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  The "getting to know you" small talk ensues between the two at the Italian Garden. Emma nibbles on her bread sticks and salad while Matt slams through his beers in confidence.

  Not only is she taken back by his looks and the way he carries himself, Emma can see that there is a certain darkness to Matt. Behind his eyes lies a cold that is echoed through his razor blade smile, a chill that some would caution.

  For Emma, Matt is the type of man who she has been looking for. Lost in her tales page after page all she could ever hope for is to be whisked away by a dangerous stranger into the mystery of the night. A madman of sorts, who lets fate decide his existence while careening on the great divide of acceptance. Living as he feels is right, without concern for how others view him; as a man of his own accord.

  Matt picks up the tab at the restaurant and takes Emma out to his car, a fire engine red 1972 Pontiac Firebird. As the rain comes to a slower drizzle her eyes glimmer in awe at the 17

  sight of the muscled machinery. Not only is she thrilled that he has a car, but it is a magnificent one at that. Playing the role of the gentleman, he opens the door for her and with a glowing smile she takes her seat. Closing the door behind her, Matt casually lights a little cigar while making his way to the driver's side.

  Emma watches him as her heart palpitates in beats that remind her of poems, vague verses that rhyme what she thinks she feels in this moment. A smile is burned upon her face, one which she cannot wipe away; she tells herself "I found my one." Matt slides into the driver's seat, firing up the engine; the sound of the throaty V-8 rumbles beneath the floor board. Looking over at a stargazing Emma, he asks,

  "Where to now?"

  Sliding down in the passenger seat, she replies, "Where ever you want."

  18

  CHAPTER 3

  Sitting in her car outside of the Lots-O-Crust pizzeria, Kelly smokes a cigarette before she has to clock in. Still reeling over the argument with her mother, she tries to find her calm center. Listening to music at a low volume, she stares at the clock in her car, wishing she was someplace else.

  Placing her cigarette in the car's ash-tray she sighs as she grabs her work shirt from the back seat. Giving a quick look around, she slips out of her t-shirt and slides into her Lots-O-Crust wear. Clashes of red and green stitched together around a white collar forming a cheap, haphazard polo shirt. Pulling her hair back into a pony tail, she puts her company issued ball cap on over her curls.

  Taking her last few drags, she closes her eyes and releases a sigh. Kelly tells herself that for six hours she will 19

  not have to deal with anything but pizza and it is a relief. As she walks through the doors of the small delivery station, she is greeted by her Manager, Donnie, "Hey Kel, how’s it goin'?"

  With a nod and a slight smile, Kelly responds, "I'm alive, Donnie."

  "That's the spirit!" He touts as he works through various order forms.

  Donnie is a tall and slightly chubby man who stands with a slumped posture. Cursed with a dwindling hair line at the young age of 19, he keeps his head shaved and always wears a hat. He carries himself in a manner that is slightly above a slob while believing that he is a looker. Disillusioned by the awkward character that he is; he still reserves his lusts to girls like Kelly. There is a fire that boils within him towards her, but he is so timid that he will never do anything that will let her know. Deep down inside he knows they are merely friends and no matter what he does, it will always be that way.

  Kelly punches the time clock with a sigh, leaving her personal life behind. While these hours mount, she knows that she is away from her home life, distant from the troubles that keep building. She looks within her shell, knowing that this is what she has to do to keep her home life as humble as possible. Making her way to the counter where she answers phones and takes orders, she tells herself it could be much worse.

  As she leans against the counter, Donnie asks, "So, how's your day goin', Hun?"

  With a shrug, Kelly answers, "Eh, it could be better but, it could be worse, you?"

  "I can't complain… same old shit, different day. It's been pretty slow here, though."

  "My sister had a job interview today…"

  "Oh, so where did Elvira finally get an interview at?"

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  Kelly chuckles with a shake of her head, "Over at Loffington Books, I'm really hoping she gets it… we need the money."

  “Yeah, I hope so, too.” Looking over at Kelly, Donnie notices her glum expression. He stops what he's doing and asks, "After we get outta here tonight, wanna go to a party?"

  Kelly looks up at him with a smile and replies, "Sure, where at?"

  "It's at my friend's house around the corner. There'll be good tunes, herb, and plenty of booze."

  With a wide grin, Kelly says, "Sure… I need it."

  As the hours roll by Kelly's shift, Matt and Emma hang around the Vero Beach mall. The two bounce from store to store until finally ending up at the food court. They are passing the time by as they are getting to know one another.

  Splitting an order of chili-cheese fries, Emma opens herself to Matt.

  Emma confesses, "I live with my sister and my mom, though sometimes it feels like I live alone."

  Matt asks, "Why's that?"

  "I don't know" she says, "It's just the way they act, ya know? It’s like they wish that I wasn't there?"

  Shaking his head, Matt replies, "I don't believe that for a second…"

  Emma looks at him in confusion as Matt gauges her reaction before he continues, "How can anyone ignore such a beauty?"

  Blushing, she retorts, "Well, apparently you see me differently."

  Matt wipes his hands free of chili cheese and says

  "Outsiders tend see people and things differently… it's refreshing to break away from the mold of the family circles."

  "Do you live with your parents?"

  "No, I live on my own… my parents moved away a long time ago."

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  Taking a sip from her soda, Emma inquires, "Where did they move to?"

  Turning his head away, Matt replies, "That really isn't important."

  Taken back, Emma gives him a strange glare and asks,

  "Do you not like talking about them or…"

  Matt cuts her off and sternly tells her, "Look, it just isn't important. They made their choice and I have to deal with it, alright?"

  Startled by his tone; Emma looks down in shame as if she had just been scolded. Matt glares at her as he takes another cheese fry, "If I act like I don't want to talk about something, I don't think it's too much to ask that my wishes are granted."

  Looking everywhere but at him, Matt leans into Emma to get her attention, "Is that too much to ask from you?"

  She cannot look him in the eyes, something inside of her screams that he should not be talking to her this way.

  However, Emma quiets this voice of reason by telling herself that she was being too pushy. Her head starts to fill with negative tones as her body tightens, she is reminded of everything that she hates about herself. An inwardly focused beating ensues and Matt can read it all over her distraught face.

  Glancing up at Matt's harsh expression, she gives herself the third degree, "Dumb girl, you shouldn't expect so much openness from a stranger; some people need more time to be honest. Do you want to be alone again?! Stupid! Stupid!"

  Watching as Emma's bottom lip starts to tremble, Matt changes the subject, "Emma, what are you doing later tonight?"

  Hanging her head, she sullenly answers with a whisper,

  "Nothin'…"

  "Do you want to go somewhere with me?"

  "Sure… where are we goin'?"

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  "A little party some people I know are throwin'… we'll have fun, I promise."

  Emma perks up with a smile and runs her fingers through her hair, "Alright, sure."

  A tone of reluctance laces her words, but she does not want to say "no" to him. She is held by a fear that if s
he declines, she will probably never see him again. Emma tells herself that she doesn't want to be alone anymore. She tells herself that she will do anything to stay in the throes of another. Behind her smile, she argues with herself over whether or not Matt can be trusted with her heart. No matter how much she wants him, her conscience voices it's dissent.

  23

  CHAPTER 4

  A cigarette burns away in the ashtray that rests on the night stand as Ophelia lies back for one of her sutures. In heat of the moment, he thrusts away at her while she just stares at the ceiling. This isn't a matter of pleasure for her, she isn’t even fazed. Her role is nothing more than supplying a temporary fix. Rolling her eyes back, she thinks about the needle that will soon enter her vein. The murky blends of opiate joy that will make her feel whole again.

  With a loud moan, her client climaxes and slides off of her. Pulling the soiled prophylactic off, he tosses it into her garbage can off to the side. Ophelia slides up in the bed and take her cigarette from the ashtray. Pulling a drag from her smoke, she says, "That'll be fifty."

  Catching his breath, he zips up in satisfaction and then tosses fifty dollars on the bed, "There ya go… maybe I'll be back next week for another slice."

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  Counting the green backs, she replies, "You know where to find me, hot stuff."

  "You know it," he says as he walks out of the bedroom and out the front door.

  Naked and smoking, Ophelia stares off passed the walls of her bedroom, waiting for her next client to call. Every Friday tends to be busy for her, for most it's payday and it's time to cut loose. Most of her clients are older men who have either lost the passion for their wives or never bothered to get married. She has played the victim before, having her heart smashed to pieces while her lovers ran around behind her back. This doesn't concern her anymore; all that she cares about is getting her fix.

  For being a heroin addicted prostitute in her late 30's, Ophelia is a beautiful woman. She is a spitting image of her oldest daughter, only slightly aged. The two look so much alike that they are often confused for sisters when they are out together. Ophelia knows she's beautiful and she knows that she can get men to do whatever she wants. Her only interest is taking their money by any means that she can. There is nothing that she feels for these men that come and go, it is just business. In every sense of her wounded soul, she is dead inside.

  Snuffing her cigarette out, she slides off of her bed and walks into the bathroom. She turns the knobs on in her shower and waits for the water to warm. As the water runs, she looks at herself in the mirror; staring deep into her own eyes. Looking deep into her face, she sees that the once youthful glow that she possessed is gone. For a moment she wonders how long she can keep doing this to her daughters, asking herself, "Why do I do this myself?"

  As she sighs, her cell phone rings; interrupting her would-be moment of clarity. She walks back into her bedroom and answers the call, crawling back inside of herself.

  "Hello?"

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  "Yeah… alright, I'll see you in fifteen."

  She hangs up the phone and makes her way back into the bathroom. Ophelia puts her hair up with one last glance into the mirror. Stepping into the shower; she begins to rinse the other man off of her body. In this cleansing process, she rids herself of one man's filth in preparation for another. Every Friday night it is the same cycle, five to six men that end in cash and six or seven showers. The soap and water temporarily make her feel clean from the world that she has let herself become a part of. There are times when she thinks about walking away from it, but these are fleeting thoughts.

  As nice as it would be to return to normalcy, she knows that she wouldn't be able to make the money she does doing anything legit.

  Around 10:30 pm Kelly and Donnie lock the doors to the pizza shop and take separate cars to the party. She follows him with a few turns into a neighborhood off of US-1. The neighborhood is mostly made up of lower-middle class people, it is quiet and somewhat clean; despite the houses that have fallen victim to bank foreclosures. Cars are lined all around the party house as well as being scattered up and down the street, leaving no parking. Donnie and Kelly park their cars in the driveway of an abandoned house across the street and make their way towards the noisy house.

  Loud rock music is heard pouring from the windows with laughs and cheers overriding the muffled notes. As Kelly and Donnie get closer, they can hear that it is a song by Queens of the Stone Age. Stepping on to the property, they see splinters of party goers lingering on the porch and in the front yard, drinking and smoking as they carry on. Making their way past these people, they enter house where the music hits them like a brick wall. Crossing the threshold, they see some people dancing and other huddled up in close string groups, blocking several paths through the house.

  26

  Donnie takes a quick look around for his friends in the living room, but he does not see them in the oceans of strangers. He yells, "Let's get some beers!" and starts inching towards the back of the house. Pushing through the crowd, they enter the kitchen where they grab a beer from a cooler on the tile floor. The kitchen ends with short hallway that leads to the back door which leads out to the back porch. Donnie takes Kelly by the hand and walks her through the back door where he assumes his friends will be found.

  The two step out back, leaving the loud tunes behind them. Kelly takes a sip of her beer and lights a cigarette as Donnie looks around for his friends. Taking a drag from her smoke, Kelly says, "Thanks for inviting me."

  Donnie scoffs, "You don't have to thank me… you know you're always welcomed company."

  While the two stand on the porch over-looking the back yard; lovers copulate in the sanctity of the darkness. One couple in particular smothers one another in heated passion on a reclined lawn chair a mere few feet away.

  Matt kisses Emma, running his hands sensually all over her body, grasping and groping. The two have been at the party since it started and Emma is heavily intoxicated. Six heavy handed screw-drivers are more than enough to put a light weight like her over the edge.

  As the music screams in the background, she moans from Matt’s every touch as he lightly gnaws on her neck. He carries a slight buzz from several beers and whiskey shots, but Matt has been here many of times before. His caress sends chills through Emma's body, keeping her on the edge of craving more. Her mental state keeps her from wanting him to stop, but she doesn't want to give so much of herself so soon. She does not want to be his one thing, where he only wants one thing from her.

  Suddenly, Matt runs his hands down her inner thigh and towards her panty line. As she feels his fingers inch towards her crotch, she stops him with a gasp, "Wait!"

  27

  "What's wrong?"

  Emma quivers, "Don't."

  " Don't what?"

  "I just wanna take it slow, okay?"

  Matt takes a deep breath, exhaling, "We're just making out, what's the problem?"

  "Nothin'… I just want it to take it, um, a little slower than this."

  Looking into her eyes, he says nothing as he moves back in for a kiss. Emma knows that she needs to stop this make out session from proceeding, but she cannot resist his advances. Reluctantly, she accepts his lips closing into hers then pressing against one another's. Matt attempts to run his hands up her dress again and Emma pushes him away. As he sits up in anger, Emma slips from beneath him. She slides off of the lawn chair and says, "Look, I need to get some water...

  I feel kinna funny."

  Matt looks at her and shakes his head, "Whatever, I'm getting' another beer."

  Emma knows he's annoyed, but she knows that this is for the best. She walks out of the darkness, making her way to light of the porch. Looking down at the ground, she doesn't see her sister, who is staring at her in confusion.

  "Emma? What are you doin' here?"

  Startled; Emma looks at her in shock as she slowly walks up the steps swaying in her movements, "Uh, hey Kelly, what's up?!"
>
  Kelly looks at her oddly, "Are you drunk?!"

  Emma takes a deep breath, "Nah, I'm just…"

  "You're fucking drunk!"

  Hanging her head with a smirk, Emma answers, "Yeah, a little, I guess."

  Matt comes up from behind Emma, putting his arm around her, "Are you okay, Hun?"

  "Who the hell are you?" Kelly asks in a tone of tempered concern.

  28

  Glaring at Kelly, Matt responds, "I'm Emma's boyfriend, who are you?"

  "I'm Kelly… Emma's sister."

  Donnie hides in the back, keeping his mouth shut and shooting dirty looks at Matt. His expressions speak volumes, but none of the other three notices this because of the mounting tension. Matt is speechless, continuing his nasty glare at Kelly, tightening his arms around Emma. Looking up at her sister, Emma responds, "This is Matt, he's my new boyfriend."

  Kelly looks past her sister and asks Matt, "Do you know how old she is, Matt?"

  "She’s old enough to make her own decisions…"

  Not amused, Kelly rolls her eyes and replies, "She's too young for you to be takin' advantage of her!"

  Emma becomes fed up with Kelly's pseudo motherly treatment, "I think I am able to make my own choices here, Kelly. Matt's a good guy, why don't you just talk with him instead of giving him shit?!"

  As the argument persists, Donnie sneaks back into the house where he finds Parker getting a beer from the kitchen, one of the owner's of the house. He is a tall, handsome man in his mid 20's, living the bachelor life with two of his friends.

  Parker is in mid sip of his beer when Donnie approaches him,

  "Hey Parker…"

  "Donnie, when did you get here?!"

  "A little bit ago, I had to close tonight… did you invite Matt here?"

  Parker looks at Donnie as the happy features of his face change to anger, "No… is he here?"

  "Yeah, he's out back…"

  Placing his beer on the kitchen counter, Parker storms passed Donnie, rushing towards the back door. Pushing the door open, Parker stomps by Kelly and stares down at Matt,