Strike

Waking Up

"How did I get here?"

"Oh honey, don't you remember anything from last night? I'm sorry, I probably freaked you out waking up in a strange room with someone fussing over you." She pours the contents of the bottle into a mug sitting next to me on a nightstand and hands it to me. "You'll have to forgive me, I had a long night last night then Dez just waltz in here with you passed out in his arms and well, I'm just a little flustered."

"Dez carried me in here? I remember getting in the cab with him and we started to talk but then everything blurs. Oh my god, did he," My mind races back to all the quick lessons Papa gave Luk and I before moving to the city. He warned us about the people and the tricks they play and how you should never let your guard down. The drugs, the mind games, the alcohol, it all came back to me in a flash a my body began to shake.

"No, calm down Ava dear. Dez didn't do anything, he would never do anything like that. He said you got really worked up and you weren't making sense and finally you just passed out in the car. He was really worried about you, and I've never seen him that concerned over one of his girls before."

The shakes faded away but her last sentence rung in my ear. "Girls?"

Cin's face crinkled a bit as she looked at me oddly. "You are one of his, aren't you? Nevermind, you need to rest so your mind is clear, now drink that."

Confused, I hold the liquid up to my mouth and allow it to enter slowly but it barley hits my tongue before it returns back into the mug.

"Oh, come on now, it's not the strongest stuff I got." She laughs and puts the mug back on the stand. "I'll be right back, you rest."

Cin rounds the corner and I hear a door click behind her. Curious, I slowly rise out of the bed and walk around the corner to a wooden door. I notice Dez's jacket is still around me and I pull it closer to my skin. I can hear Cin's voice faintly as I approach the door so I lean in and listen.

"Vinny, it's Cin. Where the hell is he? He's there? Put him on the god damn phone." Her sweet voice used for speaking with me disappears as she vehemently whispers into a phone on the other side of the door. I assume she is looking for Dez which only peaks my curiosity more since I too wander where he is.

"Good morning Prince Charming, would you like to explain to me who this confused little damsel is in my bed?" There is a short pause and I hold my breath fearing I would be caught. "Jesus, Dez, you mean she isn't working for you? You just stumbled upon her out in the streets? That explains the virgin glow radiating off of her," Cin laughs slightly, "She couldn't even handle a shot of my cheap stuff. Yes, yes. Don't worry, she will be safe. Yeah we will be down for my shift tonight. She is in good hands dear, now don't you have work to do? Ok bye."

A waft of smoke crept through the crack in the door and a cough rose up in my chest. "Ava dear, you don't have to hide behind the door, come on in."

I jump but open the door and enter what looks to be a dressing room that I would see in movies sometimes for famous people. There was an array of hair supplies, dresses, shoes, makeup, and mirrors. Cin sat in the center of it all with her long legs kicked up on the vanity and a cigarette dangled from her lips. "I'm sorry honey, I know you heard all that but none of that anger was towards you. I was just under the impression you were someone totally different."

"It's ok, but why did you think I was working for him? Dez, I mean."

"Oh that boy has his array of business he is in so I'm always under the impression that anyone he is with works for him or he works for them. Don't worry about that now, I'm sure he'll explain everything in time, that is, if you are staying."

Staying. That option never really weighed in my mind before but I had nowhere else to go and I was not planning on returning to that hell hole anytime soon. "Staying?"

"Of course, and by the looks of you I wouldn't want to ship you back to where ever it was you came from."

"Well if it isn't too much of a burden,"

"Oh honey, you will be the least of my troubles. Now sit down over there and start talking." She points to a chair across from her and I take a seat.

"Talking?"

"Tell me the story, the whole story. You need someone to listen and I'm your girl. Now enlighten me while I get ready."

Without giving it much though, I sat down and for the next hour I shared everything about my life with this perfect stranger. But she was right. I needed someone to listen and that is exactly what she did. The darkness slowly started to shed its layers and I was starting my journey to freedom.