Page 108 of Girls Night
She sensed me looking at her and turned her head to look me straight in the eye, her expression blank and cold like usual. “I know you’re still kind of new here and not used to the way TJ runs things, but a bit of advice, hon. Don’t fuck with him. He’s a land you don’t want to ever visit, and not only will he make your life hell, he’ll blacklist you forever in this city, and from what I know, you ain’t got nowhere to go from here but the bottom.”
Turning away from her hard stare, I looked back at the TV. The girl at the locker was walking to her car now, her arms loaded with schoolbooks. Her fresh face and rosy cheeks, soft silky hair, seemed to mock me. I had never been that girl, never had the chance. Privilege was a bitch.
“I get it, Kay,” I whispered, trying to hold back the lump in my throat, my fingers cold around the ice cream container.
“Good.” She set her cup down and folded her arms. “You’ll live, okay? We’re strong motherfuckers, us girls. Keep your head, hold your tongue. Save all that for the Johns.”
Smirking, I looked over at her then and caught a tiny little smile from her as she stood.
Yawning, she muttered about getting old, and picked up her cup of noodles. “I’m going to bed. Remember what I said, Devon.”
“Will do. Night, Kay.”
Long after she’d left, leaving me alone with the TV, I thought hard on what I should do, what Icoulddo, and what I had no choice to do.
Anyway I looked at it, life sucked a big dick.
* * *
I slept like crap, as usual. Nightmares had always been a thing with me, ever since I was ten years-old, when Mom had left me alone on nights out. Last night’s dream was about TJ chasing me down alley after alley, yelling my name, and at every turn, I saw my mom, only to hit a wall of glass once I got close enough to her. Then, like a David Lynch movie, I’d find myself back in another dark alley. Wash, rince, and repeat.
As I got dressed for the day, I thought over what Kay had said about keeping my head. I knew I could. Hell, I did it for years back home. I could wait some more.
I left the house determined to be a good girl, no matter how much grief TJ spat at me. I’d be his little slave for a few more months, and then I was out. Maybe I could pick up an odd job here and there in the meantime, I thought. TJ wouldn’t have to know, since I only saw him a few times a week, if that. Some odd job paying under-the-table, of course. Nothing legit on the books, not that anyone would hire someone with no experience or a resume. I’d barely made it through high school. But there had to be something I could do.
With those thoughts in mind, I headed across the street to catch the Main Street bus, in search of Jose. Being on the shifty side, Jose Santiago was practically head of the city’s underground. He was one of the first people I’d met when I got off the bus all those months ago. Hispanic, suave, and super smart, Jose knew everything and everyone. And for a bonus, he hated TJ. Jose didn’t deal in sex and drugs, only information.
Just as I thought, there he was, sitting outside Café Mint and reading his Sunday paper. He was all dressed up like usual—tan linen pants, white short-sleeved shirt that probably cost a fortune, and leather shoes with no socks. Today he had foregone his fancy hat, so his thick black hair was slicked back into a low ponytail.
He looked up as I crossed the street, heading his way. “Ah, hello beautiful.”
That’s how he talked to people. Made you feel important and just as good as anyone else.
“Hey, Jose. Got a minute?” I asked. I wasn’t about to assume it would be cool for me to just plop down at his table, but I wasn’t shy about asking for what I wanted, either. In this world you had to stick your foot out there or you’d never get anywhere.
Plus, if there was anyone who could help me, it would be him.
The smile he gave me could’ve blinded women. But I knew better than to believe he was interested in anything I had to offer.
“Of course. What’s on your mind?” He put down his paper, folding it neatly, and motioned for me to have a seat.
“I need some work,” I told him after I sat down. When he raised an eyebrow, I quickly added, “nothing illegal, just some extra job to give me a bit of a cushion. Business is slow.”
He was quiet for a few moments as he turned his face away from me and looked out across the street. “There’s something about you that reminds me of innocence,chica. You don’t belong here. You should go back home.” He faced me again, and I felt my cheeks grow hot at the look of pity he was giving me.
There was no home to go to, I wanted to tell him, and I was anything but innocent. I didn’t need his goddamn pity. First Kay’s lecture, now Jose’s concern?
As if he’d read my mind, his expression softened. “But that’s not my place to say, is it? So you are in need of a job or two.” He scratched his neck as he thought it over. “Ah. I heard from a little bird that someone’s hiring for some odd jobs. Would be right up your alley. Go see Tina at Magdalene House. She’ll put you in contact with who you’d need to speak to.”
“Magdalene House. That homeless shelter out there on the skirts?” Not that I was overly familiar with it, just had heard it in passing here and there.
I made a face. If I didn’t know better I’d think Jose was pulling one over on me.
“That’s the one. A safe house. If it’s a dead end, come back and see me next Sunday.” He picked up his paper and winked at me. I had been dismissed.
“I appreciate it, Jose.”
He waved me away. “Just be careful. You’re like a dove among the vultures right now.”
