"Run, Amanda! Keep going and never stop!" My mother yelled as she pushed me out into the rain to escape.
I ran as fast as my feet could carry me. I kept looking back in hopes that my mom was right behind me but she wasn't. I didn't stop running though, kept going until I could no longer stand. I ran into an alley way and hid until I thought it was safe.
I sat in the rain alone for hours. My body began to shake from the cold and my eyelids grew heavy. Then a noise startled me. It sounded like a can falling out of a trash can or something but it scared me enough to realize that I was dozing off.
I continued to tremble and wait for something, anything. My pajama shorts and tank top were stuck to my body due to the heavy rain pouring. My bare feet stung the more I moved in my spot to get comfortable. A few more minutes passed and I felt my eyelids closing. I no longer cared so I shut my eyes and let my breathing slow down.
Just as I was about to let sleep overcome me, I felt a pair of hands grab me and pull me out aggressively. I screamed as loud as I could to get anyone's attention but a large hand clamped my mouth shut.
"You thought you could hide from me, huh?" he spat in my face.
My eyes widened and I shook my head furiously.
"Both you and your mother were traitors! Now you need to pay me back...with your lives." he said lowly in my ear.
I started sobbing in his hand until I felt a cold metal object being pressed against my left temple. The next thing I heard was a gun being fired and everything faded away.
~
I shot up from my bed in a cold sweat. I could feel beads of it falling from my forehead and running down my chest. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably and I couldn't breathe. I looked over at the clock,
5:47am.
It would be the same dream over and over again for the last three months. I was seventeen when my dad killed my mom and left me for dead. My father was the leader of the notorious gang The Brothers of the Cross. My mother was leaking information to the police to try for us to escape but my father found this out and one night he came in and started fighting with my mom. They started screaming and yelling, things were being thrown, punches were given. My mom ran from him into my room where I was listening by the door. She grabbed my hand and ran to the door and tried to push past the guys that were there but only I managed to run past them. She told me to run and to not stop, so I didn't.
"Hey. You alright, kitten?" my friend Judy came into my room, greeting me with the nickname she gave me since she met me.
I nodded because I knew my voice would betray me.
"Well since you're up you can help set up for the party tonight." she laughed.
You see, I work as a high class escort. There is actually a whole company and we all live together. The ballroom is being set up for tonight's theme party Masquerade. We have different themes every week and it's mostly for high rollers to spend as much on a girl as possible. Judy found me and brought me here and thought I could bring some more clients due to my innocent look.
I don't mind what I do. I gives me the chance to forget who I am and become someone else, even if it's for a few hours.
"I-I thought the party was tomorrow?" I stuttered once my breathing went back to normal.
Judy knew about the nightmares since the first night they started. She knew not to press the subject anymore than it should've been which I was grateful for.
