full of drama, it was sort of refreshing. Her dark green hair was pulled back tight, a sure sign she was in full concentration mode.

I flashed her smile. "It's my specialty."

I launched around the doorway, skidding into the reception area with a curse as I nearly fell on my backside. The receptionist, Kori - a girl with not a single bit of ink but seemed to think she was an expert on the whole culture of body art - looked up from where she was painting her nails and snorted.

"Sorry, should have warned you I mopped earlier."

I shot her a sickly sweet smile, bracing my hands on the cherry wood and glass desk in front of her. "Your trial period isn't up, Kori. So I'd watch yourself because I've had it with your shitty attitude." I kept my voice low. "Where's my appointment?"

She rolled her eyes. "Looking at your work on the wall." There was a slight judgement in her tone, and an air of jealousy given Kori couldn't even draw stick men. Not to mention that at 22, I was already the tattoo store manager, whilst at 28, she was simply the telephone girl.

I nodded. "Go see if Roisin needs any help." I dismissed her quickly, wandering over to the client at the wall. His eyes darted over my framed art stencils, from black and white, to colour, spanning almost an entire wall.

Folding my arms, I cleared my threat. "You could have come straight through, Peter."

Peter turned around, his short blonde hair once again perfectly styled. "Kori said you were sleeping."