Mallory

Tyler and I were like oil and water from that week on. When he said he was messy, he meant it. I wasn't a clean freak, but I wasn't unkempt, either. So when Tyler left his beer bottles and cigarette butts lying around the house I lost it. I spent some days scrubbing the floors, tidying up so I didn't feel like I was living in a rat's nest. It was out of character for me, but I felt I needed to do something to repay him.

I relaxed on the weekend until I remembered...

Dammit. I had another day of work—another day of getting underpaid for the single talent I had. There were some jobs that were worth the low wage salary and dancing wasn't one of them. I was used to the cat calls that were hollered at me. I had no problem with the customers' sneaky little touches. I was immune to everything, so when Paul called me upstairs to work a private room, I followed him to listen to his orders.

Paul wasn't a good looking guy. Probably why he owned a strip club. He was balding, with a crooked nose to match his teeth. His neck was too long, his face birdlike. Good looking guys usually had nothing to do with the club. When Tyler and Aidan came in for the first time, it was a huge relief. They were something to look at, something to keep me occupied from this hellhole.

"'Sup, Paulie?"

"You've got a customer. He called a few minutes back. He's on his way." Paul had a thick New York accent. It was hard to make out his words when I first met him. I finally had started to understand him.

"He made a reservation for a hooker? Can't wait to meet this guy." I scoffed.

Paul shook his head, crossing his arms. "Don't speak that way to the customer, girl." He uncrossed his arms, twisting the ring on his right ring finger. "Do good tonight and you'll get a good chunk."

I thought about that. "How much for this are you getting?"

"Is it your business?" He raised a blonde, graying brow.

Great. He's usually never secretive with his money. I guess I'm not going to just suck this dude's dick. I hoped this man wouldn't try to strangle me like last time. People were into weird shit.

"That's only, like, a hundred for me, isn't it?"

"Maybe he'll tip ya," Paul said and walked off to show other girls to their rooms.

"Godammit." I groaned and turned into one of the private rooms. The rooms were all disgusting, STD infested pig-styes. I had my shit together. I was clean. No diseases or infections. I got that shit tested monthly. Paulie didn't require it, but I did. Better safe than sorry. I didn't want big welts on my face. I made my customers use a condom, too, just in case they weren't clean. I was on the pill as well just to be safe. I didn't want a kid. There were already too many girls at the club that had gotten knocked up from this life.

I chilled on the the limp, filthy mattress until I saw my customer. Fuck. I recognized the face. He was a regular. I'd never fucked him before, but I had danced for him on previous occasions. I knew who he was exactly because I opened his wallet before to steal his cash after the fight. Georgie was still sporting a cut on his lip and two shiners from a broken nose. He walked in with a limp. Tyler got him good. Through my fear I laughed to myself. Georgie was a big man and Tyler took him out single handedly while drunk off his ass. He slowly shut the door behind him. He appraised me; I was still splayed out on the mattress. I closed my legs and lifted myself up.

I expected him to speak first, but he didn't. He just stared at me. I stared back, noticing more details about him. Like his frumpled up blonde hair and that he needed to shave. I coughed, mustering up the strength to talk to him. "I—what can I do?" I coughed nervously. "What can I do for you?"

No reply. Georgie dragged himself to sit by me on the bed. I waited for him to say something. He could take as long as he wanted. Paul would give me a bonus if I took long enough. He turned his head slowly. His gruff voice broke my thoughts. "You can shut the fuck up and give me back my money."

Shit. That was quick. I stood, heading for the door to make my escape. He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me back to sit by him. "Look at my face." He pointed with one fat finger at his crooked nose. "Your fucking boyfriend fucked me up. You stole my money." He got up to tower over me.

" Don't fucking touch me!" I yanked my arm back. "Listen, man. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." It was best to play innocent, to lie. I'd get in deep shit if Paulie ever found out. I'd be thrown out onto the street. He again took my arm, but this time to get me up. I was weak compared to him so he easily pushed me against a wall. His hands wrapped around my waist, no doubt intending to leave marks on me. He pressed himself against me, and I could feel how much the situation excited him. I wouldn't let him hold power over me anymore. I raised my leg and stabbed him in the balls with my heel."Motherfucker!"

He toppled over, cursing and grabbing his dick. I tried to step over his large body to leave, but he caught my ankle and I fell over, too. For someone who was so crippled, he was quick. He climbed on top of me, nailing me down so I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. Panic welled up inside me. I was writhing under him, trying to find a way to take a breath. It was useless. I used my fingernails to scratch at his face, but he swept my hands aside. "If I had a way," he hissed, then stopped speaking. He took a breath, losing eye contact with me. "If I had a way," he tried again, not finishing. "...I would." Georgie's words weren't making sense. His breathing got heavy. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead; it landed on my face. I had no energy to react to how disgusting it was.

I should have screamed for help, but I was at a loss for words. How could I scream when I knew that no one cared if I died? Why would it matter to waste my last breath on something so useless? To scream would have been a mistake. I would have rather died silently. I didn't want my last act to be a waste of time like the rest of my life.

I wanted to ask him why he cared so much about the three hundred I stole from his wallet. Surely it wasn't a big amount. I had that much stashed away and more. I could give it back. Then I realized what I hadn't before: women couldn't hold power over him. He disliked that. When I took from him, I always took his empowerment away. I stole more than his money. I also took his ego, too.

His eyes were dark, bulging from their sockets. He had a faint smile on his face when he reached to throttle my neck. As he squeezed, I thought of nothing more than how useless my whole life was. I never fulfilled my dreams because I never had dreams. I never did anything because I never deserved anything better. Just like I didn't deserve Tyler's sincerity. At that thought, I drifted away.