“Are you sure that you want to do this? It’s so risky.” Anna said, she smoothed the front of her already perfect pale pink sweater. She followed Hailey to the door and tugged at straps of Hailey’s drawstring bag.
Hailey brushed her hair back and slipped a headband over her golden strands. “Yes, I’m sure. Plus, it’ll be worth it, it’s not like I’m being forced to do it.” Hailey bit down on her lip and leaned against the doorframe. She turned her head and met eyes with Becca, who had been staring intently since Hailey had brought her things downstairs.
Becca stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Hailey’s body. She squeezed her as tight as she could and allowed her chin to rest in the crook of Hailey’s neck. “Please, be careful. Don’t get yourself killed for Rocco.”
Hailey patted Becca on the back and said, “I’m not,” she turned her head to Anna and said, “It’s going to be fine, I promise.” Hailey leaned forward and planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek. She waved goodbye to Eric, who was reclined in a chair across the room. Hailey pulled Rocco’s keys out of her pocket and pointed towards the bike that waited for her outside.
“Alright. I’m going to go now,” she pulled the door open and ignored the poorly concealed sob that fell past her mother’s lips. Hailey stepped onto the stoop, and jogged down the steps. She hopped onto the bike, and twisted the key into the ignition.
Anna leaned against the doorway and raised her hand. Becca hovered in the doorway as well. She waved to Hailey and said, “Goodbye, remember, I’ll kill you if you get yourself killed!”
Hailey grinned and swung her arm in the air to wave goodbye. The engine of Rocco’s bike came to life, the roar of the machine rang out from underneath her. She wrapped her hands around the throttle and took off down the street.
The wind whipped her hair around her face and cheeks, and she narrowed her eyes as she weaved through the crowded New York streets. Everything is going to be fine. Even if it’s not fine right away. She imagined how horrifying it would be to arrive back in Chicago only to have Rocco reject her for having left in the first place. Hailey pushed her what ifs and maybes to the back of her mind, and made room for herself to focus on the road that lied in front of her.
***
It was almost fourteen hours later when Hailey drove through the checkpoint that led into Chicago. Her thighs ached, her body had not been broken in the way that most rider’s bodies had. Hailey’s eyes darted from left to right as she moved throughout the city, she scanned the streets for any signs of riders.
It was another half hour before she pulled up in front of the apartment building that Rocco lived in. She sighed, and took her hands off of the throttle. She rolled her hands and craned her neck up towards the building. It looks so much bigger than it did before. Hailey slid off of the bike. She pressed her hand inside of her thighs, wincing at the soreness of the muscle. She slid the key ring onto one of her fingers and moved up the steps.
Hailey nodded at a man that breezed out of the building, and made quick work of jogging up the steps to Rocco’s apartment. She stopped just outside of the door and leaned forward. She pressed her ear against the door and sighed. What am I going to do if I hear him moving around in there? What will he do? Hailey took a deep breath and slipped they key into the lock. She turned it to the right and pushed the door open.
The door fell open and Hailey stepped inside. She was enveloped by the heavy darkness. Hailey raised her hand and threw her palm against the wall. A dim light came on in the center of the room. She closed the door behind her.
“Rocco?” Hailey stepped into the middle of the apartment where Becca had been sitting only a week or so before. She moved into the kitchen and found nothing but a few stray crumbs, an empty plate, and a half full glass of water that flies had begun to rest on the edge of. Hailey wrinkled her nose and poured the glass into the sink, and gently set the glass on the bottom of the sink.
“Rocco?” She repeated. She pushed the bedroom door open but the only sight to see was Rocco’s unmade bed. Hailey shut the door behind her and moved into the bathroom beside her. She flicked the light switch on and set her hand on top of the sink.
He’s probably not coming back for a bit. I could rest here for tonight and figure out a game plan for tomorrow. Maybe I can get Clyde to meet me somewhere so that we can go over my options. Hailey pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. She shrugged off the straps of her drawstring bag, and allowed the bag to fall to the floor. Hailey stripped and stepped into the shower.
The building creaked and groaned as the wind whistled outside. Hailey leaned against the wall and twisted the knob on the shower. The water pelted her skin and her muscles loosened under the water. Water slid off of her hair and down her shoulders. She shut her eyes and tilted her head back.
Hailey winced as the building groaned once again. She opened one eye and wrapped her fingers around the edge of the shower curtain. Hailey peered into the empty bathroom, but all she found were pieces of her scattered clothes. She slipped back into the shower and stared straight ahead. Her fingers and toes were reduced to pruny versions of themselves by the time that she leaned forward and twisted the knob on the faucet. Hailey sighed and pulled the curtain back, she knelt down and retrieved a fresh pair of underwear and jeans from her drawstring bag. She pulled a thin, black and grey spaghetti strap tank top over her head.
Hailey gathered her discarded clothes, and pulled the door open. The floors creaked and she lowered her eyes to the ground. Is this building over a hundred years old? It sounds like the wind could blow it down at any moment. Hailey sighed and stepped into the hallway, her foot hovered in the air as another creak rang throughout the air.
You’re being—
A cough echoed throughout the room and Hailey froze in place. She turned her head and her eyes connected with a pair of dark eyes. The room swirled around her. She blinked hard, and held her hand to her chest.
Meish grinned and crossed his arms. “I came here expecting to find Rocco hiding out like a little bitch, but I found his bitch instead.”
Hailey’s feet fumbled, and she fell backwards against the wall. Her fingertips pressed into the wall and she said, “How the hell did you get in here?”
“Do you honestly think that I don’t know Rocco well enough to know where his spare key is?” Meish stepped forward and Hailey shrank back against the wall. She held her hand out in front of her and said, “I don’t know where Rocco or Becca is, Meish.”
Meish stepped forward until his body was pressed against Hailey’s. He smirked and framed his hands on either side of her body. “I don’t need them anymore. I’ve got my bargaining chip back with me, and I’m not letting you escape this time.”
“Meish, I can’t do anything about what’s going on between you and my father-”
“This isn’t about your father,” Meish snapped, “It’s about Rocco having the audacity to think that he’s calling the shots. I wish that he knew what it would cost him.” He dragged his fingers underneath Hailey’s jaw, and a shiver of disgust shot through her body.
Hailey’s chest heaved. Go for the jaw, or do I go for his groin? Hailey wrinkled her nose in disgust as she ran her eyes over Meish’s body. She lifted her knee and Meish’s eyes dropped down to her leg.
He snorted and threw his strength against her. Meish wrapped his arms around the middle of Hailey’s waist and lifted her in the air. A blood curdling scream was ripped from Hailey and she threw her fists against his massive back. “No! Let me go, let me go!”
Meish turned on his heel and head towards the door. Hailey dug her nails inside the thick material of Meish’s jacket, and her legs flailed about. She prepared her throat for another long scream.
Meish flung the door open and Hailey curled her fingers around the doorframe. Her eyes widened as she slipped her fingers into the space between the door and the wall. She yelped and said, “Someone! Help, please!”
Meish roughly tugged on her lower body and when her fingers didn’t slip from in between the door, he ordered, “Let it go or lose the fingers because this door has to close.”
Tears ran down Hailey’s bright red cheeks and she shook her head as she attempted to dig her nails into the wood of the door. Meish grunted and gave a final tug. Hailey’s fingers were roughly pulled from the door, and she screamed bloody murder as Meish jogged through the stairwell.
Once he made it to the bottom floor, Hailey’s vision had blurred. The colors of the tiles that lined the entrance way swam in front of her eyes, her stomach lurched and swirled as Meish roughly readjusted his grip on her lower abdomen.
She assumed that the doors were wide open when a breeze hit the back of her legs.
“Meish, is that Rocco’s Old Lady?”
Meish cackled, “I wasn’t thinking of her as Rocco;s Old Lady, I was thinking that she was a major pain in my ass.”
The sidewalk became visible for a moment. Hailey’s ears caught the sound of a door unlocking, and in a flash, she was right side up again. Hailey fell back onto the cushions of a deep black sedan. Her hands flew out against the car, and she gripped the window and the seat in front of her.
Meish swatted her legs out of the way and leaned forward. He barked instructions at the rider that relaxed in the front seat, “Take twenty third street, don’t get caught by any of the street cams. If this little bitch escapes again, we can’t take any chances with getting caught.”
Hailey pulled her knees to her chest and placed her hands on either side of her face. She buried her face into her knees. No, not again. I can’t get caught this time.
The rider took sharp turns around corners, Hailey’s back was tossed against the door as he sailed through yellow lights and intersections. Within ten minutes, the car came to a stop outside of the club. Meish rolled down his window and stuck his head out. He turned his head from left to right then turned to the driver, “Go! I’ll get her inside, get the door unlocked.”
The rider jumped out of the front seat, he ran around the front of the car. As he passed the nose of the car, Hailey wished that she’d been in the driver’s seat so that she could ram the car into his kneecaps.
Then I’d turn around and finish off Meish. Hailey imagined the satisfying crunch that his bones would make as the wheels of the car backed over him again and again. Hailey grimaced as Meish tugged her arm and dragged her out of the backseat. Meish hurried inside and signaled to the rider.
“Shut the door!”
The doors shut behind them and Hailey’s eyes flew around the room. The work day had been long over for Clyde, and most of the riders had opted to do their partying outside of the club for the night. Hailey raised her eyes and felt her heart sink into her stomach upon seeing the nasty grin that was spreading across Meish’s thin lips.
Meish grinned and said, “You had it a little too good last time, bitch. If Rocco doesn’t come looking for you, I’d hate to see what happens to you.” He snapped his hand around her arm and tugged her towards a narrow hallway. The bulbs flickered and popped as they moved throughout it, and Meish stopped just outside of the door.
Hailey’s eyes widened, her mind replayed the day that Rocco had led her to this door and stuffed her inside. She turned her head towards Meish and said, “W-What are you going to do to me?” She wished that her body was cooperating with her, and that she could convincingly wear a mask of fearlessness.
Meish yanked the door open, and all but threw her inside. Hailey collided with a hard, steel pole, and whipped her head around. Her chest heaved and she said, “What are you doing? Where are you going?!”
Her questions were tossed against the door as Meish slammed it shut. Hailey’s eyes whipped around the room, and a dark feeling began to work it’s way through her chest and into her belly. Her hand flew to her stomach as her eyes landed on the narrow window that she remembered seeing before when Rocco tossed her in her.
Hailey walked over to the other side of the room and pressed her back against the wall. She slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her eyes rested on the door in front of her, she could barely make out the sound of footsteps on the opposite side of the door. She angrily swiped at the tears on her cheek. “I’m not going to fucking stay in here, not this time.” She dug her fingernails into the sides of her arms and her body swayed from side to side.
Hailey lowered her eyes to the floor, loose nails and a thin layer of filth laid on the floor. Not this time.