Orchids (Corey Taylor)

Chapter 5

By the time the next night at Heat rolled around, I found myself wondering if Corey would make another appearance. Every time I found myself peeking out to the front of the club, I would mentally scold myself and then only end up doing it yet again a few minutes later.

"Ladies! Would you all please gather in the dressing room for a moment?" Mr. Walsh called from down the hall.

I made my way towards the back once more, confused as to why he would want the presence of all of us. Then a swift sense of dreadful understanding came over me as soon as I caught sight of the all-black suit he wore tonight. It was clear the rest of the girls were aware of what that outfit meant from the looks on their faces. I knew that they felt the way I did, the relief thoroughly mixed with guilt at the other emotion. All black meant that we didn't have to participate in being auctioned off tonight, but it was a bitter reward.

"Wonderful," Mr. Walsh began as he clasps his hands with a smile that would have seemed warm to anyone other than us. "After your first performances tonight you are all dismissed for the rest of the evening."

We all nodded wordlessly and he strolled back out without another word.

Khloe was the one to break the silence as she questioned, "So, who do you all think it's going to be this time?"  

Crystal made a face of disgust at her words. "Why do you always wonder about stuff like that?"

"I like to be in the know of who's in trouble in this town." 

"Everyone that walks around the streets of Hollywood is in trouble, even if they don't know it yet." Tiffany remarks before slipping out the door to take the stage. 

"Isn't that the truth," Khloe mutters as she applies a dusting of highlighter to her collarbones. "I just want to make sure that there's no way that it's someone I know. The things I've seen that man and his yes men do are horrible."

We all nodded in agreement but knew better than to keep discussing the topic, if we didn't the next person to catch Mr. Walsh's interest could be one of us. Now that we knew what would most likely be occurring tonight the vibe of the club felt off like it always did on days like this and it made me hate going last even more than usual. 

"I think you should leave right after your set," I tell Aalayah once everyone else was busy with their own things. "I'll make sure to call a cab once I'm done."

She stopped mid-application of her eyeliner to give me a look of disbelief before shaking her head. "I'll be waiting for you right here like I always do."

"But, last time-"

Aalayah cut me off with a gentle hand on my forearm as she softly said, "It'll be alright. I doubt that he will have anything actually go down inside of the club this time around. Did you not hear him bitching about how the blood could've stained the wood floors if they hadn't cleaned up as fast as they did?"    

I nodded as a small wave of nausea overcame me, recalling just how casual he had sounded. At this point, it feels as if I shouldn't still be appalled over the things he's done and his callous reactions towards them, but the feeling lingered regardless. 

I shook my head before I turned to meet Aalayah's eyes. "I wish I knew how to get us away from this place already."

"Finger's crossed on that." She agreed and then she swiftly changed the subject. "Did you see Corey out there?"

"How would I..." I trailed off as it dawned on me. "You saw me checking, didn't you?"

She merely smirked as an answer.

"Well, no I couldn't seem to find him."

"Let's hope that he's not the one that is in trouble with Mr. Walsh." She mumbles as a flicker of worry crosses her features, clearly taking a moment to actually consider it. 

I nodded in agreement to that. As selfish as it was to even think, the first worry that popped up in my mind was how that would ruin my chance of getting the hell out of this club. I didn't allow myself to ponder over how I should or shouldn't feel about Aalayah's remark as I forced my attention back onto taking care of my appearance. 

Thoughts about what Mr. Walsh had planned for his unlucky victim and who it might be resurfaced when I finally finished my set. A heavy sense of dread had settled in my stomach the moment I stepped on that stage and saw that Corey was nowhere to be seen. I did my best to force my paranoia to back off, trying to convince myself that he just had other places to be. It wasn't like he was truly going to miss anything. It felt like it was the same thing night after night, I sang and then went to auction. It was the same sickening song and dance over and over until I felt like I was getting dizzy from the repetition. There wasn't any reason for him to be here, I repeatedly reassured myself. 

I was still confused as to why it actually bothered me as much as it did. A small whisper in the back of my mind suggested that it would be my fault if he was the one Mr. Walsh was after. I attempted to dismiss the notion, reasoning that I never been the one to seek him out, that had all been Mr. Walsh after his money. Still, the guilt lingered none the less, I had to have played some part in this, but which I was unsure. 

"Come on, doll face," Aalayah called in an oddly soothing voice as she stood waiting in the doorway with our things in her arms. "I'll make us that pasta dish we both love when we get home. Let's hope it will ease your nerves."

I smiled softly at my best friend as I took my bag from her. I always pretended that I hated it when she was careful with me like this, trading the jokes in for tenderness, but sometimes I knew that, deep down, I needed it. I guess she knew that too, seeing as it would always pop back up in times like this. 

As we made our way out of the back of the club, into the never-ending murmur of the city, I spotted Mr. Walsh's henchmen standing around in the shadows of the building next to ours. They passed around a joint and spoke in hushed voices, but one of them turned in our direction and then sauntered over to us. It took me only a moment to recognize Danny when I spotted his bleached blonde head of hair and nearly blinding white teeth. That was one of the many things I found oddly amusing about Hollywood, the bright smiles that hid dark intentions. In the case of Danny, though, it was a bit more complicated than that.

Aalayah offered him a quick hug before muttering, "God, you smell like a skunk."

He chuckled softly as they parted. "That's the price you have to pay for a good buzz I guess. I would offer you ladies a hit, but we're waiting on the bossman right now. Work to do and all."

"Who is it with this time?" I blurt out without thinking of the possibility that knowledge of my curiosity might make its way back to Mr. Walsh.

"Some guy that owns an indie record label. I think his name is Ethan or something." 

I felt the lead weight in my stomach deflate like a balloon at his words and then it was as if his words had the ability to summon because a black car pulled into the back alley where we all stood. Aalayah pulled me deeper into the shadows with her while she dug her keys out of her purse, making it clear that she wanted to get the hell away from all of this. 

"You two should get out of here before it gets ugly." Danny murmurs as he glances from the car to the rest of his 'coworkers'. 

I slipped the oversized hood of my sweatshirt and turned to go with Aalayah, but halted immediately when I saw a second familiar face step out of the car. 

Corey had come with him.