Little Lady

Chapter 3

Alice walked in a drunken state down the pavement. Her hands wandered around and the mist around her swirled mysteriously. Red rimmed her eyes as she breathed in and out slowly. She wished she had more of it, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

She had earned 200 pounds today, and 200 pounds wasn't enough for Klaus. She had forgotten his daily rate. She was so tired and so fed up with him. Streetlights cast menacing shadows on her lonely figure in the night. Alice wrapped her hands around her thin and lanky body. She never even had enough money to eat anymore. Maybe if she did a lap dance right now or something...

The one side of town where she got any clients was this side. It was barren and lonely, sometimes with wealthy men lurking the streets looking for somebody to warm their beds. Sometimes with old men looking for a bit of fun on a cold, winter night. These people used to disgust Alice, and in many ways, they still did. But right now these men were the sole reason of her survival. Klaus was life-threatening. She didn't do one thing right and it would reflect on her mother.

Alice threw back her shoulders and tried not to think.

She could do this.

Again.

Alice spotted a group of men in business suits walking past the alleyway she was just at. They were headed towards a shady looking bar. Alice bit her lip hesistantly and slowly walked up to them, slinking past in a seductive way. "Can I help you with anything?" Alice whispered into one of the men's ears. She felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned his head and looked at her with his beady black eyes. His business partner looked alarmed by her presence.

She inched closer to the man's ear, biting her lip again before whispering naughty desires that could be fulfilled in an instant.

For moment, Alice's heartbeat slowed to a stop as she made eye contact with both of the men. Why were they here? Why were they heading towards Verbatim, one of the most shadiest bars in the city? 3 years ago these questions would've placed excruitiating fear in her, shivers running down her spine. But today, she welcomed the answers to these questions. She would endure. She would survive.

She just had to do this right.

Before she would utter another word, the men looked at her and a smirk crept on their faces. One of them nodded, the other simply took Alice's arm. And so it began.

~~~

Alice woke up against a brick wall. Her head was leaned up against it, her back slumped. It was freezing outside and she had no idea what time it was now. She barely remembered what had happened after she saw the 2 men. She checked her velvet-lined pocket for the money. And sure enough, the cold and crisp bills were in there.

She sighed, her salty tears frozen to her cheeks. Her heart felt heavy and hollow at the same time.

Hands clammy and trembling, Alice pulled herself up and leaned against the wall hoping it would support her. She always felt very small and very frightened after actually doing her job. Most of the time she pretended to sell flowers she picked or old magazines she found rather than agreeing to do all of this.

But sometimes she realized she really and truly had no other choice. Klaus had her trapped. The man was powerful. He had people probably watching her every second of the day, especially in the more important positions. He was friends with the mayor and had at least 5 police officers working for him downtown. The cell phone she used was wired and every call was recorded. Alice also knew that the room she slept in was bugged.

Perhaps Klaus took mercy on her when she was selling flowers or old magazines. Or maybe he just let it slide. She was his so very dear niece after all. That thought practically ripped the choking sob out of her throat. Alice buried her face in her hands, her tiny body shivering uncontrollably. Her breath came out in layered little puffy clouds. They were wispy and wafted off into the air.

The silence was too loud.

Bravely, Alice threw her shoulders back and took a deep breath and angrily wiped away her tears. She cried all the time now, almost every day for the past three years. She grew sick of it and sometimes she realized it was pointless to cry. Life went on. Her heart would keep beating and her body would keep craving the tiny crushed snowflakes that she breathed in too frequently. Alice coughed. The sour aftertaste of it was a little disgusting.

She started walking. She didn't know where she was going to walk to, but she didn't care. Eyes closed and head downcast, Alice began her trek to nowhere.

After a long time, her feet began to hurt. Heels were a necessity whenever she went out, according to Klaus. The last time she even wore sneakers was her weekly run in the park. A long and aching rumbling sound came from her stomach. She was starving and her last meal was yesterday morning when she bought a measly bagel. Alice checked her pockets and wondered how much was in there. She had no idea how much the men had given her or whether or not she had even demanded a price.

She preferred to forget.

Alice pulled out two brand new 50 pound bills. 100 pounds were in her hands. She wanted to die of happiness. Klaus wanted 500 pounds each day from Alice. Maybe he would settle for around 250 or maybe she could get some more. The 100 pounds gave her a small sense of hope. It lasted briefly, if not for more than a second...but it was a wonderful feeling. A rareity in the world.

There was no way she could afford a cab and still satisfy Klaus, so she walked. Alice was in the middle of town now, the side that was normally filled with pedestrians in the morning and tourists crowding the sidewalk. It was eerily quiet right now; occasionally, cars zoomed past, their shiny headlights making Alice feel like a bewildered deer.

The red flashing OPEN sign caught Alice's eye. Paige's Diner was a slummy old place. According to Klaus, they served the filthiest burgers he had ever tasted...according to Alice, no other place would welcome a starving prostitute at such wee hours in the morning. Alice opened the door and the familiar clang of the bell chimed. A lady with her hair up in a messy bun jerked her head up. "Sit anywhere," she spat.

As Klaus's particularly favorite minion, Alice was used to obeying orders. She picked a seat in the far left corner, where nobody would see her. Let her be invisible for one night. Her small eyes were tired and lifeless. This so-called life of hers had burned them out.

But she was strong. She could survive this. Alice coughed and propped herself up, stifling her tears and sucking it up. She picked up the ratty tatty red scratched-out menu at the diner. How trite. It was familiar to her, made her content. Pale hands holding the ragmuffin menu stared back at her. These were her hands. She realized that all of a sudden, and put the menu down with a small gasp. Hands stuffed back in her pockets, Alice stared at the menu again.

"I'll have a ham and cheese grilled sandwich please," Alice muttered softly to the impatient waitress. There were only about two other people in the entire diner; Alice had no idea what the woman was tapping her foot and pen for.

"Your choice of drink?" the waitress replied promptly. Alice peered at the menu again, feeling the hot gaze of the waitress boring into her skin. Did she even know Alice was a prostitute? Alice felt like the waitress could see right through her, felt like everybody could look at her and pick her apart and shred her into bits and pieces.

Alice decided to indulge in herself tonight. It had been a rough week. "I'll take a chocolate chip milkshake." The waitress nodded, jotting down the order and walking away.

Small tones of jazz music filled the background in the diner. If this wasn't one of her normal restless nights, Alice might have enjoyed this. A low rumbling sound greeted her again. She hoped the food would be ready soon.

The bell jingled once more, signaling that somebody was walking into the diner. Alice hadn't even noticed, but it had been pouring outside. The young man that had just walked in was wet, his hair slicked back, little droplets falling all the way down to the red and white checkered tiles.

It was Xander. The boy from three years ago.