Chapter Three
I might have all my emotions locked up and put away, still I was not impenetrable to the wonder which came with the view of the most bedazzled city in the world. The glamour, the shine, and the sparkling lights had me gawking through the tinted glass.
So, this was it. This was city they all raved about. Sin City, the city that never sleeps and what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I wish these catch phrases applied to my visit.
Well, at least I will go out in a fabulous city.
Leaning to one side, I observed the car’s system languidly lit with the time '12:37'. Past midnight back home meant not a single person on the streets, lights closed and curtains drawn.
Looking towards my left, after midnight here appeared to be the most active hours. I mean I wouldn't know, but I can imagine.
Rows upon rows of lavish hotels and casinos passed by the car as it drove down the busy street laden with party-goers with barely-there clothing. The buildings all appeared made out of gold, illuminated by the glow of the triple power lights surrounding them.
Clusters of people walked on the side-walk, most of them with glasses of various colored liquid in hand. Their faces lit with tipsy smiles, lanky limbs supported by their friends.
I would appear the alcohol was loosening these friends up. For me, drinking meant getting ready to face the enormous debacle my father was going to drop on me. Looking at another group of friends, who appeared around my age, standing around a person who chugged a full bottle of wine and cheering him on, it made me realize, like many times before, how much I had always missed.
Sighing, I turned my attention, yet again, towards the majestic buildings passing by us. What intrigued me more than the astounding structures were the groups of people outside each casino or club we crossed. Women dressed in skimpy clothing, men standing with a charm, all clustered together outside the entrance of the buildings.
Before I had a chance to come up with the reason behind this scene, I noticed a shiny Bentley pulling up to the entrance of what appeared to be a five-star hotel, as our car slowed a little for pedestrians. A short man, dressed in a suit, chubby looking, in his 40's it appeared, emerged from the back door of the vehicle, assisted by the hotel staff. He languidly skimmed his gaze at the bunch of people stood to one side of the entrance, seeming a little more excited on the arrival of the car.
I watched as he motioned for one of the staff member towards him, whispering something in his ear before making the short trek towards the lavish hotel lobby.
The concierge, with a firm gaze, walked towards the crowd of people watching his every move, and motioned for two girls dressed in themed dresses of red and gold, to simply follow him. And they did with gleeful giggles.
The car jerked forward as I watched the two young girls wearing excited smiles, hand in hand follow the concierge to the hotel. I didn't have the chance to observe them further to determine any details, but what I could tell was that they were too young to be playing this game.
Was this what it meant to have fun in the terms of society? Cheap, meaningless sex in exchange for moments of pleasure? Perhaps a few days of wealthy escorts and lavish hotels? So, this is what Las Vegas was famous for. After only moments in the city, I can see the appeal. If it wasn't for my final destination here in Las Vegas, I would be as excited as all those around me.
I might have never divulged in any similar activity, but I did have ears, and people loved to explain the shenanigans they got up to when in Las Vegas. All these people I saw everywhere in this city, they were all normal human beings. With normal lives and normal homes.
The only reason they stood outside the buildings allocated for the wealthy, was the chance of fun. Maybe they would catch the eye of someone who ruled the tables of poker games within the casinos. Maybe they would be lead down to a fancy suite for a night of no strings attached sex. Maybe the next day they could serve as an arm candy to another fancy event.
Or maybe it might never happen. In that case, the cheap packs of beer, the dusty hotel rooms, cigarette smoke and the promise of freedom that came with every night in Vegas was enough.
Once I had managed to make a friend in school. Anna. Anna Walsh. Always called me Rosaline instead of Rose. She didn't have any friends at that time, nor did I. Until after her trip to Vegas and I was left forgotten from her new entourage.
She had relayed the tale to me. How she was just hanging out with her friends in front of a casino. How a staff member approached her and asked her to follow him. How, despite not being of age, she had.
Her story had many versions made up by the audience within the school, with the night ending with numerous alterations. As Anna herself had told me, she was lead to a suite on the top floor, where she had been instructed to wait. And she did. Until a tall figure emerged through the door, spared not so much as a glance towards her, and headed straight to the bar within the confines of the suite, helping himself to a generous glass of whisky.
She had used many questionable words to define him, all circulating the general agenda of 'good-looking', just with less class and more vulgarity.
Anna had been generous enough, perhaps accurately labeling, talkative enough to describe the details of Mr. 'Hot chocolate sundae on a balmy beach' with precise details. Down to how he had loosened his tie and laid himself on the couch, spending the rest of the night watching reruns of 'Friends' until Anna fell asleep in a dining table chair and woke up to an empty suite.
But I knew most of those escorted were not as lucky as Anna had been.
The bulky body of the car experienced a sudden jolt, forcing me out of my thoughts. Peeking out of the tinted window, I discovered we had stopped in front of, by far, the most extraordinary building I had seen in the city.
Golden accentuated details added to the beauty of the timeless masterpiece that was the building, entitled 'The Riche Estate's' at the top. A spiraled, moonlight blue shaded 'Casino' added towards the bottom. The main entrance was slightly raised from the ground, adding to the glamour of the structure. The wide doors experienced masses of people entering or leaving the building. A large number of on-hand staff could be seen around the area. And this was just the outside of the building.
The most astonishing part, in my opinion, was the number of people gathered towards one side of the entrance. Instead of the small groups I had seen near the past buildings, the area was crowded by people, all dressed fashionably and smiling charmingly at anyone that passed them.
There were so many of them that actual bodyguards stood in front of them, similar to the ones I had encountered, not allowing them to trespass their designated area, highlighted by the security dividers used.
Before I could further investigate my surroundings, the door near me was yanked open by the bodyguard who had sat next to me the whole trip, waiting for me to step out of the safe haven that was the car.
As I made my departure from the vehicle, hundreds of pairs of eyes that belonged to the line of people waiting to be escorted within the casino shifted their attention towards me.
Why were so many people wanting to go inside this one casino?
The bodyguard came in front of me, gesturing me to follow him, as the other took his position at my back. They had not been physical until now, for which I was very grateful.
I followed the guard towards the majestic structure, ignoring the sharp gazes I felt boring holes in my back.
What had my father dragged me into?
As we entered through the double doors of the casino, my eyes increased in circumference.
If I thought the outside was lavish, then surely, I had a very warped up definition of lavish.
A vast lobby, many floors high welcomed us into the building, golden details bringing life to the gigantic entrance. Deep red, intricately woven carpets added to the beauty of the scene, along with the pillars in shapes of various carvings, holding the high roof in place. The reception itself, covering an area of what I could only describe as, east to west, as an army of staff served the loads of people in the casino.
What surprised me most was the sheer number of people roaming the place. Staff, casino lovers, waiters or people just here for the bar, the lobby area was filled with thousands of human beings going from one place to another, each with a purpose.
The building reeked of wealth.
Not wanting to lose myself in the crowd of on-goers, I stuck close to the guards, simply walking towards the area to the right of the shiny reception. I could only take in so many details, as we continued on our trek of what I could only imagine to be my execution ground.
If my father had monetary issues with anyone affiliated with this building, I think it would be safe to say my time was over.
The guard turned a corner, giving way to dozens of golden shaded elevators, which I could only judge to be for special personnel only, as the number of inhabitants of the casino had trickled down remarkably in this part of the building. He moved forward and pressed the button of the second elevator to the left.
Soon the elevator dinged its arrival, and the guard in front of me entered the square compartment.
I, with a deep breath, followed him towards my demise.
He pressed the last button towards the top of the list in the elevator, as the machine quickly started its journey. 53. I had never been this high off the ground in my life.
Shifting my gaze a little, I saw my reflection in the glass which formed the interior of the elevator. Considering the otherworldly beauty I had seen today, I looked absolutely basic, dressed in tight black jeans and a long sleeved dark shirt, black boots to accommodate the combo. My eyes shifted towards my face, taking in the tell-tale signs of how my life had passed.
Midnight dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, something I had inherited from my father. Blue, soulful eyes, my mother's, and just like hers, they reeked of the injustices I had encountered in my life, the softness most people had, now gone. My face was perhaps always in a poker state, eyes helping the situation of whenever I looked at someone, appearing so uninterested and annoyed that they never approached me.
The irritated eyes and blank face had helped me a lot throughout my adventures in life.
Soon, too soon for my liking, the doors dinged open, giving way to a, surprise-surprise, regally designed area. The guard walked to huge double oak door towards the right, twisting one open by the doorknob.
He stepped aside, looking at me pointedly. We had reached our destination. They were dropping me here.
With a thudding heart, but confident steps, I entered the doors and heard them close behind me, as I stood watching what was in front of me.
An elaborately styled suite, heavily laden with expensive material, but this area had a subtle sense of comfort to it, like it served as someone's home, unlike the plastic feel of the remaining areas of the casino. In front of me was what appeared to be a living room, with a huge TV that sat in the middle of the maroon couches, chaise lounge included in the ensemble. The entire room was a perfect mixture of golden, maroon and black.
I stood there for some time, expecting a bullet to come out any moment and finish me, but when it didn't, I hesitantly walked towards the couch present in front of the TV, gently sitting on the plush material, feeling the softness beneath my calloused fingertips.
I softly reached for the remote sitting on the table in front of me, turning on the TV with ease. Obviously, I was expected to wait, and I wasn’t going to stand in a corner until then.
Slowly, the tension eased from my body, as I relaxed into the soft pillows of the couch, scrolling through channels. Back home, I never had the time nor the privilege to watch television, so I had nothing in mind as I stumbled upon an action film being played on some channel. 'Skyfall', it was entitled, and I had seen the posters of the film in the local theater when I had worked there for a few months.
Settling more in the couch, I turned my attention towards the show, trying to follow the storyline as best as I could. I noticed a bar on one side of the room, housing numerous glass bottles of various liquors.
Slowly I stood up, walking towards a cabinet and grabbing a glass, placing ice from the small fridge in it. Initially, I thought I might have enough so people might not notice any missing, but as I grabbed the filled whiskey bottle, I filled my glass to the brim.
I was going to die anyway, how was a glass of alcohol going to make it worse.
I grabbed the glass, sipping on it lightly and walking towards the couch, settling on it and focusing back towards the film.
Maybe I was too engrossed in the story being played, or the whiskey had done its roll of numbing my senses, because I didn’t hear any footsteps leading to the door, I didn’t show any reaction as it was slammed open, and a rather large body entered the room. I sipped more on the drink, eyes still trained on the screen, but obviously the person had already noticed me lounging on the couch, feet propped on the table, a whiskey glass in hand, acting like I was the owner of this place. The person stood in place in front of the door, gaping at me.
Slowly and languidly, I turned my head towards the intruder, discovering a tall, sharply dressed man, staring at me intensely. Dark hair messy, like someone had tugged on it anxiously, stubble coated cheeks, and a confused look on his face.
Alcohol does funny things to a person, because, unlike Rosaline Flemming's true nature, I raised my half empty glass and simply said, 'Wanna join?'