Warning/Potential Triggers Throughout all Chapters: Graphic Content - Drug Use, Rape, Gang related violence, Sexual themes, Murder, Strong use of profanities
Bella's Point of View
The street lights had just lit up for the night. Seventy five degrees tonight in Phoenix. In my opinion that was the perfect temperature. I couldn' recall what day it was, I just knew it was nearing the end of August. Rene would probably start searching for me, begging and crying for me to attend school this year. But that wasn't going to happen. I think we both knew that.
I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head as a warm sensation wrapped itself around my entire body. The feeling was so comforting and euphoric. The moment drugs were introduced into my system and I felt that first high, it's been all I've ever wanted. I wanted to feel this way over and over. At this point, I needed it more than I needed air. More than I needed food, shelter, or dignity. It's the only thing that mattered. Days could pass by, before I would even notice it.
I was starting to nod off, my body went numb. I sat down, to avoid falling down. My friend Katie and I have been living in this alleyway for almost a year now. We had blankets spread against the ground. It wasn't comfortable, but anything was better than sitting on the cold cement. I was semi aware of Katie standing nearby, speaking in a hush tone to our drug dealer. The conversation doesn't sound promising. But I couldn't care less.
"You owe me a few more dollars bitch," I heard him grumble.
"Just one more day, I promise, just give me a little now and I swear I'll have the money tomorrow." Katie whimpered.
"I don't fucking think so, you still owe me for the bag yesterday, you are going to pay now. One way or the other." His tone was increasingly threatening.
I couldn't find the energy to even lift my head. I was getting really drowsy and everything felt so heavy. I couldn't even lift my arm if I wanted to. But the pleasure coursing through my body left me in a state of complete bliss. The world could be on fire, but even that couldn't ruin this experience.
I was nodding in and out of consciousness. But I was aware of Katie's cries. I heard her fall to the ground. I heard the loosening of our drug dealer's belt. I heard the frantic struggle between them. Clothes being torn. And the deep throated grunting of the man. I recalled he went by the name Roost. Usually a surly middle-aged man. Never overly friend. He had a reputation of taking various forms of payment for his drugs. Not to mention he was part of the Blood Diamonds gang that predominantly lingered in this area.
"No, please, get off of me!" Katie screamed. I felt a cold hand around my ankle. "Bella,"
I wanted to move, I wanted to respond in any way that I could. But my body wouldn't let me. All I wanted was to enjoy what I was feeling right now. There was no more pain. Just pleasure. That's all that existed.
"Shut up and take it you junkie bitch." Roost sneered, a dark chuckle came from him.
There was a fierce clapping sound now, one I was all too familiar with. Katie continued to cry out. While he only moaned. I knew that my friend was being raped, just a few inches away from me. But I didn't move. Didn't respond. It went on for a while. I nodded off to sleep several times. Sooner or later everything went completely silent.
Time didn't exist for a while, but I felt myself slowly waking up. There was an awful aching in my head. Enough for me to double-over in pain. The nausea hit me. I leaned to my side to puke, but nothing would come out. I haven't eaten in a long time. All the money I had went to heroin.
It was morning. Which confused me a bit. I glanced around, noticing Katie slumped on the wall across from me. Her body kept doing a jittery twitch, which was normal for her. She kept her head down, but I could see her uneven breathing. I moved over, noticing the needle still in her arm. I snagged the needle, tossing it to the side, before nudging her.
"Katie, we should probably get to work. Sheena will be wondering where we are."
Katie groaned, slowly waking up, revealing pretty blue eyes. She was around my age. And since we both looked similar, apart from the eyes, we tended to take on clients together. We could make a lot more money off of the men, if they think they are getting to have sex with twins. And to be honest, the men out here are so drugged up they wouldn't have noticed any different.
"Y-yeah fine," She sniffed, grabbing her purse that was sitting next to her. I noticed she had about five dollars in her bag.
"You shorted Roost on purpose?" I sighed heavily, turning to walk down to the very end of the alley. We had a large blanket hung up from one side to the other. It offered some privacy. We were prostitutes, but we aren't animals. That was a little joke we would tell ourselves from time to time. I stepped behind the blanket and went for the cleanest clothing I had at the moment.
"Of course I did. He keeps charging more and more for the good stuff. I needed to save a little money. I'm going to buy my kid a gift for his birthday." She replied, following me back behind the blankets as well.
We turned our backs to each other to get ready. We were close and we have seen each other naked many times while we are working with our clients. But we made sure everything would say strictly business. We wouldn't be looking at each other, until we absolutely had to.
I dumped a lukewarm bottle of water over myself and used the small bar of soap Rene bought me for my birthday last year. Well, it wasn't quite a bar anymore. It was the size of a dime now. But it was better than nothing. I soaped myself up the best I could rinsed off with the water bottle. Katie did the same, although she didn't have a mother to buy her soap. She had to go without. Instead, she used a cheap perfume that she found in the trash last month.
We had matching outfits that all our regulars were familiar with. Black leather shirts, lace, motorcycle knee high boots, black halter tops, sleeveless with a low v-neck. It was ridiculously trashy and sensual. No one would question what our profession was.
After wetting my hair and brushing it back into a ponytail, I applied enough makeup to look like a completely different person. Vibrant red lipstick and thick black eyeliner. I would have thought I looked like a clown. But apparently my clients found it appealing. I didn't question it. I just did what I had to.
Katie was just finishing up as she lit a cigarette. "Do you have a piece of gum?"
I moved to my purse, wrapping it around my shoulder, before tossing her half a stick, I popped the other one in my mouth. That was as good as it was going to get.
We made our way past our big blanket, ready to face the world. At the end of our alley, I stopped to toss a couple dollars to the nice man that would watch over our home. I think his name was Roger. He is ex-military. But a real sweetheart. He would keep away any squatters that would come near our alley. We used to get robbed often. But since we started paying Roger, we didn't even have to think about it. He was one of Katie's regulars, so on the days that he paid her, he usually didn't ask for any money to watch our place.
The streets of Phoenix are always busy, on a good day we made decent money. Nothing to really live off of, but enough to support our addition. So we were happy enough. Katie and I walked with linked arms down the road. She was still a bit high from her last hit, so I had to keep her up on her feet for the most part.
Sheena was waiting for us at our usual meeting spot. Just a few blocks away from the park, there was a strip club. She owned the place and had girls working the streets as well. We have been working for her for the past six months. Once we hit our year mark, we would be given the opportunity to take the next step. To a more comfortable position, as one of her dancers in the club. Our days of struggling would be over.
But today she seemed mad. She glared at us as we approached. "You were supposed to be out on the corners hours ago. What the fuck is wrong with you two? Surely you don't want to end up making the big bucks inside. Or this shit would never happen."Sheena was a really short girl, but she was scary. She knew a lot of the right people. Which made her dangerous. So getting her upset should be the last thing you would want to do.
I ducked my head quickly. "It was a really bad night ma'am, it won't happen again."
Katie snorted, folding her arms across her chest now. "Come on Sheena, this is only the second time we have been late."
Sheena snapped, marching over and smacking Katie across the face. "Don't you ever speak my name again. I should have known better than letting you work for me. Bella put her neck out for you. Told me you were worth something. Are you going to make my best girl look like a liar?"
Katie tensed, glancing at me. "No, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I'll give up thirty percent today"
Sheena shook her head. "Bitch, you are giving me fifty percent. Or you can find someone else to work for." She now turned to me, a hint of a smile on her wrinkled face. "By the way, Bell, your mom stopped in looking for you. She left this for ya." She handed over a grocery bag. It was full of soap, new clothes, tampons and other toiletries. But at the bottom was a note. I scanned over the writing.
Bella, I'm beginning to understand the situation you are in. I understand why you don't want to come home. I know what Phil has been doing to you. He isn't in my life anymore and I'm sorry you had to go through that alone. Your father and I think it's time that you get out of the city and spend some time with him at Forks. I think it would be a great opportunity for you. We both love you so much. Mom.
I crumpled the note up and shoved the rest of the bag into my purse. I wish I could have sent her a letter back. Sorry mom, you are a few years too late. The chances of me changing are slim to none. And I didn't care. I've made my choice. I would walk this path for the rest of my life and I would do it with a smile.
Katie watched me with a concerned look. "What did it say?"
"Same old sob story. She wants me home. I don't want to go. The cycle repeats." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Enough chit-chat ladies. You need to get out there and get to work. I want you both to work together today. Bring in the big fish. I know it's not the safest part of town. But, Central City needs its dose of the Swan sisters." Sheena said with a fake cheerful smile.
Central City was a neighborhood not too far from where we live. It is like a small urban village. If you are looking for open shootings, panhandlers, car break-ins and muggings, visit Central City. You will get your fill of it there. Usually Sheena avoids sending girls to that neighborhood. But she was falling on hard times as well. We needed new clients, with big wallets. It was a risk, but it wouldn't be the first time I've worked there. I have the scars to prove it.
Katie seemed paranoid as we left Sheena. I knew that she had never visited Central City. Everyone heard the horror stories of prostitutes getting abducted and murdered. It's been happening more and more recently. Anyone would be afraid. I was no exception. But it's what we have to do. The drugs aren't going to pay for themselves.
The walk to Central City took nearly half an hour and the heels I was wearing already made my feet hurt. Not to mention the feeling of withdrawals began to creep up. I started feeling sick, completely run down. There was no way I'd be able to make it through the day without another hit. Once we reached the street corner that we would be working on I pulled Katie to stand directly in front of me, while I snagged a syringe. I always had one, already filled with heroin and ready to go.
"Make it fast, Bells," Katie muttered, glancing around the area nervously. "I have a bad feeling about being here. I just want to get this over with."
I nodded, quickly tying the band around my arm. I smacked at my forearm a bit, trying to spot a nice vein to stick it in. There were so many scars it was hard to tell where to put the needle. I must have been taking too long, because Katie grabbed the syringe from me and held my arm steady.
"I'm only giving you half for now. You'll probably want to be alert enough around these new clients. They are perfect strangers." As she spoke she jabbed me with the needle. I was used to the pinch and almost moaned in delight at the warm blanket wrapping itself around me. It was a small dose, so I knew the feelings wouldn't last long. This was just to stop the withdrawals. I should be able to make it to the end of this shift.
She tossed the needle back in my bag and dabbed the blood on my arm with a tissue. "Come on Bella." She urged, pulling me along. I just let her drag me. I wasn't in the state of mind to fight.
It didn't take long before new clients began to show up. I would have been a bit timid getting into stranger's cars, but the drugs kept me content. I brought my best charms and did some mild flirting. Things were going smoothly. Most of the men were respectful to some degree. Although when we started seeing men all dressed in the same colors and all decorated in symbols, I started to realize that Katie and I were in the middle of servicing an entire gang. We were tossed back and forth between greedy men, of all ages. Some of them were drunk, some high. A few of them traded sexual acts for drugs, Katie wouldn't turn it down. But I knew better. I only accepted money. If we didn't reach Sheena's numbers, she would be furious. And she was already not very happy with us.
I was lying face down in the back of a crappy old SUV, while a man, probably mid-thirties thrust himself into me. He harshly smacked my ass until it began to throb. I gritted my teeth against the pain and continued to provide fake moans of pleasure and enjoyment.
"You're going to be our whores now," The man growled into my ear, bucking wildly against me. I held onto the seats, fighting back the urge to punch this loser in the face.
Sex wasn't exactly an enjoyable experience. It was mostly painful and humiliating. But it paid the bills and kept us out of too much trouble. Thankfully this man wasn't packing much in the size department, so at the very least, I could basically ignore him. Just act the part. Pretend to be enjoying yourself. If you fake it, it doesn't last as long. That's what Sheena told us.
His hand rolled around to squeeze my breast, I could feel his balls bouncing against my ass. The sound of skin clapping hard together. I detested the sound. But judging by how he started to quicken his pace, I knew it was going to be over soon.
Just as I thought, his body began to convulse for a moment and he leapt off of me before I could blink an eye. This client was comfortable with wearing a condom, thank god. Once he pulled out of me, he tossed the filled condom out of the car window. A smirk came to his face.
"Your reputation is spot on, take the money and get out," He threw a wad of ones at me. The cash flew all over the place. I quickly gathered it all up and stuck it in my purse. That's when I saw his tattoos. He was definitely part of a gang.
Without even knowing we were in a very dangerous situation. Sheena warned us of the risks of taking on clients that were in a gang. In our district, where Katie and I lived. We tended to the Blood Diamonds gang. They wore red. Most of them were our regulars. If one of them spotted us, providing our services to an opposing gang, such as this one, we could be killed. We had to get out of this situation quickly.
I got out of the car without another word and looked around for where Katie went.
Katie had just got out of a minivan that had two dudes in it. Katie leaned on the side of the minivan, counting out the cash. Her makeup was sweared. Her one high heel ended up missing. But she seemed in high spirits.
The men were lingering, still calling out to us from their windows. But I ignored them. "Katie, we really should get out of here. I think those guys are from the Pixis gang." I muttered quickly.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Who cares Bella, we just made a hundred dollars off those losers. And listen to them. They want more." She wagged her brows at me.
The two men wore green. I knew they were from Pixis. I recalled Roost talking about them. They were bad news. And the Blood Diamonds are their enemies. We needed to get out of here. But more and more gang members arrived. Katie was thrilled, walking to each car to flirt and do her routine for the men. She was in her glory. But I had a bad feeling.
"Katie," I hissed, trying to get her attention.
By now there were tons of cars, all surrounding us. All from the Pixis gang. They all hooted and hollered. But their praise quickly turned to more vulgar and nasty comments. But Katie didn't seem to notice.
My heart was racing in my chest. I looked around for somewhere to hide. "Katie, come on, we need to get out of here." I called out to her.
She turned to me with a raised brow. "Hell no, look at all these suckers. We are going to make a killing tonight."
There was no point arguing with her when she made up her mind. Quickly I pushed my way past the cars, and crept down an alleyway. It was abandoned. I crouched down behind a trash can and waited. There were too many gang members out right now. It wasn't safe. My arms trembled uncontrollably. I needed to shoot up again. Just to calm my nerves.
I dug into my purse again, and went to wrap the band around my arm, when the shots began to hire. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I heard Katie screaming, along with the screams of some of the men. I wasn't brave enough to move. I crawled further down into the alley, pulling trash bags over myself. The stench of rotten food filled my nose, making me gag. But I buried myself completely out of sight in the garbage. I held my breath as I listened to gun shots. It echoed all around the area. Police sirens began to blare off in the distance. My body was still shaking. I felt like my head was going to explode from the stress.
The urge to use was so strong, I almost dove out of the trash to fetch my syringe. But fear kept my body still. I closed my eyes and began to pray and bargain with my life. Please let Katie be alright. She was my one and only support out here. I wish that she would have listened. Why didn't she listen? It felt like forever that I sat in the garbage and waited. Tires were squealing against the pavement, but thankfully everything eventually went quiet.
But again, my gut was telling me to stay where I was. It wasn't safe yet. And I'm glad I didn't. I heard voices approaching me. I held my breath again, hoping no one could hear me.
"So, where did that other bitch go?" A man muttered. "It's like she just disappeared."
"Who cares, Sheena only wanted us to take out the other one, remember? Bell is not to be messed with." The other man that spoke had a very familiar voice.
"You are one cold dude Roost, didn't you just bang this chick last night?"
There was a snort, then a short stretch of silence. "I told the whore, she would pay one way or the other. I thought she deserved one more good night, before getting her pretty little head blasted open."
Roost was involved in this? Why would he want to kill someone he was selling his product to? And how was Sheena involved in all of this? Unfortunately the guys didn't answer my questions. Instead I listened as their footsteps got farther and farther away.
I didn't want to move. I couldn't be sure they were gone. I waited. Until I noticed a drop in the temperature outside. It was fully night time now. With a few short breaths I moved out from the trash cautiously. I scanned around the area for any sign of life. But there was no one in the alley way. I walked slowly over to where I had left my purse, only to see it was taken. The two ass holes must have snatched it on their way out.
The street lights were one as I walked out into the street. All that was left was blood painting the ground where the shooting had taken place. Katie was nowhere to be seen. I walked to the road I saw her last and leaned down to snatch an old key chain that used to be attached to her purse. There was blood splattered all over it. But I stuffed it in my pocket. My heart felt heavy. I wanted to cry. But I held it all in. I just needed to buy some dope. Then everything would be okay. Right? Well it had to be. I couldn't stand it. My emotions were all over the place.
I didn' feel it would be safe to return home. I was in a very unfamiliar part of the city. I didn't know what to do. Who to turn to. I was a mess. All I could do was think about Katie. I decided to just start walking. I hoped that I would run into a dealer. I had a good amount of cash still on me. I just needed to keep walking.
Somewhere along the way I tripped and ended up twisting my ankle in these heels. The pain was more annoying than painful. I kicked my heels off and limped on. Not giving a shit at this point. Just need to find that dealer. I could feel the withdrawals starting up again. The pounding headache, the nausea. I had to stop several times to vomit, but nothing but water seemed to come out. I was dizzy. It felt like I had just fell down six flights of stairs and went through a window.
I hobbled along the sidewalk, until suddenly a really nice car stopped to creep alongside me. The windows rolled down, revealing an incredibly handsome man. His eyes instantly swept me in. The most strange golden color. Unnatural. His bronze hair was tousled, looking messy, but just as appealing.
"Do you need a ride?" I could feel his judgemental stare on me.
I shook my head stubbornly. "No, I don't, thanks anyway." I continued on walking. I didn't need his pity. I didn't want his help. The way he looked at me. He already had an opinion of me. He thought I was trash. I already knew that I was, I didn't need him to remind me.
But he moved his car along still, slowly. "It's really no trouble. It looks like you had a really bad day." His voice softened.
I glared in his direction. "You have no idea, but if I have to get in the car with one more man today I'm going to lose my shit. I'm off the clock. So…"
"You're a prostitute?" He asked lightly.
I looked at him with narrowed eyes, before gesturing to my outfit. "It's it obvious? Isn't that really why you are offering me a ride?"
He raised a brow. "No it's not. I'm offering you a ride because like I said, you look like you are having a bad day. Not to mention you are limping."
I sighed heavily, coming to a stop now. He stopped his car as well. "Even if I did go with you, it doesn't matter. I have nowhere to go. I sleep on the streets. And well… let's just say it isn't safe for me anymore."
He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I think I have just the place for you. If you are willing to let me take you."
We stared at each other for a moment. I didn't like the way that he looked at me. It wasn't the same look my client gave me. No. It was something similar to the way Rene would look at me when she found a syringe in my room, or a random bottle of pills hidden in my sock drawer. It just made me feel worse. It made me want to get high. Why didn you have to leave me like this Katie? Why didn't you listen?
My emotions overwhelmed me, my shoulders slumped as I began to sob. I slowly fell to my knees. Everything was finally sinking in. I was terrified. Alone. At this point lost. I have sixty bucks to my name. My best friend was killed. Was there anything left, that was worth living for?
I didn't realize the man had gotten out of his car until I felt a warm jacket getting placed around me. I flinched, but held onto it tightly. His arm came around me, pulling me to my feet. He walked me quietly to the passenger side of his car and opened the door. I slid in, feeling instantly uncomfortable. My clothes were filthy, I'm sure I didn't smell too good myself. I kept my head down in shame and embarrassment as he got into the driver's seat.
We drove in silence for a while. I was distracted by how nice and fancy his car was. It had that new car smell. He must have a lot of money. His clothes were pretty nice as well. Clean, stylish, name brands. Was he some kind of celebrity? Why would he stop, just to pick up a homeless girl, walking alone on the side of the road. Maybe that wasn't what he was doing at all. Maybe he planned to kidnap me and sell me off overseas. He could be a sex-traffiker. Even if that was the case, I didn't even care.
I closed my eyes tightly, Katie's face lingering in my mind. Tears continued to stream down my cheeks. I needed to distract myself. Or I would fall apart. "So what's your name?"
He glanced over at me, he looked like he was taken off guard by my question. "Edward Cullen, and yours?"
"Bella Swan," I gave him a nod. "Where do you plan on taking me, Edward?"
"The hospital," He replied, turning his sights back to the road.
My heart dropped. "You're kidding, why in the hell would you do that?"
"Because you have some injuries that need to be addressed. After that, we'll talk about a place for you to live."
"And how exactly am I supposed to pay for all this?"
He looked at me now, a faint smile on his lips. "My father is a doctor, you don't need to worry about paying for a thing."
That explains it. He was from a wealthy family. He was taking pity on me. Of course. Well I didn't ask for it. I'm not a beggar. I earn the money I make, with all the skills I have to use. I didn't need his hand-outs.
I wanted to scream at him. Tell him exactly where he could shove his money. But instead I just felt my entire body deflate. I didn't have the energy to fight. The withdrawals were clawing away at my insides. I just leaned over and held my stomach. The nausea kept me quiet. It felt like things were crawling all over my arms. While my legs felt a bit numb.
Edward frowned as he watched me, a look of concentration on his face. He appeared to be getting frustrated. "What's wrong Bella?" He asked after a while.
I shook my head, not wanting to admit to this prince charming that I was a drug addict. It normally doesn't go over well when I bring it up. If he judged me before, he would practically throw me out of his car if I brought that up.
"I was just thinking, I've been all over Phoenix and I've never seen you before. Although I'm sure we probably don't hang out at the same places." I said, clearing my throat. I attempted to present myself as okay. But it felt like my skin was slowly getting peeled off my body. The pain was indescribable. My legs began to start jumping, but I leaned down on them.
"Actually, my father was flown in to assist in a procedure, we will be returning home to Forks by the end of the night." He commented, watching me with a slight look of concern.
Forks. That name sparked a memory. "Huh, my dad lives in Forks. Rene wanted me to go live with my dad for a while. And get myself well."
"And who is Rene?"
I shrugged. "The woman that gave birth to me. That's as far as it goes."
He chewed over my words. "And what's your father's name?"
"Charlie, he is the chief of police I think,"
Edward tilted his head, giving a sharp nod. "I suspected as much. Well this will be much easier to convince Carlisle to take you with us."
"What? You gotta be kidding me," I protested. "I can't show up, looking like this." I gestured down to myself. He turned to look at me fully. There was an emotion dancing behind his topas eyes. I couldn't tell what it was. But I could guess. Disgust. Pity. Contempt. I was just a filthy whore, in slutty clothes, I smelled like trash, I had track marks all over my arms. I was a mess. My dad hasn't seen mine since I was in elementary school. He had no idea how bad I was. And I really didn't want him to see me like this. The disappointment he would feel.
My chest pained as I hung my head. I could feel my limbs starting to quiver, I couldn't sit still. I was starting to sweat through my halter top. The pain was becoming unmanagable. I wouldn't be able to hide this from him much longer.
"You are a beautiful woman, there is much more than what people see on the outside of a person. There is a voice on the inside, that no one else can hear, the true inner thoughts and feelings of a person defines who they are as a person. You have made some mistakes. I'm sure your father will be understanding. He is a good man. I'd like to help you get home. Because these streets are going to kill you Bella."
I swallowed hard, looking away from him. No one ever said something like that to me before. Something squeezed inside my heart. There was a flicker of hope, in a sea of misery. I didn't want to hold onto that hope. I knew it was a risk of utter pain and sorrow if things didn't work out. But maybe I would try… just one more time. Meeting someone kind enough to offer me a hand… Well, refusing would be a slap to the face. And Edward didn't deserve that.
"Fine," I muttered.
His shoulders seemed to relax. "Great, so how long has it been since you last used heroin? It's important information to pass along to my father, so he can treat your withdrawal symptoms accordingly.
My eyes widened in surprise. I thought that I had been keeping myself subtle. He didn't seem like he was paying that close attention.
"How did you…"
He looked at me, raising a brow. "My father is a doctor, he made sure I was educated on these sorts of things. He used to work in a rehab center back in the day. I'm well equipped for helping drug users."
Figures. No wonder he stopped to pick me up. Well at least I knew that he wasn't going to kidnap me. But now the number of people I'm going to disappoint is growing.
"I don't even know how long it's been, I was hiding out for a few hours. Just based on how I'm feeling, I'm about due for another hit."
He nodded, looking back to the road. "The hospital is just another five minutes, hang in there. I know you're extremely uncomfortable."
That was an understatement.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I've hit my rock bottom. I couldn't be sure. But the warmth on this man's face gave me strength. Could I kick this addiction? Was there hope for me after all?
A/N: Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying this new idea for a story, let me know in a review. Thanks again!
