Twisted Cinderella

My "Hiro"

'Where should I go?' L'Oreal wondered to herself as she walked the empty street. It had to be somewhere around one or two in the morning. In the neighborhood she lived in everyone was basically in bed and asleep by ten so it was like a ghost town at two in the morning. So far, no one had been following her so she guessed it was safe to say that Percy was still knocked out on her bedroom floor. Despite all that he'd done to her, she still hoped and prayed that he wasn't dead. She'd never wish death upon anyone, not even him. Unconsciously, she was heading towards Sean’s apartment, but she didn't know why.

'Should I really go to his place?' She asked herself 'What would I tell him? That he was right? That I shouldn't have gone home, that I can't do it alone?' She looked down at her torn, messy clothes and bare feet and sighed. One look at her and he'd want to kill Percy. He'd already know what happened. He'd once said to her:

"One of two things is gonna happen, one day. Either he's gonna kill you or you're gonna kill him"

Was that true? Did she kill him? He certainly tried to kill her. The closer she came to Sean's apartment complex, the closer she came to the shopping/party district. He'd made it clear while looking for his apartment that he wanted to be close to the strip. He loved to party and drink. The thought of him made her smile, but moments later it disappeared. Would she be a burden? She definitely didn't want to cause him any problems. Once again, she looked at herself. She looked like someone that had just survived some kind of natural disaster.

Her eyes stung with unshed tears of shame. She didn't want to go before him looking like that. It was ironic and kind of funny enough to make her giggle. Here she was, walking the streets at two in the morning after almost getting killed and all she could think of was her torn clothes.

'Fuck it,' she thought. She wouldn't cause any more trouble for Sean. Even though he was her best friend, she didn't want to get him involved in Percy's shit.

With bare foot and ragged clothes, L'Oreal slipped into one of the many all night bars that littered the strip. It was crowded, loud and smelled of cigarettes and beer, but no one seemed to notice or care about her existence so she didn't mind. She was underage, but evidently in this establishment that mattered little. Making her way through the crowd, L'Oreal came to the bar. She took a seat on the stool closest to the corner of the room so to be as inconspicuous as possible. Once there, she folded her arms on the bar and rested her head on top of them.

The bar tender was too preoccupied to worry about one lonely looking girl. Though, she knew he wouldn't sell her a drink anyway. No matter, she'd had enough alcohol for one night. She still smelled like the expensive cognac Percy had wasted on her earlier.

Before she'd known anything, time had passed and the people in the bar started clearing out. One by one and some in pairs, she'd watch them make their way out of the bar. Either on their way home or to some hotel to spend the rest of the morning with the stranger they'd just met, but they all left smiling. Why couldn't she be happy, she wondered? Why did it seem like everyone else in the world could smile so freely, except her? A tear rolled down her cheek and quickly she wiped it away.

Just as she turned to watch more people leave, L'Oreal felt a hand touch her shoulder. Paranoid that it could be Percy after hours of searching for her, she jumped and screamed. After turning around she saw that it wasn’t Percy, but some strange man. She'd seen him earlier; he'd entered the bar about half an hour after she had.

"Whoa! Calm down lil' momma. I ain't trying to hurt you or nothing," He said, smiling.

L'Oreal didn't smile in return. She couldn't. She was still too scared. She wiped her eyes and stared at the stranger. Seeing that she wasn't gonna talk, he continued.