Runaway Girl

Chapter 5

Lena purses her lips and rips the paper to pieces. Since this is the second time she finds her face on paper, stuck to a pole, she's not surprised anymore. Tonight she will finally have her freedom just as she wanted it. She is eighteen now and there is nothing anyone can do to send her back to the Luthors. Even if at this point someone would somehow recognise her, they simply cannot do anything. She adjusts her blonde wig a bit, which she bought after the first time she ran into a picture of herself on paper.

She walks up towards the security guard, confident in the black dress she's wearing with matching black high heels. Her small purse is clutched tightly in her hand as she shows her ID with her other hand. The security guard let's her in without an issue, falling for the fake ID. Sometimes she still uses it, so she can pretend to be twenty-one, like tonight.

The lights in this casino are bright and overdone, really. She walks towards the bar and orders herself a bottle of red wine, feeling like a drink is exactly what she needs. The issue is that she can't wash the memory of Kara away. She can fell her tender kisses etched into her lips.

"Hey, I saw you walking in and you caught my eye," a young woman says, smiling at Lena. "I figured I'd come say hi, so, hi." Lena sizes the woman up, guessing she's probably in her early twenties or so. Her hair is blonde, but not like Kara's, paler. She looks petite, has a slender waist, warm Hazel eyes and a genuine smile. "Hello," she replies politely, acknowledging the woman's presence. "I'm Lena."

"I'm Ivy," the young woman says. "I would offer you a drink, but i see you already have one." "Would you like a glass?" Lena offers. After this bottle she'll probably order a new one anyways. "That would be lovely," Ivy replies as she sits down next to Lena. "What's her name?" "I'm sorry?" Lena asks, confused. "I am afraid I am not following." "The woman you drink to forget," Ivy clarifies. Lena frowns deeply, wondering how Ivy even knows that. "How?" she asks curiously.
"Been there done that," Ivy answers. "Doesn't work," she sighs, sipping from her glass of wine. 

"Ended up going for rebounds just to have a warm body pressed against mine, but eventually I kept waking up to a cold bed and it only left me hollow." Lena is still surprised how Ivy could have known that she's drinking to forget in a pathetic attempt to forget Kara and it's true that it doesn't work. About the rebound thing, that's something she hasn't done. "Your eyes say it all," Ivy whispers, leaning in closer.

Lena can smell the alcohol in Ivy's breath and it's not just the wine she offered her. "I had no idea my eyes gave me away," she replies earnestly, given her chilled demeanour. She used to think she hid it well, having built a wall around her. "I can see why people say the eyes are the mirror of the soul," she sighs sadly. Her eyes must be what people used to look inside, to see past her walls.

"Did you love her?" Ivy asks. Lena shallows hard and nods. "I do," she says, barely a whisper. She hasn't stopped loving Kara and maybe she never will. "Would you like to get out of here?" Ivy empties her glass and stares incredulous at Lena. "Are you sure?" she asks. "Yes," Lena answers, quickly emptying her glass and placing it down. "It does not mean anything more than a warm body for tonight," she says, relaying a piece of what Ivy told her.
"One more thing," Ivy says hesitantly. "How old are you, honey?" 

"Does it matter?" Lena scoffs. "You're not twenty-one," Ivy replies sternly. "No," Lena admits as she stands up. "But I'm old enough," she says with a hungry flicker in her eyes, aching for a fix that she can't seem to find. She boldly takes Ivy's hand in hers and leads her outside to take her to the hotel room she's renting for a few nights. Ivy's hot breath is on Lena's neck before they even cross the street. Lena shuts her eyes and despite Ivy's warm lips, everything feels cold to her.

Two am, where do I begin
Crying off my face again
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed