"Rudely interrupted us," Shar mumbles, not moving from her position.
"Good. I wanted to be the first," Alice says, glaring at Shar.
"Oh, please," Ruby says, grinning. "I'm going to be her first."
What has gotten into these girls? I know I have a weird effect on people sometimes but this was ridiculous. First Shar pouncing on me, then suddenly Alice and Ruby want me, too. It was bizarre. Not wanting to think about their odd behavior, I ignore their bickering, listening around for any trouble since Shar distracted me from my job. Marv would kill me, probably, if she knew I had been out of comission for however long Shar and I were canoodling.
Everything seems to be fine... but something upstairs sounds off. I look to the ceiling, listening intently. Someone is panicking in one of the private rooms. There's only one heartbeat in the room, a rapid one, which sets off my alarms. Why would someone be alone in a private room, and why would they be panicking?
I start to walk out of the dressing room, ignoring the girls' protests for me to stay. Their little spat is of no concern to me, only that single rapid heartbeat. Running to the second floor, I follow the quick bump, bump, bump. Immediately I find the source and inch open the door. Slowly I peek my head in, unsure if what's inside is a masturbatory adventure or something else. My eyes scan the room and what I see is most definitely something else.
Silent and deadly, I zoom into the room and grab the panicking occupant by the throat, lifting him off the ground. I hold him suspended, my eyes drifting to the dead body on the floor. It's Cherry. Poor, poor Cherry. My hand tightens and my growls are no longer lustful.
"What did you do to her?" I hiss at him. He gurgles and kicks, his face turning a sickly color. Realizing he can't answer, I release his throat enough to let him speak.
"It- it was an accident! We were having sex and she fell off the bed. She hit her head on the bedside table! I swear!" The man is struggling with all his might but its nothing but a nuisance to me and I don't let him go. I see that he's telling the truth but I don't like it. This is... unbelievable. Needing to do something, anything, to help, I drop the man on the floor and walk over to Cherry's body. I look down at her and sigh. This can't be happening. It can't! If I had only ignored Shar's advances, if I had been paying attention... Maybe Cherry would be alive. Maybe I could have saved her before she hit her head. Maybe.
"Stay here," I intruct the man. "Don't try to leave. If you do, I'll kill you." I don't look back at him, just walk out of the room and shut the door. I run to Marv's office and crash into her office, knowing I must look wild. Her and Joe talking to each other, but they stop and stare at me, bewildered.
"Cherry's dead," I blurt out. I hadnte had a plan to break the news to Marv, but I suppose direct is best. "There was an accident. She's in one of the private rooms." I wave my hand at them to get them to follow, almost jumping on my feet. Marv gives me a look, but eventually her and Joe follow me out of the office. When we reach the private room, Cherry is still on the floor, and the man is still sitting where I left him. The room stinks of death and absolute fear and anxiety.
"What happened?" Marv asks, incredulous. The man doesn't answer, so I explain the situation to her, then wait for her to respond. It's a long time before she says anything. She stares at Cherry's body, her lips pressed together tight. Joe stands off to the side, hia face blank.
"Joe, take care of Cherry's body," Marv says, eventually. "As for you, " she points at the man on the floor, "you're in big trouble." The childish phrase sounds deadly coming from her.
Reality setting in, the man starts whimpering, pleading for his life. "Please! It was an accident! I wont tell anyone what happened....please." He'd rather pretend he didn't just kill someone than take the consequences? It was an accident, after all. But then again, Cherry was a woman who lived in the shadows, seduced husbands away from their wives. Perhaps the man couldn't let it get out that he was sleeping with someone in the profession of sex. He was wearing a wedding ring.
"How can I trust you?" Marv asks. "You just killed one of my girls." Her jaw is clenched, her eyes flashing anger.
"Please. I swear. I'll never speak about this." The man is on his knees now. He really, really doesn't want to deal with this. I can see he's telling the truth, that he wont tell, but who's to say he wont change his mind later? I keep this to myself, not wanting to anger Marv any more.
"Fine," Marv finally sighs. "If you tell anyone, anyone, what happened here tonight, I will fucking kill you myself," she growls. She's serious.
"Of course. I wont tell a soul." The man scampers out of the room, running as fast as he can. I want to go after him and make sure he doesn't speak. I remain where I stand.
Joe has already taken Cherry's body, so now it's only Marv and I left in the room. She turns to me with a sad look and sighs. Now that her anger is gone, only grief remains. She didn't know Cherry all that well but she's sad at the loss.
"Don't tell any of the girls what happened," she tells me, softly. "I'll tell them after everyone's gone and we close. Just go back to making sure nothing goes wrong. Well, nothing else." She sulks off, leaving me alone.
I can feel her sadness. It seeps into my bones like poison and I want to cry. I want to comfort Marv, make her feel better, but I know I have to do what she says. Especially more so with all the terrible things that have been happening. Giving the spot where Cherry had died one last look, I leave to my duties. This time I don't get distracted.
An Accident
Start from the beginning
