Victoria was ducking behind a mailbox, dabbing at an eyeball with a napkin. Some dude who was day drinking had paid handsomely for her service, but had also shot out his load so abruptly that it had landed squarely on her eye. After a few seconds of agonizing discomfort, she managed to accept payment and then quickly hurried away to clean up. It was an awful feeling, similar to opening up your eyes while underwater at a pool, except this hypothetical pool was full of glue instead of water.
After blinking rapidly and checking her eye, she did a quick count of today’s haul. Because this drunkard had mistakenly pulled out a hundred dollar bill instead of a twenty (Victoria wasn’t too sure how that mistake happened), she could head home. Well, that was all fine and dandy. It would be nice to sit in a warm shower, and then help Ally with her hom-
Oh. That’s right. Ally wasn’t living with her.
Victoria stared at her soiled napkin as the wind ruffled her hair. She wasn’t used to being separated from Ally. The first few days without Ally had been rough. It felt…empty to wake up in bed, without Ally having squirmed over Victoria’s face mid-sleep. No more were the days of Victoria waking up mildly hungover as Ally squealed that she was late to school. No more were the days of abruptly waking up by falling off the bed at 3am, due to Ally kicking her off in an accident.
Oh, how she missed those days.
Victoria grit her teeth, and crumpled the napkin as a defiant action to steel her resolve, accidentally splattering the drunkard’s gunk all over her hand again. She looked down in disgust. Ew.
Yeah, it was time to go home and wash up. As she stood up and stretched her arms, a shuffling of footsteps grew louder behind her. When she turned around, she was met with a small group of tan men wearing plaid shirts, grinning in a way only idiots could. Still, quick money couldn’t be turned down.
She smiled. “Hey, boys. How can I help ya out?”
The men looked at each other, sharing mildly confused smiles, until one man stepped up with confusing confidence. He pointed at her, and then gestured to his group.
“You. Sex. Us?”
Hoo boy. Victoria shook her head. “Sorry, fellas. No can do. No sex, but touching ok.”
The man chuckled, rustling with his pants for a bit, and then abruptly pulled out a pistol from his waistband.
“You. Sex. Us.”
The blood drained from Victoria’s face. Holding up a fake front of confidence, she smiled. “You boys sure you want to do that to Dante’s number one? He really wouldn’t like this.”
The men looked at each other, confused. “Who Dante?”
Crap. They didn’t know Dante, his name had no power. “...you know? Dante? Essentially runs all of Blackerd? That guy?”
The man with the gun scratched his butt. “I dunno. You. Sex. Us.”
Fuck. This was insanely bad. Plan c. Victoria smiled as she nodded. “Ok. Me. Sex. You all. Follow.”
She beckoned with a finger into an alleyway, and the man cackled as they followed. Victoria was sweating bullets, but she swayed her hips in a desperate resort to try and distract her distasteful extortioners from her plan. She walked towards a white metal screen door, and opened it. As she entered, she gestured to the stairs with a smile. “Upstairs. Bed. Fluffy. Sex.”
The men grinned as they followed her inside. The door behind them automatically locked, but they paid no mind to the click. The man with the pistol was leading the rest of the men closely behind her. One of the men slapped her ass, causing her to release a fake giggle as she cussed him out mentally.
She walked up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, dramatically swaying her hips with each step. She could feel the slimy men ogling her as she walked up. As she reached the top floor, she looked over her shoulder with a confident aura.
“Well, boys? Let’s go.”
The man with the gun grinned wildly as he started to run up the stairs. On the third step, the floorboard cracked and gave in, causing the trapped step to pour a preset bucket of lighter fluid on top of the man. Before the man could realize what was happening, Victoria quickly grabbed a flare from the top step, yanked off the top to ignite it, and threw it hastily to the group.
The man screamed as the lighter fluid ignited, flaring up immediately. In his panic, he shot blindly towards Victoria’s direction, the stray bullet catching her in her calf. The force of the bullet knocked her off her feet, but the pain didn’t immediately register due to the adrenaline coursing through her veins. The prostitute kicked off her high heels, scrambled to her feet, and ran into the room upstairs. She quickly opened the window, and then jumped out of the second story floor. Victoria landed squarely on her ankles, pain surging through her legs and her fresh gunshot wound. She gasped in pain, promptly collapsing. Due to the nature of the booby trap house, the men didn’t chase after her. Furthermore, the door they had entered had automatically locked behind them, caging them inside for a little bit longer.
As Victoria mustered up the willpower to get up, she hobbled away as fast as she could from the alleyway. Blood dribbled out of her wound, but Victoria refused to stop moving. She cut through dirt fields to avoid leaving a trail of blood and staggered over to Dante’s house.
Move. Move. Move.
...
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Xe3ecIJcj
Victoria slammed open the door with a gasp and collapsed on the living room floor. Olivia looked over, startled by the sudden noise, and then screamed upon seeing the blood oozing from Victoria’s wound. The scream brought the attention of Dante, who entered the living room, scowling. His scowl faded upon seeing the gunshot wound, and he quickly ran over to the T.V. cabinet where the first aid materials were stowed away. He dragged Victoria to the bathroom, causing her to moan in pain.
Once inside the bathroom, he propped her up, stripped off her dress, and quickly checked for wounds. Victoria was in so much agony that she couldn’t muster the energy to protest. He began to wipe away the grime, and brushed the smaller scratches with an alcohol wipe. As the cool pad brushed her body, she grit her teeth in pain.
“Were you followed? Yes or no.”
Victoria sharply inhaled. “No. Made sure of it.”
Dante quickly turned on the hot water in the bathtub. He then grabbed a rag from the bathroom counter, and held it to Victoria. “This is gonna hurt like shit. Bite.”
Victoria, clammy in sweat, bit down. Dante pulled out some tweezers and examined the bullet hole. “Is it still in there?”
Victoria nodded. Dante massaged her calf, causing surges of pain to flare across her entire leg. After a few gropes, he checked the temperature of the bathwater. Confirming that it was scalding, he dunked the tweezers and a rag into the water. After a minute, he pulled both out, steam rising from both objects. He carefully wiped the burning tweezers with the damp rag, then rubbed the tweezers with an alcohol pad.
Dante cursed. “This really isn’t ideal, but it’ll have to do. It’s going in.”
Victoria nodded. Dante gently inserted the alcohol-covered tweezer, causing Victoria to scream a muffled cry into her rag, the muscles in her arm tensing up in an attempt to keep her leg still. As the tweezers prodded in her wound for what felt like an eternity, Dante carefully removed the tweezers from her leg, the bullet clamped between the instrument’s teeth. He quietly examined the retrieved bullet between the tweezers, then reached over and placed the rounded piece of metal on the bathroom countertop. He dabbed at the wound with some more alcohol, wiped up any excess blood, then tightly wrapped her calf with some gauze from the kit.
Victoria had tears in her eyes, and continued to clamp her jaw on the rag handed to her. Dante gently grabbed the corner of the gag.
“Let go.”
A slimy trail of drool followed her mouth as she deeply inhaled, accompanied by a cough. Her mind and heart were racing, but she forced deep breaths to calm herself. After a few seconds, more pain slowly started to settle in. Her entire body felt heavy and sore, probably due to the adrenaline wearing off.
Dante placed the tweezers down on the bathroom countertop. “You’re lucky. Not only was that bullet tiny, it was in one piece. If all goes well, the wound should heal up smoothly after a few weeks without any lasting pain. It’ll leave a bitch of a scar, but whatever. Can you move?”
Victoria hesitated, but tried moving her wounded leg back and forth. The pain was throbbing, but it wasn’t unbearable. “Yeah, short distances, maybe.”
Surprisingly, Dante lent a shoulder to lean on, and the pair limped over to the kitchen. It was a weird sensation to go to the kitchen wearing nothing but underwear, but desperate times called for strange sensations.
As Victoria slouched in a kitchen chair, Dante sat across from her. Olivia peaked her head in the hallway.
“Uh…”
Dante snapped his fingers at her. “Get a bathrobe, and put it on blondie.”
Olivia yipped, and quickly ducked out of the doorway. A few seconds later, she returned with a patchy, rough bathrobe. She quickly draped it over Victoria’s shoulders, and before Victoria could utter a smile and thank you, Olivia had retreated to the living room. The wounded woman quietly slipped on the uncomfortable garment as Dante stared her down with crossed arms, his fingers tapping away on his forearms.
“You situated?”
Victoria tried rotating her ankle, causing her to wince. “Could be doing better, but whatever.”
“Cool. So, what the fuck?”
Victoria scowled. “I don’t fucking know either, ok? There was a group of Mexicans or something and they asked me for sex in broken English. Next thing I knew, they had a gun pulled on me. They didn’t know about you. I took them to a booby trap house and set one of ‘em on fire. They randomly shot, and I jumped out a window. They were trapped inside. I got here by cutting through fields, so no trail to follow. Speaking of which, I think my ankles are sprained or something.”
Dante chewed the inside of his cheek slowly, quietly nodding as he listened to Victoria’s story. “Which booby trap house?”
“The one on Gregor’s field.”
“Did you fuck them?”
Victoria stared at Dante. Dante raised an eyebrow. She gestured to her leg. Dante kept a monotone expression.
“Dipwad, I didn’t fuck the Mexicans. They pulled a gun on me. Literally the second thing they did upon meeting me.”
Dante quietly sat, with Victoria burning holes of hatred into the black man. After a minute of silence, he slammed his hands on the table, causing Victoria to flinch.
“FUCK.”
Victoria threw up her arms, exasperated. “Well, damn. Sorryfor not fucking the muggers.”
Dante glared back at Victoria, his eyes burning molten rage through her skull. He raised his arms, slowly strangled the invisible ghost sitting in front of him, before putting his arms down with a defeated sigh. He took a deep breath, before looking up slowly and quietly.
“Hey. Why do you think I’m pissed?”
Victoria scoffed. “Hell if I know. Why are you mad that I got shot?”
Dante placed his left hand slowly on top of the papers that rested on the dinner table. He slowly jostled the piles, the sound of sashaying papers echoing in the kitchen. Victoria looked at the papers, then at Dante with a confused expression. A few seconds of silence passed, before Dante leaned in and quietly uttered his next words, dripping with venom.
“We produce income through flicker distribution and prostitution, fifty fifty. These guys are pulling guns on prostitutes. That alone cuts down our income by half. It isn’t cheap to hire my men, either. With reduced revenue over time…”
The realization dawned on Victoria. Her wound and ankles continued to throb, but the reasoning behind Dante’s anger was much more dire. “So… the reason you’re pissed…”
Dante trembled in rage as he slowly nodded. “Without prostitution, we’ll be running at fifty percent efficiency. If this continues, we’re on track to losing everything”.
Dante rested his arms on the table and scratched his head furiously as he closed his eyes. “Give me all the details. Location. What they looked like. The sequence of events. Everything.”
...
Dante finished scratching down all the information Victoria had stated on a piece of paper. He quietly scanned the paper with a locked jaw. Victoria tried to rotate her ankles, with each surge of pain causing her to flinch with a wince.
Dante tapped the paper. “Five tanned dudes all speaking Spanish. All acting like they knew each other. Two wore jeans, three wore shorts. One wore an oversized t-shirt, the rest wore unbuttoned button-up plaid shirts. Only one pulled out a black pistol. They all approached you on Brookel Avenue’s corner. You took them to the nearest traphouse, so the one in Gregor’s field. The man with the gun stepped on the trapped third step, dousing them in lighter fluid. You threw a flare at them. The man with the gun caught on fire and randomly shot your left calf. You jumped out the second story window, and then cut through fields and whatnot to not leave a trail…all the way here.”
Victoria squeezed some scratches on her arms, wincing. “Yeah, pretty much. Like I said, they didn’t really identify themselves, or leave any identification. What are you even gonna do with this?”
Dante scowled, as he drummed his fingers. “The issue is how you said they acted familiar with each other. That means the chances of them being random bounty hunters is low, but it might be an organization.”
Victoria frowned. “Does a bounty really provide enough money to be split between that big of a group?”
Dante scoffed. “Course not. Doesn’t matter how stupid they are though, if they end up killing us. Well, killing me at least. They’ll probably just rape you and be done with it.”
“Wait, why am I included in all this? I’m not some head figure like you.”
“Doesn’t matter if you aren’t important, dumbass. You’re in the general area, so it’s important to at least plan for the worst case scenario.”
Dante grumbled as he scratched his head. “If they are in an organization, that means there’s someone calling all the shots. Plus, we don’t know how big they are, where they’re operating from, what their goals are, so on. I can’t make shot calls unless I know for certainty what to expect. Until then, any action I take could end up making the situation worse.”
“...but doing nothing is also bad, because you have a dwindling income.”
Dante glared at Victoria, but nodded. “Hey, you do have a brain.”
“Piss off.”
He placed the paper down on the desk with a groan. “It’s like I’m fuckin’ playing rock-paper-scissors, but they’re allowed to make a decision after I me. The hell do I even do here?”
Victoria shrugged, a mild jolt of pain causing her to flinch and cut her shrug prematurely. “I mean…you could always run. It’d be safe.”
Dante dawned a false look of inspiration and pride. “Wow! Incredible! You’re so right! That would work!”
Victoria flipped off Dante. “It was a suggestion, you pr-”
“What about the rest of the Ghetto, dipshit? I can run, but what about them?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Dante rolled his eyes, and groaned. “Bloody…dumbass. Why do you think they’re shooting up prostitutes if they’re hunting for people?”
“How the hell should I know? There’s no correlatio-”
“Precisely, you twat. They’re doing whatever the hell they want. If me and my men aren’t in the equation, could you even imagine what more they’d do?”
Victoria hesitated. “I mean…there’s the polic-”
“You think that white-collar cares about the Ghetto? He’s probably ecstatic. After all, why do you think that the swine refuses to do his damn job? He’s letting these guys do what they want. He gets rid of me and the Ghetto. It’s a win-win for those fucks. No, we’re on our own.”
Victoria pursed her lips. “Huck isn’t like that.”
Dante scoffed. “Then you don’t know him. He’s a murderer.”
Victoria opened her mouth to protest, but Dante extended the bird. “Piss off, I don’t need your ‘Huck is so amazing’ dickriding. I need solutions, and if you can’t provide them, you’re free to fuck off to your room.”
Victoria grit her teeth, but nodded. As she got up, pangs of pain echoed in her legs, causing her eyes to mildly water in frustration, but she did what she could to hobble out of the kitchen. Before she could exit, Dante cleared his throat.
“By the way, blondie. You’re off prostitution duty.”
Victoria whirled (...well, not whirled, more like turned with purpose) around with confusion and disbelief. “Pardon? You’re kicking me out?”
Dante stared at Victoria with stern eyes. Victoria’s heart felt hot and cold at the same time. The anger and despair threatened to overwhelm her, but before she could take action, Dante shook his head.
“Dumbass, you can’t fuckin’ prostitute yourself if you’re struggling to move from room to room. I’m saying to take a break. You’re on your own for food, but you can take shelter here as you recover. You’re paying me back after you heal, though.”
Victoria let out a shaky breath of relief, and nodded. Dante pointed to the direction of the living room. “Third cabinet, there’s a blue bottle. Take out three pills and swallow ‘em. High acting painkillers should help you get through the day if the pain gets too intense. Try not to move around, or your injuries aren’t going to heal. Tell Olivia to bring you things if needed.”
Victoria stiffly nodded, then hobbled out of the kitchen and into the living room where she saw Olivia at the front door, frantically dabbing away at the blood splatters on the floor. Upon seeing Victoria’s shadow cast on the floor, Olivia looked up with wide eyes.
“Uh… are you ok blondie?”
Victoria smiled to the best of her abilities. “Yeah. Well, could be better, but could be much worse. Could you get me the blue pill bottle from the third drawer? I can’t really bend down.”
Olivia nodded, and frantically scrambled over to retrieve the requested pills. As Olivia did that, Victoria reached over to the coffee table and picked up a half-drunk water bottle. After a few seconds, Olivia handed over the pill bottle hastily, to which Victoria plucked out of Olivia’s hands with a small smile. She took three pills, swallowed them with water, handed the pill bottle back gratefully, then turned to go to her room. However, before Victoria could even take a step, Olivia scampered to her side, offering her shoulder. She refused to meet Victoria’s eyes, but Olivia muttered to the ground:
“You shouldn’t be moving around. If you need anything, ask. Ok blondie?”
Victoria’s heart warmed at this tiny gesture of kindness. “Yeah, for sure. Thanks Olivia.”
...
When Victoria woke up, her entire body was molten lead. She rubbed her forehead sluggishly, trying to gauge her temperature. Well.. she felt warm.
Ok, maybe trying to check her temperature using her own hand was stupid. She forced her body out of bed. With every movement she made, Victoria could feel her joints creaking, and it was all she could do to not moan in pain. As her feet slapped the floor, the coldness that greeted her was soothing yet also told her that her body was indeed feverish.
Victoria trudged out of the room, and towards the kitchen. Though her entire body ached, Victoria knew the painkillers were working overtime. After all, her bulletwound and ankles only felt sore, instead of feeling like agonizing death.
The kitchen was empty, surprisingly. Muddied voices could be heard echoing from the basement. Dante had most definitely called an emergency meeting with his men and were giving them updates. That was fine, since it meant Dante was out of Victoria’s hair if not for a minute. Victoria pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and then lifted her bathrobe to cool her burning back on the cool surface of the fridge as she took sips of cold water. After turning her body on the cold hunk of metal to cool off a big portion of her body, she then hobbled over to the living room to take more painkillers. Olivia was sleeping on the couch, her soft breaths filling the air. Victoria took some pills from the pill bottle resting on the coffee table, and tossed five in her mouth. After sloshing it down with water, she checked the clock.
If she hobbled out fast enough, she would be able to make tonight’s meetup at Gustavo’s.
...
It took twice as long to reach the bar, mainly because Victoria was focused on walking in a way that wouldn’t irritate her wounds. She wore a flowy dress, simply because it was the only article of clothing she could wear that wouldn’t put constant stress on her bandages. Once at the front door, Victoria took a deep breath before plastering on a fake smile and opening the door with a grandiose swing. The dull bells strung to the bar’s front door chimed hollowly, enveloping Victoria in the bar’s atmosphere. Drunkards laughing in the booths, Bera singing heartily, and Gustavo yelling racial slurs at some disorderly customer. Huck sat in his usual stool, with Ally doodling on a piece of paper next to him. Joel was sweeping away at some broken glass on the floor near the booths.
Ah, the Bottlecap. Never change.
Victoria snuck up behind Huck, then poked him in the gut. He flinched, then turned around with a sigh.
“You’re late, Vic’.”
Ally turned around with a sudden whirl. She squealed, dropping her crayon. Before Victoria could mentally prepare, Ally jumped out of the stool and tackled Victoria with a vicious hug. Even with the painkillers from earlier, pain exploded in Victoria’s legs as she stumbled back. As she tried to stabilize herself, Victoria could feel the wound mildly tear, causing her face to morph into raw agony for a split second as she tumbled to the floor. Ally didn’t notice anything and giggled into her sister’s stomach. Sweat beaded on Victoria’s brow, and as Victoria caught her breath, she forced herself to laugh as though she were embarrassed at being caught off guard.
“Glad to see you doing ok, Ally. You’re more energetic than usual!”
Ally looked up with a big grin. “I missed you, sissy!”
Huck looked over, his brow furrowed, but he stayed silent as he extended his arm to Victoria. Her heart skipped a beat as she accepted the assistance, and hoisted herself up. This time, she was prepared, and mentally clenched as pain flared in her wound as she stood. Gustavo was also looking at Victoria, his scarred eyebrow slightly raised. The hispanic bartender put down his glass, and asked the question Huck also had in his mind.
“You ok, hun?”
Victoria coughed. “Actually, I’m just doing awful. I got shot in the gut, and now I’m internally bleeding.”
Gustavo and Huck stared at the blond woman for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes.
“Half truth. I’ll let you guess which part is the truth.”
The two men frowned until Victoria’s words clicked. They then both developed a sudden interest in the floor as they coughed and looked away, their ears mildly turning red. Ally, clueless to the atmosphere in the air, grinned as she lifted up her drawing to Victoria.
“A giraffe!”
Why is it red? “Hey, it’s the right shape! Next time, let’s aim for the right color too, ok?”
Huck ruffled Ally’s hair. “Don’t listen to your sister, she’s just jealous that she’s never seen a giraffe.”
Victoria groaned. “Please stop teaching my sister incorrect animal anatomy.”
“If I’m babysitting, I get to choose her curriculum.”
Gustavo reached down under the counter, and pulled out a bottle of Hermes for Victoria. He tapped it on the counter as he gave her a nod, to which Victoria took the bottle with a wink. As she took a sip of the cheap alcohol, Joel stopped by with a dustpan of glass. He waved a greeting to Victoria, to which she nodded with a grin. Huck chewed on a wing, as he leaned over and gave faulty advice for Ally’s drawing. Ally, naive as she was, listened with absolute trust as she proceeded to draw wings onto her red giraffe. It should have been an excellent time where Victoria hung out with her sister and Huck, but Victoria simply couldn’t focus. The throbbing pain of her wounds grew more and more, and her fever had increased since she had left the house. There was a pounding in her head that made it impossible to sip her beer. So, she simply sat in her barstool, head in hand, as she looked down at the counter. Victoria forced a few sips of Hermes down here and there so as to not cause suspicion, but her feverish body now had this wet chill that seemed as though it were seeping down her leg.
Huck coughed, and then shook her shoulder. Victoria looked over with heavy eyes, she put on a wide grin.
“Hm?”
“You’re…uh…”
He pointed down to her legs, and Victoria looked down to see a few drops of blood trickling down her leg. Her face paled, and she mentally cursed.
“Damn. Guess I drank too much. I’ll go change my pad, thanks Hucky!”
Victoria hobbled over to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Once she was alone, she rolled up her dress and grit her teeth at the sight. Her bandage was soaked in blood, a few streams of blood dribbling out of the bandage. Victoria undid the tape holding her bandage, put some toilet paper under the patch, and then reapplied the adhesive. It was a temporary solution, but it would have to do.
Victoria wiped the excess blood away on her fingers, then washed her hands and face at the sink. She took a few deep breaths to mentally steel herself, and then opened the door. She was prepared to have the bar’s atmosphere greet her as usual. What she didn’t expect was the shadow of a juggernaut staring her down as she attempted to exit.
“Huck?”
The sheriff quietly stepped into the bathroom with her, sending a weird mix of emotions surging throughout Victoria. Anxiety, fear, lust, confusion, so on.
Victoria coughed and gave a somewhat seductive smile. “So…uh… you tryna bone?”
Huck stood quietly, his arms crossed. Victoria scratched her neck, confused at the atmosphere. It was as if he were angry, but she wasn’t sure why. After a few moments, Huck spoke.
“So…you’re on your period?”
Victoria blinked. “Personal question…but yeah? I mean, you saw the blood.”
Huck nodded. “Mm. So you changed your pad.”
“...Your point?”
“Where’s the pad? You didn’t bring a bag in the bathroom.”
Victoria flinched, but retained composure. “Hey, girls have their own secret pockets. You tryna explore them?”
Victoria gave a flirty wink, but Huck remained stoic. “You said you’re drunk, but you only got through half a bottle.”
“...I pregamed before I got here.”
“You hate flowy dresses, why wear one today?”
Victoria shrugged as she waved her arms through the fluid hems of the dress. “Hey, so I wanted to try something new. Sue me. Why, is it cute?”
Huck unfolded his arms, and poked Victoria in the gut suddenly. Victoria gasped, and stumbled back a step, a bead of sweat forming on her neck. Huck raised an eyebrow.
“Your face is pale.”
Victoria, mildly hunched over, looked up with as annoyed of an expression she could muster. “You poke my gut while I’m having a period, and you talk about my foundation? The hell?”
Huck clenched his jaw, his fists mildly flexing. “I had one condition when I agreed to watch Ally. What was that condition?”
Victoria hesitated, and averted her eyes slightly before locking eyes with Huck. “You wanted me to be honest or something, right?”
“Mm.”
The two of them silently stood there for what felt like an eternity. Huck stood, his presence that of a brick wall. Meanwhile, Victoria’s wounds kept throbbing and her body continued to burn up. Sweat dripped down Victoria’s back. It was evident that Huck had no intention to move.
Victoria sighed. “You’re too good at your job.”
“No, you just suck at hiding things.”
Victoria let out a shaky breath and wiped the sweat off her neck. “Fine. Remember when I told you that I was shot in the gut?”
Huck’s eyes widened. “Wait…wh-”
“I lied about that.”
“...oh. Honestly, I thought th-”
“It wasn’t the gut. It was the leg.”
Huck stared at Victoria, obviously waiting for her to bust out laughing and proudly proclaim how she fooled Huck twice. However, as sweat dripped down from Victoria’s brow with baggy eyes and heavy smile, Huck sucked in a deep breath.
“What the hell, Vic’.”
Victoria hiked up her dress a few inches to reveal the bloody bandage. “What the hell, indeed.”
Huck winced upon seeing the wound. “How long ago was this?”
Victoria hesitated. “Uh….eightish hours ago, maybe?”
“Why the hell are you here then?”
Victoria huffed, letting go of her dress as she hugged her stomach. “I made a promise to meet y'all here. Plus, not gonna miss out on a chance to see Ally.”
Huck frowned, and raised his hand to Victoria’s head. Victoria’s ears warmed up as she flinched. Huck placed his calloused hand on her forehead for a brief second, before pulling away.
“You’re burning up.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgK9cTdkPvc
Victoria chuckled weakly. “What can I say, I’m a hot commodity.”
Huck turned around and bent down. Victoria tilted her head in confusion.
“Get on. We’re gonna reapply the bandage and then send you home.”
Victoria frowned. “Bu-”
“There is no way you’re staying here with a bloody bandage and a fever. You wouldn’t want Ally to worry, right?”
Victoria bit her lip, and climbed onto Huck’s back. She nestled squarely and comfortably in his back, hesitantly putting her full weight on his being.
“You’re just trying to feel up my boobs, perv.”
“Shut it. Pretend you’re sleeping as we head out.”
As Victoria rested her feverish cheek on Huck’s right shoulder, Huck stood up, and carefully stepped out of the bathroom with Victoria on his back. Victoria closed her eyes, and focused on the sounds of the bar as well as the throbbing of her leg.
“Sorry Gus, I'm gonna have to head out. She’s out cold.”
“Never took Vic’ for a lightweight. Alright, sure. You coming back?”
“Yeah, I’ll go grab Ally afterwards.”
“Mm. Take ca- Hey, no smoking in the booths, you damn ch…”
The familiar clattering of the bells chimed as the pair stepped out, being greeted by the cool air. Victoria opened her eyes, and listened to Huck’s body. His slow breathing, his strong heartbeat, the way his shirt rubbed against his skin, everything. All of Huck’s sounds were just so…soothing. Damn it, how could a man of his stature be so gentle?
Carlos let out his familiar honk, and Huck opened the passenger seat to gently place Victoria down. She got off his back without saying a word. Huck couldn’t have taken more than ten seconds to walk around Carlos to get to the driver seat. Yet, as Victoria remembered the warmth of his body, she would’ve been fine if Huck left her to reminisce on his lingering body heat.
Wait, scratch that. Nah, she would prefer if Huck spent more time with her.
Huck climbed in, started up Carlos, and the pair drove off. However, when Huck took a left turn instead of the usual right, Victoria frowned. This wasn’t the fastest route to Dante’s place. She turned her head weakly in confusion.
“Thought we're going home?”
Huck scoffed. “By the time we get to Dante’s place, your blood is going to ruin my car seat. We’ll reapply the bandage at my apartment first, since it’s closer.”
Victoria murmured and closed her eyes to conserve energy. She was wide awake, but closing her eyes made the throbbing more bearable. Huck seemed to be driving more carefully, cruising at a casual twenty miles per hour instead of his usual forty-five. After a few slow turns and silent driving, they arrived at Huck's apartment, where Huck once again knelt down in front of Victoria to give her a piggyback ride. By now, Victoria’s fever had gotten so bad that she accepted his aid without any snarky quips. After the jingling of keys, the Huck stepped inside and gently placed Victoria on the couch. Victoria groaned, and rested her hand on her forehead.
Huck rushed off to god knows where while Victoria focused on not dying. Well…she wasn’t dying, but her fever and headache only grew the more time passed, so she may as well have been dying. Victoria could’ve killed for a gram of flic-
Victoria scowled and slapped her leg, causing the pain to throb across her entire body. No amount of pain would convince her to return to flicker. Doing so would be a disservice to Huck and Ally.
Huck returned from another room with a first-aid kit, a bottle of pills, a towel, some wet wipes, and a cup of water. He lifted up her injured leg and carefully peeled the bandage off, revealing a massive splatter of blood. The wound trickled out blood, like a gorey spigot that wasn’t properly tightened. Huck got away to wiping away the blood with wet wipes, causing Victoria to flinch here and there due to pain and the coldness of the wipes. After wiping away the blood, Huck then began to dab at the wound with alcohol wipes, causing Victoria to suddenly inhale and grit her teeth in pain. Once the wound got disinfected, Huck tightly wrapped the injury wtih fresh bandages. The entire process couldn’t have taken more than a few minutes, but the anxiety and pain made the experience feel much longer.
Huck stood up and wiped sweat off his brow. He nodded to Victoria.
“Think you can get up?”
Victoria smiled weakly. “You prodded at my hole so much that my legs don’t work. Sorry.”
Huck sighed as he bent down in front of Victoria. “Yeah, you can get up. Let’s go, before Dante kills me.”
Victoria carefully climbed onto Huck’s back, and the two of them made to Carlos and drove off to Dante’s house.
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...
“You fuck?”
Dante glared at Huck as Victoria stared daggers into the dark man. Huck sighed and gestured to Victoria with his head.
“I picked her up without knowing she had a wound. The second I found out, we left the bar. Nothing more happened aside from me changing her bandage.”
“Whatever. Blondie, get off his back and go back to bed.”
Huck knelt down and Victoria gingerly stepped down, wincing slightly as her leg received a bit of pressure. Victoria smiled and winked at Huck.
“Thanks, cutie.”
“Mm. Get rest, Vic’.”
Victoria hobbled to her room and let the two men talk on the porch. She gently sat on her bed, then shuffled to a position where she could lie down without irritating her wound. The nightstand had a water bottle on it, presumably from Olivia. Victoria softly smiled, took a sip of water, then immediately passed out.
...
Victoria’s eyes were heavy as she slammed down a cup of water. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could remember was that incident. Every moment she was awake, all she could remember was that incident. No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape that incident. She couldn’t even afford alcohol to drown her fears away, so all she could do was slam down cups of water and be plagued by her past. Life was hell.
Dante was washing his hands in the kitchen sink as nodded to Victoria. ‘You’ve been up for the past few days. Why?’
Victoria scoffed. ‘Oh, so now you care for me? Fuck off.’
Dante wiped his hands on his bathrobe and rolled his eyes. ‘Fuck do you mean? I provided shelter and food for you.’
Victoria grit her teeth. ‘You offered to shelter me for a month in exchange for all the money in my wallet. Why should I be grateful?’
Dante rolled his eyes. ‘Food and shelter for only $1300 dollars? I think that’s a good deal.’
Victoria flipped him off as she downed another cup of water. Dante scratched his head as he grumbled. After a minute of silence, he pulled out a plastic baggie from his bathrobe’s pocket. Victoria looked at the bag with weary and confused eyes.
‘Hm?’
Dante shook the baggie. ‘First dose is on me.’
Victoria hesitated. ‘Thought that flicker was…how did you describe it? ‘Too good for someone like myself’?’
‘It is. So be grateful and accept it with both hands.’
‘...And why would I?’
Dante raised an eyebrow. ‘You should know what flicker does. You know why.’
Victoria hesitantly looked at the bag. Flicker. The drug Dante had perfected after half a year of constant self-testing. Really, he finished testing it within two months, but he had insisted on waiting a few more months minimum on the off chance that a side effect occurred down the line. It was a remarkable drug that allowed one to selectively view memories. While some could use it to view positive memories, it also meant that one could use it to actively avoid negative memories.
A moment of being able to forget about that event…
Victoria quietly took the bag. Dante nodded. ‘You know how to use it?’
‘...Never tried it myself, so of course not.’
Dante sighed, scooping up a lighter and a knife from the kitchen countertop. ‘Any sharp metal object will do. Heat the knife up, then stick the flicker onto the tip. Flicker will absorb the heat, and mildly stick onto the knife. Once its mildly secured on, stick it into a vein for the biggest impact.’
Dante strongly gripped Victoria’s arm, causing her to wince. After a few seconds, a vein bulged mildly. Seeing this, he stabbed the crystal into the vein without warning. Victoria flinched at the sudden pain, but the pain quickly faded. After a few seconds, he removed the knife to reveal that the crystal had dissolved into her body quickly.
Dante pulled out a chair. ‘Sit. It’ll work in a few minutes.’
Victoria sat, then nervously looked at Dante. Her vision was already crackling around the edges.
‘How…how will I…’
‘It’ll be like second nature.’
The more time passed, the more difficult it became to focus. Suddenly, everything turned orange, and things…zoomed out. She tried to move her body, but it took so much effort for her arm to move that it immediately exhausted her body. Suddenly, every single memory that was stored became projected in front of her. They weren’t displayed like screens…but rather like 3D atmospheres. She saw everything from each memory. The rustle of leaves in that tree. The warmth of the sunlight beaming down from the window. The screams of her father. The creeping smile of her mot-
‘No. No please. I don’t want that one.’
Almost immediately, the projection vanished from her eyes. Once it disappeared, Victoria forgot about all emotion tied to the memory and event. Victoria stared in awe at what just occurred. Could…could she do that to every bad memory?
Every memory that had a negative connotation associated with it suddenly erased from her sight. With each setting blipping away, it was almost depressing how little remained, but that was fine. Victoria scanned the remaining handful of memories to visit, before hesitantly nodding to one that caught her eye.
‘Can I…?’
She imagined floating towards it, and her body suddenly moved along to her selected memory. Soon, she was in front of the selected setting. Victoria was extremely nervous…what if it didn’t work like she wanted? Regardless, she gingerly extended her hand to the projection…
…and she blinked. The room was dark, and the only source of light emanated from four candles in front of her. She couldn’t control her body, but that was fine, since she automatically moved to do the action she wanted to do the most.
Her arms clapped. Her lips smiled. She kept her chin up. Her eyes were locked onto the girl in front of her. Her voice rang out a simple song.
‘Happy birthday to you…’
Ally giggled, and Victoria’s heart cried in joy.
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