The Hard Life (Working Title) by Ashley Beth (ebook reader with built in dictionary TXT) 📕

Chapter 1

“Hey, baby.” I say, leaning in the passenger side window. “Lookin’ for a good time?”

He reaches down, into his pocket and I start to open the car door. A flash of gold and my heart sinks. Shit, a cop. He smiles and I roll my eyes. I straighten up and turn to make a break for it. Too late. Rough hands grab me from behind. Slam me into the car. The handcuffs are cold against my wrists.

“Third time this month, Skylar. You’d think you would learn your lesson…” I recognize Officer Dave’s voice and groan internally.

The strings of profanity I scream are just for show. I don’t care about getting caught. Beats going back to Alex tonight. I’m short after a bad trick and he won’t be happy. At least now I can blame it on the cops. Not like it matters to him. Either way, he’ll be pissed when I get back tomorrow. I’ll worry about that later.

I keep up my front the whole way. Scream everything I can think of. I even spit on Officer Dave in the front seat. That’s not part of the front. He’s an ass. Dirty, and he’s got it in for me. He’s not happy when the spit hits the side of his cheek. Oh well, like I give a shit. When we get out, he slams me into the wall. Of course, no one sees his fist hit my side. I gasp but refuse to show him fear. In my ear, he breathes,

“Spit on me again, you’re dead.”

Like I don’t get death threats everyday from Alex. I force a laugh. Into the bricks, I say,

“Go fuck yourself, asshole!”

He smashes me into the wall again. I fight the involuntary tears. Never show fear. Never show pain. His hand gropes me from behind. I growl into the wall, but can’t get free. He just laughs and I don’t dare say anything. Finally, he takes me inside. I’m sporting two fresh bruises thanks to him. No one notices. That’s convenient.

The bench is hard and the handcuffs are biting into my wrists. I’m sitting next to Candy. The one girl I can trust. She’s two years older than me. Eighteen, she’s been on the job for four years now. She rolls her eyes at me and pops her gum. I grin. At least I’m not alone tonight. We sit and watch everyone buzz by. Throw insults at the cops when they pass.

Candy was one of the first girls I met after Alex found me. She helped me out from the start. Taught me all about good and bad tricks. About Alex’s bad moods, how to avoid them. Taught me everything she knew. She took me under her wing. With big blonde hair and cherry lips, she’s beautiful. Alex’s first girl, she says. I don’t know why she’s proud of that. I wouldn’t be.

Finally, peace and quiet. Candy and I are in a cell with a girl named Star. I’ve seen her before, but she’s not one of Alex’s girls, so I don’t know her well. She sits with her back to us. Shaking with sobs. Candy laughs at her, but I feel bad. Candy lies down to get some sleep so I go over to the girl. She’s pretty young. Younger than me, at least. Probably no more than fourteen. New to the life.
I sit next to her on the bench. She flinches, turns to face me.

“What the hell do you want?”

I glare at her. My first thought is to slap that glare off her face. The second is to yell at her. But I stop myself. She looks bad. Mascara smeared down her cheeks, dark hair a mess. I see a poorly hidden bruise on her forehead.

“You okay?”

Her glare is just a front. I see the fear in her eyes. She’s terrified. She hugs herself tight and sniffs.

“Why do you care?”

That’s a good question. Why do I care? I should get up, go back to Candy. Forget about her, but I can’t. There’s something in her eyes. Something familiar. Instead of leaving, I say,

“It’ll be okay, you know. We’ll be out in a few hours.”

“No, it’s not that… he’s… he’s gonna kill me. I lost all the money.” Her voice is barely more than a whisper. Fresh tears well in her eyes. I feel a wave of sympathy.

“Th-They came up behind me… right before the bust. One of them had a knife. I’d just finished for the night. I was going back. They took everything. H-He’s gonna kill me.”

She starts to bawl again. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been good with other people’s tears. They always freak me out. I kind of pat her shoulder and Candy groans.

“God, shut her up! I need my beauty sleep!”

Over my shoulder, I say, “Oh, get bent, Candy.”

She shoots a well-aimed hairclip at my head. I turn around and hurl my shoe at her stomach. My aim is off; it hits the wall behind her. She gives me a death-look and keeps my shoe.

“Now what’re you gonna do, bitch?” She says.

I roll my eyes and turn back to Star.

“Forget her. She’s just cranky ‘cause she’s an old woman. They get like that sometimes.”

Star looks like she has no idea what to think. I grin and roll my eyes again. She seems to realize we’re just playing and she relaxes a little. Not much. Tears still streak down her cheeks. I’m not sure if she recognizes me. I give her a warm smile.

“My name is Skylar. You’re Star, right?”

She nods. Gives me a small smile. Probably the best I’ll get from her. I sigh.

“Here… you look like shit. Can I help?”

I ask because she looks like she might crumple if I touch her. She nods again. I wipe her face with the blanket. Wipe off all the makeup. I use my fingers to get the tangles out of her hair. She winces, but doesn’t say anything. When I’m finished, I sit back and look at her. She’s cute. Big brown eyes and pretty olive skin. Her hair is jet black and silky. I smile.

“There. That’s better.”

She gives me another small smile. “Thanks.” She whispers.

“God, are you two ever gonna shut up?”

“Not if you don’t mind your own fucking business!”

Star laughs and I stand up. I hate being caged in here. It beats being with Alex, but not by much. Stupid bars freak me out. Claustrophobic, I think that’s what it’s called. I hear Candy start to snore and laugh. I leave her alone, though. It’s been a long night. When Alex gets a hold of us, we’re gonna need to be rested. I pace back and forth in the cell. Count my steps. Wait for morning. What time was the bust? It was after three. Not too much longer. I hope Officer Dave is gone when we get out.

Last time, he followed me when I left. Bastard grabbed me behind the precinct. Laughed at me when I tried to scream. Didn’t give two shits that I was already in deep with Alex. Took what he wanted, left me to clean up. Stole half my money, too. Alex was horrible that day.

The door opens, breaks through my thoughts. A woman with a clipboard walks through with Officer Nancy. Great, it’s time for the sermon. Clipboard woman is new, though. I’ve never seen her before. She’s young. Late twenties, early thirties at most. She doesn’t have the same tired look the last one had. She’s eager to save us. I roll my eyes and cross my arms. The bars clang open, wake Candy up. She groans, tosses me my shoe. Star is in the corner, hiding behind me. I put on my shoe and Candy jumps off the bed.

Clipboard woman is all smiles. She gives us her name, like we give a damn. Star won’t move from the corner. I wonder why she’s so freaked. Clipboard woman tries to take our names. Candy and I give her bullshit names, but Star won’t speak. Clipboard woman tries again to take Star’s name and I say,

“She doesn’t talk. Her name’s Samantha.”

I don’t know why I save her. Candy raises an eyebrow and I roll my eyes. Clipboard woman talks. I don’t listen. The busts are never about arresting us. They’re an excuse to get us away from our pimps to ‘save’ us. Like they could help, anyway. They don’t know Alex. He hunts girls down. Kills them in a heartbeat. Clipboard woman tries to tell us about shelters, places we can go to be safe. Candy pops her gum in Clipboard woman’s face. She takes it in stride. Poor woman, we’re her first attempts. She’s failing miserably. And then she turns to Star.

“How old are you, Samantha?”

Star’s face goes pale. It hits me suddenly. She’s young. They’ll take her away, back to wherever she’s running from. She looks at me to save her again, but I’ve got nothing. She couldn’t pass for anything older than fifteen. Clipboard woman asks again. Star can’t answer. I start to say something, but Candy elbows me. Under her breath, she says,

“Leave it. Not your problem.”

I bite my lip. She’s right. It’s not worth it. Star doesn’t answer Clipboard woman. Clipboard woman sighs and turns on me.

“What about you? How old are you?”

“Eighteen.” I say without a pause. With makeup and my hair done, I can easily pass for two years older than I am. Clipboard woman’s eyes narrow. Maybe I can’t.

“You don’t look eighteen.”

“Well, I am. Birthday’s in October. I’ll be nineteen in a month.”

Clipboard woman frowns. Scribbles something on her clipboard and says,

“Okay. Well, think about what I said. You two are free to go. Samantha, stay here.”

********************************************

I’ve still got about an hour left to salvage some good money. Candy leaves me with a good luck on the corner of fifth and eleventh. Before I can start walking, rough hands grab me from behind. I smell Alex before I see him. That nasty cologne he wears. Musky and overpowering. My heart sinks. I let him drag me into the ally. There’s an old man slumped a few feet away, a needle deep in his arm. He’s lost to the word, mumbling to himself. Alex shoves me into the cold bricks and I don’t dare look at him. My stomach twists and I cross my arms to protect myself.

“Where the fuck were you?” He demands. His voice is quiet and that scares me more than any yelling would.

I don’t know why he asks. He already knows; he just wants to hear me say it. I try to hide the fear from my voice, but it doesn’t work.

“S-Stupid cops. C-caught me and Candy. Held us—,”

Alex backhands me hard but I don’t make a sound. The pain sends tears to my eyes. I fight them back. He hates tears. His fingers dig deep bruises into my shoulders. He shakes me like a ragdoll. Too hard, my head starts to spin. I accidentally bite my tongue and blood fills my mouth. The ally blurs in