Triggers: adult content including prostitution
The first week of summer was agony. I spent most of the nights staring at the ceiling resisting the urge to sneak out to the fort. I once even entertained the idea of going straight to Meghan's house and scaling the drain pipe to her window. The fact that I didn't know which room was hers was a secondary deterrent. The primary being caught at the losing end of a shotgun when her crazy stepfather decided to make good on his promise.
One of my biggest faults was spitefully doing the opposite of what I am told. On the other hand, when I make a promise, I generally keep it. So promising Meghan that I wouldn't pursue her over the summer because she made me do so was tearing me apart. I coped by pounding the pavement in search of a summer job. My previous employer who used to pay me under the table was no longer in business. Rumor was he got caught for tax evasion and disappeared. Any other place I tried was too law-abiding to hire a minor not yet old enough for even a work permit. Those that were usually delved into some shady black market dealings that, while catered to my qualifications, weren't necessarily smart options. There was no telling how the summer was going to go. I could wake up tomorrow and my mother could finally come to her senses about leaving Wade for good and we'd pack the car and be halfway to Ottawa by dark. That was something I wouldn't be able to control. But if I could keep my nose clean this summer and try for honest work, maybe come next school year I will have acquired enough discipline to put forth a real effort. A long shot, but still an achievable goal. Assuming, that is, I could actually find a job.
Dusk after another fruitless day found me climbing the ladder of the water tower, a pint of whiskey I swiped from inside my mom's nightstand in my back pocket. I settled on the catwalk, legs dangling over the edge to watch the sun set behind the Vancouver skyline. Plucking the bottle from my pants, I took a sip, savoring the heat that slid down my throat to settle in my stomach. Draping my arms over the railing, I stared at the amber liquid in my hand. Little more than half the bottle remained. Was this the night I finally broke down and got drunk to ease my pain? Would I black out and find myself in the vacant lot anyway? Or hammering on Meghan's door in a bold gesture of unadulterated stupidity? Maybe I would just mope home and pick a fight with Wade. Or curl up there on the catwalk and sleep until morning. Either option was viable. After a second swallow, as I felt the warmth spread through my limbs, I reached out and tipped the bottle to drain it of its contents. I couldn't risk my liquor addled mind making bad choices without my knowledge.
"Dude!" An incredulous yell had me peering down.
Seth stood gaping at the small puddle, looking up when I stopped wasting perfectly good liquor. He shook his head, hoisting a brown bag in offer. "No worries, I've got more."
"Great," I mumbled, twisting the cap back on the single swallow that remained of my own bottle while Seth climbed up to join me.
I hadn't been in contact with any of the guys since the end of school. We usually had a standing tower date a few times a week but this was the first night in some time I bothered to come by. I hadn't been in the mood to bullshit around their prying. We weren't the kind of friends that sought, or even offered, relationship advice. We were the kind of friends that used each other as sounding boards about our wretched lives like an AA support group, except alcohol was mandatory. For the last several weeks, I instead spent that time with Meghan.
Seth reached the top and slid into the space next to me. "I thought I was going to be up here by myself tonight. At least now if I fall, someone will be here to find my body."
"That's not funny, Seth," I shook my head, realizing for the first time how morbid we could all sometimes be. None of us really believed we were going to make it far into adulthood, if we got there at all. If we did, we'd be spending it behind bars for one reason or another. So our philosophy was to enjoy our free time while we still had it.
"Yeah, well…" he shrugged and drank from his paper bag, wiping his arm across his mouth. "Donovan finally get smart and give you the heave-ho?"
"In a manner of speaking." I twisted my bottle between my fingers, not really wanting to talk about Meghan. "Where's everyone?"
"Tommy got picked up by the cops trying to use his fake ID at that liquor store on Vine. Told him the old coot was getting suspicious but does he listen to me? Of course not." Seth shook his head. "And Jase is in Banff again for the rest of the week. His sister just popped out another kid."
"What is that, three now?"
"Four, I think."
I chuckled, gazing out at the view. We settled into a companionable silence for a time. Unlike Jason, Seth wasn't much for chatter. And unlike Tommy, he didn't have a taste for gossip which meant he wouldn't press about Meghan unless I brought it up.
I felt the shift in atmosphere when Seth eventually turned to me. I could feel it radiating off of him like a rank sweat.
"What?" I asked without looking at him.
"Tommy didn't think we should tell you but…"
I looked at my friend, the indecision and unease in his eyes. "Tell me what?"
Seth took another drink for courage. "We saw Meghan."
"How was she? Where?" He now had my absolute attention, which made him shift uneasily and drink again, which made me uneasy in turn while he purposely took his sweet time.
Scowling, I reached out to snatch the bottle from his hand. "Hey!"
"Spit it out or I'll drop it," I threatened, holding my arm out over the edge. Seth eyed it thoughtfully, deciding whether my wrath was worth losing his buzz.
Finally he sighed. "On the Eastside."
My stomach dropped.
"She was getting out of this big black Cadillac. She…" Seth swallowed, looking to the bottle I still held over open air. "She looked pretty banged up."
"When was this?" I could feel my mind starting to peel apart in layers, shredding through emotions.
"The other night. Around two in the morning. When we realized it was her we hung around for a little reconnaissance. Another girl told us she'd been around every night for the last week. Dex - her stepfather, I guess - they said he usually dropped her off the same time every night. Some nights she'd be out until dawn, others he'd pick her up if he found the right client."
The liquor I drank burned as it began to come back up. I swallowed hard. "So she is working for him," I whispered in disbelief.
"Just started, from what we gathered."
I handed Seth back his bottle and got clumsily to my feet, feeling ill. Was that why Meghan was so persistent about keeping my distance through the summer? Had she known what she was going to be forced into? Maybe she had been trying to save me from myself, knowing what I would do if I knew. Well, we were all about to find out.
"Where are you going?"
"To the Eastside."
"Are you crazy?!" Seth jumped up. "Pimps linger to keep an eye on their assets. You said Dex caught you outside his house. If he catches you out there looking for Meghan, you're a dead man."
"I appreciate the concern." Though I didn't care and continued my way toward the ladder. It was hardly nightfall, but if I got to the Eastside before Meghan was dropped off there was less chance of her stepfather, so-called Dex, seeing me saunter in when I could already be there, blending in and laying in wait. Anyway, I wanted to do reconnaissance of my own. I trusted what my friends heard and saw, but wanted first hand confirmation and other questions answered.
"At least let me come with you to watch your back."
"I can take care of myself. Stay here." I hoped the remaining two feet from the end of the ladder to the ground.
"I don't doubt it, but what about her? If you get caught what do you think is going to happen to her?"
I stopped. Seth made a valid point. The last time I was stupid enough to be seen, Meghan was put under house arrest. Anyway, I wasn't stupid enough to think that as soon as I found her I would be concerned with who else may or may not be in the shadows watching.
Seth dropped down behind me. "Also, I know exactly where she'll be."
Heaving a sigh, I turned around to face his sly grin. "Fine. Lead on."
"She really got to you." Seth broke the silence after we entered city limits. It wasn't a question but an observation.
I didn't answer, too lost in my own thoughts of what I would say when we found Meghan. Or what I would do if she ended up not being there at all that night.
"So, what are you planning to do?"Seth went on. "Steal her away and start a new life together somewhere?"
"Huh?" I finally acknowledged my friend was even trying to speak to me. "Uh, I don't- no. I mean, I've thought about it. We even talked once about just living in this old tree house together. But, obviously that wouldn't realistically work out. I just… I want to make sure she's all right."
"She's being sold to the highest bidder by her own stepfather," Seth stated rather bluntly. "I very much doubt she's 'all right.'" He frowned, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as we walked. "Man, isn't that some shit, though? I mean, we've all been through a lot of shit but that's… that's just a whole new level of fucked up."
"Believe me, I know." It killed me inside to know that poor girl was being used and abused and I could do nothing about it. That I spent so long asking what I did to deserve the hell of a life I had that I didn't even consider there were people out there in worse situations that were even less deserving of them. Learning about Meghan's life made me see mine in an entirely new light.
"Hang on," Seth said, making a sudden detour into a convenience store. I lingered outside impatiently until he returned with a grocery bag.
"What is that for?"
"Trust me." Slinging the bag over his shoulder, we carried on.
It was full dark by the time we made it to the red-light district, but not yet so late that the night prowlers emerged from their caves. This was a part of the city I set foot in only once before and even then it made me feel unsettled. This was a dangerous part of Vancouver where law and order became a morally grey area. Where every reputable looking business was a front for something more profitable and genuinely sinister.
"Do you get the feeling we're being watched?" A chill rattled down my spine as I did a quick sweep around us.
"Probably because we are." Seth gestured to a pawn shop across the street with a subtle tilt of his head. The only indication of life was the glowing end of a cigarette as a man leaned against the front of the closed building.
I watched the figure from the corner of my eye as we continued on by knowing he was just one of many. Dread seeped through my veins at the thought of Meghan out here on these streets.
A few blocks later we stumbled upon the heart of the Eastside and what I always expected the most immoral area of the city to look like. Strip clubs, bars, and adult shops lit up in blazing red neon. Signs flashed "nude" "live sex" "erotic" enticing patrons into their dark interiors where anonymity was the highest form of trade. Through open doors I caught glimpses of girls swinging on poles and dancing in window displays wearing nothing but lacey lingerie. The male part of me involuntarily awakened from the sheer insinuation that blanketed this part of town. It was heavy in the air and impossible to ignore. Shamed as I felt, I realized that was the intention. Otherwise, this bawdy area of the city would cease to exist.
"Little young to be hanging around here." A voice came from above, causing Seth and I to pause and glance up. A woman leaned over a fire escape wrapped in a silk robe, pulling on a cigarette. Her hair fell around her face in wild waves, casting it in shadow as she gazed down at us, turning a matchbook in her fingers.
"We're looking for someone," I said, receiving a jab in side from Seth. I shot him a testing look.
The woman chuckled. "Take it from me, darling, you won't find them here." She bent a delicate, bare, leg back lazily.
"Yes ma'am. You have a good night now," Seth said hurridly. In my shock at his politeness, I didn't protest as he grabbed my jacket to drag me further down the street.
"What was that about?"
"Don't engage unless you're willing to pay. We don't need some 'roid-rager coming down to knock out our teeth."
Too stunned by Seth's unsettling knowledge of this area of town, I didn't argue and merely allowed him to guide me, now rather relieved I allowed him to come along. Who knew what sort of scuffle I would have gotten myself into trying to weasel scraps of information from anyone I met in hopes they knew enough about Meghan to be useful. Oddly enough, it turned out Seth was a much better bet.
"Exactly how much reconnaissance did you and Tommy do when you were here?"
"Enough to be worth it. Here." Having dug into his bag he produced a carton of cigarettes, opening the pack and handing me one. We lit up and continued our stroll. While I didn't think we had any real destination, Seth casually directed our path until we were just a couple of blocks beyond the red light limits.
"Spare a smoke?" A woman leaning against a street lamp, one shoe off in her hand as she massaged her foot, nodded toward us. She was a pretty brunette, not lithe and sexual like the blonde on the balcony, but a humble beauty encased in soft curves.
Seth didn't utter a word as he reached into his pocket for the carton.
"She's not here," the woman murmured, returning her shoe to her foot and standing up again to take a cigarette.
I was startled to realize she and Seth knew each other. Perhaps this was one of the women he and Tommy spoke to the last time they were here. I bit my tongue to keep from jumping at her with a ton of questions. Also because Seth shot me a warning look to be quiet.
"Was she?" Seth asked, taking his time to dig for a lighter.
"No. But her handler was just a few minutes ago." The woman put the cigarette between her lips and leaned in to the open flame in Seth's hand. Her eyes, rimmed with dark eye shadow flickered up to my friend's face. The smoldering look in them made me look away, feeling as if I was intruding on a private moment. What were my friends doing in this area of town, exactly?
The moment gone, she stood erect and blew a stream of smoke into the air. "It's early. I'll bargain he'll be back with her in a few hours."
Seth nodded. "We'll be back."
She studied him with a faint smile. "Bring your wallet so we can finish what we started."
"One for later?" Seth offered her the pack of cigarettes, ignoring the invitation.
She extracted a second one and nodded, throwing a glance my direction. "Sixth and Temple."
And we continued walking, me frustrated and confused, as Seth steered us to the next street.
"Okay, what the hell was that about? Who was she?"
"Maisie. Not sure if that's her real name, but that's what she told me to call her. She's the one we talked to last time we were here. It took a while to… convince her to open up about Meghan." I could have sworn Seth's face flushed. If it weren't so dark I'd have bet on it.
"Convince her how?"
"Well, now that is none of your business. The point is, she knows your girl and agreed to help us." Dropping his butt to the ground, Seth stomped it out.
"Sixth and Temple?"
"Our rendezvous. You gonna finish that?"
I handed over my half-finished cigarette, somewhat awed. "You would make a great Jason Bourne."
Seth took a long toke, dramatically tilted his head to exhale. "Don't I know it."
A/N: Y'all better hang tight. This is taking a darker turn than I anticipated.