Outside, the cold air hit her, stinging her face. She could see her breath every time she breathed in and out. She wrapped her coat tightly around her and started walking towards her old bus stop. She had taken that bus everywhere. To school, to the mall...back when life was less confusing and harsh.
She sat down on the cold metal bench to think. It would be getting dark soon, and she only had twenty-two dollars and eighteen cents in her purse. She had to think of something. She refused to go back to Paul. He had already shown her more generosity than she felt she deserved. She looked out at some of the stores that were starting to turn on their closed signs. Fuck, it was freezing. She needed to think of something soon.
Victoria had worked all through school, so she never really hung out with anyone. Not anyone she could actually call on to stay with for a while. Yet another reason she resented her father. And her high school boyfriend had moved away a few years ago, or else he probably would have helped her out. But there was one other person. Perhaps there was one other person who could help her out of her homeless situation. She prayed that she could still call him "friend" even after what he knew about her and the way he was treated by Nic. She used the last of her money to hail a cab to Antonio's house. She was thankful that she had paid attention that night to where he lived.
When she arrived at Antonio's, she knocked on the door. She had worked on her speech in the cab about what she was going to say to him. She realized she was showing up out of the blue and she didn't want to seem desperate...although she was. This was her last resort. If Antonio wouldn't accept her, perhaps she could find a shelter...but the thought of that made her miserable.
When Antonio answered the door, she watched the perplexed look on his face. He glanced around her looking down the street, and then he looked back at her again. "Victoria? What's wrong?"
"Hi, Antonio. Um, I know this is going to sound strange since I haven't spoken to you in a few weeks, but, I—I...oh, shit," Victoria whispered before she burst into a flood of tears and buried her face in her hands. She felt so pathetic. She thought she had been so brave today by leaving Nic, only to fall apart at her father's words. But at least she had refused to let Nic or her father see her cry.
"Holy fuck," Antonio said, as he ushered her into his house. He quickly closed the door, then turned around and grabbed her in a bear hug. "Sshh, what's wrong?" he asked.
Victoria didn't want to let go of him. She buried her face into his chest and wept. Finally, someone who fucking cared if she was on the street and freezing to death. Someone whom she hoped who would treat her like a human being, and not some item or thing.
"Ssh...tell, me what happened," he said, as he pulled away from her and rubbed his warm hands over her frozen ones.
After a few moments, Victoria was able to calm down enough to explain to Antonio what happened. She told him everything and he sat and listened, nodding every now and then. When she was completely done, he pulled her close for another hug.
"You're alright now, you know. And I know what you need. A nice, hot shower," he said, as he grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. He handed her a towel, washcloth and one of his large t-shirts.
"Okay, now it's not much of a bathroom, but hey, the shower works and the toilet flushes. That's all I need," he smiled at her. Victoria nodded in agreement.
His bathroom was one tenth the size of Nic's, but something about that made her feel more comfortable. You certainly couldn't make love in his shower, but just that thought made Victoria want to burst into tears. She thought about that first kiss. How soft Nic's lips were, and how he had been staring back and forth from her eyes to her lips the whole time she had been talking to him. She let the hot water pour over her cold body...feeling as though little needles were pricking her.
Antonio stood outside the bathroom, leaning against the wall. He shoved his hands into his pockets, tilted his head back and sighed. Nic's words to him at his party ran over and over inside his head. He knew some would think him a fool, but there was no way in hell he could have turned her away. Consequences be damned. In a way, he was glad she had come to him. The thought of her being out there on the streets, while it's dark and freezing cold...sent a shiver down his spine. Thinking about all the lowlifes who could have hurt her and how scared she would have been pissed him off. But...this was Nic's girl. And he had already been warned. Antonio wasn't naïve. You don't fuck with these guys. They don't believe in calling the police or getting the courts involved. They accused, tried and executed those they felt deserved it.
He heard the water shut off. He would deal with all of this later. Right now the most important thing was that she was happy and safe. Right now, that was all that mattered. Something about this girl made him feel overprotective of her. Even the first day he met her. He knew she was miserable at that party, and he wanted to see her smile. So invited her to his party instead. Something told him she would like it more. Until Nic showed up.
When Victoria got out and dried off, she put on his large shirt and pulled her jeans back on. She met him back out in the hallway. He grabbed her hand and led her to the end of the hallway.
"And you can take my bedroom," he said, while opening the door.
Judging on his room, he was definitely not expecting company. There were clothes all over his floor and a plate of food sitting on the floor by the bed. Pictures of different rappers and naked women littered his walls. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a questionable plant in the corner of his room.
"Uh, yeah...I believe in an herbal existence," Antonio said, noticing her staring at the plant. Victoria burst into a laugh. She sat down on the messy bed and looked up at him.
"I can take the couch. I would feel bad kicking you out of your room," Victoria said, but Antonio wouldn't hear of it. "No, absolutely not. My momma raised me better than that," he said, winking at her.
"Where's Sean?" Victoria asked, remembering Antonio's roommate's name.
"Oh, he's visiting family back on the west coast. He'll be gone for the rest of the week."
That put Victoria a little more at ease. She already felt like she was imposing on Antonio, and she would feel even worse about imposing on Sean since she really didn't know him.
"I just want you to know that this is just until I can get back up on my feet, I promise. Then I'll be out of your way. And I'll be searching for a job first thing tomorrow morning," Victoria promised.
"Nah, don't worry about that...plus I'm sure Sean would love having you here...and would try to persuade you to take his bed...with him in it," Antonio laughed. But then his facial expressions became serious. "But seriously, don't sleep in his bed. Some of the girls he's brought back...have been questionable. I really think one was a dude. He claims it wasn't...but her hands were bigger than mine. I'm just saying," Antonio warned.
Victoria burst out laughing again. Yes, she would be okay now. As long as she was far away from Nic, she would be fine.
Later that night, Antonio had left to grab them some pizza, beer and movies to settle in for the night. Victoria felt horrible that she couldn't contribute any money to the food. She had to laugh at the fact that earlier that morning, she had held seventy thousand dollars, and now she was completely broke.
During the movie, Antonio kept glancing over at Victoria. Her eyes were still a little puffy, and her nose had a slight red tint, but she seemed interested in the film. But his mind was spinning. He had to ask her. He had to know. Finally, halfway through the second film, he spoke up.
"So, you and Mr. Andretti done for sure?" Antonio asked.
"Yes," she said, while still staring at the TV screen.
"Do you think he'll come after me, you know, since you were his girl, and now you're back at my place?" Antonio asked, taking a sip of his beer.
Victoria thought about it. Nic was so confusing to her. He ignored her at his party, yet came to drag her away from Antonio's. He cut her out of his life without so much a phone call, but then tried to stop her fro
m leaving. She really had no idea. "Honestly Antonio, I don't know. I don't think he would hurt you though. He's so confusing to me."
Antonio laughed, "Gee, that's comforting."
"I'm sorry. Maybe it would be a good idea if I did go. I don't want to cause any problems for you," Victoria said, turning to Antonio. That's the last thing she would want.
"Nah, don't. I'm already getting used to you sitting here on my couch," Antonio winked at her. "Besides, my mom always said I didn't have good sense. So, I'll take the chance." Victoria smiled back, but she could tell he wasn't so comfortable about pissing Nic off for the second time.
"Antonio, what did he say to you that night, when he came to take me from here?" she asked. It had been bugging her for a while now.
Antonio leaned back against the couch and sighed. "He said if I didn't want to know what the inside of a body bag looked like, then I better never touch you again."
Victoria's mouth dropped. "He said that to you?" Antonio nodded and took another sip of his drink.
Victoria turned her attention back toward the movie. "I'm sure he said it to try and scare you. He's bluffing."
Antonio shook his head. "See, Victoria...I know you would like to think that, but he's really not bluffing. Guys like him are serious and I'm sure plenty of people have seen a body bag because of Nic."
That sent a chill up Victoria's spine. She thought about the Nic who kept grabbing her ass and kissing her neck while she was staring at paintings at the museum. They way he had started to joke with her. The way he carried her from the shower to the bedroom after their intense kiss. His soft expression when she woke him up the next morning. Nic wasn't all bad. He wasn't this guy that Antonio was making him out to be. But then again, she had seen him switch up his personality on her. Turn completely cold. Maybe he was capable of such things.
"I'm sure it will be alright. I don't think he knows where I am, and I won't be here for long," Victoria assured him while trying to convince herself.
Victoria noticed Antonio turn back to the TV and continue sipping on his beer, but she could tell at this point that he was no longer paying attention. And she wasn't either. Her mind was reeling from everything that had happened over the past two days. How quickly everything had unraveled...and she still wasn't quite sure what had happened. But it was all over with now, and she would wake up in the morning and try to get on with her life, the life she'd been living before Nic became such a significant part of it.
The next morning, Victoria stared up at Antonio's ceiling. On a poster, looking back at her, was a half naked Latina who held the smile of a seductress on her face. She was wearing cut off jean shorts that looked more like panties, and a short wet, white shirt that was torn just right below her nipples. She was sitting on a counter by a cash register counting money and below her the caption read 'Sex sells'. 'It most certainly does,' Victoria thought sadly as she stared at the young woman. She wondered if the girl had a family who would look down on her for taking these photos. Did she have men degrade her for the decisions she had made? Victoria continued to stare at the pretty girl on the poster as she heard a knock on the door.
"Hey Vicky, are you decent?" she heard Antonio ask through the door. Decent. There was that damn word again.
"Yeah," she croaked out and sat up in the bed as Antonio entered.
"Coffee, dear?" he grinned, while handing her a cup.
Victoria smiled, "Thank you. Just what the doctor ordered."
Victoria took a small sip and glanced up at Antonio. He was dressed in tan cargo pants that were a little baggy, and a blue Best Buy shirt with a black long sleeve shirt underneath. His hair was still wet, giving him a little boy look.
"So you work at Best Buy?"
"Yep. Home theater department. It's not much, but it helps pay the bills."
Victoria nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't saying anything bad about it. Hell, it's more than what I have. So what do you do for...him?" She couldn't even say his name just yet.
"Oh, well, I'm...uh, I guess you could call it a runner. I pick up things and drop them off, no questions asked. He pays really well too, it's just that there aren't always drops to be made, so that's where the part-time job comes in handy."
Victoria thought about that while she took another sip of her coffee.
"But hey, my shift ends at six and I can bring home some dinner. Do you like Thai?" Antonio asked.
Victoria nodded her head. "Hey, if it won't make you too late, can you tell me about some places here that I could waitress at?"
Antonio scratched his head. "Hmm, well your best bet is probably Calamity's Bar and Grill. It's at the corner of Turner and 45th street. It's...well, it's a step up from Hooters, but just barely. I mean, the girls have to wear these short black outfits, but they're not so bad. I used to bartend there and one of the managers is my friend. I can give him a call on my way to work. You're hot, Greg will hire you in a second."
Victoria didn't know if that was good or bad. "Um, thanks. That would be great. I'll just hop in the shower and take the bus over."
"Hey, do you want a ride? It's on my way. If you can get dressed in twenty minutes?" Antonio asked, hopeful.
Victoria hopped up. "Yep," she said grabbing her bag and running to the bathroom. She quickly scrubbed and pulled her hair into a messy, massive ponytail of curls. She wrapped the towel around her body and ran out of the bathroom, crashing into Antonio. He grabbed her as she almost lost her balance. She quickly tightened her hold on the towel. When he released her, she noticed his eyes quickly drink in her appearance before settling on her neck.
"What the fuck?" Antonio said, as he leaned in closer towards her neck. "What happened?"
Victoria touched the small purple bruises that were located at the base of her neck and her left shoulder. Her constant reminder.
"Oh, it's fine. It doesn't hurt."
Antonio lifted an eyebrow. "Are those...bite marks?"
Victoria was so embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. He, um. Yes, they are."
Antonio grinned, "Hehe, someone's a freak!"
"Shut up!" Victoria said, trying to conceal her own smile. "I am not."
"Well, he's Italian, alright. Mark your woman any way you can," Antonio laughed. Victoria swatted him on the shoulder and pushed past him to the room. She walked over to his mirror and looked at the marks. Two small dark purple bruises caressing her neck and shoulder. Suddenly images of Nic's predatory grin and piercing blue eyes came back to her. She thought of the way they always looked right before he would bury his face into her neck, and how she would run her fingers through his soft black hair. That picture seemed burned into her eyes. She shivered and quickly dressed. She would have to remember to put makeup over the bruises.
When they pulled into the parking lot of Calamity's, the outside didn't look so bad. Antonio had called his friend on the short drive over, so at least she had a leg up.
"Hey, I would go in with you, but Greg can talk forever and I'll be late. But see you later tonight with Thai. You're cool getting back by yourself?"
"Yes, daddy," Victoria laughed, getting out of the car.
"Oooh, she called me daddy. Knew you were a freak!" he laughed, then sped off before she could tell him to shut up again.
'Fucker,' Victoria thought as she walked toward the restaurant. Calamity's definitely had a cluttered atmosphere about it. There were pictures of James Dean and Frank Sinatra everywhere, mixed with football and baseball paraphernalia. A pair of panties hung from one photo of Joe Montana and Betty Boop stickers were plastered on anything that was still.
She walked up to the hostess stand and noticed a guy and a girl arguing. The girl glanced at Victoria then back at the guy. She took off her small black apron, threw it at him and walked out.
The guy sighed and turned to Victoria.
"How many?" he asked, placing the apron behind his back.
"Oh, I'm looking for Greg. Is he here?"
"I'm Greg," he said, giving her a once over. "You must be Vero
nica."
"Victoria, actually. Nice to meet you," she said.
"Hostess or waitress? Bartender is full"
"Um, waitress, but I'll take whatever is available."
"You're hired. Follow me," Greg said, turning his back and walking quickly through the restaurant.
"So, do you have any experience?"
"Yes. My dad briefly owned a restaurant, but I've been waitressing a long time," Victoria said, trying to keep up.
Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss. Page 16
