Cover Art Credit: art/Lilium-Flower-drawing-127288203
This work is also on A03! /works/14734136/chapters/34101302
A girl peers over a bunch of shrubs, covering her knees. The night covers the sky, blanketed with black and little stars. She wears all black matching the night, not revealing her face. She pulls out her phone from her pocket, calling yet another unknown number. After a few rings, it picked up.
"Hey, I'm here," she whispers. The call drops and the girl saw for a man, also dressed in black. She sees a twisted smile on his face and frowns. "Let's get this over with, shall we." The man nods in agreement.
The girl sighs and digs into her pocket, finding a pink envelope. A large white sticky note with the words 3,000 dollars. The man hesitantly looks at it and holds a gun near the girl's forehead. The girl, used to this, stands calmly and waits for all of this to end.
"Why do you do still point that gun at me. You know it's not fake. We have been doing this for weeks."
The gun forcefully presses the tip of the gun to her forehead, cold metal meeting with her warm skin. The girl tenses and looks towards the ground.
"Safety measures are important. I can't trust a worthless girl like you, not even capable of bringing a couple thousand dollars."
The girl says nothing, averting her eyes to the right. "Now, did anyone see you do this?"
"No, everyone was asleep."
"Did you lie about the amount?"
"No, the label is the exactly the amount in there."
"Are you with any weapon."
"No." The girl bites her lip before adding, "I don't even know how to use one."
The breeze flows by giving the girl shrivers, pulling the hood of her black sweater. Through her dull eyes and emotionless face, she's scared. She's more afraid that the man can see right through her.
With the gun pressed on her forehead, the man grips the envelope from the girl and opens it's greedily. He then counts the money slowly, leaving the girl annoyed. After he checks her body for weapons. She bites her lip, trying not to be uncomfortable. After he is done and lifts the gun from her forehead, the girl lets out a silent sigh of relief. She lifts her eyes to meet his eyes.
"You promise to not go near or hurt any of us?"
"Not if you can't see me." The girl frowns, unamused. "Fine, deal. Until next week."
The girl turns away, content of the result of the meeting but realized something and turns back. "You know, you can stop if you want. Therapy is a thing, take advantage of it."
"Did I ask you for your opinion, little fuck."
The girl sighs, slightly hurt. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."
She walks away alone, the mystery figure of a man disappears. He's been doing this for weeks now and she's worried that next week, she wouldn't have enough money. She had to resort to stealing this week and still had a couple dollars short.
She's currently in debt.
However, her friends are worth it. Not paying will result in them of being watched, hurt, or even killed. Knowing the man and his unpredictability, he will do it. He hates all of them. Her love of her friends doesn't increase the amounts of money she has.
The girl prays that he doesn't notice the $250 missing.
After exiting the forestry area she was just in, she pulls off her hood, embracing the cool night. She looks to the sky, still full of soft bright lights. Her eyes averted to her house, quiet and still. Three other girls live in that house, her best friends. They live in fear. In fear that people will hurt them or kill them. She wishes that she can tell them, that they don't have to be fearful anymore. That she is paying the man to practically leave them alone. Only a couple of thousand dollars to live normal lives again! Doesn't that sound reasonable! Being in debt is better than being in fear.
Being in debt is better than being in guilt.
She quickly puts on her hood again, trying to still her shaking legs. A tear rolls down her cheek, hitting the cool stone pavement. This is not alright. This is not okay. However, she practically has no choice. She can't tell anyone, she can't do anything, she's stuck in this hopeless ditch.
She utterly has no idea how to dig up.
