Reckless

17. Shop Work

18+

I made my way back to the brothel ignoring everyone and locking myself in my room. I curled up in my bed trying to ignore the intruding thoughts I was having. I can't talk to any of my friends about what Mikey said because they will want to me go through with it. I can't talk to Ran about it either because if he is involved in this new gang then it goes against what he stands for. He could feed me false information or push me away. Tears started to form as the pounding in my head grew. I tried to clear my head and sleep took over me. 

I had nightmares all night bringing me in and out of sleep. By the time the sun was up I was over trying to get decent rest. As I laid in my bed staring at the ceiling someone knocked on my door. I got up to unlock it and opened it. It was Draken. I didn't say anything, leaving the door open and crawled back onto my bed. "Um yikes. What happened to you? You look like you've been through hell." Draken said not moving as he stood in the doorway staring at me with concern. I know I looked like shit. I never changed out my clothes or took my makeup off last night. "Maybe I have been. What's it to you?" I said bluntly shrugging my shoulders without looking at him. I am not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially Draken. "Okay, sorry for asking I guess but I am genuinely concerned by the way you look." I looked up at him when he said that. I noticed the healing bruises on his face. "I could say the same for you. But you guys beat the Black Dragons, right? So, I won't question you any further I guess." I crossed my arms watching his face turn a new shade of red as he looked down. "Didn't think I'd find out, did you? I'm not stupid Draken, there's no way you could have hidden this from me forever. But you kept me from the fight, so you succeeded with that at least. It's fine though I had fun with my new friends who don't lie to me." Draken's eyes looked up to meet mine. "New friends?" At that moment his eyes trailed down to my freshly tattooed leg and then back up to my face. He straightened his posture. "Yeah, in case you didn't notice I haven't been around the past few days. I was pretty busy living the high life." I smiled at the thought of being with Ran. "I can see that. New tattoo, new clothes. Were you going to try and mask the smoke smell, or did you want someone to notice that too? And for the record I did notice that you weren't around, clearly you ignored my calls and texts to make sure you were okay." His tone was stern. "I'll see myself out now since these new friends treat you so much better. See ya later, I guess." Draken walked away shutting the door hard when he left. I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding. I need to talk to Emma. I sent her a quick text asking if we could meet for lunch and then got in the shower. 

A few hours later I met Emma at a small cafe we have been meaning to try. She greeted me with a big hug. Immediately noticing my tattoo, she leaned over to look at it. "Damn Kiyoko, I can't believe you finally got one! I love it!" We got seated at a booth in the back corner, perfect place for the least amount of people to hear what I'm about to spill to Emma. While we ordered our food, we just talked like normal but as soon as we knew the waiter wouldn't be around for long Emma told me it was time to spill the tea. There was no simple way for me to share what Ran and I did. Emma looked horrified as I spoke, but she didn't stop me. I lifted my sleeves to show her the healing marks on my wrists because she didn't exactly believe me. Then I told her about the shopping trip and tattoo appointment. She hounded me with questions, and I tried to answer them all before our food arrived. It was nice talking to her. It was always a relief having her around when I didn't want to be around anyone else.

While we ate, I debated telling her about my conversation with Mikey but before I could bring it up, she asked me if I knew about the Black Dragon fight. I guess this is a sign to tell her I talked to Mikey. Leaving our conversation details out at first, I told her how I found out and what happened with Draken this morning. Of course, she told me not to worry about how Draken acted because he was just worried about me not coming home for two days. She as always is right. We grew silent as we finished our meals. It's now or never. I brought Mikey back up and told her what he asked me to do. "That sounds about right for Mikey. He is always looking for connections and ways to stay at the top. I hate hearing about the danger everyone is always in. I see why you're having a hard time though. I would be scared to bring something like this up with someone I had feelings for too. It's like if-" I choked on my tea hearing her words. "Oh my god, are you okay?" I shook my head yes as I coughed it out. "I do not have feelings for Ran. Where the fuck did you get that idea?" I laughed as I caught my breath from choking. Emma looked at me confused. "Ki you seriously can't tell me you don't have feelings after everything you just told me. The man is clearly just as down bad for you too with everything he's done for you." I stared blankly back at Emma. I have barely known him for a week. Yeah, sure the sex was great, and he did a bunch of nice things for me but that doesn't mean anything. Right? There's no way she's right about this. I argued with her about it for a few more minutes until she gave up, knowing I could go on forever. Being stubborn pays off sometimes.