Lady of the Night

Chapter 7

"And then she just dropped you off after the restaurant?" Amber asked passing the joint over.

Ruby nodded taking the smoke from her. "Right back on the street." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and handed it over to Claudia who laid next to her, the three girls bodies lying in a circle in the dusty apartment. She didn't even know who's apartment it was. The man was passed out on the couch leaving them with his drugs and money. She guessed one of her friends had slept with him last night and had gotten high. He probably did a little more than weed judging by how deep his sleep was.

She never was a fan of the hard drugs. She already felt like too much of her life was in control by other people, why would she want to have no control at all? The last thing she wanted was to get addicted to anything other than her cigarettes.

"There's something off about her." Claudia added staring up at the ceiling.

They all nodded collectively.

"You don't think she's like a psychopath or something?" Amber whispered.

Ruby shrugged, "Maybe."

"Then why are you still going with her?"

Furrowing her brows the blonde wondered that herself. She was odd and she gave no indication to what she wanted from her. "It beats these greasy bastards." She took another deep breathe letting the fumes go into her lungs. "Besides she's so clean and proper. It's hot."

Claudia took the joint. "Ok but what if she murders you?"

"I'll owe you three bucks."

"Fair enough."

Letting out a loud grunt as she stood up the blonde stretched her arms into the air. "I better get out there, Johnnys been on my ass and he has been a grumpy bitch lately." She looked at her two friends who laid On the floor still out of it, she was surprised she could still have a conversation with them. All they did was get high.

But somehow they were so happy, their small giggles filling her ears as she watched them close their eyes to fall asleep.

Going to the mans kitchen, Ruby sighed and looked inside the old worn cabinets. There was almost no food, how was he even still alive? Hitting the jackpot as she opened the last drawer, she stole some bags of chips before heading out the front door and into the street. She took a deep breath and felt the air cling onto her as she felt her high slowly fade.

She loved New York. She loved feeling like a no one in a sea of humans. She knew most people didn't feel like that but she really did. It was an addictive feeling to her to be lost in the background. Fit in with others on the street all living sad pathetic lives.

She liked to think about the people around her and try to imagine what their lives were like. She wondered if the little boy who seemed sad would grow up to hate his mother for always being on the phone and never paying attention to him. She wondered if that man who checked out woman was married. Or was he a bachelor that had a hole in his heart? Would he ever find love?

Tilting her head back as she walked she let the chips slid into her mouth. Some crumbs falling onto the sidewalk. Walking backwards as a stray dog cleaned up her mess, Ruby smiled finishing the last new chips.

Fighting through a small crowd, she turned into a familiar alley and threw her trash into a large overrun dumpster behind a restaurant. A man smoked his cigarette as he cursed through his phone in another language. Maybe he was mad at his father, or maybe an insurance company. She stepped over a homeless sleeping man and turned onto a nicer street, one that had more family homes.

The smells of New York did get old though. The alley was an excruciatingly horrible smell.

"How did it go?"

Sitting next to Johnny on the apartments steps, Ruby looked at the other mans faces not recognizing any of them. "Fine."

"She looks like a kinky bitch. She been fucking you good?" He let his low deep laugh cause a domino effect making the other men laugh too.

What was the right answer to that? "Real good Johnny."

He gave a side eye and shook the ash off of his cigarette. He was always tired of her attitude.

The group stayed silent as an older model Volkswagen pulled up and put the hazard lights on.

"Go get em." Johnny smiled watching the blonde sigh and walk over to the car, window barely rolling down.

"Do you have ten minutes?"

Ruby nodded and got in the car. She didn't even bother to look at his face as he drove off. She watched Johnny and his friends laugh as they became smaller in the rearview mirror. She wondered what they said about her.

"How much for a blow?"

"15" Pausing Ruby finally looked over at the man who seemed way to calm for what they were doing. His curly floppy hair blowing from his AC and his clean shaven face throwing her off.

She hated doing this, she hated the feeling of being nasty and servicing men in a way that made her feel vulnerable. She didn't get angry over it, that was her life, but that didn't mean she wasn't disappointed when they parked in an alley. People passed by on the outside streets never even looking over at the car that didn't turn off.

"I don't have long." He spoke softly taking his member out and leaning his chair back.

Sighing, Ruby undid her seatbelt and leaned over. She tried not to think about anything, she only listened to the music that played on the radio. It was an older song, she hadn't heard it in years but it was good. It was distracting enough.

Hearing his grunts become louder, Ruby moves her hand to become more comfortable and froze feeling something odd on his waist. Sitting up she closed her eyes knowing what was going on.

"Finish bitch." He raised his shirt a little higher and pointed at his undone belt.

"You're a cop." She whispered holding her forehead in her hand.

"And you're going to jail when we are done here."

"I'll tell them you raped me."

He rolled his eyes harder than she ever had. "No ones going to listen to a prostitute. Just finish me off. I get to go home in an hour."

Closing her eyes the blonde shook her head disappointed, not even resisting when he lead her head back down. There was no need to fight the dirty cop with a gun. Sometimes she wondered who was worse? The man in the electric chair or the one operating it?

Scrunching her nose as he didn't let her get up and a familiar taste filled her mouth, she spit it all back out on him and raised up.

"Wasn't so bad was it sweetie?" Laughing to himself as he buttoned his pants, he got his handcuffs out of his pocket, "You know the drill."