THE COLOR RED | DALLAS WINSTON

xv. LAMENTABLE LOCKUP

COLD, GRAY, DISTANT. It was like a movie, but far worse because it was the real deal. Were there nightmare movies? No matter. Rough looking friends glared at Charlotte, somehow trying to wordlessly voice their wet daydreams to her, their sudden desires. Mothers tried to calm their brats, worn and tired from supporting their families every minute of every day. There was always time for their bastard husbands, but seemingly not enough for their offspring.

Jail visits weren't how Charlotte wanted to spend the rest of her summer and a visit to jail wasn't how she wanted to conclude her first day of school. She sat behind the scratched glass, grabbing the black phone as she waited for Dallas to sit down. He soon arrived in his blue jumpsuit, scruffy and exhausted. The man seated behind the glass was a shell of Dallas Winston. It almost seemed hard to believe it was him.

"When are you getting out?" She asked, deciding to quit the small talk he so despised

"Dunno, I been good this time around. Soon." Dallas shrugged, rubbing his forehead. Exhausted. He looked as though he hadn't gotten a decent night's rest. Not that Charlotte was shocked, this was jail after all.

"That's good to hear." Charlotte replied, resting her chin on her palm

"You're lookin' bony again."

"So?"

"I told you I like a girl to have meat on her bones."

"But I'm not your girlfriend, so why does it matter?"

"Cause I like you, Charlotte. You're my toy and the strict oxygen diet don't keep toys alive."

"Then why don't you date Sylvia? She has meat on her bones and she's your favorite toy."

"Whaddya think I'm doin'?" He asked, licking his near white teeth. White with a yellowish tinge. She couldn't bear to imagine how bad his breath was.

"But I thought-"

"Thought what? You was my girlfriend?" Dallas chuckled, shaking his head

"Well-"

"Lottie, if we was datin', you'd know. You and me, we're just friends that flirt. Sylvia's my chick. We get uh, what's the word? Conjunctional visits. You sit behind glass with a phone and we talk."

"Then why do you call me your damn toy?"

"Because you're fun. Innocent." He paused, chuckling, "Don't tell me you're hacked off at me now."

"I'm not." Charlotte managed out. Sylvia. He was steady with her? There were a pair stuck in a vicious two-timing cycle. Always exacting vengeance on the other for two-timing then swearing it wouldn't happen again.

Their 15 minutes were up and Charlotte slammed the phone onto the receiver, storming away. She picture Sylvia, remembering her from past experience around town. She had long black hair and gray eyes. Sylvia was an absolute knockout. She ahd what Dally liked, meat on her bones adn supermodel height. A thirst for adventure like his.

Average. Sylvia was hot. Charlotte was plain Jane. She went to Buck's, retrieving a bundle of money Dally'd asked her to keep an eye on until he was free. As she walked out of the bedroom, out walked Sylvia from another bedroom. Hickeys of red and purple decorated the naturall tan drapes that were her neck. Charlotte kept Dally's door cracked, watching Sylvia wal out with Dal's personality twin; Tim Shepard.

Chills lined Charlotte's esophagus and stomach. She laid next to the door, her breaths softening. She listened to the movements on the bottom floor. Twenty minutes, Sylvia was gone. Another thirty, Tim was finished his drinks. Ten minutes past that, it was safe to leave. Charlotte slowly sat up, her brain spinning from the sudden movement. She took a moment to feel normal again, slowly opening the door, bundle of money in the waistband of her skirt.

Of course Sylvia was cheating. Dal was gonna be out for blood when he found out. More so if Charlotte hid the news, but if she spilled her guts, she was Sylvia's new chew toy. It was a tough decision. Sylvia was one to fear. If she did tell Dally, then it made her seem like a desperate little girl who wanted to tear them apart. He would trust Sylv before he'd ever trust his little Lottie. But she'd never lied to him. Hell, they'd only known each other for a little over six months. She felt sorry for him, but he also knew what the hell he was getting into.

As Charlotte did her schoolwork in the dim light of her dining room. The table was scratched, worn. It needed to be replace, but it wasn't a dire necessity. Her mind wandered from homework's topics of the night to why Dallas dating Sylvia pissed her off. Perhaps it was because of Sylvia's rep. Or maybe the stories surrounding them. It wasn't. It was what Charlotte inadvertently witnessed. It was true to all the stories Brooklynn passed on while doing her makeup. And Charlotte knew it.

He was getting the better of her emotions. Six months of fighting off emotions he gave her and some of his poison had finally leaked through the cracks. He was notorious for stealing hearts and breaking them. Tearing them into shreds. Dally Winston was a thief that broke into the safe that was her heart. He had it in the palm of his hand, playing with it like putty.

Dallas won. He won her heart, not that he wanted it anyhow. What would he do with it anyhow? How in hell could he have won? It was better to not wonder. Charlotte lost. She lost the game in a million ways.