—1 0 W E E K S P R I O R—
B E L L I S A R I O H O U S E:
Steam from the espresso machine rises and twirls in the air while the sound of seamed milk fills the air of the little quaint cafe. I lean back in my chair and listen intently to the girl with multiple rough edges. Her eyes are so dark to some they are black, she likes to say that she's been dipped in sin and coated in darkness but I know under her rough edges she was just like me.
"You disappeared for a bit, I got a little worried," I tell her as I take a sip of the bitter coffee that glazes over my tongue. "I thought maybe someone ratted on you,"
"You don't even know the half of it... don't worry I didn't say anything about my supplier," Helena rolls her eyes and takes a pack out of her leather jacket pocket. She lights the cigarette and blows out a puff sighing and pushing back her black bangs that fall over her forehead. She offers me one but I shake my head and furrow my brow in confusion.
"What happened?" I ask her as she takes another drag and leans back propping her feet up on the distressed wooden table we sat at. Her dark makeup is smudged as she blinks a few times before looking back at me raising a brow in frustration.
"I was fucked in the fucking ass alright, just not in the way I wanted. I swear after the four months I've had I don't trust a soul in this god awful city," She shakes her head as of she was in disbelief of the memories that had her wrapped around their finger. She scoffs before going on and smirking out of spite as she blew out one more drag.
"He's such a fucking asshole but the problem is I still can't help but love him. I remember like it was yesterday when I came home to find a pool of cops surrounding me... and never did I think it would be the love of my life that would do it all. He ratted to the cops about me and I fucking hate him!" She says angrily with hints of sadness in her tone. I would see the conflict in her broken and scrambled mind. "But I love him... and I can't stop even though he hurt me like that. I wish I could hate him more than I do but I can't."
"Did he say anything to you during the whole thing?" I ask leaning into the table from the engagement I found myself giving. She runs her hand through her dirty bob haircut and clenches her jaw as she thinks about it all. She waged a war in her mind, one of love and hate. Betrayal and anger boil over and conflict her as she speaks with sadness in her face and anger in her body language.
"Nope, he just looked at me while they took me away. A fucking liar, that's all he ever was and I'm just now seeing it. Don't ever trust them, Luna, they will only fuck you over in the end. Especially the ones that you love which is the most fucked up part of it all," She slides her boots off the table and grabs her coffee cup downing the cold cup before putting it back down and biting her bottom lip. She has seen better days and its evident in the way her eyes are glazed over with sadness and hurt that throb inside her head.
"I'm starting to think that's the only way to survive in this place nowadays, I feel like it just gets worse and worse," I confess as the news spins stories of shootings and arson that litter the grimy city that crawled with dirty secrets and corruption of every kind.
"Yeah... hey are you going to the party tonight?" Helena asks me taking another drag as we finish up our meeting. I tilt my head to the side and give her a confused expression, there were multiple parties every night and she wasn't at all specific.
"Which one? There is always a party to go to but not all of them are worth the time," I tell her taking one last sip of my coffee to finish it off. My blue waves cascade down my back as I tilt my head up getting every last drop of the drink.
