The other girl's story

the prize of your greed

I'm alone when I wake up. He did bother to put a blanket on me and left some cash on the floor next to the bottle. He does know how to take care of a woman. And since I'm not in jail, I believe he cleaned up the mess next door as well. I get up, feeling an immediate pain in my abdominal. When I look down, I notice bruises. He wasn't gentle after all. I quickly get myself together and take the money to call a taxi to Tias. While in the car, I try to digest the experience from last night. I'm really a dare devil when night time arrives. I text that sadistic gentleman: "What time are you free tonight?" He responds immediately: "Come whenever you're ready. Bring your friends if you like. Since I am the dealer this time, I'll welcome any guest at our table." When I arrive home, I don't find our guitarist but Ria instead. Might not have been that bad that I'm away frequently at night. Ria is sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. "Good morning, our hip-hop girl. Where have you been in such expensive clothing tonight?" I sit down in front of her and drink some tea. "I went to a casino, then got raped by a silver haired gang leader. And the worst part? I liked it." Ria chokes on her coffee. "I'm sorry, I should've  expected you to have such a dark sense humor." Whatever, I guess that settles that. "We wanted to meet up for practice at 7 tonight. You should join us. I want to hear the song you've written." I nod. It's a convenient time. Tia is off to work, it seems. "You don't seem to like your home very much. Or you just like Tia more." She rolls her eyes at me. "You and Felix really reinvented the word wingman. And yeah, my university apartment is sponsored by FU, so it indeed is small. Nothing you wanna stay in all day long." I put down my cup. "You're a student at the University of Liberty?" She nods casually. "I am. I'm living off them with a scholarship, to be precise. Gonna be a lawyer one day. Have like four to six more years to go. Tiana told me you applied there as well?" I sigh. "I got rejected." Her mouth forms a little "Oh". "What's your plan b?" She asks after a while. "I'll talk to you guys about it in the evening. Kinda nerve-wracking." I spent the rest of the day studying for the drivers test, which is scheduled for the next day. When we all arrive at the studio, Tony is clinging on to me. "I want to hear your new song. Can you please demonstrate it? Please, please, please!" Something about him feels different than when Elias was around. Like a different person. "Alright, alright. I brought it with me." We all sit down in a circle and listen to it. Rose has written that song when she was only 14 years old. She was writing the lyrics in the hospital after her knee got crushed during a dance session. The surgeries failed, and she or rather I am feeling the metal in my knee till this day. It was when she first wondered whether or not she deserved pain. She began to question both reality and fantasy. Her doctors were constantly lying to her, and she had slowly started to understand the human greed. It's all a fassade in her eyes. So reality doesn't matter either. Well, experience is one way to learn the important lessons in life for sure. Even though it's a bitter one. It's when she started to become more and more like an ice statue. After all this, there is something I still don't understand. She had completely given up on life... so why did she call for me? If she doesn't care about anything? The song ends. Felix looks at me with an unreadable gaze. It's silent. After a couple of minutes, Ria breaks the silence. "Do you really want to perform that song? It's incredible and tragic, but... it's a little too deep for now." I tilt my head. I thought so. It was worth a try, though. Felix speaks up: "Keep that song in the back your mind for now. One day, we will play it. Just not now." I nod. "Actually, y'all, I am going to a casino tonight, I would like you to come along." Tia laughs. "You're just a gambling addict Rose." I shake my head and look at Tony. "Your brother will be there." He startles. "I challenged him to gamble with me in exchange for... my freedom. I'm not saying you must come by all means, but..." I lean forward and pat his shoulder. "If you will, I'll show you how easy your brother can be taken down. Do you trust me?" He shallows and nods slowly. The others agree as well. When leaving, Felix whispers something into my ear: "If he comes one centimeter to close to you, I'll kill him without fail." Little does he know how close Black Royal's leader has already been to me. Or rather into me. It'd be interesting to see those two fighting for sure. I grab Tia and take a moment with her. "I will win tonight and move to Leipzig in a very few weeks." She opens her eyes wider in surprise. "Now that's what I call fresh news. Why are you so secretive about it?" I answer briefly: "Don't let Felix or Tony or anyone else know my location. You're the only one I fully trust. I must be able to count on you with that." Her expression turns serious. "Understood, leader." I breathe out heavily. "Good. Let's touch up our makeup and leave." She agrees, and we quickly vanish in the bathroom before leaving the studio and getting into a taxi. We drive to the casino and step out. I can feel the cold night breeze on my skin as I approach one of the "guards." He recognizes me and tells us to follow him. Once again, I hear the whispers, but this time, rumors have spread. The Russian roulette player seemed to have had a name here. As we approach the main table in the VIP area, a silver haired man is already sitting at the dealers place, being surrounded by his gang members. He grins at me. "Welcome красавица."