Heroin(e)

Chapter Three

I left the club behind me as I walked down the street, taking one last look. It looked the same as it did when I first started working there three years ago. The place was called The Diamond Dollhouse but the neon sign hadn't properly lit up in years. Only the first half. So people had grown accustomed to calling it simply The Diamond. 

Us girls were still called Diamond Dolls by those who frequented the place. I liked the name. It had a nice ring to it.

Holding the coat tight over myself I ran across a busy street toward a 24/7 diner I loved. It was delicious, friendly, warm, and most importantly, affordable. I knew all the workers there by name and they knew me. There was never a line and the food was always fresh. I was looking forward to a plate of eggs and coffee before food shopping. Keeping my money tucked in the inside pocket of my coat next to the switchblade, I entered the Silver Dollar.

"Work finished already, Esther?" Joe asked behind the counter. He was drying a few plates while coffee poured in a huge pot. 

"Yeah, I'm calling it a night," I said taking a seat at the counter. A couple booths were filled near the windows and a few tables too. I didn't pay them any mind. I only wanted my hot food and a friendly face to go with it. I could sure as hell use one after the night before. 

"Will it be your usual?" Joe asked.

"Yes please," I said and made myself comfortable on the seat. I loved the Silver Dollar Diner. Family run by Joe's father in the 1950s before being passed down to Joe himself. A friendly guy, albeit a bit of a wise guy. No customer was exempt from Joe's teasing but we all knew he never meant a word he said. Always smiling, always in a good mood. A happy atmosphere, that's what this place was. No strangers coming up to you after a long night of work asking for your number or anything. No stares, no flirty smiles. 

I felt a pair of eyes looming on me from the stranger who sat next to me.

I spoke too soon. 

Thinking he was here for food like I was, I gave the man the benefit of the doubt. No way in hell was I entertaining the likes of some man who felt it his duty to chat me up while I was trying eat. I kept my eyes straight ahead. 

"Hello," he said in a friendly voice.

"Hi," I muttered to be friendly back. Maybe he wasn't flirting with me.

"Ya' come here often?" he asked. 

Oh yeah, he was flirting.

"All the time," I said, still not looking at him. His voice....his voice was so familiar....I almost swore I heard it somewhere before....

"Me too," he said. I could feel a smile radiate from his direction. "Well, ever since last Tuesday, like."

"Hm," I said smiling, finally chancing a look. Whatever I was expecting him to look like, it wasn't this.

He had long dark brown, almost black hair with very large doe like eyes. He hadn't shaved in a day and it already showed. There was an earring hanging from one ear and a necklace around his neck. He had taken his coat off and set it on the counter, now only wearing a t shirt and jeans with several tattoos peering at me underneath the short sleeves. His smile was bright and warm and I couldn't help but feel safe around him. 

It was a trap, it had to be. 

"Ya' don't sound from around here," he said. 

"I'm from New York," I said keeping a straight face. He nodded and snapped his fingers.

"Thought so," he said. "I been there before. Great place. Great food."

"It's the best," I said. As much as I liked London, I loved my hometown of Queens, New York even more. New York pizza is only second best to Italy itself and the City during Christmas was like nothing else in the world. I wanted so badly to come over for Christmas last month but I couldn't afford it. Mom begged me to make the trip and I turned her down.