Minutes sluggishly passed by as Gabby stood in her apartment over a bucket of water doing some laundry. Her dark wet hair hung heavily from her head as it dripped down to the floor. The room was spotless and clean, as she had been cleaning all evening, in an effort to rid the dirt from her life. Even so, after all the brushing and washing, Gabby still felt dirty and filthy, unable to wipe it all off. She had a terribly firm grip on one of her shirts as she plunged the clothing into the water and scrubbed it hard against the washboard. Her hands had become saturated and cold from the water, and red from handling her clothes with such force.

The front door opened and Ace strolled right into the room.

"Someone's been busy," he greeted while surveying the immaculate area.

Gabby looked up and around, finally noticing Ace had arrived. Her face was flushed and tired-looking. Ace gave her a strange look.

"What's goin' on?" he inquired, concerned.

"Nothing. What d'you mean?" she replied, dazed.

"Ya always cleaned when somethin' bad happened when we was little. Freaked me out. What's wrong?"

"I told you. Nothing." Gabby returned to the water and thrust the shirt one last time before wringing it out with her numbed hands. "Just cleanin' up everything. I'd hate to see what your place would look like if you lived on your own."

Ace rolled his eyes and walked around the room. He ducked under the line of drying clothes and hopped onto the kitchen table, placing himself next to the bucket of water. "There's rumors flyin' around about a party er somethin' on Friday at Sonny's fer Brooklyn. Spot'll probably take you, in case ya're wonderin."

"All right."

Ace turned to face her as he urged, "C'mon, what's goin' on?"

Gabby quickly picked up another shirt and dumped it into the water without giving any hint that she had heard him. She picked up the bar of soap and rubbed it vigorously against the fabric. Her eyes strained onto the wash and fixed on it intensely. Ace furrowed his eyebrows and watched her skeptically. He reached out his arm and held her wrist, stopping her scrubbing.

"Gabby…" Ace said with a worried tone. "There's somethin' you ain't tellin' me."

She hesitated and dropped the soap and skirt back into the bucket. She sighed and looked at Ace directly in the eye. "How's this going to end?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"How's this ending? What's exactly going to happen? I know you're not telling me something either."

Ace sighed, irritated, and hopped down. "Gabby, ya know what we're doin' and I ain't keepin' secrets from ya. Why can't ya just accept the way things are? This is what we're in, this is it. Why're ya doin' this? Ya knew ahead 'a time full well what this is. Jesus, Gabby…"

"Shut up, Ace! I'm sorry if I have difficulty stabbing someone in the back like this. I guess it's just my fucking conscience working against me, forgive me if I have a heart."

"And I don't?"

"No, Ace, you don't! You're a cold, heartless bastard and you dragged me into this shit when you knew I would be easy to hook! I can't believe you'd do this to me. You're just using me to get back at Spot because of your mistake with some stupid war that probably didn't mean anything in the first place."

"Hey, ya're crossin' the line now! I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand what goes on with our lives. You'se just stick to what ya know best; cleanin' and sleepin' with the enemy, a'right?"

Gabby gripped the edge of the splintered, wooden bucket tightly. Her knuckles grew white and her jaw clenched hard until her teeth felt as though they would shatter. She wanted to throw the bucket at him and drown him in the water.

"I can't do this anymore," Gabby responded quietly after moments.

"Oh and what're ya gonna do? Run away? He'll find you and kill you, Gabby, don't ya understand? It's way too late to run now. We got ourselves into this and now we gotta get ourselves out, alive, if ya don't mind. If ya can't stay in it for yaself, d'ya think ya can at least fer me? I'd prefer to live until next Monday."

"I…" Gabby stammered as her thoughts raced about her mind in a disorderly fashion, certain words being emphasized and repeated. "I just…to Spot…I can't…"

Ace glared at her as she struggled to create a sentence, until it became very clear to him what she was saying. His face went blank for a moment as he closed his eyes and the anger built up within him. "Ya bettah work on that, Gabby…"

"What?"

"I can't believe you!" Ace shouted suddenly. "Why did ya let yerself do this? Huh? Why? Ya knew you weren't allowed to do this!"

Gabby pursed her lips and threw the wet piece of clothing onto the floor out of anger. "It's not like I planned this, Ace! God, do you have any care at all for other people? Yes, I have feelings for him, okay? Is that what you're looking for? There's your answer! I love him!"

The room was deafeningly silent after that. Gabby stared hard at Ace as he stood with his hands in fists staring down at the ground.

"Look…" Ace began after minutes of quiet, "I know this must be…difficult fer you…but set those feelins aside. Stayin' alive is much more important than lovin' someone, Gabby. Ya gotta think 'a yerself now."

Gabby huffed out a breath quickly and picked up the dripping skirt from the floor. She let it back into the water and folded her arms over her chest. Ace started making his way slowly towards the door.

"Tyce said he'd stop by later," Ace said just before opening the door. "Tell 'im Brooklyn's takin' twenty five with 'em on Sunday. Just found that out listenin' to 'em today. Do it, Gabby, or I'll go after ya myself."

Later, much later that night, after she had finished doing the laundry and it hung across the room to dry, Gabby placed a chair facing the window. She rested her chin on her hand and watched the city beneath her and the sky above her, wanting to leave more than ever. Her hair had dried completely and flyaway pieces blew around occasionally in the wind. She thought seriously about going to see Spot; he made her feel happier than she had been in a long time. A knock then came to the door and she anxiously went to open it, anticipating seeing Spot.

Her smile vanished in an instant as she stood in front of Tyce. Although his face was downward and a hat was covering most of his hair and forehead, Gabby knew whom it was instantly. She rolled her eyes and let him in.

"Evenin'," Tyce greeted as he took off his hat and twirled it around his fingers. In his other hand was a sack of something, though Gabby neither knew what it was nor wanted to know. "I heard 'bout Brooklyn's lil' party comin' up."

"You did?" Gabby looked at him, surprised at how quickly news somehow got back to him. "Wait, you're not planning something for that night, are you?"

Tyce looked at her, then above him in contemplation. "Ya know, that ain't a bad idea…"

"No, no, I wasn't suggesting that! Tyce, don't do anything," she pleaded.

A wicked smile came onto his face and it looked as though he could laugh. "Don't worry, I ain't tryin' nothin'."

Gabby breathed easier and relaxed. She could feel herself tensing up by the mere presence of him and she wanted him to leave immediately. Tyce held up the bag and thrust it into her hands.

"Fer the party," he told her.

"What?" Gabby opened it and found a mess of red and black clothing piled up into something resembling a dress. She sighed exhaustedly, realizing it was probably something Tyce had gotten from one of his whores in Queens. From the looks of it, it seemed low-cut and probably too small for her. "What is this, Tyce?"

"Conlon won't be able to take 'is hands off ya if yer wearin' that."

"I thought the idea was to not sleep with him…"

"It is." Tyce placed his hand on her shoulder ready to explain a concept or something. "Ya haven't slept with him and ya ain't gonna sleep with 'im neitha. This is just to take his mind off Sunday. By that time, he won't be satisfied. Y'see?"

Gabby gave him a strange look that evidently notified Tyce that he was officially going insane. Nonetheless, rather than risk setting him off, Gabby sighed and took the sack again, agreeing to wear the dress.

"So, ya got anythin' new to report?" Tyce questioned.

"No. I got nothin'."

He watched suspiciously, as she stared at him blankly. His eyes were penetrating her sharply with demanding question. Her heartbeat quickened and she bit her tongue before letting what Ace had told her fall out of her mouth.

"A'right," Tyce replied reluctantly, still giving her an doubtful look. "I should get goin' then."

With her heart still in her throat pulsating uncontrollably, Gabby followed behind him to the door. Tyce reached for the doorknob, turned around quickly, and held one hand to her cheek. His fingertips brushed against her pale skin briefly, as she struggled to maintain stillness. She blinked several times and looked the other way, though she could see him looking her over. He leaned in to kiss her lips. She dodged it impulsively by turning her head, and instead endured him kissing her cheek. Gabby winced as his lips collided with her skin and he kissed her no more than three times.

He finally pulled away and exited without another word. Gabby leaned her back against the door, forcing down the urge to vomit. She dropped the bag to the floor and covered her mouth, thoroughly disgusted with everything she had done so far.

Before going to bed that night, Gabby took another bath, against the wishes of the other tenants, and scurried about the room in hopes of finding something new to clean. No matter how many times she cleaned, though, she couldn't remove the enormous stain she had put on her life. The only other thing dirty she could find, though, was the dress she was intended to wear to this so-called party on Friday. She hadn't even bothered to remove it from the bag and she already hated it. As she sat on the edge of her bed, she hurled it across the room and it landed in a heap next to the door.

With a choking lump in her throat, she plopped her head down to the pillow and hoped to die in her sleep.