Raegan Gallagher-Milkovich

16-The Angel Club

     Raegan woke up on a train. Her head was pounding and mascara was smeared under her eyes. In reality she hadn't travelled very far, only an hour train ride away from the south side.

     She hauled herself up from the seat she was lying on, grabbing the backpack she had brought with her and made her way off of the train.

     It was weird, but Raegan felt happy. Not just happy, but euphoric. She was so happy to be out of the south side, and excited for what she was going to do.

     She was in an unfamiliar city. What the fuck was she going to do now. She wasn't sure, but she was excited. She made her way down the street, stopping at a corner shop.

     She went inside, approaching the guy at the desk. "Hellooooo sir, pack of Marlboros and bottle of Jack Daniels," she told the cashier in a sing song voice, smiling big, taking the money she had brought with her out of her bag.

     The cashier didn't say anything, just turned around and grabbing the stuff she asked for. Raegan threw her money onto the counter. "Thank you so much," she laughed before grabbing the stuff she bought and making her way back out.

     She had no idea what was next, she just knew she needed to get out of the south side.

     She just wandered around the city until it was starting to get dark. She went down an alleyway, sitting there sipping jack daniels and smoking cigarettes. She had nowhere to sleep and very little money. She wasn't sure what to do.

     Her phone kept buzzing, Mickey and Ian's name taking turns to show up on her phone, but she ignored each call.

***

      "Nowhere. She's not at work, not at school, not with Kila or Riley and I looked everywhere there was even a chance of her being. Nowhere," Mickey said coming through the front door, throwing his keys down. He found Ian sitting at the kitchen table.

      "She's still not answering her phone either," Ian said rubbing his hands down his face. "Where the fuck would she have gone? I mean why the fuck would she just take off like that?" Mickey said. He was visibly frustrated, Ian looked more distraught. He stayed silent for a minute.

     "She's acting like me," Ian muttered. "What do you mean?" Mickey asked.

".. Manic."

"The fuck do you mean manic?" Mickey snapped. "Mick, she robbed a fucking restaurant at gunpoint, now she's gone missing. Just took off in the middle of the night. So that's how I fucking mean manic."

***

The only light that shone down on Raegan now was the moonlight and city lights. She had been sitting down that alleyway for hours. Sipping whiskey and smoking cigarettes. She listened to cars driving past and sirens in the distance as she lay her head against the wall, looking up at the sky and letting the world spin around her.

It was almost midnight when she was very drunk and decided to get up and walk around the city again. She stumbled down the streets, looking at the building lights.

She eventually found herself outside of a strip joint, wanting to go in for more drinks. The flashing neon sign outside of it read "The angel club."

She watched as she saw mainly old men walk in and out of the doors. She took a drag from her cigarette when she heard a voice behind her. "You coming inside gorgeous?"

Raegan turned around. There was a man smiling at her, she guessed he was about forty. He was dressed nice, he seemed rich. "yeah of course," she said walking over to him. He put his arm around her waist.

"I like my girls young. Petite with black hair, you meet that description perfectly," he smiled.

***

     Mickey and Ian were still up at the kitchen table at 3am. They had called everyone in their family, asking if they knew where Raegan was. Desperate to know where the hell she had gone.

     There was no luck though. "You really think she's acting manic?" Mickey asked Ian. They had been sitting in silence for a while, tension was high.

     "I dunno. Maybe. I'm not jumping to conclusions or anything, it just looks familiar," Ian said.

***

     Inside the club, it was filled with old guys. It was dark and had neon lights all over. Girls wearing underwear and heels were bartending, waitressing and dancing on tables and poles.

     Raegan only wore baggy jeans and a strappy crop top, the same clothes as what she had been wearing the past few day so she wasn't exactly fitting in with the theme of the club.

    The night consisted of entertaining the mans flirting and drinking free booze. She sat at the bar with the man who had brought her in. His name was Joe.

     "Bartender, another," Joe called the bartender for another shot. They were already after drinking a lot.

     As he was pouring, Raegan noticed he was staring at her, smiling, like he was earlier in the night too. "Hey, what's your name princess," he asked her, leaning on the bar.

     " I'm Raegan," she smiled.

     "You know, Raegan, I'm the manager here, you're a gorgeous girl, we could use a pretty face and a pretty body like yours to keep people coming in. A lot of our girls are getting too old," he explained.

     Reagan smirked, "use me for what?" "Serving, bartending, dancing, stripping. A girl like you would have money rolling in."

     Raegan looked to Joe. He smirked and nodded at her, reaching his hand on the back of her chair, "Well, I know I'd love to see you working in here. Putting on a little show."

     "If you're interested, you have a job offer here," he said winking at her.

     Raegan looked at the girls dancing. They were all sexy and making a lot of money that she could see. She liked the idea.

     "I mean, yeah I guess. I'd be down," she smiled, taking her shot.

     The bartender smiled. "When can you start?"