Chapter One
The incessant beeps of her alarm clock were probably stored in the depths of her mind by that point. At 7pm it shrilled, the signal of the night just beginning. October frost clung to the apartment windows, it crunched as Effie lifted it open slightly in an attempt to try and clear the smoke tainted stagnant air that had been caused by her roommate. She stretched up onto her tiptoes, looking through the murky pane to see what type of night it would be, who she would have to be to survive it. It looked like a pretty quiet night which meant business was bad and she would most probably have to spend it sipping on the nearest guy's drink to keep warm, forever remembering to check if he was drinking from it too.
The usual thoughts were coming to mind, the one's Katniss told her would keep her safe in the streets. Stepping down from the window, Effie made her way to her dresser, once again trying to picture her preparations being as if she were a lady of the manor getting ready for the ball – not that she'd really have any idea what that was like other than her re-imaginations Hollywood's wealthiest and what they would do. She sighed as she stared at her reflection; the battered true version of her was only ever seen in the early evening, and only briefly so then. The blue of her eyes seemed black in the lamp light, the purple of her cut lip throbbed ever so slightly, her hair clinging to the sweat of her skin. Effie was a wreck of course, but it was the same face she had been seeing for the last year, her only attempt to fix if not at least change the fact would be the brunette bob wig she had purchased the day before. The shell of it was waiting on the counter until after she had finished plastering all of her makeup meticulously onto her face. Next was the mascara. Her eyes used to well up every time she lengthened her lashes, not out of pain or discomfort, but due to the sheer fact that doing so meant she had to stare and study herself carefully – forcing her every time to realize what she was doing. Of course after a few months of the routine, not to mention the amount of times that Kat chided her every time she shed a tear, Effie just looked calmly now and used the final brushes to hypnotise her imagination to somewhere better in the world.
The pull of the lipstick dragged along her lips and the obligatory smack that brought them together marked the end of her makeup routine. Effie then lifted the wig from the dresser and stretched it across her scalp, her soft blonde hair tucked comfortably underneath the elastic of the accessory. When she was younger she always wondered what she would look like brunette, never having brought the idea up to her conservative mother who thought being blonde and white was an honor. Still, it didn't shock her as much as she thought it would, it just added to the list of things that made her more detached from her occupation. The next thing that would come of course would be her "outfit", if it could even be called that. It was one of Kat's she had adopted into her own wardrobe, a dark purple slashed mini dress that hugged what little curves she had and compensated by showing off the rest of her body. Although she had little time to think about all of that, she had already taken too long getting ready and she still needed to find Katniss wherever she was. She gave one last look in the mirror, a deep breath, before draping on her thin coat and leaving the apartment.
The booming of house music shook her more and more as she descended the apartment stairs, the same people were gathered every night at the bottom of the well, all greasy and ogling. Too tired to even shake them off, Effie just sighed as several of them pinched and stroked her behind as she walked through to the club. The noise of her clicking boots was soon drowned out completely as she pulled open the heavy metal back door of Club Coal. Lights and smoke blinded her as usual as she made her way to the bar, the night before she had seen Katniss sitting with the shadier characters in town, having not seen her since she thought it best to at least check with the barman for a clue to where she might be.
Leaning over the counter, tutting as she also leaned into some unknown liquid, Effie tried to get his attention.
"Peeta! Peeta!" she pulled at his black shirt and dug her nails slightly to alert him to where she was in the bustle.
His crooked smile greeted her when he finally located her in the crowd. His blond hair was drenched in sweat and most probably spilled alcohol.
"Hey! I didn't recognize you!" he shouted in her direction. She couldn't help but give a quick smile back; the boy was always sweet to her.
"Have you seen Katniss? I haven't seen her since yesterday and last time I saw she was with the Hawthornes" she tried to tell him, whilst wrestling the moving waves of intoxicated partygoers.
"Yeah" Peeta sighed "She's still with them, if you go out down to Johanna's corner you'll probably find her"
She squeezed his arm again in thanks and then quickly pulled away; the current of people almost lifted her right to the doorstep. Stumbling out into the freezing air she bumped into several other workers, the majority of them were too off their faces to even acknowledge the interaction. When Katniss had taken her under her care she had made Effie swear that she would never get involved with drugs, even threatening to throw her out once or twice when she thought her pupils looked too dilated. But now Kat herself was socializing with the Hawthornes, she had told her the other night that one of them in particular had been nice to her, that he wasn't like the rest. They both knew this justification fell short when considering the effects every Hawthorne man had on the workers.
Gale. That was the name of the one who had been nice to her, Gale, the name that Effie would have to remember to mention for any hope of her getting Katniss back. Repeating his name silently she walked down the block, the click of her boots was like a police siren for the lurking men. She remembered and tried to stick to the building side of the sidewalk, some of the girls on Sunset were viciously protective of their territory. As she approached Johanna's corner she braced herself.
"Bitch, get the fuck out of here!" Johanna yelled at the approaching figure. Multiple clicks increased now as the boots of the two women encroached on each other.
"Relax Jo it's just me, it's Effie" she announced, her hands rose slightly in an attempt to placate her "I'm not working, I'm looking for Kat"
A violent guffaw was the reaction, Johanna's crimson lips twisted into a smirk, her head shaking slightly at the realization.
"Katniss? Oh I know where she is alright…" Johanna's hand gestured over to the bar across the street, the smirk slipped slightly as she gave Effie another nod.
"Thanks" Effie acknowledged, and then made her way over to the building Katniss had sworn her never to go.
The music being played there wasn't the usual beat of electronic drums but instead being performed live by a man whose vocals were akin to a dying cat. The forced strum on his guitar only put her nerves more on edge as she made her way over to the corner of the bar, the so-called "VIP Area" they had always tried to sell it as. She took a deep breath before making her way to their table, the Hawthornes.
They did not notice her immediately, too caught up in their incoherent conversations, only when she went to grab Katniss' arm did they give any reaction.
"Lady, what do you think you're doing? Gale's looking after that one tonight" one of the men called out.
"Well unless he's also going to look after our rent, I need her" she attempted to explain whilst draping Katniss' arm around her own neck and pulling her heavily to her feet.
"You're gonna have to be the one to explain this to him ay missy?" another called just as the door swung shut.
"With pleasure" she muttered. She knew Katniss wouldn't be able to work at all that night, and to stop a repeat of this the next, she needed to get her home and sobered up. One of the reasons Katniss had warned her so fervently was because she herself was so easily affected, why the girl had contradicted herself so badly she didn't know.
When they had made their way halfway back to the apartment she needed a break in carrying her, Katniss was practically deadweight considering the lack of functions she had at that point.
"Where are we?" she grumbled, yanking on Effie's sleeve like a child.
"Halfway up Sunset, almost there honey" she placated, rubbing her arms quickly in an attempt to warm her, if only slightly.
"I wanna go back, I was having fun for once" Katniss sighed.
"Katniss, why on earth would you go there? One of the first things you told me when I came here was to stay clear of the Hawthornes" she queried, her hands still rubbing her shoulders to warm her up.
"I owe money to Cory" she murmured, not needing to explain more.
Effie sat quietly for a moment, Cory's gang was known for being especially malicious, their trademark usually being mutilating the people who didn't pay them back – as a warning. Although it still didn't add up.
"And you thought that being with the Hawthornes would keep you safe?" Effie scoffed. She always tried not to be judgemental but Katniss' solution seemed to be just as bad as her predicament.
"I thought it would at least postpone it," she confessed. To this Effie took both of her hands and knelt on the frozen sidewalk in front of her.
"Kat, I have money, I'll bail you out," Effie proposed.
"I've taken too much from you already," she replied pointedly, her lip jutted out slightly.
To Effie this was a moot point, to her safety and shelter always came before pride and it was a lesson she had had to learn the hard way.
"And I've taken some from you in the past too, we're a team remember? You looked out for me when I got here, let me do the same for you" she almost begged.
She didn't reply but Effie felt she still understood. As Katniss' eyes began to well up, she wiped the tears away before they could fall and pulled her up from the bench. Her feet were still unsteady as anything so she resumed half carrying her once again.
"What's going on?" she asked, again pulling on Effie's coat sleeve.
"I'm gonna get you back to Coal before I start work tonight, you need to rest" she replied.
Under different circumstances Katniss would have protested to the point which she would have even regretted even suggesting the idea, but that night she had nothing left in her, all of her energy being soaked up and drained by whatever concoction of medications the Hawthornes had given her. After a long trek back up the boulevard, Effie finally got her back to the club. Her next task being finding someone to babysit her whilst she worked, she couldn't leave her with just anybody.
As if her prayers had been answered, Peeta quickly poked his head out of the door. Within seconds of seeing Katniss sway on the sidewalk, he pulled her arm over his shoulder and began leading her inside.
"Is she okay?" he asked calling out, quickly looking her over.
"She doesn't look too bad but she's definitely taken something, keep an eye on her" she replied.
"Sure, have a good night Effie" he nodded before going back inside.
And so the night began.
After multitudes of expensive fast cars had sped by every day, she had grown accustomed to seeing them. But never had she seen such a valuable car driven so badly, the one that was about to pass her screeched forward. Smoke plumed from the intermittent skidding wheels and the body lurched forward every time there was a gear change. She even heard some of the surrounding partygoers mumble the word "maniac", even the intoxicated noticing the poor driving quality. As it began to slow she knew it would end up in her territory, Kat would have killed her if she hadn't tried approaching, but none of what she had seen had boded well.
"Evening sweetheart" a voice called.
Plastering on the sweetest smile she could muster she made her way to the Lotus.
"Looking for a date?" she asked, swaying her hips slowly as widely as she could.
"None of that tonight, just trying to figure out how to get to Beverly Hills"
"Well I could show you…" Effie mused "For 10 dollars"
"Nice try princess, I'm not gonna pay for directions"
"Good luck finding someone around here who would give you something for free" she sighed, mock walking away. She heard him tut behind her.
"So you know how to get to the Regent?"
"Oh darling, it's my favourite place" she smiled sweetly.
His chin jutted slightly as he dropped the bill into her outstretched palm and motioned for her to get in. As soon as her door slammed shut he began again speeding and screeching with minimal consideration.
"You drive rather fast for someone for doesn't who know where they're going" she muttered.
"Aw but now I've got you," he replied with a smirk "What's your name?"
"Whatever you want it to be" it rolled off her tongue in reply without a thought.
"Don't play with me sweetheart"
The car slowed slightly when he turned to her, her act dropped momentarily seeing his concern. Not seeing any real reason why not to, for once she decided to give the man her actual name, he seemed different.
"It's Effie"
When she answered he repeated her name a couple of times, as if he wanted to commit it to memory. She didn't understand why.
"Good to meet you Effie, I'm Haymitch" he replied.
In his mind she was a hot mess, a crooked wig and a fake sensuous accent. Still he felt like it would be premature to let her go, this wasn't how he planned the evening at all but surely it could do no harm. His glances at her became more frequent, more than would be needed to validate directions, until they finally pulled into the hotel parking lot.
"So this is your place hm?" she asked, staring up through the windshield at the lit up grandeur that was the Regent. She had never been so close to a place so luxurious, she'd never needed to.
He didn't reply, instead he just gave a half nod as his thoughts were somewhere else. Effie considered whether to get out, however nice a man he seemed to be it was never advisable to linger in a car like that.
He started to wring his hands, debating internally. His decision was made as he looked up at her again. Her cheap jewels sparkled on her collar, the wig had not righted itself and she was wearing too much makeup for a Tuesday night. Still she had that look, there was more to her than her occupation.
"Did you uh… want to come up and get drink?" he asked.
"Well Haymitch" she sighed, drawing out his name "Honestly I've got so many clients lined up for me, I don't think I'd have the time"
Saying this she got out of the car, her heels clicked as she walked over to the nearest bench. Unsure what else to do, Haymitch handed his keys to the porter and followed her. She didn't know why she had rejected him. They were both quiet as he sat down next to her. He was bemused as she slowly looked him up and down, unaware that his attire was anything out of sorts. She made a mental list as she did, gold cufflinks, monogrammed shirt, pressed suit, something wasn't right.
"You could have anyone, you know?" she mumbled, the false lightheartedness dropping from her voice "I don't see why you'd want to pay"
Why was she arguing? She herself didn't know.
"I could," he smirked "but tonight I want you, a professional"
The ice broke as she laughed - a real laugh. A professional? Never once had anyone described her in such a way, not even in joking. It was true what she had said, technically he could have anyone. But he was tired of ulterior motives, he needed someone who knew what they were doing, and would leave in the morning without demanding a share of the company or something along those lines.
"I think that's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me" she joked, tugging on his arm.
"Then sweetheart, what a sad life you've lived"
Holding out his hand, he pulled her up from the bench.
What a sad life you've lived.
This she mused as they entered the building. He hadn't meant it seriously but it was truthful. Although as they walked through the revolving door into reception, his statement was soon forgotten, quickly replaced by a sinking feeling and awkward silence. The other patrons froze as they took in her appearance. Her heels for once attracted too much attention, as if the clicked signaled her lack of class, or worse her job. People muttered as she clung onto the man's arm. The stares that were directed at her pierced. Some were polite and averted their eyes but some were less polite.
Their lips curled in disgust.