I gasped painfully, silently relieved as the muscle in my back spasm and my lungs burned as they sucked in air.
"Goddamn it," I hissed between my teeth, waiting for my frozen muscles to unclench, "That fucking hurts."
"Good morning sunshine! The earth says hello!" a cheerful voice shouted, causing my eardrums to pulse in pain.
"Ow, Abby!" I groaned, snapping my eyes shut in pain, "Be quiet, please."
"Fine," she said sullenly, most likely pouting a little bit.
"Now, help the old man get out of the bathtub," I told her in dry voice, chuckling a little as I clung to the sides and tried to use my lethargic, sore muscles to sit up.
"Yes, sir," she giggled; grabbing my forearms and helping me sit up.
Once I had gotten out of the bathtub and onto one of the beds, I finally gave a look around. The bright blue wallpaper was peeling off, hanging limply, like they had given up. There was a tiny television on the dresser with two antennaes sticking up, out of the top. The dresser it was on was old and was, at one point, white, blending well with the wall paper. The carpet was white, though now it was splotched with a numerous amount of stains of various colors.
"This was probably a great place when it was brand new," I stated, pulling on a strip of wallpaper hanging from the wall.
"It probably was," Abby agreed, sitting on the worn bed, "But now it's a piece of shit."
I snorted as I turned to her, "Such wonderful language coming from such a little lady."
"Who said I was a lady?"
"Didn't your parents teach you how to be lady?"
"Nope, but now I bet they wished they had."
Giving her a shrug, I strode over to the curtains for a quick peek.
"What happened while I was dead to the world?" I asked her, watching the people walk along the boardwalk, looking for the creeps from the night before.
"Nothing really. You died, the jerks left, and I went out and got us some clothes and I picked up some food for me."
"How much money do we have left?"
"About 100 dollars," she said, reaching to her left at what looked like a Chinese take-out box, "You or I need to get a job. And soon. Or else we'll run out of money. And I don't feel like starving again."
Memories rose up out of the depths of my mind and I flinched.
"Ok, I'll look around for a temporary job. You can find a day job?"
"Most likely."
"Good," I told her, turning away from the window while shutting the flimsy blinds, "Then we'll do that."
"What are we going to do about those freaks from last night?"
I don't know, I thought as I said, "We'll take care of that when we cross that bridge. I'm going to jump into the shower, don't open up the door for anyone, understand?"
She nodded before flopping onto the bed, reading one of her old fashion magazine.
I sighed as I heard her start to coo over some famous "rock star". I grunted as the word crossed my mind. Rock stars? Ha! That's funny!
"Don't!" I heard Abby threaten from the living room, "Or I'll come back there!"
"No, you won't," I reasoned, turning on the water while fighting with my jeans, "Your modesty would foil your plan."
"Fuck my modesty," she yelled, banging on the door once, "I'll still come in."
"Fine," I sighed, now removing my nasty, stained polo shirt, "You win. Now, go will ya? I'm trying to take a shower!"
She laughed, a cry of triumph, as she walked away, most likely with a smug smile on her face.
I shook my head. Damn that girl was crazy...
Turning back around, I stared at the black tattoo on my neck.
It was a semi-dark blue with black outlining the whole thing. It kind of looks like smoke as it climbs up from my shoulder, weaving itself around my neck, and then falls down in a zig zag patter on my chest, ending at my belly button.
Tracing it with a finger, I thought back to when I had gotten it, shivering.
Pain. Fire. Hate. Lies. Betryal.
Fear.
I shot back, making a loud thump as I hit the wall, clawing at my throat.
No, I thought, shaking as I turned towards the shower, I won't think about it. Forget it, Chance. Just forget it and move on.
I tried to take my own advice, but as I started washing my hair, I couldn't escape the feeling that we were being watched and I needed to be afraid.
