The Fire Underneath of Things - 21

~1032 words

Disclaimer: if your are uncomfortable with a lady of the night making Grey uncomfortable, this may not be the chapter for you. I was pretty uncomfortable writing it. Apologies all around. Grey isn't in the most... wholesome circumstances in this chapter.

Grey

Grey stumbled down the street that led away from Tommy’s party. He was leaving early, and Tommy had wanted to stay, so he walked alone over the midnight cobblestones. He had avoided drinking any of the things Tommy had been pressuring him to “enjoy” all night, but the fumes of various substances being smoked and the women’s perfumes as they jostled him around had been too much for his senses and had left him dizzy and groggy.

Tommy had been ecstatic at the party for all the reasons Grey had left it, and couldn’t understand why Grey didn’t enjoy it too. Grey didn’t get it either. It was the sort of thing a boy his age was supposed to enjoy, right? But it had just left him feeling vaguely sick and guilty, not to mention the thick fog he felt muddling his brain. He decided not to go straight home, but to take a walk and clear his head.

He didn’t often come to Dockside, the seedier part of town, where all the buildings were more ramshackle and everything felt dirtier and more… desperate. His parents would never have let Grey explore Dockside had they lived in this town rather than one ninety miles away: it would have been a stain on their reputation for their son to be seen cavorting with the lower class. Part of him was still afraid he’d be robbed and stabbed and left behind a building somewhere, but another part was calm with reassurances that all the people in town were probably good at heart, and he didn’t look rich enough to mug anyway.

In Dockside, there was a tavern on almost every corner, and each one seemed to have its own personality. Some were brooding and dark, some were bright and loud and raucous with bawdy singing. Outside one such inn—called The Whale’s Head—was a woman with bright red hair that matched her lipstick and skirt. She was wearing a loose blouse with a plunging neckline and reminded him a lot of the girls at Tommy’s party. But unlike those girls, this woman was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Hey handsome,” she called, shining a radiant smile at Grey.

“H-hello,” said Grey. He could feel his face burn. Did she really think he was handsome?

“What are you doin’ all by yourself so late at night? I’d expect a man handsome as you to have twenty gals hanging from your arm.” Her voice was slurred, and she weaved closer to Grey, her hips swaying with every step.

Grey felt the blush overtake his ears. “Uh, just… going for a walk to clear my head,” Grey said. The walk seemed to have worked, because Grey’s mind now felt completely empty. Perhaps it was the cloying perfume the woman was wearing. It smelled of lilacs and honeysuckle and roses.

“It’s cold out though, you should come inside where it’s warm.” She held out her hand, obviously expecting Grey to take it.

“Actually, it’s a pretty warm night, but thanks for the offer,” said Grey, edging away from her outstretched hand.

The woman pouted, then squinted closer at Grey. “Oh my!” she said, her voice all fluttery. “You’re just a kidlet!” She reached forward and ruffled his hair before Grey had the chance to duck. “You really shouldn’t be out here at this time of night!” She gasped, as if something had just occurred to her, and grasped his shoulder, searching his face with her piercing green eyes. “Where are your parents?”

Not sure what to say, not sure if he could even say anything at all, Grey tried to shrug and smile apologetically.

“Oh no!” the woman whispered as if she was in a tragic drama production. “You poor thing! You’re an orphan, aren’t you?” Before Grey could protest, the woman had embraced Grey, squashing his face into her ample bosom. “You poor dear! Probably homeless too! And here I was, trying to turn you into a client when you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back! I’ve been a naughty woman tonight, will you ever forgive me?”

“Mmmph!” said Grey. He was beginning to suffocate under her tight embrace.

Finally, she unwrapped her arms from around him, but still held him an arm’s length away so she could look into his face. She had the most pitying expression Grey had ever seen, but her face was still beautiful. “Is there anything I can do, honey bunch?”

“I just-”

“Oh no!” she cried again. “I can’t offer you anything you want. Oh how I wish I could.”

Grey watched incredulously as her eyes filled with real tears.

“But I am a,” she cleared her throat, “working woman. I cannot give you shelter from the cold, cold night.”

“That’s really fine,” Grey said. His eyes darted around, looking for a way to escape this admittedly beautiful but still quite drunk and crazy woman. “I really don’t need anything. I’m honestly okay.”

“Oh, but I so want to help!” she enthused.

“I don’t know how you could, but thank you for the offer,” Grey said.

All of a sudden, the woman perked up. “I know! I trade in favors all the time. You can have one for free, prettyface! Any time you need anything, just come back to The Whale’s Head and ask for Ruby. Will you do that? Promise?”

“Yes,” said Grey, as he finally ducked out of her grasp. He was about to turn and high-tail it back home before his manners resurfaced. “Thank you,” he said, and began to run.

“And really, honey,” she called after him, “come to me with anything you need!”

Grey ran without knowing which way he was going. He just knew he had to get away from Ruby and Dockside. It was in this way that he found himself lost in another part of town entirely.

It was called Hazel’s Hill, and it was where most of the witches in town lived. Everyone avoided Hazel’s Hill if they did not have business there, and for good reason. There were rumors that floated through the town that those who became lost in Hazel’s Hill were rarely seen again. And Grey was very, very lost.