When Demons Are Redeemed: The Dominant's Muse

Four - Tristan

FOUR

Tristan

"Hey, Catherine, open up. It's Malika."

Catherine opens her eyes, unsure of what awakened her. It is four in the afternoon and she is still in bed, asleep for the last sixteen hours, evading thinking about tonight.

"Catherine . . . hey, open up."

The weight of the world and the choking hands of reality return to Catherine with those words, and she  immediately  attempts to stabilize herself,  dreading what the waking world has in store for her this evening. Still shaky, she nevertheless slips out of bed, walks to the door, unlocks it, and then heads to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of milk.

"Hey, so Tate finally convinced you to make some real money," Malika tells her, once she has let herself in.

“Real money?“ That could only be true if so much of it made was not then spent on an addiction, which Malika and Catherine are both victims of.

"You know that Tate didn't leave me much of a choice,” Catherine replies, between gulps. One little pill down, two . . . Even. Nothing else. Nothing more. Just even.

"Well, that's how it works, isn't it? That’s the world for you."

"Yeah.”

“Love and all that,” Malika adds,  “it’s not real. Just a fairy tale.  I don‘t even want it, or a boyfriend, or . . . Do you?"

"No. "

"I don't need a man,” Malika further points out.

No, you need several, actually. Many, Catherine thinks to herself, referring to the nature of Malika’s business, livelihood.

"And enough of this . . . whatever. Tate wants me to get you ready and to bring you out to the stadium," Malika adds.

"Get me ready?"

"You know . . . "

"What?"

"Catherine, you know why you're going down there, don't you?"

"Work. I have to."

"Yeah, but you know what you'll have to do?"

"Work."

"Oh Jesus, Catherine, snap out of it. If you screw up, Tate and the other guys'll get punished, and then they’ll make you suffer when they do. And as for me . . . The only way that you can get out of this assignment is if your heart stops beating, and even then, who knows? Some men . . . "

The room spins for Catherine and she feels nauseous once again. "I know why I'm going there, Malika," she soon replies. She then walks to her closet. "So, how are you getting me ready? Get on with it."

"I've got some clothes for you. Here,” Malika replies, as she throws a garment bag onto the bed. Catherine had not noticed Malika letting it fall to the floor after she walked in since her attention had been on her milk, and on absolutely nothing about the upcoming evening. "Zach gave this to Tate, and Tate told me to get you ready."

"Oh, this kind of getting ready."

Catherine opens the bag and lays eyes on a short skirt, a tight top, a short coat, and ankle-length leather boots. She removes those items from the bag and then finds a black silk teddy, a garter belt, stockings to match, a black lace bra, and g-string underwear. Once those items are on her bed as well, she then finds a black hat, which she returns to form from its flattened state, and, finally, finds a box containing a necklace and matching hearings.