"Thank God for elevators," Grace spoke freely as the doors opened to the top floor of the girls' apartment complex. She had been used to climbing several floors of steps in their last apartment complex, hoping to side step the rats that scattered. But with her well paying job at Devil's Playground, the girls could afford something better. It wasn't the Ritz, but it was decent. Gingerly, Grace stepped out of the elevator with a wide stance and type of waddle to her gait. She made sure that her injured thighs never brushed against one another, her hips minimally moving with each step as she tried to avoid the raging pain. Six days in the hospital total and the girls had been released with a clean bill of health. No primary STDs had been detected in the rape kits, which gave Grace a small bit of hope. She knew they'd have to stop back at the clinic for a period of months just to assure that there was no change. Still, many other worries invaded her mind as she walked down the hall with Kitra at her side. She was basically unemployed with her injuries as well as Kitra and fretting how next month's rent, bills, and food supply would be made. It seemed as if God were always frowning on her. She had contemplated suicide several times, though, at the end, she decided that God just wasn't worth it.
"Amen to that," Kitra replied, just wanting to lie down in bed and hope money will miraculously fall into their laps.
"I really want a long tubby..." Grace decided after a few moments of silence lapsed between the girls. The stretch of hallway seemed forever as her bruised and broken body screamed with each miniscule step. She played with the hem of the sling holding her heavy cast, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. She loved to just linger in their tub, forgetting how much the world hated her.
"You can take your tubby, and I'll take a nap," Kitra negotiated, running a finger over her gauzed cheek.
"You sure?" Grace questioned turning toward her friend as she reached into the medical bag to retrieve her keys. Everything that had been found on their persons in the ER had been collected into two small bags and since their clothing had been shredded, they were each given a pair of hospital issue scrubs to wear home. The nurses had been more than kind to them during their stay.
"Tubbies are more your thing," Kitra nodded, absentmindedly swinging her small bag back and forth as they reached the door.
"True... You just like standing in the shower with a fine ass man," Grace attempted to tease as she freed her keys, fully prepared to push them into the lock. Only, her actions were halted when the key didn't fit properly and a bright orange piece of paper seemed to scream into her face. She stood silent for a moment, glancing over the writing. EVICTION NOTICE - RENT NOT PAID. Grace blinked rapidly as she glanced down at the small box next to the doorway, knowing the rest of their possessions had been sold to make the payment. Grace's emerald eyes well with tears that she would never shed as she glanced to her older friend. "Kit... You told me the rent was paid for this month."
"It was... until I... well..." Kitra trailed off, looking down at her hands. She had taken the money for rent and given it to Evan for her drug fix.
"Kit... don't tell me... you promised."
"Racie... I couldn't help it... I was so stressed and--"
"Damnit, Kit, you promised!" Grace groaned with disbelief, slamming her cast into the door of the apartment. The anger flooding through her system as she turned toward Kitra, fully prepared just belt the woman. But, instead, she turned to slam her cast back against the door again as she cursed with disgust. "I hope that snort was fucking terrific, Kit, because we're fucked! We have no home! We have no food! We have no money! We have nothing!"
"I'm sorry, okay?! You don't know what it's like to crave!"
"You made us lose our home because of your fucking addiction! Now we're really going to pay--"
"No, we're not, because we have somewhere to go!" Kitra burst, pulling out Howie's note and pushing it into Grace's face.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Grace snorted with disbelief, stepping back from her best friend with a look of pure damnation. "You rent yourself out to Evan so you can get high and now you'll turn right around and rent yourself out to another man?! Damnit, Kit--"
"I'm not renting to anyone, but I don't think we have a choice! Unless you know some rich family member that can help us out, this Howie guy is our only chance at survival," Kitra replied, shoving the note in Grace's face again.
"No way on God's green Earth am I going to let another man control my life--"
"Come off it, Racie! If he does that, we'll leave! But we don't have anywhere else to go."
"I'd rather sleep on the beach!"
"And freeze to death in these thin scrubs? What are you going to do for food?"
"I don't know--"
"Racie, I know I fucked up. You don't even have to forgive me. But we both know that going to Howie is our only chance."
"How about you don't fucking talk to me anymore, Kit?" Grace seethed in disbelief, turning away from her best friend with hurt. "Because I'm not going to that damn man's house."
"Are we interventioning without the interventees?" Nick mused with surprise as he stepped into Kevin's home, immediately noticing that only Brian and Kevin were present. His words caused a slight arch in eyebrows with the cousins, causing him to shrug without much care. He immediately flopped down on the couch, grinning with delight. "I love when these interventions don't have to do with me. So fire away!"
"You're such an idiot sometimes," Kevin muttered under his breath before turning to face the other two. "I'm really worried about AJ and Howie."
"I'll agree with worrying about AJ," Brian voiced, glancing toward his older cousin.
"Just AJ?"
"We all know that Howie never parties and has sex with random women like J does."
"Brian--"
"He's a responsible man," Brian instantly defended, flipping vaguely through the magazine on Kevin's coffee table. "He hasn't done anything stupid--"
"But he's fallen in love with a stripper," Nick voiced. "Given that she's hot as Hell and I would pay damn good money to tap that ass--"
"Nick, stop before you start," Kevin warned him quickly. "But he does have a good point. Falling in love with a stripper? That's low, especially for someone as good as Howie."
"What's so low about it?" Brian questioned honestly, glancing at Kevin. "Just because her occupation is... exotic... doesn't mean that she isn't a good person. Our family has taught us better than to judge someone that we don't know personally--"
"They never told us to befriend or date strippers, either. She'll bring nothing but trouble and already has."
"Howie hasn't gotten into any trouble--"
"Late for the meeting, his attitude change and almost attacking AJ just to name a few?"
"Because you're attacking what he believes is the right thing to do!"
"It's all for a stripper and a prostitute!"
"Excuse me, children?" Nick piped.
"What?" they chorused, looking over at Nick.
"Don't you think you should let Howie live his life the way he wants to live it? He's not hurting himself and he's not in any danger... And maybe if he goes for a different type of girl, he won't end up heart broken... Not to mention how hot it'll be if his girlfriend is willing to flash me her goods without getting up-tight about the whole situation," Nick attempted to persuade.
"That's what I was trying to say-- except for showing off her goods..." Brian threw his hands up in the air. "Let's worry about AJ, because he's really slipping. Pretending that it ain't happening is making it worse."
"And Howie is encouraging it," Kevin stressed with a scowl.
"What the Hell are you talking about? Howie's the only one who has the guts to confront AJ about his problems!"
"Which just aggravates AJ so he goes overboard the next time!"
"Besides, Kevin isn't afraid of AJ. Are ya, Kev?" Nick questioned like a small child admiring his father's perceived strength.
"No, he's just afraid to face the facts that life isn't so perfect since AJ began spinning out of control," Brian sneered.
"Shut up, Brian," Kevin snapped, glaring at the two younger men as he boosted himself from the couch. "You want to keep making this a big-ass joke and blame me, that's fine, but I'm not staying around to listen to it. We can pretend that AJ isn't our fucking problem. Hell, we can pretend that Howie going after a stripper is saintly. They'll learn sooner or later, without my help, and that should certainly satisfy you two jackasses."
"You're the one who wants to ignore AJ's problem! The rest of us want to confront him, but NO! That just upsets AJ and makes it worse... you ever think maybe we need to sit him down and talk about this?" Brian stood up as well, toe to toe with his cousin.
"We've done that repeatedly, Brian. Every damn time we see him we tell him that this needs to stop. Every damn time we see him we tell him that we're worried about him. And he comes back with that stupid ass slur about this being his life and not ours. So, fine, let him fuck up. I don't care anymore!"
"That's fucked up, Kevin! He's our brother, for God Sakes!"
"And we can't force him into anything he doesn't want to do. We can't legally put him into rehab--"
"So what do you suggest we do? Just sit back and wait until he OD's? Or gets into a fight with a dealer and gets shot? How far are we going to let it go?" Brian continued as Nick just sat there, his mouth agape.
"I don't know, Brian. You tell me."
Howie exhaled a painful breath as he stared at the ceiling of his expensive home, allowing the anger to slowly dissipate from his body. Frustrations still remained about the previous meeting's ending with the boys, but he could hardly do anything about that. Kevin was allowed to think anything he wanted, but it wouldn't stop Howie from doing what was right. After all, AJ had already called a little bit ago to leave a gruff apology on Howie's answering machine. AJ seemed to be pretty good at that these days - apologies. An excuse for everything always followed with the apology, however, but what could Howie do? Instead, he flopped the leather cowboy hat onto his face, inhaling to soft, sweet scent of J-Lo perfume mixing with a hint of roses and immediately conjured a beautiful image of his Fallen Angel.
"I think this is borderline obsessive," Howie muttered to himself, his voice muffled under the hat.
He couldn't help the way he felt, however, no matter how many times his friends nagged about his choice of women. True, the others he had dated hadn't been gems, but their careers were clean to say the least. Only, their hearts weren't in the right places. They had taken life for granted. More importantly, they had taken Howie for granted. He couldn't stand the heartache of those types of women anymore. He feared he might have to walk the world alone as his other friends created beautiful relationships with wonderful women. Until he looked into the exotic dancer's mysteriously alluring emerald eyes...
He hadn't been to many strip clubs, any for that matter, but something about her had lit a burning fire underneath his soul. Many women had offered him sexual favors, but he never responded to their cat-calls. It didn't seem important, especially when he considered what they were probably using him for, in essence. He was a handsome man, but he was a handsome man with money, which made everything different. Yet, when Grace's agile hips gyrated against his pelvis, reminding him of the beauty of a woman and making love to a woman... He couldn't control himself. He had responded in ways that he never thought were truly possible again. Desire was inevitable with a woman like her, but he wanted more.
"Don't tease me by bringing her into my life and letting it just linger," Howie spoke aloud, pulling the hat off his face as he continued to look up. "I love You, but Lord... let me know if she's the one."
As if God were answering, there was a sharp tap on his front door. Howie lurched in surprise at the loud echo, throwing the cowboy hat deep into his hallway. He furiously rubbed his hands against the back of his jeans, praying that the sweet smell of the gorgeous woman didn't permeate on him. Because, if it was his friends, there was no way he would hear the end of it. Only, when he opened the door, there was a sharp surprise that caused his handsome brown eyes to widen in surprise.
"You Howie Dorough?" Kitra questioned, holding the crumpled note up to the older Latino. Her face was still somewhat bruised from the terrible beating, but the swelling had absorbed, leaving her with remnants of the seductress she used to be.
"Um, yeah. Kitra Carlisle?" Howie nodded, looking a little beyond her shoulder.
"She's right behind me."
"Who?"
"Fallen Angel?"
"What made you think I was looking for her?" Howie immediately recovered as Kitra leaned toward the side. He felt his cheeks immediately blush a furious crimson as he gazed at Grace. She was leaning against the railing of his porch steps, her good arm gingerly helping to prop up the thick white cast in its sling. No remnants of the beating could be seen on her beautiful face, but the heartache that lingered in her dark emerald eyes spoke volumes to Howie's heart. She was, for once in her life, quite docile as she stood behind Kitra, looking none too pleased with the situation as she allowed her thick strawberry blonde curls to curtain her face.
"Woman intuition," Kitra shrugged as Grace continued to be silent. "But... well... to make a long story short, I fucked up and we have no place to live. We read your note and... here we are."
"Oh..." Howie trailed, still somewhat caught as he stared at Grace.
"Does the offer still stand or are you looking for another lap dance?" Kitra attempted to tease, falling slightly into Howie when Grace managed to softly kick the back of Kitra's knee as punishment. Only, Kitra looked enthused by the situation, running her fingers against Howie's muscular chest. "I'd be quite happy to fulfill your needs for room and board, y'know. I can be...nice..."
"The offer is still there," Howie helped Kitra regain her balance, away from his body. "You don't need to thank me in that way, I was just trying to help--"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive," Howie quickly assured, moving to open his door wider. He was slightly awed that the women had actually agreed to his offer, not expecting them to respond so quickly. If anything, he had thought maybe Grace was just a simple illusion. Yet, there she stood, just a few short feet behind Kitra.
"Well, thank you?" Kitra replied as she walked in, Grace slowly tagging along.
"It's not a problem at all," Howie answered as Grace slipped past him. It was all he could do not to reach out to lead her back to him, questioning the forlorn look in her eyes. But, she refused to make any contact with her, closing herself off with her arm wrapped tightly around the broken one, almost as if she were protecting herself. "We'll just have to have a few rules--"
"HOLY SHIT!" Kitra immediately cursed in awe as she stepped into his living room, cackling with sheer delight. "THIS IS AMAZING! RACIE! THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!"
"It's beautiful, Kit..." Grace agreed vaguely, standing toward a corner so she wouldn't break anything of great value.
"Thanks," Howie chuckled softly at Kitra's response. "But as I was saying, we have to make a few rules."
"Rules?" Kitra immediately frowned, knowing she was most likely to be breaking them all. Authority had never really appealed to her wildness, which was partly why she was in such a mess right now. "Like, Racie stays in your bedroom kind of thing?"
"You're not fucking funny, Kit," Grace growled.
"No, not those kind of rules," Howie quickly disagreed with a shake of his head.
"What do you mean, then?"
"Like, there's no drugs allowed in this house... Alcohol on a minimum basis, nothing excessive... Mutual respect for everyone concerned... You girls can each have your own rooms..." Howie started, chewing on his bottom lip as he tried to make everything clear. The plan had been somewhat sporadic and he hadn't exactly lined everything in gold, so he was just as much in the dark concerning these things as the women.
"Seems legit," Kitra stated, glancing to Grace with her light eyebrows raised in emphasis.
"Perfect," Grace mumbled.
"Okay, then. Well... are either of you hungry? I have a kitchen stocked with any kind of food you could be craving--"
"Howie, Dear, lead the way!" Kitra instantly blurted, threading her arm through Howie's arm as she affectionately kissed her cheek. After living on such a short stipend for food, Kitra was ravenous for something. Of course, Grace always teased that Kitra was ravenous for everything. Including life.
"Alright," Howie turned to Grace and offered a sincere smile. "Are you coming with us, Grace?"
"I'm right behind you," she promised, though she had other intentions as they turned away.
