Beautiful Exit: The Bunny Ranch Murders

*Chapter 3*

~Natalie~

We've been in Vegas now for three days and no closer to leaving than the first day we got here.

"What did they say?" I said watching Zo come back in from going to talk to the mechanic again. "He said it would cost us 3,500 dollars plus the cost of labor and it would take three weeks for them to fix. Thirty five hundred dollars Zora really! Yeah apparently the car had more wrong with it than just the busted belts and dry water valve. So what are we going to do cause this hotel is costing us like 90 bucks a night! I don't know" she said sighing and taking deep breathe. "We might be here longer than we thought. Like how long cause this shit is rough? DJ cut the attitude okay I am trying, now look we may have to get a job temporarily to cover food and the hotel. And what are going to do with Natalie she can't stay here by herself all day. We'll take turns I'll work the night shift and you can work the day shift so one of us is with her."

I watched the two of them talk as if I wasn't even in the room. I was use to that though being the baby in the family they often talked over me or assume that I had no opinion on things when I do. I actually have a lot of opinions and thoughts on the things we went through as children at home, on why my mother up and left us out of the blue, and how I can help them to get some money so that we can get to Texas. But like always they'd rather argue with each other than talk to me.

"I can work" I said speaking up. "Natalie you can't work you're only 15. I know but I can get a job working somewhere. I want to help so you two don't have to do it all. Natalie no" she shook her head "DJ and I will take care of you. I am gonna go talk to the manager" Zo said before walking out the room.

"DJ I can work I promise I don't want to be a burden. You aren't a burden Natalie, Zo is just under a lot of stress right now okay. I understand but if I can work it's better to have all 3 of us working rather than just you 2. You need to focus on school okay. School, how can I focus on that are yall going to put me into school here? We'll have to Natalie if people see you and you aren't they will wonder where are parents are then you'll end up in foster care or back in Bakersfield with daddy. I want to help Diana! Look you focus on school and I'll talk to her about letting you get a little part time job with one of us. Really DJ. I can try okay just do me a favor and let's stay on her good side okay! Yeah!"

That was three weeks ago and Zo managed to work something out with the manager to let us stay. I guess he like the way she looked so he offered her a job working housekeeping. DJ got a job at a restaurant a few blocks over and works the afternoon shift. They got me into some type of high school on line program so I log on for a few hours do my work and then I work with Zo cleaning rooms. Sometimes on the weekends when they are shorthanded they let me work the front checking folks in and out but that's only when the front counter person don't feel like coming in. With this little routine we got down we should be able to leave Vegas in the next few weeks.

"How close are we to having what we need? We got 1500 between the 3 of us so far. 1500 we still need another 2000 to get the car out and then how are supposed to get gas and food and...Okay Dj I know we still got a lot of work to do. I wanted to see what yall thought about staying here a little longer. How long I mean Vegas is expensive, Zora and plus what if Daddy comes looking for us? I know but if we keep up at the pace we're going and I could find a fulltime job maybe Vegas could become home. I highly think that daddy is looking for us. I called Ms. Jones and she said that he just got out the hospital and didn't seemed too worried about us. You called Ms. Jones! I had to see if he had put out a missing person on us. She doesn't know where we are so we're cool. Back up home Zo, you're tripping" DJ said shaking her head. "Why couldn't it be home, I mean we left Bakersfield to get away from Daddy and his bipolar behavior why couldn't we start new here? Maybe because we don't have any fucking family here. Whoa" I said looking between them cause DJ has never cussed at Zora, well at least I'd never seen her do it.

"The hell is wrong with you DJ you high or something? Man chill out I am not high Zo!" She got up and went over to the drawer and pulled it open. "Where's the money DJ?" They exchanged looks. "Diana I am not fucking playing with you where is the money you brought with you? You got it Zora I don't. Naw I am talking about the money from the lunch box, where is it? You should still have about 2500 we didn't use that much of it. Man don't worry about my money okay! Natalie go watch the front counter. But Jolene is up there? Just go I'll come and get you in a little bit. Alright" I said grabbing my book and sketch book I looked at DJ and she'd was laying with her head back on the bed. Zo was still shaking her head. I knew it was going to be a while before she came and got me.

Instead of going to the front I went and sat by the pool and looked out at the Vegas strip. We weren't in a hotel on the strip but one about a mile from it. From the pool area you could see all the lights and hear the buzz of all the people. I started to think about what Zo said about us staying here. Maybe Vegas wouldn't be bad for us after all. If she could get a good full time job we could get a little apartment and finally live a normal life. I really missed my friends back in Bakersfield but I knew that we couldn't stay there any longer. I started sketching the strip, it may be crazy but I can actually see the beauty in this city. The bright lights and fast life, I can see how people get caught up in the allure of it. The city never sleeps!

"Natalie! Huh, I've been calling you for like 5 minutes what are doing out here? I just wanted some fresh air. Is DJ okay? Yeah she's fine but we'll definitely be here longer. She spent the money. Not the money we were saving she had her own money that I told her we wouldn't touch after I got a job. How much did she spend? Natalie don't...No Zora stop treating me like a child, I am not a little girl I can handle whatever it is that you are going through. She only has 900 of it left. 900 from three thousand dollars. Yeah she smoked up eighteen hundred and fifty dollars? She has problem Zo, I mean a little 200 dollars is one thing but over a thousand dollars is insane. I know Natalie but at least I kept her from the 900 so that she'll something left to her name. She leave? Naw I made her shower and then made her go to bed. Is that code for you beat her ass? Hey girl watch your mouth she said laughing. Naw I ain't hit her we been through enough of that in our life time. Come on its getting late and you don't need to be out here after dark. Zo if it means anything I don't mind staying in Vegas. You wouldn't mind? No I actually kind of like it."

"Don't get caught up in the glamour of it baby sis, it's still a dangerous place."

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How will this pan out for them they've been in Vegas three weeks and we quickly found out that Ms. Diana got a little weed habit and has spend almost 1800 of her savings getting high. I don't know who she was buying from but damn 1800 in 3 weeks that's a lot of weed. Or was she buying more than weed? I know have questions but I want to hear yall's questions. 

The next update will flip back to the trial so be prepared to hear from some people that haven't been introduced yet but play key roles in the next 2 years of these girls lives. 

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