Tattered Beauty (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 2

What do you think of the cover I made for this?! :)

Chapter 2

            My current place of residence was the Hillcrest Valley Homeless Shelter. It was in the heart of New York City, hidden amongst the backstreets and various black markets. Gunshots rang out almost every night; after a year or so staying here on and off it became merely a part of life. Like a symphony, shots, screams, and sirens became background music.

            Hillcrest wasn’t a top notch place to stay; places that served meals every night and had televisions were always filled to capacity. Here there were beds, bathrooms—one for women and one for men—and a tiny kitchen in which we cooked dinner every Sunday night. For some here it might be the only meal they would receive all week. Fortunately, my friend Kelsey split some of her pay with me. Kelsey is a prostitute, a classy one, but a prostitute none the less. She worked at an underground place downtown. That was that; nothing more to discuss. 

            Speak of the devil and it shall appear. Kelsey strode through the doors attracting the attention of everyone. Kelsey was an absolutely gorgeous girl with big brown eyes and flowing blonde hair. “Hailey!” she squealed when she noticed me. I had been staying elsewhere the past few days; Kelsey hadn’t seen me in a while. She embraced me in a hug. “Where have you been? I was so worried!”

            I hugged her back awkwardly. I was never a touchy-feely kind of person. Unfortunately for me, Kelsey was. She was a ball of energy and had a strong desire to be close to people—I guess that helped her out at work. “I had some things to think about.” I mumbled.

            “Want to go out to eat?” she suggested.

            I shook my head, “Not hungry.”

            “Let’s take a walk then.” Before I could protest she pulled me out of the room and outside.

            It was October and New York nights were usually chilly. Thankfully I was wearing a sweatshirt that day. Kelsey and I made our way to the nearest main road and began to walk alongside it in no particular direction. “So, why haven’t I seen you the past couple of days?” She asked me gently. Kelsey had the sun’s energy wrapped inside her tiny body and sometimes she could be hard to handle. She knew when to tone it down though. Just like when coffee is mixed with enough sugar and cream to make it digestible. Her liveliness and optimism could be a little much, especially after a rough day.

            I sighed, “It’s just too much sometimes, Kels.”

            “What?”

            “This! I’m trying so hard to get my life back on track, and it just isn’t paying off! I sat under that oak tree in Central Park for two days trying to figure out what I am doing so wrong.” I said.

            “You’re doing the best you can, Hailey. We all are. Both of us are in a bad position right now, but things always turn back around. It can’t be cloudy and stormy forever—the sun will come out soon.”

            “I don’t know if it will, Kelsey. You’re optimism is honorable, really, but you need to recognize when it’s totally illogical.” I kicked myself for snapping at her. “I’m sorry I’m yelling at you. I’m frustrated.”

            Kelsey stopped us in the middle of the cross walk. “I know. Look, a church downtown is having a charity giveaway Saturday—tomorrow. Let’s go! They’ll have soup, too!”

            “Kels…we are going to get run over!” I yelled. The light was due to change any second to green. In New York, it is completely idiotic to stand in the middle of the road. Unless you have a death wish, that is.

            “Say you’ll come with me.” She smirked.

            The drivers were getting nervous as we stood in front of their cars. Some even honked. “You know how I feel about churches…”

            “Hailey, come on.” She began to dance in the middle of the cross walk. I looked at the now green light with panic.

            “Alright I’ll go!” I said frantically as we dashed across the road. “Are you out of your bloody mind?” I whacked her arm.

            But Kelsey had other things on her mind as she stared at the limo pulling up to the curb in front of a restaurant. “What?” I asked her. It was pretty common to see limousines in the city. What was so special about this one?

            “Hailey, that is the King’s limo.” She gasped. The Kings were the wealthiest family in New York. Richer than the Trump family—but the families were close friends. They were dubbed “the Kings of New York”. Doesn’t everyone love ironic names? “Oh, there’s Elena. She’s so gorgeous, even if she’s like, 40.”

            Elena King had obviously gotten some work done. I don’t care how naturally gorgeous you are or how well you take care of yourself, it is impossible to look like a nineteen year old at age 40! Bryce King—he was 50-something—got out next, rambling away on his blackberry. It was something work related. He hung up when the paparazzi came around the corner. Elena held onto her husband’s arm and smiled happily. “Night, gentlemen.” Bryce told them.

            “God—it’s Daniel!” Kelsey squeaked.

            I had actually heard of Daniel King. He was 21 and the most eligible and desired bachelor in the city—maybe the country. He won the “Sexiest Man Alive” award two years in a row. Every girl in the country knew his name and tacked his last name onto their first. His future was brighter than the sun, thanks to his father’s connections. Brighter than mine could ever hope to be. 

            The paparazzi went wild when he stepped out, his younger sister—Pippa—following behind him. They were the real stars of the family. After body guards helped guide the happy family into the restaurant, the photographers retired. As they were eating their five course dinner, Kelsey and I ate our value meals at McDonalds. Seeing beautiful, wealthy people really puts things in perspective sometimes.