Bobby Mercer stared out the window intently at the falling snow. It had been snowing a lot these past few weeks, which, he decided, were the worst few weeks of his life. At least he was with his brothers again. He could hear Angel banging his "woman" down the hall, Jack was playing away on his guitar and Jerry was off doing something quietly on his own. Jerry had been doing that a lot lately, but something outside was starting to attract Bobby's attention.
She didn't look like the rest of the girls who walked around here. First of all she was wearing a coat that covered more then her arms. Secondly, she looked rather professional, which was rare in this neighborhood, especially for young women. She looked lost as she milled around, looking at the buildings. Bobby wondered to himself how she had wound up here. Bobby stiffened as he saw two large guys come up behind the girl quickly.
Ella was trying to remember why she had come back to her old neighborhood. She had been a very different person when she had lived here. She shuddered as she looked around, remembering how her father would beat her if she didn't bring home enough money to support them. It was him who had forced her to drop out of school and work as a stripper. She had come a long way since then. And she would never go back to that life. However, she was taking a psychology class at college now, and it gave her the idea that she should confront her demons. She thought that visiting her old neighborhood would be the best way.
She didn't notice the sudden extra snow crunching behind her. That or she was just used to busy streets and didn't remember to always look behind you when you were walking in this neighborhood. She remembered quickly when she felt big hands grab onto her and try to flip her over. She stood her ground, but knew she wouldn't be able to for long. "What do you want?" she yelled as loud and violently as she could, trying to convince them she wasn't afraid, and grab some attention at the same time.
"You know what we want baby, and it ain't just what's in your purse," one of the large men grumbled into her ear.
Ella was worried about that. She suddenly wished that she still carried a gun on her. "Listen boys, that's something you gotta earn, you can't just take it," she snarled angrily.
"Baby, I don't think you're in any position to argue about that," the second man started laughing.
"Now if you just keep your mouth shut and come with us nicely, we won't slit your pretty little neck," the first one shoved a gun heavily into her back.
"Call me crazy, but I think if you need a gun to get a woman then you must have one hell of a tiny penis," a third male voice rang through the cold.
The two men spun around, taking Ella with them. She stared straight ahead, trying to figure out if this would be rescue or just a turnover to a worst man. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Well, are you gonna let the nice lady go, or are you gonna come up against a Mercer?"
The two guys let Ella go slowly. Ella looked around, not sure if she wanted to keep going alone or trust this Mercer guy. She'd heard about the Mercer boys before, she'd seen Angel Mercer in the club where she used to strip, but surely they couldn't be related, Angel was black, this guy was white. " Looks like maybe they got ya with the pavement. I live right there. Come in and get cleaned up will ya?" this Mercer guy definitely wasn't eloquent but something about him seemed trust worthy.
As they got closer to the house she looked at him, even though his presence intimidated the hell out of her. "Thank you, for saving me from those guys. I don't think I could have held them off much longer," Ella tried to smile.
"Don't worry about it. Were you lost or something? A lady as pretty as you shouldn't be walking these streets alone, even in broad daylight," he sounded almost angry as he told her this.
"I used to live here, a long time ago. Guess I forgot what it was like," Ella tried to look into this man's eyes, figure out why he had bothered to help her.
Instead of responding he just opened the door and waited for Ella to step inside. Ella nodded to him and stepped inside the door, and saw three men and one very pissed off looking woman staring back at her. "This young lady forgot the kind of neighborhood we live in, almost got herself killed and raped by a couple little gangsters," he said gently.
Ella looked down at the scrape on her leg, served her right for wearing a skirt in this weather. "Here, let me take your coat," Angel moved forward and pulled off her coat gently.
"Thank you, Angel," Ella smiled as she saw him trying to recognize her.
"Do I know you?" Angel had a large smile stuck on his face.
"Here, I think this will help remind you," Ella smiled as she tied her button down white shirt up above her midriff and rolled her skirt up so it stopped just below her crotch. She then used her hands into hold her in two little pig tails and struck a seductive little pose, laughing at everyone's reaction.
Angel started laughing too. "My, my, my. Ella Enchantress! I never thought I'd see you looking so respectable! Damn girl, you clean up good!" Angel was grinning until the girl started yelling and curding and stormed out of the house, which lead to Angel chasing after her and the others laughing heartily.
Ella smirked and returned her clothes to the respectable display that they were when she entered. She giggled as she noticed how many shocked faces were looking back at her. "I used to live here, a long time ago. Unfortunately I was forced to drop out of school and get the best paying job I could, as a stripper at the little club that used to be down the street. It got raided and they found all us under age girls working there. Needless to say, I became a warden of the state, which just happened to let me finish of school and let me make legal money so I could go to college, which I am now doing," Ella smiled.
"Then why the hell are you back here?" the youngest boy looked at her confused.
Ella laughed. "I thought it would be good to confront my demons. Walk around the old neighborhood, you know, closure," Ella smiled as she saw the confusion cross his face.
"I can understand that. But you really shouldn't have been here alone, ya know," Ella's rescuer told her in that lecturing manner.
Ella just looked downwards at her feet, hoping that if she acted ashamed that he would stop lecturing her. "Now leave the poor girl alone. I bet Mom planned for this to happen. Sounds to me like the girl needed her faith in mankind restored. Especially the type of mankind that resides in this neighborhood. Ella, I'm Jerry, the reasonable Mercer brother," he smiled and extended his hand out to her.
Ella shook it, happy to have at least one friend in the room. She glanced over and saw the youngest still staring at her like she was still in her stripper costume. She laughed quietly again. She hadn't laughed in a while. Jerry seemed to have notice his brother's attention to the girl. "Well Jack, take the girl upstairs and help her clean up, will you?" Jerry smiled and winked at Jack.
Jack smiled slightly and stepped forward. "The bathroom is upstairs," he smiled and put out his hand, blushing when she grabbed it.
Jack led Ella upstairs to the bathroom. He gently pulled out some band aids and Polysporin for her. He smiled weakly as he watched her try to clean off her scraped leg. She pulled off her pantyhose sadly and rolled them up before shoving them in her purse. She seemed to be having trouble reaching her scrape to clean it properly. Jack smiled and put down the lid on the toilet. "Sit down on there, I'll take care of that," Jack smiled at her.
Ella giggled and sat down as Jack leaned down and cradled her leg over his right arm and carefully cleaned the wound. He blew on it gently after putting rubbing alcohol on it, which hardly stung at all, but Ella appreciated the attention. Jack gently placed a thin layer of Polysporin on the scrape and applied a band aid. "You don't wanna get a scab. Don't wanna scar up that pretty leg," Jack smiled.
"Well aren't you just Ella smiled warmly.
Suddenly a door slammed and Angel's girlfriend was screaming again. The bathroom door flew open and Angel yelled back at his girlfriend. "Look, look Sophie! Look! Jack wants her, not me. Ella is with JACK! NOT ME!" Angel looked really pissed as Sophie yelled something about latex.
Angel stormed downstairs as Jack looked back up at Ella. They both burst out laughing. Suddenly they both caught a glimmer of something in the corner of their eyes. "Hey!" they both shouted and pointed at each other at the same time.
"Stick out your tongue!" Ella ordered Jack.
"You first!" Jack ordered back.
"Fine then, on three," Ella smiled and counted to three and they both stuck out their tongues. Revealing that they both had their tongues pierced. They laughed and smiled at each other.
Jack couldn't believe how funny Ella actually was. He figured since she had also been in the foster care system she would be as troubled as him, and he'd never had to be a stripper to pay for his parent's addictions. At least that's what he assumed her money had to go to. Why else would a parent force their child to drop out of school and their 16 year old daughter strip in front of a bunch of dirty old men. To look at Ella now, she looked like a rich couples very wanted daughter. Like she had been given everything and that she didn't appreciate it, but she was completely the opposite.
When Jack and Ella returned downstairs the eldest Mercer, who still had not introduced himself, was sitting on a chair in the living room, reading a magazine. Ella went to reach for her coat when he spoke again, once again in that lecturing voice. "You're not going back out there all alone Ella. Besides, you're staying for dinner, we've made too much food, and Sophie's apparently not coming back for a few days. Anyone who can get rid of her deserves all the free meals in the world," he laughed in a scary way.
"Well I guess I don't really have anywhere to be," Ella smiled, "do you know when the bus leaves to go back into the city?"
"There won't be another bus going into the city until Monday at least, you should have looked into that before you came out here," he grumbled back.
"Monday? You have to be kidding! Where am I going to stay? It's Thursday for fuck's sake!" Ella couldn't believe it.
"Correction, it's the Thursday before Thanksgiving weekend, and there's not gonna be anyone heading in or out of here for Thanksgiving. I don't even know for sure if the buses are gonna be running for Monday. You can stay here, and my name is Bobby if you need to know for some reason." Bobby still hadn't looked up from the magazine he was reading.
"Thank you for letting me stay then, Bobby," Ella said as she sighed sadly to herself. She was only planning for a day trip, not to have to spend Thanksgiving weekend here with a few strangers and a man that used to tip her well for lap dances.
Jack smiled at her and looked upstairs. Ella smiled as Jack led her upstairs. "If you're thinking of going after him you're barking up the wrong tree, he's gay," Bobby yelled after them, still not looking up.
Jack smiled at Ella. "This is my room, you can sleep here," he grinned at her.
Ella looked at his grin and for once didn't return it. "I know I used to be a stripper, but that wasn't really my choice. I was good at it, but it was because I didn't want to face the consequences of not making the money my Dad needed. I'm not a slut, I'm not promising you any action," Ella said sadly.
Jack looked hurt. "I didn't expect any action, Ella. I just, kinda wanted someone to talk to through the night, maybe cuddle or something a little bit. It's just well you don't seem like a troubled kid at all. I really want to figure out what's going on in your head, why you've been able to forgive everything," he was staring hard into her eyes now.
"Oh Jack, I haven't, that's why I'm here. So I could forgive this neighborhood, so I could forgive my old house. I need to confront my sadness and get over it. But I still feel the pain, I've just learned how to distract myself from it," Ella smiled and gently touched Jack's hair.
Jack smiled at her touch and looked down towards the floor. "Please stay here tonight, I won't try anything, I promise. I just want someone who understands at least a little bit without thinking I'm gay," he smiled.
Ella grinned back. "Sounds good Jackie Bean," she laughed at the funny face he made at the nick name.