Jack had been shot, Goldie and Race had vanished, Whisp was still pregnant, and everything was falling apart. It made it difficult to want to play along, to be honest, and she didn't have the weird loyalty to Kelly that Goldie and the others seemed to have.
Then again, she was a completely different creature.
Everyone had their sob stories, she was no different. Background as bad, and as good, as anyone else. She was the kind of girl who could fade into the woodwork, who could manage to not be seen. It had kept her from getting hit as a child, but skill alone couldn't counteract her mouth. She didn't know when to be quiet, that was one of her faults, one of many, many faults.
She was reckless, brash, thoughtless. She'd've been prettier, if her nose hadn't been broken a handful of times, if she wasn't always wearing a scowl. And tiny as she was, she got mistaken for a child from time to time, as well. But she was no child.
She'd been roaming the streets on her own since she was eleven. Brother in jail, mother beat to death, father stabbed. The knife had slid into his drunken, passed out side so easily it had startled her, actually. Over and over until her brother found her there, made her clean up, pack up, run, while he took the fall. Of course he took the fall- she was his angel, his precious little sister.
Angel. Sure.
She was a bitch, and she knew it. She was nobody's angel. She could see the delusion fading from Indian's eyes, every time she went to see him, in jail. Her brother slowly realizing he'd made a very bad call, covering for her, doing her time for her. At least inside she wouldn't have ended up where she always managed to end up. It was like he could see the alcohol, the smoke, the sex swirling around her. She didn't have to tell him anything, he could just see it.
It hadn't been hard for Jack to talk her into this. Some folks would have said she was already doing the work, and that was partially true. She hated the bunks in the rooming house the girls lived in, and would often go out drinking at night, and go home with strangers, just so she wouldn't have to deal with them. She hated sleeping alone, anyway.
And if she happened to not enjoy herself, well, she was in their home already, there was no harm in taking a bit here and there to help herself along, now was there? That really was where she made ends meet, picking pockets here and there, stealing outright from homes, picking locks, and the like. She was slight of hand, she was, quick on her feet, and able, of course, to vanish, easily, into a crowd. No one really saw her anyway. Just a slip of a girl with a scowl, and a blouse with a button too many undone.
And now she was a whore, to boot, but she wasn't working. None of them were. They were trying to figure out what the hell they were going to do. Jack was in a hospital, and Lia, and Hazel, and Whisp were all in a tizzy, and she felt as though she was the only one with her head screwed on the right way. It was laughable.
"Oh, for god's sake, I'm going to O'Malley's. I need a damn drink." She finally just snapped at them, shutting the other girls up, storming to her feet, and snagging her shawl before heading to the door.
"Are...are you going to...work?" Whisp's voice had gotten, if anything, smaller, since she'd found herself in the family way.
"Yeah. For me. I'm going to find myself someplace else to sleep tonight. You hens are drivin' me crazy." Her hand was barely on the knob of the door when there was a knock. Everyone in the room froze, and she was no exception, hesitating, finally forcing herself to pull the door open.
Kid Blink leaned heavily against the wall across the hallway from the door, a grim look on his face. She couldn't quite tell if he was unhappy to be there, or unhappy in general, and it wasn't a look she was used to seeing on his face.
"What the hell, Blink?" She snapped slightly, scowling, arms crossed over her stomach.
"Jack wanted me to check up on you girls." His voice was a slow drawl, slightly bitter, and he had a hard time meeting her eyes.
"Did he send you to get his cut, then?" She could hear the others moving, in the room behind her, and Lia appeared at her elbow, frowning faintly.
"No." The word was snapped, as though the idea itself was disgusting. Red tinted his cheeks slightly as he added, "I think he was worried you all might have gotten yourselves shot, too. Apparently, Goldie was kind of out of her mind." He didn't quite sound as though he believed it.
"She wasn't. She just wanted out." Lia's voice was soft, and somewhat flat, shaking her head. "So, you can just go back and tell him we're fine, and we're taking some damn time off."
"I honestly don't care what you all do." He pushed off the wall, and very quickly started down the hallway. Without a backwards glance, Imp hurried after him.
"Hey, where're you goin'? Out?" She tried not to sound too hopeful, give away that she sort of wanted him to buy her a drink, if he was going to a pub.
"Back to the lodging house. Why?" He still wasn't looking at her, although she'd made a point to move to his good side.
"C'mon, buy me a drink, Blink..." Her tone took on a bit of pleading, and she pouted at him, trying to keep up. She wasn't expecting him to stop, and turn, his eye narrowed.
"And what if I do? You'll...what? Let me drag you off to an alley? Is this all you can think to do with yourself? For a bunch of smart girls, you're all pretty stupid. Goldie and Jack...yeah, that I can kind of get. Sarah wanted too much from him, and he needed someone who just needed him, nothing else, but the rest of you? Going along with this? It's stupid. And now's your chance to go back to doing honest work. Even Whisp. We'll all look out for her, and her kid, when he or she comes along, but not like this."
It was the last thing she expected him to say, and it took her aback, physically recoiling a bit, frowning deeply at him. "Yeah, sure, you'll all help all of us out. One big happy family, ain't that right? Jag and her girls talking trash about us, and you boys trying to get up our skirts, and we're right where we started. That's really the way to go."
He sighed, clearly frustrated, half-turning as though to walk away before turning back around. "You know what? No. Things are only as bad as you make them, Imp. Quit being such a brat, and maybe things won't turn out so bad. You're determined to make your life miserable. Fine. But don't make this about the rest of us. It's on you."
She stared at him, stunned silent as he stormed off, left standing there, not sure if she was confused or unhappy that someone had actually called her out on her own displacement of blame. She didn't like it, in any case. Not one little bit.