Authors: Treasure Hernandez
Working Girls (8 page)
Chapter Ten
“Y
ou have to learn how to cope, baby, and learn fast, before you get seriously hurt.”
ou have to learn how to cope, baby, and learn fast, before you get seriously hurt.”
Tasha's words echoed through Halleigh's head as she remembered their previous conversation. Halleigh had definitely found a way to cope, but now she was stepping her game up a notch, hoping for an even greater escape than her casual cocaine use had been providing her.
Halleigh tied the leather belt around her arm and found a large vein. She shook eagerly as she inserted the heroin needle into her arm. As she pumped the syringe into her system, her head fell back in satisfaction. All the ills of the world escaped her thoughts as she let the drug work its magic. Her heartbeat began to speed up, and all her worries went out of her body as she indulged in the most addictive drug ever created.
“Damn, Li'l Rina. You betta take it easy,” Scratch said as he impatiently waited for his turn.
“Shut up, Scratch!” Halleigh shot back. “You said that it would make all the pain go away. Well, that's all I want to do.” She passed the dirty needle back to Scratch.
Scratch didn't want to take it, but the urge was too strong. He felt guilty for turning Halleigh on to the poison, but she had come to him desperately seeking an escape from the world she was living in. And next to death itself, Scratch didn't know a better escape than heroin.
“This ain't for you, Li'l Rina. This ain't for you,” he said as he filled the needle to the top and joined in on the party. Scratch looked at the beautiful young girl, and his conscience began to eat at him.
When Halleigh came to him crying about her life and how she had ended up living the life she was now living, just like Scratch had promised, he provided a listening ear. After Halleigh told him of her latest fiasco with Manolo, Scratch convinced Halleigh that drugs would help her through the pain. But he did it for his own selfish reasons. He needed a hit badly, and his listening ears only heard one thing while Halleigh spoke: an opportunity for himself. He knew that if he talked Halleigh into trying the drug, he could manage to get a free high out of the deal as well. But looking at Halleigh right now, none if it seemed worth it to Scratch anymore.
When Scratch looked at Halleigh, it was like déjà vu. He remembered how, years ago, it was her mother he had turned out on the drug. Unfortunately for Halleigh, history was repeating itself in a cruel way.
“You know you're too good for this life. You let Manolo go all upside yo' head, knowing that fool ain't no good. You don't need to be here with an ol' man like me. I already fucked up my life; I can't let you fuck up yours.” Scratch tossed the needle down the alley. He was overcome with guilt and knew he wasn't right for feeding her poison.
“Scratch! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Halleigh yelled. Her eyes scanned the alley for the needle, and she quickly jumped up to fetch it. “I paid for that shit, and you throw it.” Halleigh tried to scramble away, but Scratch grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. His eyes were watering, and Halleigh had never seen anyone look so sincere.
“Look, baby girl, this ain't for you. Look at yourself,” Scratch told her. “I know I told you this shit would make you feel better, but I lied. Look at you. You're only worse.”
“But I do feel better,” Halleigh tried to convince Scratch. “It makes me better.”
Scratch just looked at the monster he had created in Halleigh and shook his head. “I feel so bad for introducing this to you.” Scratch dropped his head in shame. “Don't make the same mistakes that your momma made. She let life get the best of her, and now look at her. Get away from all this. Get away from me. Ol' Scratch ain't gon' do you no good. Scratch do more harm than good to anybody that comes into his life, it seems.”
Scratch's words hit home for Halleigh, and it felt like her high left as the words came out of his mouth. The mention of her mother made Halleigh listen to what Scratch was saying. Was she like her mother? Was she letting this thing get to her and take over?
Halleigh was reminded of all the times she had witnessed her mother high. All the times her mother went out boosting clothes to keep up her habit. All the times her mother never came home after consecutive days of getting high. All the times her mother hadn't been there for her. And most importantly, the time her mother chose drugs over protecting her own daughter.
Scratch's words were, indeed, hitting Halleigh hard in the heart. She usually hated when he called her Li'l Rina because as far as she was concerned, she was nothing like her mother. But today she felt closer to her mother than she had in a long time. For the first time ever, she understood why her mother couldn't beat her addiction.
It took all Halleigh's might not to run and get the needle that Scratch had tossed, but she took a step back and looked at herself. What the fuck am I doing? Am I an addict now? I can't help it, though. It feels so good. I just don't want to feel bad anymore. I just want to feel good.
“I have to go, Scratch. Time to get back to work,” Halleigh said as she left Scratch alone in the alley. She hated her new habit, but it helped her get through the day. When she was high, it made the tricks she turned seem like a blur. She liked it better that way. The demons that haunted her 19-year-old soul were enough to drive a sane person crazy. Halleigh had fallen at the hands of the game.
Scratch, feeling lower than ever, watched as Halleigh walked off. It hurt him to his heart that he'd turned another woman onto his preferred drug. He was responsible for starting Halleigh's mother on drugs. Although he hadn't seen Sharina in ages, it still bothered him to this day that he had ruined her life. Scratch watched Halleigh until she faded away, and then ran over to retrieve the heroin needle he had thrown.
“I'm sorry, Halleigh,” he whispered.
Chapter Eleven
A
s Halleigh headed back to the hotel, she tried to conjure up an excuse for being gone so long. She couldn't tell Tasha that she was out doing drugs with Scratch in an alley, so her mind raced, trying to figure out a legit story. Manolo kept close tabs on his girls, and if the money didn't add up at the end of the night, there would definitely be a price to pay. As far as Halleigh was concerned, she had paid her share to the piper, and there was no way she was going to set herself up to endure any more torment at the hands of Manolo.
s Halleigh headed back to the hotel, she tried to conjure up an excuse for being gone so long. She couldn't tell Tasha that she was out doing drugs with Scratch in an alley, so her mind raced, trying to figure out a legit story. Manolo kept close tabs on his girls, and if the money didn't add up at the end of the night, there would definitely be a price to pay. As far as Halleigh was concerned, she had paid her share to the piper, and there was no way she was going to set herself up to endure any more torment at the hands of Manolo.
What the fuck can I tell her? I've been gone for hours and shot all of my money up in my veins? I don't know . . .
Before Halleigh could finish her thought, she got an idea. She turned around and headed back to the alley. When she got there, she found Scratch pushing the last of the drug from the needle into his veins. “Want to make some money?” she asked Scratch.
“Do pigs oink?” was his reply. “Hell yeah, Scratch wanna make some money!”
“I got an idea. Follow me,” Halleigh said as she led him back to her hotel.
Halleigh rested her hand on the telephone, making sure that Scratch understood what to say. “Make sure you repeat it just like I told you,” Halleigh instructed.
“Scratch got it, baby girl.”
“Tell her that you've got a thousand dollars for a bitch with a mean head job and to meet you in the lobby,” she said, coaching Scratch.
“Cool.”
Halleigh picked up the phone and dialed Mimi's room number and quickly handed the phone to Scratch.
Scratch cleared his throat and waited to hear a voice on the other end. After the fifth ring, Scratch heard a woman's voice answer the phone. “Looky here, baby girl,” Scratch started. “I'm looking for a bitch with a mean head game. Dig this: I got a thousand dollars for whoever can show me a good time.”
Halleigh stood there watching intensely as Scratch tried to sound as smooth as he could in his short conversation with Mimi. Halleigh could tell that back in the day, Scratch definitely had game. And she could tell by the look on his face that he enjoyed pretending to go back in time and play the role.
After he finished his conversation, Scratch hung up the phone and licked his lips, feeling good about what he had just done. He thought he still had game, and in his mind, his slick talking confirmed it.
“What did she say?” Halleigh asked impatiently as she threw her hands up.
“You know ol' Scratch is nice with the ladies. She was hanging off my ever yâ”
“What the fuck did she say? Damn!” Halleigh snapped, cutting Scratch off, hoping that he would just get to the point.
“She said she'll meet me in the lobby in five minutes,” Scratch said smoothly. He continued to smile and rub his hands together like a 1980s pimp.
“Good.” Halleigh ran to her peephole and waited to see Mimi walk past, on her way down to the lobby. She knew that Mimi secretly took calls to do side jobs without Tasha knowing. She figured that Mimi was too greedy to let the opportunity pass to make that much money.
Right on cue, Mimi rushed down to the lobby. Halleigh knew she didn't have a lot of time before Mimi would get tired of waiting for the john that would never come, and she would eventually return back to her room.
Halleigh rushed to the door that joined their two rooms and entered Mimi's room. She searched Mimi's drawers, underneath the bed, and her purse, looking for Mimi's money.
“Damn!” Halleigh yelled after a few minutes of searching and not coming up with anything. Her eyes nervously scanned the room, trying to figure out just where Mimi's stash could be. She knew Mimi hadn't taken it with her. The girls knew better than to carry their money on them. More than a few johns had tried to rob their tricks before, and Mimi was in the game long enough to know better.
Halleigh picked up the mattress and flipped it over and still found nothing. Damn! I know she didn't take her money with her, this time of all times, she thought as the realization sunk in. Her plan had failed. She would have no money to turn over to show that she'd been working all day. She would have to suffer the consequences with Manolo. Hopefully it wouldn't be more time in the basement.
Just as Halleigh turned to exit the hotel room, she saw a bulky Newport cigarette box on the dresser and thought,
Bingo!
Halleigh rushed over to the box and opened it up, feeling like she'd hit a Vegas jackpot. There was Mimi's money, rolled up and stuffed into that cigarette box.
Bingo!
Halleigh rushed over to the box and opened it up, feeling like she'd hit a Vegas jackpot. There was Mimi's money, rolled up and stuffed into that cigarette box.
“Ooh, Mimi, girl, I told you smoking was bad for your health.” Halleigh shrugged as she scooped the box up from the dresser and rushed out of Mimi's hotel room and back over to her own, through the same connecting door she had entered.
There, Scratch was waiting, hoping that Halleigh's scheme had worked, so that at least this time he wouldn't have to worry about where the money for his next hit was coming from.
Halleigh closed the door and walked over to Scratch. “Here!” she said as she pulled the money out of the box and handed him two balled-up twenties.
Scratch's face lit up. He hadn't had that much money all at one time in weeks. “Good lookin' out, Li'l Rina,” Scratch said, holding one of the twenties up in the air, examining it and then plucking it.
Halleigh rushed Scratch out of the room so that she could make her way over to Tasha's room to show her just how much money she had made since she'd been gone. She told him, “Look, I'll see you later.”
When Halleigh got to Tasha's door, she flattened down her clothes and relaxed her shoulders. She then held her hand up to the door. Just before she knocked, a streak of guilt went through her like lightning. How can I do this to Mimi? she asked herself. Halleigh knew what was going to happen to Mimi if she didn't have any money to show for her time today. Knowing darn well that Tasha had tabbed all of her tricks, Manolo wasn't going to accept any excuses as to why she didn't have his money. But then Halleigh thought about another day in that basement. Next she thought about how Mimi, knowing she was the one to blame, didn't have any problem letting her ass stay down there to be tortured.
I didn't see her ass stepping up to my rescue
. Halleigh knocked on Tasha's door.
I didn't see her ass stepping up to my rescue
. Halleigh knocked on Tasha's door.
Tasha yelled, “Come in.”
As Halleigh walked in, another one of Manolo's girls was heading out. There were about five other girls in the room, including Tasha. Halleigh brushed past the girl who was leaving and walked over to Tasha. She was sitting at the table counting money.
“You in trouble,” Tasha said in a low voice, never even taking her eyes off the money she was counting. “I told you about disappearing.” She pushed her bangs off her forehead and allowed them to blend in with her layered hair.
Before Halleigh could respond, Manolo came out of the bathroom, making Halleigh's heart skip a beat. She didn't expect him to come all the way across town to check up on the girls. He seldom came to the regular hotel where the girls turned all their tricks.
“Where the fuck have you been all day?” Manolo spat. “Tasha said you didn't check in or nothing.” He walked over to Halleigh, chest puffed up in an intimidating manner.
Halleigh pulled Mimi's earnings out of her pocket and said, “I've been working. I went to the store to get something to eat and I got approached by a couple of johns. I made the money right then and there because they weren't trying to come back to the hotel.”
“That's my bitch,” Manolo said proudly. Maybe she's finally coming around, he thought.
He looked down at his watch. “It's time for me to wrap it up for the night. I'll meet y'all at home. Tasha, collect the money and have it counted before y'all get home, baby.” He pulled Tasha up and kissed her passionately on the lips, smacking her ass when he finished.
He walked over to Halleigh and did the same to her. He thought about the wad of money she'd just turned over. “You made Daddy proud today, Sunshine.”
When Manolo left the room, Tasha returned her full attention to Halleigh. She noticed that something was different about her. Her eyes were moving fast, and she couldn't stay still. “Are you okay, Hal?” Tasha asked in a soft, concerned tone. “You don't look so good.”
“Yeah. Why you ask that? I'm good.” Halleigh said, trying to look as normal as she possibly could. Damn! Can she tell that I'm high? I don't look high, do I?
Boom!
The door banged against the wall as Mimi stormed in the room totally enraged. “Somebody stole my mu'fuckin' money!” she yelled as she balled up her fist. “I know it was one of y'all bitches!” she said loud enough for all the girls to hear, even the one who went into the bathroom when Manolo had come out.
“Calm down yo' voice! Don't bring that shit up in here,” Tasha said low, but stern.
“Tash, my fault,” Mimi said. “But my money is gone. I just made a run to the store, and when I came back, it was gone.”
“I don't have anything to do with that. You have to explain that shit to Manolo.” Tasha continued to count the money.
“I swear to God, it's some fake-ass bitches in here! When I find out who got my shit, I'm beating a bitch's ass!” Mimi stormed out of the room, knowing she had to try to make some money before she saw Manolo. She didn't want him to beat her ass, so she knew she had to get her hustle on.
Halleigh took a deep breath. She hated that she'd smoked up all her money and had to steal Mimi's, putting her in jeopardy. But just as quickly as the last wave of guilt had disappeared, so did this one.
Whatever. Just like when she left me on stuck at Jamaica Joe's house, I'ma let her ass take the fall for this one. I got to do whatever I got to do to get by. Halleigh took another deep breath and returned to her room.
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