Save Me.

The sun had fallen once again, but that did little to stop the rampant nightlife of Philadelphia. Young blood fresh out of college roamed the streets with confidence and energy. The lights polluted the sky as clubs flashed their neon signs and lines spilled down the street. In the heart of the city, there was nothing that seemed out of place.

                Two blocks down from the clubs, a trio of girls stood around a light pole, smoking cigarettes. Their outfits mimicked those down the street, but the clothes hung off the skin and bones of the women. Of three different ages, the ladies held the same illegal profession that had been practiced for the past millennia.

                Across the street, Nicholas stood in the shadows of an alley way, watching the women. No one spoke, but there was a mutual respect for one another sensed throughout the block. His eyes were trained on the youngest. Dark brown hair cascaded down her back. Her tight black dress was dangerously close to her bottom, but she left it that high to expose the hot pink fishnet stockings on her legs.

                Her company wore the same amount of clothing, if not less. Nicholas watched as the young girl puffed out a cloud of smoke from her lips and dropped the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out. He pulled the picture out of his pocket.

                Wrinkled, and in black-and-white, the tattered photograph had been taken almost twelve years ago. She was hardly in school, but the resemblance was uncanny. The chipmunk cheeks, the curve of her lips, those sparkling eyes…

                He balled the photo back up and stuffed it into his pocket. Nicholas had no doubt in his mind that the girls were one in the same; he had been observing her now for nearly a week much to her ignorance.

                It was only a matter of time before he finally managed to get the courage to do something about this.

                Across the street, Nicholas watched as a car pulled along the side of the road at the corner where the trio stood. Though it was dark, the street lights illuminated enough to see through the windows of the silver Corolla. The man in the driver’s seat leaned through the rolled down window and pointed to the youngest girl.

                She smiled and sashayed over to his car, leaning on the window. Nicholas could see her lips moving and her body swaying side to side as her skinny legs shifted back and forth to relieve some of the pressure of standing in heels. He wished he could hear what she was saying, but knew it was better this way.

                The girl pulled back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and made a show of walking around to the other side of the car. She gave a small nod to her friends as she slipped into the passenger seat of the car. The man rolled his window up and pulled the Corolla away from the side of the road, quickly speeding off to an unknown location.      

                Nicholas leaned against the wall of the building, running a hand through his hair.

                This had to end.