The next morning she woke up to the sound of her mother banging around the house, and she rolled onto her side and rubbed her head. It was pounding and she felt the familiar pang of a hangover working its way in.
For a split second, she almost forgot what happened the previous night. It was just like any other morning, waking up and wishing she had saved enough to get the hell out of that house, but then all of a sudden, reality hit.
Marv had thrown her out of the club.
She’d been fired.
Lexi pulled the cover up over her head and wiped her eyes. There was no stopping the tears this time, and she realized that the dull thud rumbling through her skull wasn’t just from the fact she had had one drink too many, but also because of what Marv had done to her.
That was assault, she thought as she delicately touched her scalp. And the tears flowed freely.
Lexi had always been the type of girl to want to make her own way in life, and she had so far managed to get by. But when she had gone to work at Red X, something changed inside of her. She had become desensitized to so many things that it was shocking how upset she was about being fired and the way Marv had done it. It was as if he had flicked a switch in her, and her sensitivity was rising to the surface.
“Lexi!” her mom called up the stairs. “Want breakfast?”
She couldn’t even face calling back, and she pulled the pillow around her ears. Her mom would get the message soon enough.
When it hit noon, she finally crawled out of bed and went over to her mirror. In her drunken haze she had flopped down to sleep without removing her make-up and her mascara had now snaked down her cheeks like a blotchy, black river.
“I must have really been crying,” she said aloud.
She picked up a cotton swab and some remover and swept it gently over her eyes. Within a few moments, she resembled herself again and felt so much better. She grabbed her towel from the edge of the bed and went out into the hall. By the sounds of things, her mom’s boyfriend wasn’t home so she relaxed and made her way to the bathroom.
With the shower on full force, she let the room steam up and let the moisture work into her pores. She had so many morning rituals, but this was by far her favorite. She could sit there for hours and just breathe in the steam and let it soften her skin. It always felt as if she was getting rid of the grime from the club and starting anew.
She climbed into the shower and washed her hair quickly. She was going to have one hell of a day if she were going to convince Marv to give her the job back. The last thing she wanted to do was beg, but she was hoping by the time she got there he would be calmed down and she could use the excuse of going to pick up her things as a way in.
She applied just enough make-up for it not to look forced and dressed sensibly in a pair of tight jeans and a cut off t-shirt. The day was warm and the sun was high overhead as she walked down the side of the highway. Slate Springs was a small town that many would consider just a through-road, but there was so much happening there underneath the surface that it had kept her there for most of her life.
She couldn’t remember the day she realized that the constant buzz of truckers and people passing through wasn’t completely normal. But slowly things had worked their way to the surface and Lexi had started to catch on. Slate Springs was a town built on illegal affairs, and although Lexi had always done her best to stay away from it, she had the feeling that things were about to change…
As she approached Red X, the neon lights on the pair of dangly heel-clad legs still flashed red from the night before. Marv must have gotten so drunk that he forgot to close down properly. Lexi could see his car outside and those of a couple of the other girls, and as she made her way to the back door, she just hoped she’d make it inside before he came out and saw her first.
She pushed open the back door and walked quickly down the darkened hallway. She could hear the dull drawl of voices working their way back from the club room as she dipped swiftly into the dressing room.
It was empty, but she recognized Candy’s purse and the scent of her perfume. Maybe she had pulled an all-nighter and stayed there, maybe it had gotten busier, or maybe she had just come in to pick something up like Lexi had, but she all she knew was that she was glad it was her there and not one of the bitchier girls.
She scooped up the clothes she had left and cast her mind back to how Marv had thrown her out into the street wearing only her underwear. She was lucky she had managed to run home fast and no cars had passed her on the way. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to explain what had happened without incurring Marv’s wrath once more. When she had found all of her things and shoved them into her bag, she glanced quickly around the changing room. Even though she knew she was going to plead for her job, she had the distinct feeling that this would be the last time she’d be there.
She opened the door and went back out into the dark hallway. She could hear Candy’s laugh from the bar, and she heard Marv shouting something about restocking the refrigerators.
She cautiously creeped to the door of the club room and peered through the small glass window. Marv was leaning against the bar and Candy was behind it. He was ordering her around and obviously loving every second. Candy tried to laugh and make light of what was happening, but Lexi could see she was clearly exhausted. He must have had her there working all night.
Lexi pushed the door open and slowly stepped inside. It took Marv a moment to notice her, but when he did, his face went from amusement to disbelief before settling on anger.
“What’s the matter?” he spat. “Come back for more?”
“Marv,” Lexi stepped forward. “I don’t know what happened last night, but I don’t want to lose my job here, okay?”
Candy was looking at her hopefully, dark rings of tiredness engulfing her eyes.
“Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you started acting like such a brat,” he said as he threw his inventory down on the counter. “Walking around in here like you own the place, huh?” he laughed.
“No,” she shook her head. “It wasn’t that at all. It’s just, I’m having some…some personal problems.”
“Well, your personal problems aren’t my problems. Leave them at the door, sweetheart,” he sneered.
Lexi looked from him to Candy and then at the bag at her feet.
“Well, I just came to get my things, anyway,” she said. “And to ask if I’m still working tonight…”
Marv ignored her for a moment, and she thought that he was thinking it over before she noticed the big vein on his forehead throbbing with rage. She took a step backwards before he turned on her and lunged forward. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her towards the front door. Lexi dragged her heels and tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong.
As he yanked open the doors, the sunlight flooded the darkened room, and it was so bright, it blinded her. Cars and trucks were thundering down the highway, and as Marv hurled her onto the dusty ground for the second time in twenty-four hours, he kicked her lightly in the calf.
“Are you fucking stupid?” he spat. “I told you the score last night.”
Lexi shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him with determination in her eyes.
“Fuck off, Lexi,” he said. “You don’t want to play by my rules, then there’s no job for you here.”
“You can’t do that!” she said as she got to her feet.
“Yes,” Marv turned on his heel and laughed. “Yes, I think you’ll find that I can.”
He disappeared inside for a moment before coming back out into the light and throwing her bag at her. She caught it against her stomach and felt the wind knock out of her.
“See ya, Lexi,” he said with an evil laugh as he pulled the doors to Red X shut.
She stood there dumbfounded for a moment before she got angry. And when the anger came, it burst out of her like a demon. She hurled herself at the doors and thumped her fists on it.
“I’m going to make you pay for this, Marv!” she screamed. “You just wait!”
There was no sound from inside, and a truck honked its horn as it passed her by. She picked up a rock and hurled it at the flashing red legs before making her way back down the highway. Who knew where she would go…
She couldn’t face another day at home, and now she didn’t have Red X to escape to. She was going to have to think outside the box and be resourceful. She was going to have to look for something she had never looked for before, and although the day was stretching out blankly before her, she had a pretty good idea of where she could go…