Vertigo

Chapter Ten - The Invitation

My eyes widened as she slipped behind me – her hand wrapped around my mouth as she pinned my arm behind my back, stretching my finger away from the trigger of the gun. I struggled as she pushed me towards the fire exit, tugging my hand further up my back until my shoulder felt as if it would pop out of its socket, and further yet before tossing me into the empty alleyway. I fell to the ground, holding onto my shoulder as I stretched out.

"What the hell were you thinking going into there with a gun?" She yelled, looking down onto me with furious eyes.

"Cassidy?" I questioned in confusion before raising to my feet. "How the fuck did you find me?"

She stepped forward, ripping the gun out of my hand before grabbing hold of my t-shirt, pushing my back into the wall behind me. "I asked you a fucking question. What the hell do you think you were doing? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you could have gotten into?"

"What I do is none of your business, okay? You're Damien's babysitter, not mine!" I pushed her off me before throwing a punch in frustration. She stepped to her right, grabbing my wrist with a sigh before I threw a second punch. Pulling me towards her, she slipped under my punch, throwing me off balance before sending me toppling into the wall with my legs over my head.

I stood up with a limp before charging again, throwing a wide punch. _Too slow,_ I told myself as she grabbed hold of my t-shirt and wrist, twisting over. My back hit the ground with a sickening snap. My breaths were sharp as she walked forward, stepping over me before leaning down, reaching for my pocket.

"If you hadn't had such a bad case of tunnel vision, you would have seen that kid stuck a note into your pocket." She spoke, tossing the note into my face. I groaned, grabbing it as I tried sitting up.

"You're a crazy bitch," I spoke, slowly unfolding the note, trying to hide my pain. I refused to give her the satisfaction. "He'll fire you if he finds out what you just did."

"Your father left town. So, what is it?" She asked as I read the note, narrowing my eyes as I neared the end.

See you at the finals, Dawn.

"An invitation to the Arcade," I spat, throwing the now crumbled paper towards the heap of junk near the dumpster. "That bitch..."

"Was it her?" She asked, her eyes falling onto the gun. I nodded, punching the wall as Big Boy and Arti broke through the door.

"Alli, what's going on?" Big Boy asked, staring down at Cassidy as Arti rushed to my side, helping me stand. Cassidy walked over to the gun, stuffing into Big Boy's chest.

"Nothing. She just got a decent spanking from her babysitter," She said with a smirk, staring at me. "Now tell me what the hell is going on before I throw all three of you into a jail cell."

"The Arcade," I spoke, tugging away from Arti. "The Bitch invited me to join the contest."

"Dawn, you can't do that... The Arcade is nothing like what you're used to–"

"I know," I said, cutting Arti off. "No gender matches. No weigh-ins. Even fewer rules. I get it. It's dangerous."

"Then stay away, dammit! You don't have to do this, we'll get her some other way!"

"There is no other way," I spoke, tightening my fist until my palms were warm with a sticky, red liquid. "She'll simply disappear if I refuse her challenge."

Big Boy and Arti looked down, accepting what I said. Cassidy leaned against the wall, looking up. "Dawn, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"It's not about wanting anymore," I turned to face her, "I need to do this. I need to stop her."

Cassidy nodded, walking towards me before playing her hand on my shoulder, then turning back to the rest of the crew. "You two, make sure she doesn't get into any trouble out of that ring."

I was about to protest before I saw Big Boy's eyes – filled with determination. I kicked the ground, admitting to myself that I wouldn't have won the argument. "I'll make sure she stays alive. I have no power in that contest, though."

"Whatever," I said before walking off with my hands were buried deep into my pockets and hood pulled down to my nose. I shivered with frustration as Cassidy walked beside me, not saying a word. "What do you want? It's not like I don't know the way home."

"Tuna mayo?" She asked, still looking ahead of her. I looked up before shrugging.

"Sure."

I sat back in the cafe chair as the waiter placed the two plates of tuna mayo on the table. He was about my age, dressed in the cafes uniform – a blue checked pullover with his name on a tag – Jake. He brushed his brown hair out of his face before nodding with a smile and walking off.

"You're paying, right?" I asked, staring at the sandwich in my hand. She laughed as I took a bite. "What? I kinda left my cash behind when we left for that stupid party."

"Yeah, I know," She answered as I took a bite out of it, savouring the taste of the sandwich. "So, your thoughts?"

"Tastes good," I nodded. "I use to live off these things back in London. They were all I ever ate when I started living in the studio."

"Studio? Music?"

"Nah. I use to paint. Was damn good at it, too."

"You paint?" She asked with a slight chuckle, almost choking on her sandwich. I raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't seem like a very 'bad-ass' thing to be doing with your spare time."

"It is when you're doing your paintings on the sides of buildings."

She swallowed. "Yeah, that makes more sense..."

"So," I continued with my cheeks stuffed full, "What made you move from the military to being a babysitter?"

"I guess I wanted something normal, for a change," She shrugged, looking at Jake on the other side of the room. "How about you? Don't you want to have some normal in your life? Make some friends that aren't totally bad."

"I tried. It didn't work." I responded, staring into my plate.

"Your uncle said you had a roommate. Halee, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you call her yet?" She asked. I shook my head. "How come?"

"It's complicated," I answered, pushing the empty plate across the table. "Fun thing about keeping secrets is that it turns everything you say into a lie. I don't know how she'd respond to me after finding out everything she did. How she did."

"You never know until you try," She said as we stood up from the table. "Now let's get ready for the hunt."