𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 ʲᵒʰⁿ ˢʰᵉˡᵇʸ

- 𝟎𝟎𝟏

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐓𝐨 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤
-𝟎𝟎𝟏-
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟗

Valerie lay in her bed staring at the same spot on the wall that she always did when working. She squeezed her eyes closed when the man that was on top of her began panting like a dog.

Time seemed to move far too slow for her liking but eventually, he climbed from on top of her and gathered his clothes, grinning whilst buttoning up his shirt. "How much this time, Florence?" He asked.

She sat up and held the sheets to her chest. "The same as always." She said.

Anthony dug into his pockets and pulled out a five pound note which was slightly more than he usually payed her. "Keep the change." Anthony assured her, taking his coat from the edge of the bed and leaving the money on her desk.

Anthony was one of the nicer men she had to deal with. He wasn't a new customer. He'd been coming to her since she began working there.

Valerie held her head in her hands and closed her eyes. A knock on the door caught her attention. "Val." A soft voice came from the other side. "Come in." She responded. The door cracked open and the welcoming face of Valerie's friend, Maria, appeared. "How was he?"

Valerie groaned and leaned back against the headboard. "Same as always. Payed me a bit more this time though." She said.

Maria raised her eyebrows in surprise and joined the girl on the bed. Maria too was a prostitute but had been in the game a lot longer than Valerie. She was also one of the only people who knew Florence's real name.

"You can have some of it to put toward getting that leak fixed." Valerie offered. Maria shook her head. "I couldn't take money from you— not with how you earned it."

"Please." Valerie said sympathetically, "if i'm offering, just take it. You need it more than I do at the moment." she said.

Maria lay on her stomach and leaned her chin on her hand. "I worry about you sometimes, Val. I feel you don't take any of this seriously." She said. Valerie looked away and avoided her friends eyes. "I try to just get it over and done with." She admitted.

"I know, I know." Maria grabbed her hand. "Just remember what happened to Margot." She lowered her voice. Valeria shot her head toward Maria and her eyes widened. "Nobody knows what happened to Margot." Valerie hissed, knowing full well that the rumours about the woman were true.

"Valerie." Maria said sternly. "Just please be more careful."

"I know." Valerie sighed in defeat and removed her hand from the blonde's to reach into the bedside drawer. "Last week, Mr Gordon accidentally payed me too much." She pulled out money.

Maria's eyes lit up.

"Do you know what that means?" She asked. Maria's lips turned upward and she leaned back onto her knees. "The Garrison?"

"The Garrison." Valerie nodded in agreement.

-

The two girls walked into the known pub with their arms linked around each other. Their laughs echoed slightly and some heads turned when they entered the busy pub.