Everything was quiet that evening, Joy sitting in her room, still in her school uniform. She was doing her math homework, enjoying putting herself to work. She might not have shown it, but she loved school. It distracted her from her home life. She pushed her slightly broken glasses up on her nose, the hinges loose and causing the glasses to constantly shift. Tapping her pencil against her book, she could hear Sam and her mother Valerie speaking in low tones in the living room. Joy didn't pay much attention to them. As long as they were quiet she didn't care about what they were discussing, or what they were doing.
But the thing was, when the two of them were together, things didn't stay quiet for long.
Gradually their drunken voices grew louder, but Joy ignored it, figuring one would pass out eventually.
As she was a few questions away from finishing her homework, planning to go out for the night, a shatter jolted her from her bed, forcing to leave her room and cautiously walk down the paint chipped hall. She kept her footsteps as quiet as she possibly could, making her way to the living room. A loud thud followed by two more awful flesh sounds and crying were sounds Joy knew all too well. It made her speed up her steps to the living room.
Her mother was curled up in the fetal position, bracing herself against his fist. Broken glass from a beer bottle scattered the floor, shards of it lodged in Sam's cheek. Sam's ghostly skin dripped with blood, a long slice along his face made the living room look like a crime scene, blood spewing everywhere.
She couldn't tell which was her mother's and which was his, but she immediately rushed over to intervene when he threw another punch. Her mother let out a wail, leading Joy to cut in between in a panic, attempting to ward off Sam.
"Stop it!" She shrilled, trying to push him away, but her weak body at the time wouldn't allow it and she was shoved aside harshly. She stood up again and rammed him, and this time Sam turned on her, the strike of his fist to her shoulder knocking her onto her side. Joy clenched her teeth tightly, holding her aching arm and crawling backwards along the filth brown carpeting.
"You stay out of this you little bitch." He sneered through his rotting teeth, melting away from his use of methamphetamines.
The screaming. Oh it was the screaming that really got to her. It shook her down to her bones and welled frightened tears in her eyes, her heart beating so fast in her chest it made it hard to breathe. Her chest was tight as she stood by helplessly gripping her hair.
"If you don't stop I'm calling the cops! Do you hear me?!" And statement she spewed many times while she lived here.
Afraid for her mother's life, she ran to her room and gripped her phone.
"I'm calling them!" She screamed over her mother, her voice quivering as she pressed nine. Then one. Then another one. Her blurry vision stared at the numbers and that's when everything quieted down her mother shouting at Sam to get out, the front door slamming and her mother resuming her hysterics.
Joy got off her bed and slammed the door shut, leaning against it and throwing her phone back on the bed with the number still dialed.
She ran her fingers through her hair and her shoulders shook as she cried, hugging her knees to her chest.
The worst thing was, her mother would let him in later on, and this cycle would repeat.
~·~·~
Joy flinched when another glass shattered, snapping from her daze.
Her eyes immediately glared daggers at the rowdy crowd towards the back of the club. They were screaming and laughing and it was getting under her skin as she grabbed champagne glasses to serve to clients.
"La Madre quien te pario. Cállate la boca." She grumbled under her breath, holding the platter against her shoulder as she moved in their direction. When she arrived at their table the three men were laughing rather loudly, and talking sloppily, insinuating they were drunk.
Joy slammed the platter down and the glittering liquid sloshed from the glasses.
"Enjoy." She smiled tightly, readying to leave them to their rambunctious behavior until one had the nerve to grab her wrist.
Instantly she snatched away, glaring down the borracho who's tie was loose around his neck, a lazy grin curling his mouth while his eyes were barely open.
"Hey baby, why ya being like that?" He slurred, Joy's lip curling in disgust. He was probably some rich frat boy, freshly turned twenty-one and out to enjoy his first night as an adult by being an asshole.
"I have work to do." She attempted to evade. She already felt anger bubbling up inside her like molten lava.
"Ah common, I'll tip you nice, come sit with me for a bit." Joy faced him, hands on her hips.
"I would prefer I didn't. Thank you for the offer though." The stern tone appeared to have gotten through, his hazy smile becoming a frown. Joy began to trot away in her heels when a loud smack made her flinch, the impact of the hit stung her backside and left a pink hand print. It shown through her fishnet stockings, just along her backside and that was when Joy completely flew off the hinges.
She moved towards him, eyes filled with fury as she reached for the tray of sparkling drinks and grabbed one, throwing it in his face.
The young man shot up from the chair, his expression shocked as gold droplets rained down his face. They held the same menacing glare.
"You better watch yourself."
"Bite me!" She snarled in reply, readying to take a swing at him, but only to be stopped by another voice.
"What the fuck is going on out here?" Isaiah's gruff tone sneered behind her, grabbing Joy, and guiding her away from her target.
"That little fuck thinks we're running some kind of whore house where you can just grope workers." Isaiah had the group escorted out, and that was when he turned on her, grabbing her shoulders firmly and pulling her aside.
"Are you out of your mind? What did I fucking say about doing shit like that?" His eyes were just as ire filled as hers, glowing that intensely deep orange. She jut her chin up, curling her mouth into a scowl.
He knew somehow, she was going to be blamed for what was done to her.
If you chase off a customer, you're chasing off money for Isaiah's habits, and that just wouldn't sit right with him.
~·~·~
Tobias had seen everything, from the fight with some customer to Isaiah roughly drawing her aside. He was watching the scene unfold, drink in hand, just waiting. He couldn't make out clearly what was being said over the music, but he saw them rather close, Joy raising her hands and failing them, while he did the same. She had gone to walk away, but he ripped her back so viciously it made Tobias cringe, nails digging into the leather of the chair. Master Cross was here, so confronting them wouldn't be a solid option unless he wanted to deal with Jon later on.
Ophelia and Marissa were asking waitresses for more drinks, scoping for their next meal while Jon wait patiently nearby.
But then, time was slowed as Isaiah raised his fist to her and sent it into her face, knocking her to the ground. She fell to the floor, just like her mother, bracing herself for the next hit.
That was when Tobias had enough.
He didn't hesitate when flew across the room and he grabbed up Isaiah. He threw him into the bar counter nearby, and followed it with a messy throw of his fist, continuously beating on him with blind rage. Even when blood spewed onto his suit and startled cries and screeches sounded over the music he didn't stop until Joy's voice made it to his ears.
"Stop it! Stop!" She pried Tobias away, moving to Isaiah who was glaring up at Tobias with a bloodied mouth. He hissed at him, baring his fangs but Tobias wasn't remotely threatened.
"Next time you think it is alright to hit on someone weaker than you, remember this." Tobias calmly said.
Once she knew Isaiah was okay, she threw up her hands and gave a tearful smile. "I'm going home. Fuck this." She stepped over broken glass and was headed towards the exit of the club, and Tobias tailed her.
"Tobias-" Jon tried to stop and scold him, but he was ignored, Tobias pushing past the remainder of the crowd.
She threw open the door and let in a cold draft, Tobias following her and grabbing her wrist to stop her.
"God damn it, don't grab me!" Tobias let go and she stood in place, bringing a shaking hand to her mouth to wipe it clear of redness. "Just go, you caused enough problems for tonight." She continued down the street in her skimpy one piece and fishnet stockings. Tobias stopped her again, this time just by standing in her path. He tipped up her chin, turning her head to the side to examine the damage.
He saw her eye was swollen, beginning to hemorrhage along the white of her eye when she rolled it up towards the sky. "Why won't you leave me alone? Are you fucking brain dead? I said go." Tobias took her arm and dragged her towards his car.
"Get off-" All too serious and tired of her snippy attitude he firmly stopped her and glared at her.
"Get in my car and let's go. You're not walking around in that, and certainly you're not going back to that house with him." Tobias took the keys to the black cat from his pocket and unlocked the doors, opening the drivers door and getting in.
Joy stood on the sidewalk, hugging herself. "I'm not getting in that car with you." Tobias threw open the door to the passengers side.
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. You need some place safe to stay." He reprimanded, and that was when Joy huffed her shoulders slouching in defeat, relenting to him and getting in his car.
She slammed the door behind her and folded her arms, Tobias putting the car in drive and heading off down the street.
He cast her a side glance, then back ahead of him at the empty road, the edge in his voice softening for a moments time.
"Pease put your seatbelt on."
~·~·~
A few miles down, Tobias saw in the corner of his eye that she was licking her wound, her tongue running over the broken part of her lip.
His fingers clutched the steering wheel, his thoughts still reeling from what he just witnessed.
"I don't understand, do you like to be treated like that, Joy? To have someone hit you such a manner?" Joy smirked, a tsk pardoning her from responding right away as she turned her attention out the window beside her.
"He didn't hit me that hard."
"And you think that's a reason to defend what he's done to you?" Joy snapped her bruised eye at him, a scowl frowning her black painted lips.
"Isaiah has a temper. I knew that and I said something shouldn't have. End of story." Tobias was angry, and he was doing his best to understand why she would continue to subject herself to this, but it just didn't make any sense.
"That is not an excuse for him to raise his hands to you. No one should be harming you regardless of what you had said. That's abusive behavior and it is not okay."
"Well, you know what, Tobias, life sucks. If I don't care, neither should you."
"I do care because you deserve better than to be mistreated by some low life brute." He wasn't sure why, but she grew enraged with him.
"Do not talk that way about him. You're not perfect so don't pretend you are. Everyone has their flaws and I can handle my own. Isaiah has taken care of me for seven years. If it wasn't for him I'd probably be dead." Tobias slammed the brakes of his car and turned to her, wishing to shake the brainwashed thinking from her skull.
"You're going to be dead if he keeps hitting you like that! If you stay with him I promise you, you're going to be hit too hard and he's going to kill you. Is that what you want for yourself, Joy?"
"You know what? Maybe that is what I want. Maybe I stay with him because I want him to hit me hard enough to put me in a grave. I don't want to be here anymore, Tobias. I'm tired of being alive. There's nothing in the future for me. Nothing. I'm going to die a nobody because the world swallows up people like me. Just another druggie in a grave, ain't no tragedy, I did it to myself. All I've ever known is this life, and you know what, I learned there will never be anything this world will have to offer me that will be of good cause. If the drugs don't kill me first, he will." He could hear her voice straining to hide her sadness, salted droplets dripping from her eyes. "Now are you done with your heroic speech? Because I am."
Tobias pressed his foot to the gas pedal, slowly cruising down another avenue.
"You can make something of yourself, Joy. You just need help, that's all. The world has plenty to offer, you just can't see it through your world of black and white. There's color out there if you let me show you that. There can be something better for you." Joy laughed mockingly at his attempt to talk sense into her.
"Okay. You just don't get it, and you're not going to, so believe what you will. Believe that you can throw me a life line and I'll reach out for it. You're going to be disappointed when I choose to drown."
Tobias decided not to say anything else, hoping that his words would sink in.
He stopped the car in front of a building in Princeton Avenue, taking the keys from the ignition and sighing.
"We're here."
Spanish to English Terms:
La Madre quien te pario: "The mother who gave birth to you." The term however is used in the same sense as "Mother fucker."
Cállate la boca: Shut your mouth
Borracho: Drunk
**Author's Note: As you may notice, the updates to this story are slow, and I have decided I will be updating once a month since it is easier for me to keep up with. Thank you all for the patience!**