Page 35 of Slaughtered Firefly
“Need a light?” the voice asked, and I looked up to see Madeline. She had a figure, but there was a harshness in her face that made her unappealing. I watched her with apprehension as she struck a lighter, held the flame to the unlit cigarette and ignited the end. I took a long drag, inhaling as the minty flavor danced on my tongue.Who the fuck smokes menthols?I looked at the crumpled box in my hand and suppressed a groan. Instead I blew out laughing bitterly.
“What do I owe you?” I looked up at Madeline with boredom in my eyes. Everything in a place like this costs.
“Free of charge, although I couldn’t help but overhear your spat with that drug addict, perhaps I could offer my services,” Madeline battered her fake eyelashes and slid into the leather booth next to me, suggestively placing a hand on my thigh. Her fingers were manicured into points, and my dick shriveled with the thought of her trying to wrap those talons around me. Gross.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into me. The cigarette laid on the table discarded as I gripped her chin with my other hand. “And just what services are we talking about?” I seethed.
Her hand snaked up my thigh. I wanted to shove her away and vomit in the nearest trash can, but I remained still. “Whatever services you need,” she replied seductively.
I held her chin, contemplating her proposal before releasing her and standing up. “I don’t fuck in public,” I replied, extinguishing the cigarette and turning my back towards Madeline. Ready to walk away from the entire encounter if shit didn’t go my way.
“Follow me,” she replied as she grabbed my hand, leading us deeper into the club, up a set of rickety steps that groaned with our presence. I kept my mouth shut, memorizing the maze of halls and rooms we took once we ascended. There was a pit in my stomach as Madeline pulled us into a dark room with low neon blue lights. It reeked of sex in here, and I wrinkled my nose at the idea of how many STDs I would find on that couch.
I closed the door behind us. The lock clicked into place. As I turned back around, Madeline was on her knees. I pulled her up by her hair and threw her on the couch. I could have been nicer, but I didn’t want her anywhere near me.
“I will pay you for your time, but don’t fucking touch me” I ground out. The sting of rejection flashed across her face as she fixed her outfit.
“Fine, but I charge five hundred an hour either way,” She sat up, crossing her legs.
“I need to talk about your ex-husband,” I grabbed the desk chair, setting it in front of her. My hand rested on the backing as I contemplated whether I would get any diseases sitting down.
“What about him?” She replied, admiring her nails.
“Why did you leave him? Surely he was better than — ” I gestured around, emphasizing my unspoken words.
“It’s not like I had a choice, that crazy cunt held a knife to my throat and threatened to kill me if I didn’t leave, do you know how much money I lost?” she complained like it wasn’t her fault she lost out on her gold digger prospects.
I pulled out my phone, bringing up a picture of Mia Williams. “Is this the woman that threatened you?” I shoved the phone in her face.
“No, I’ve never met her, the bitch that threatened me was a redhead.” She replied with an eye roll. Interesting. Madeline passed the phone back to me, and I scrolled through the news article from last month’s art gala before turning the phone back to her.
“What about this woman?” I urged, it was a long shot. I didn’t think Addams’ librarian or pre-school teacher was the one, but I had to be sure.
“That bitch!” she gripped the phone tightly as she looked at the photo. Zooming in as anger formed on her face. It was a publicity photo for the cameras. Scott was next to the mayor, and his girlfriend clung to his side as they smiled politely.
“Her, it was that skank!” she seethed, handing my phone back.
“Thanks,” I muttered after a moment.
“That bitch forced me out to squirm her way in, I wouldn’t be in this shit hole if I could have seduced him with my pussy sooner, what man waits until marriage? What are we in the 1800s?” She groaned, leaning back against the couch.
I swallowed and chuckled before pulling my wallet out, “well this has been informative, I hope to never step place here again. If I were you, I would get out of this cesspool as quickly as possible.” I tossed her the rest of my cash; it was roughly three grand, and left.
22
I SAW RED
Present day—July 28th
My breath caught in my chest as I clawed at my body; everything was on fire.No, no, no, this can’t be happening.I kicked the sheet to the side, revealing a large puddle of blood. Fear oozed out of me like the dark red liquid
“Mia, are you alright?”
My eyes didn’t leave the pool of blood. I couldn’t breathe as I blinked furiously at the red mass.“I — do you see that?” Was that my voice? The stuttering stupid girl who did not form a full coherent thought? The light above buzzed to life and illuminated the area. I no longer saw the blood. Light banished the dark memories while my eyes adjusted to the harshness.
“No, I don’t see anything, what did you see?”
“I saw — ” Hesitation filtered into my voice as I cleared my throat.
