Harry's POV:
This is it. After this lunch, I'm telling her. We're through. We're done. I can't be with her anymore. She's too...controlling. Too bitchy. Too bossy. I can't take it anymore. If she's this bad already, after only seeing each other for 2 months, I can't imagine what she'll be like in 6 months.
I was heavy in thought. I wasn't used to breaking up with people. Dumping women. I usually wasn't the one doing the dumping. Sometimes, but not usually. I usually took the easy way out, and either ignored them until they got the clue and went away, or just pissed them off to the point that they'd dump me. I always felt bad dumping! Too much of a softy, I suppose. But not today. I'm working on a new pair of balls today, and from now on.
I decided to go collect my thoughts in the bathroom. Pep myself up a little. Look in the mirror and tell myself I can do this. She'll get over it. It's no big deal. I'll just tell her it's not working out.
I spent probably 10 whole minutes in the men's room at Liberty Lunch n' Dinner. I peed, I washed my hands, and then I breathed some deep breaths, and looked at myself in the mirror and started my pep talk. Deciding exactly what I was gonna say to her to break it off. She probably already knew what was coming, because I did tell her we needed to talk, when I asked her to lunch. Knowing her personality, she probably thought I was gonna propose to her or something. She's very....vain.
Ok. I can do this, I thought to myself, and I threw open the men's room door, and took a step out with confidence......only to bang the door into someone.
See what happens when I get too much confidence? This wasn't a good sign.
I put my hand out to try and steady the woman I hit with the door, but she regained her balance herself by the time I noticed what happened. "Oh hey, sorry!" I said to her in shock. I figured she worked in the kitchen. For someone working in a restaurant, she sure was skinny, though. She didn't move. She was just standing there awkwardly for a few seconds. It all happened so quick, yet, so slowly that there was plenty of time for awkwardness for some reason. Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder at me, and when I looked into her eyes, I saw complete....horror.
That's all I can describe it as. Horror.
When my eyes finally unlocked from her glare, that was when I noticed the rest of her face. It too looked like pure horror. She had welts and bruises everywhere, and there was blood dried on her face! What the bloody hell????? Other than her battered looking face, I could tell she was a pretty girl. Full lips, long, dark brown hair in a ponytail, and bright hazel eyes on either side of her perfectly sloped nose.
My mouth moved around, but I didn't know WHAT to possibly say in that moment. I was shocked, and now I too was standing there awkwardly and totally speechless.
Finally I managed to spit out "Are you...alright?"
She just kept looking at me. It was like she was looking into my soul, though my eyes. The horror that was trapped in her dark puffy eyes actually disappeared for a split second, replaced by...a glimmer of peace. But it was so quick, and before I knew it, the peace was gone from her eyes, and the horror was back. So many emotions, in so few seconds. How did she do that?
She didn't answer me back. All that came out after her mouth moving silently for a second or two, was a sudden gasp of breath, followed by more small sobs. And with that, she turned quickly and rushed through the door. I could hear her lean back on it after it closed. I could hear her breaths as she sobbed. I stood there with my hands on the door, wondering what the FUCK just happened, until someone started walking down the hall towards me. I composed myself, cleared my throat, and started walking, with my head down as I passed another customer on her way to the ladies room.
I got back to my seat, and I was all flustered. I couldn't even concentrate. I didn't even remember what I was doing. I looked down at Celia as I sat, and I thought, fu.ck it.
"This isn't working, Celia. I asked you out to lunch to break it off. I'm sorry." I blurted out without thinking. I took a deep breath, and waited for her reaction.
She looked at me for a long few seconds, and finally spoke. "Hmph. Well......you obviously don't know what you're throwing away, but it's probably for the best. You drive me crazy anyway, with your antics, and your immature friends and immature kid humor. I thought you'd be more mature, for how successful you are."
Then she looked away, out the windows behind me.
"Shall we finish our lunch at least? Or do you want me to leave now?" she finally asked.
"No no! Let's finish! Please! I want us to end as friends, Celia. I do. You're a great girl. You are. I just don't think it'll work out between us. Hopefully you'll find someone more....mature after me." I ended with nervous laughter to cut the tension.
She simply smiled, and scooped up some veggies and continued her meal, so I did the same.
Most of the rest of lunch was in silence, as the thoughts of that battered girl near the bathrooms was now haunting me. Once in a while I'd give a friendly smile to Celia if she happened to look at me. That hadn't been too hard after all. So far, she'd taken it pretty well. Hopefully it wasn't just because we were in public, I thought to myself. Now, about that beaten up girl.....
I just couldn't let it go. I couldn't get her scared eyes out of my mind. Her gasps. Her shocked look, like she'd seen a ghost when she saw me.....I found myself looking over towards the single kitchen door in the back, repeatedly. Was she back there? Was she beaten by her boyfriend, then had to come to work anyway? But if that were the case, wouldn't she have wiped the blood before starting work? Was she beaten here? At work? Did her boyfriend come in and hit her? I looked around at the other tables, at the other customers. No one terrible looking. No one tense or angry looking. Did no one in the kitchen notice how bruised she was? Did no one want to help her? Nothing made sense. I just felt like that poor girl needed help. Something wasn't right about the whole thing.
After what seemed like forever, Celia finally finished her last bite, took a few sips of her lemonade, wiped her lips, and cleared her throat. "Well Harry, I guess this is it then?" she asked and looked at me as if giving me a chance to chance my mind and tell her no, it's not the end.
But I held to my decision, and told her "Yeah....I suppose it is. I mean, you can text me. Call me if you need to talk or whatever. I hope we can be friendly from here" I said.
"Sure. Sure. Whatever. I'm sure I'll talk to ya later at some point. I do have to get my toothbrush and stuff from your flat", she said nicely as she rose from the table and put her purse around her shoulder, setting her lap napkin on her plate.
I stood up and walked to the side of the table to her, and held my arms out for a hug. She smiled, and hugged me tight. "I'm sorry we didn't work out", she whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry too" I responded.
And with that, she gave me one last smile, and turned and left.
I stood there watching her leave, then sat back down and finished my food slowly.
I didn't want to leave here yet, as thoughts of that poor girl came right back to me.
At least ending it with Celia went well.
When I was done, I had decided I was gonna walk to the back of the restaurant, and look in the kitchen for that girl. If I didn't see her right away, maybe I'd ask for her. But I just wanted to see if I could see her. See if she was alright at least. Anything. Even just to make sure I'd seen what I thought I'd seen. Maybe it was my imagination. I was stressed, plus I had gotten high last night several times with friends. You never know.
I left a tip at the table, paid the cashier, and then when the person behind me started paying, I slowly slunk towards the door I figured led to the kitchen.
I pushed through the swinging door, and stopped, looking everywhere quickly. My eyes scanned the various girls all immersed in their work. All dressed the same. All in pony tails. All very thin. All perfectly quiet. Then I spotted her. The only brunette in the kitchen. She was grabbing a tong full of salad and putting it into one of the many plates she had lined up on the counter in front of her. I could see her bruises and puffy cheeks from the side view of her. It wasn't my imagination. Dammit, I cursed silently. In seconds, the cashier chick was tapping me on the shoulder from behind. I turned quickly as she told me "Sir, you can't be in here, I'm sorry..." I looked back at the girl one last time before I turned to leave. At that moment, she looked over at me. Her mouth dropped open and the horror I remembered returned to her eyes. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. She dropped her tongs, and just stared at me with wide eyes. The cashier chick pulled me by my shirt now, and I walked backwards, staring at the girl until the kitchen door swung shut in front of me.
"Can I help you sir? Is there something you need from the kitchen? Are you looking for the manager? Was your meal ok?" the cashier lady asked, seemingly annoyed at me for "trespassing".
"I.....I uh....was looking for a girl....I..." was all I was able to say. I didn't know WHAT to say, until the cashier cut me off. "Oh", a knowing look came over her, and she told me "wait right here...I'll get the manager for you". She disappeared into the kitchen for a minute or two. Then she came out and smiled at me as she passed right by, and went back to her post at the register. Following behind her, was a man. He was bald with some side stubble and a round face. Mean looking. Black tee shirt, and out of style jeans. He looked about 50. He didn't strike me as the manager of a restaurant. More like a janitor of one.
"So you're looking for a girl, you say?" he said in a quiet tone. He held up a black 3 ring binder towards me and said "Chose one. Or two. But the price is double for that of course", then he chuckled.
Clueless, I hesitantly took the binder he held out to me, and opened it. There was no explanation or introduction or anything. In each plastic page protector was a glossy picture of a girl, and a short description about her. Nationality, age, and name.
I flipped through, trying not to drop my jaw like I felt was going to happen. I was confused as hell.
The third page in, I stopped and stared.
It was her.
The brunette girl. "Gwen" it said. White. Age 23.
She didn't have bruises or blood in this picture. She looked....beautiful. Her long brown hair flowed down over her shoulders in slight waves. Her green eyes though, they looked sad. And her lips had a definite pout to them. Taking in her whole face overall, I saw that she looked sad. Just really sad. Like a puppy dog kind of sad.
Then I noticed what she was wearing. A pink lacey bra that barely covered her breasts, and pink lacey undies that were mostly see through, to match. Her thin frame looked too thin. Her shoulder bones stuck out just a little too much, and I could see a few ribs. It didn't look like she was that thin naturally. She had a great body....that probably used to have meat on its bones. I looked back up from the shock of her almost naked picture, to her face again. Yes. That was definitely her. I now noticed that her face was slightly sunken in. And she had dark shadows below her eyes. She looked terrible, despite her beauty that tried to shine through.
What the HELL was this place? What was this about? I asked about a girl, and I get a book of half naked girls? I flipped through the rest of the pages, looking over each girl. A ginger. A black girl. An Asian girl, a blonde one, and a Hispanic looking girl. All around the same ages. From 21 to 24.
I looked up at the "manager" as he stood there watching me look through this "girl catalog" as it seemed.
"See anything you like?" he asked me in a hopeful tone.
"Uh......I uh.....well.....you mentioned price....how much?" I suddenly remembered him telling me about double price or something.
"$100 an hour, or $500 for the entire night. You'd come here at midnight, and be out by 6am" he informed me. There's no bargains or discounts or coupons, I'm sure your friend told you. If you want more than one girl, the price simply doubles. Or triples....however many you're into. But I'd have to make sure whichever ones you pick aren't booked already for that night." he explained more, still keeping very quiet.
I looked back, remembering the register girl was just a few feet away. We were hidden from the dining area by a wall, though, so no one could see or really hear us. I looked at the register girl. She didn't look like any of the women in the book I'd seen. She was also blonde, but looked older. Maybe she had been in this book before? But now she's too old?
I suddenly realized that the girls in the book looked like all the girls I'd seen in the kitchen! So they were cooks by day, and pros.ti.tutes by night?
Oh my God!
I cleared my throat awkwardly, as I noticed the man getting impatient with me, shifting his weight a few times, still looking right at me as I "made my decision".
"Uh...I'll take..." I flipped backwards through the pages, until the brunette's haunting picture stared up at me, "her?"
I looked up at the guy, and he asked me "what night?"
"Oh....uh.....tonight? Is she free tonight?" I asked quickly, going along with whatever it was here I was getting myself into.
"How long?" the man asked as his head was now in a small pocket notebook I hadn't noticed he had. He was flipping through, looking at each page.
He then looked up at me as if he was impatiently waiting for my answer.
"Don't worry man. Everyone's awkward their first time. Before you know it, you'll be a regular." he told me as if to help me out and give me some support for my hesitation.
"All? All night?" I blurted out.
I didn't want anyone else to have her. I needed to have her to myself to talk to her. I didn't know how long it would take.
"All night! Good man! You'll have a great time. She's a hot one, lemme tell ya!" he chuckled again to me, giving me a manly swat on the top of my arm.
I awkwardly forced myself to laugh with him, as if I was sharing his joke. Even though I was absolutely nauseous now.
"Name?" he asked, serious now.
"Har...Edward" I lied, almost having said my real name. Was I stupid? Sheesh! I gave my middle name at the last second.
"Ok 'Edward'" he said with a glimmer in his eye, and air quotes around my name. "You're all set for tonight. All night. We have protection, so no need to worry about that. Door's in the back. 11;45pm. Cash only. Pay when you come in. I'm Mike. See you then, eh?" he laughed, and held out his hand to shake mine.
"Right. Ok." I responded, and tried to steady my own hand to shake his. His hand was cold and clammy and it only made me more nauseous, wondering how he knew this girl was "a hot one" as he called her, with a twinkle in his eye. I knew how he probably knew. I just didn't want to accept it.
He took the binder from my hand as he put his pocket notebook in his shirt pocket along with his pencil, and turned to leave, saying "Later mate".
I turned to leave, and caught the cashier's eyes as I walked towards her to pass by her on my way out.
She looked at me with knowing eyes, and nodded to me as I passed her.
I rushed out the door, and rushed down the block, and when I turned the corner, I was out of breath, and shaking all over, so I stopped and leaned against the brick wall of the city building, and leaned my hands on my knees, closed my eyes, and tried to calm myself down.
What the HELL had I just signed up for???
And who is "my friend" he mentioned? Maybe this pros.ti.tution ring was through word of mouth, so he figured I'd been referred to through a friend? That had to be it.
All someone has to say is "I'm looking for a girl" and they have a "special menu" to chose from?
This was all so messed up and not fitting into my mind right at ALL.
It was 2:14pm now, my phone said.
I stood up straight, and turned around to look around the building at the restaurant I'd just come from's sign down the street.
'Liberty Lunch N' Dinner'
It looked so real. So normal. It didn't look shady at all. It was a shady section of town, sure. But...it looked fine. It didn't seem gawdy or seedy inside, either. And the food was pretty good, too. I'd come here lots of times before. At that thought, another wave of nausea hit me suddenly. All those times I'd come here, eating food made by malnourished pros.ti.tutes? I felt disgusted, and I felt bad for them. Why would anyone chose that life?
I guess it's better than living in the streets I suppose. Having a place to be all day, and food to eat, and a place to....do your 'business' at night...many women had it worse, actually. But it was the way she was beaten to a pulp that concerned me. If you're gonna be a pros.ti.tute, fine. Be one. It sucks, but people do it. But to be beaten like that? No. That was unacceptable. Something was wrong in this picture. THAT'S why I needed to talk to her. See if she's ok. She looked so afraid when she saw me...it just didn't feel right at all. And I couldn't get that look in her eyes out of my mind. I just had to make sure she was alright. And then I'd let her be.
I had started to walk back to my flat.
What a day already. I'd broken up with my girlfriend, and was pretty sure I'd just reserved a pros.ti.tute for tonight. Did I mention what a fuc.king day?