Traffic

Ch 23: Decision

"Why are you yelling at me?! What happened to that sweet, sensitive, scared little girl I saved two years ago?!"

"She's been through a lot that has changed her!"

"It shouldn't have!"

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Who's this?! Back off, man."

"His name is Wesley and he was on the train with me. He offered to drive me here. Wesley, what the hell are you still doing here?!"

"I thought I should stay just in case and it looks like it was a good idea!"

"Stop pushing each other around, guys! HEY! Stop!"

Kelly finally stopped the boys from fighting and they stood up and she pushed them away from each other.

"Stop fighting. I think we all need a breather for a few minutes. This porch is getting really crowded."

"How much money do you have left?" Peter asked.

"Enough for a hotel room for one night, then I'm stuck."

"I can drive you anywhere you need to go," Wesley stated.

"Back off, Wesley, she was my friend first--"

"Neither of you are acting like my friend right now! Back off, both of you! Peter, where's the nearest hotel?"

"A few blocks that way," he pointed out.

Kelly nodded, "I'm going to WALK there by MYSELF, and get a room. Both of you need to go home, calm down, and come back tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay."

"Fine."

"Good. I'll see you both tomorrow..." Kelly said before slowly walking down the steps to the sidewalk. She made her way to the hotel and paid for a room with the rest of her money, then went up to it. She was on the third floor and had a small balcony.

She took a shower and put on the fluffy, white robe that was hanging on the door. She walked to the balcony and opened the doors. The height of the third floor was fairly high, with the parking lot below her. The smell of post-rain mixed with flowers reminded Kelly of home. Her home that had once held her happy family, now no one lived in. She had, in fact, no home to go back to. Her mom was in Italy with her uncle and his Italian wife, her sister was dead, and her brother was on the lamb and she didn't even know if he was alive. She had nothing left. She sighed as she stood there, looking down.

The drop might kill her. But on the off chance that it doesn't, she'd suffer for a long time until she healed, laying in a hospital bed all alone. She thought for a long time about it, but ended up going back inside and laying on the couch.

She fought sleep, but ended up giving in, unwillingly. She had nightmares of her past and of watching her sister die and more. She longed even as she slept for the pain to stop and for life to go back to the way it was, but she knew it couldn't.

"Kelly?" she was woken the next morning by banging on her door and Peter calling her name.

She stood and opened the door, "Dammit, Peter," she said, rubbing her eyes.

He walked in slowly, "Sorry, just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. I just need to wake up a little. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I'm sorry...So...where's Wesley?"

"Right here," he said as he walked in.

"Okay...Now I have a feeling you're both going to try to get me to stay with you. So you know I'll be safe or something like that."

They were both silent.

"Well, my speech is wasted, how about yours?"

"Pretty much..."

"Well then..." Kelly muttered, then groaned, "I've made up my mind on what to do. I've wanted to do this for a long time, but I'm going to need BOTH your help. So if you can stop fighting over me, maybe you'll actually be able to HELP me."

"Okay."

"What is it?"

"Tennessee."

"What?"

"What?"

"That's where I went second. I remember the address on the papers--"

"How? That was like three years ago!" Peter said.

"I'm lost here...When were you in Tennessee?"

"Human trafficking," Peter answered, "I'll explain more later, just listen for now."

Kelly went on to describe her former Master's house, with a few interruptions from Wesley, and about his daughter Dee whom she had connected with three years previous. That had been the worst place of all and she wanted to save the girls from their own father.

"Okay. Where do we begin?"

Kelly smirked, beginning to tell Wesley and Peter how they could help. Her plan was to catch their father in the act if he was still up to his old habits and have him arrested. From there, she'd move on to her first Master, and then Paul. She didn't know what she was going to do with Derek, but she knew she had to do something because of his involvement. In a way, she felt guilty about having to turn him in because of how he felt about her, but on the other hand, she knew all of these heartless, sex-crazed, wild men needed to be stopped and put in jail. Kidnapping and raping are two serious offenses and she knew that it was up other to keep other girls from the same fate she'd lived through for four and a half years.