Heartbreak Hotel : Concubine

Heartbreak Hotel

December 25.

22:30 pm

The first time I breathed in the smell of this city, I thought I would let my guts out right in front of hundreds of people. Now that I'm standing in a very secluded alleyway, I realize that even this strong, stinky smell wasn't bothering me. Luckily, that wasn't the reason I was standing still with my mouth slightly agape. 

A few steps from my shocked figure was the gate to a very famous (only in the underground business) brothel. Had I not been informed and had I just stumbled upon this building, I would have mistaken it for a simple hotel, or at night a Casino. The lights were Avalon colors, bright purple, blue and slightly orange, vibrant and strong. The building was tall, probably 5 floors in total, with a stylized fasade and modern design. It was in other words very colorful and welcoming. 

I raised my head up and blinked at the shining letters above the gate. The name spoke volumes. When the two impostors of my very private, s****l life gave me my, so called, gift, I honestly didn't believe there was such a place here. Granted, I did know that the mafia and gangs ran the streets of Avalon, but this hotel, with intricate design on the outside, sounded too good to be true. Running a business such as prostitution and escorting isn't simple, even though a lot of underground businesses gain a lot from it. But, even before entering, I knew this place was on a totally different level.

Heartbreak Hotel.

There was more to the name than just saying it was a famous prostitute station. What Emilia had told me, they employ prostitutes of any gender who will work for them 24/7. Their job is assigned accordingly by the skill they have and as they progress their price gets raised. The catch in this business is once you're in, you can't get out. Meaning, you pledge to work for them until it's time for you to retire, or until you reach your highest title. The latter had only happened once in the history of the brothel, even though it employs over a hundred prostitutes. But through all this information given, I could tell Emilia was hiding the most important parts. The reason, I didn't know. What I did know, was that I didn't like it one bit. Even though everything seemed very welcoming and comfortable, I was feeling very anxious, the pit in my stomach widening with every step I took towards the gate.

The stinky smell evaporated once I was standing inches from it. Instead it was replaced by an aroma I couldn't quite describe nor decipher as to from what it could be coming from. Looking up, I could tell that the height was double what my height is. It's metal was shiny, reflecting the flickering lights. By my friends words, no one got in without being checked first. Sighing to myself, I finally picked up the courage to ring the bell on the gate, pressing the button once and pulling my shaky hand away. Why had I agreed to do this, I didn't know myself. But in order to live the rest of my college days peacefully and without any nagging friends, I had accepted the gift and found myself in front of a building where I would lose my 'precious' virginity.

And thus, the gate buzzed and creaked open on it's own.

Stepping in while holding it open, I finally got the full view of the front yard. The Hotel was, in all honesty like a house, with 5 floors and the yard to kill for. It was decorated, which is certainly strange considering that it was situated at the end of a very dead alley. By decorated, I mean the typical yard full of flowers, which in this time of year were actually dead, just they were organized in beautiful patterns. If you look from above, it certainly would look like some kind of sign or an image. I was simply too afraid to walk past them, even though they were nothing but dead leaves.

As to not cause any unnecessary attraction, I walked carefully through the little path of dead flowers, leading to the entrance door of the hotel.

Everything about the place seemed so neat and organized that I simply couldn't get enough of it. My gaze followed the idyllical patterns on the walls, all the way up to the windows and then the outline of the roof.  It was creeping me out and the question of why the hell was this hotel in such a deserted place was ringing in my head. No, deserted would be an understatement, it was dead. There wasn't a living soul in this spooky, dark street. No lights, except for the ones screaming 'get your heartbroken for a couple of bucks'. Settling on the fact that it's best to get this whole thing over with as fast as possible, I paced towards the giant door. To my left, was yet another doorbell, customized to fit the aesthetic. I pressed the button, heard the sound of the mechanism ringing and patiently waited for someone to come out. The wait lasted a few seconds before the door opened and revealed a beautiful woman on the other side.

I blinked, the picture of the woman now engraved in my mind like a name on a stone.

She was my height, with long legs and white, porcelain skin. Her hair was jet-black, with light eyes blazing with excitement and happiness. Her face was almost square shaped, greatly proportional with her body figure and shoulder length. Her lips slowly stretched in a smile as she uttered the typical welcome words every hostess would say. But they simply flew through my ears as I was taken aback by how amazing this place actually was. The woman was dressed in a pencil skirt and a white dress shirt, her hair in a loose bun with wavy locks falling over her face. Her professionalism and welcoming attitude were a punch in the stomach. My anxiety flew right out the door. 

When I finally came back to reality, my stupid ass of a brain finally processed that this breathtaking woman was actually a prostitute. Even though she had an appearance of an experienced businesswoman, once you know what this place is, it takes away a lot from the image.  I swallowed again and nodded in an  awkward manner, greeting her back. She let out a chuckle, which instantly caused the nervousness to over take every inch of my body. 

"How may I help you, young lady?"

She politely asked, gesturing me to come in. I stepped in and pulled out the golden card my two genius friends had given me. Her eyes quickly snapped down, the pleasant smile slowly falling from her face. Instead came a very professional, polite demeanor, that I found extremely uncomfortable and weird. 

"I see. Let me walk you to the choice isle, my lady."

My blank expression came on as I tried to work out what the hell actually happened in these few seconds. It felt as though we returned to the old ages where there were court ladies and gentlemen, mistresses and lords. I felt uneasy, wanting to ask her to please return to addressing me as a real person, rather than a golden ticket customer. 

" Are you, in any case,  a member here?"

She asked turning to me with a smile, which was obvious to be extremely forced. I wanted to wipe it off her face. What the hell do you mean in any case?

"No."

And in came my usual, weird self with short replies and blank stares. It happens when I feel that someone is picking me out from the rest or simply shutting me off. I walked with her as we came to, what looked like, a reception desk. 

"Then may I ask how you have the Golden Special Guest Card?"

"A gift from a friend."

In that moment I realized that one of the genius girls, was actually a member in here. Or were they both signed in to the fancy, old and traditional, yet modernized brothel. I almost couldn't believe it, but knowing those two could get their hands on almost anything, it wasn't really surprising.

"This is your first night here, my lady? Your friends must be fancy."

She said with an attempted joking tone. I stayed quiet, finding it completely unnecessary to answer such opinion. I nodded my head, confirming it was my first time here, staring straight at her. I took the time to admire the effort put in her image, but the thought about what she does here instantly took it away. Not that I mean any disrespect, or that I'm judging. Being the one that is actually going to experience their professional work first-hand, makes me feel totally out of place. She was the one that would lead me to the man that will take his time throughout the night, in a room, with me.

"What kind of type would you like? Male or female? If you would tell me your tastes I will find you a perfect match my lady."

'My lady' was slowly climbing up my already wrecked nerves and I bit my tongue to not retort anything rude. But my answer to her question made me facepalm in my head, simply out of embarrassment and disbelief that I would actually be doing this. The girls had personally instructed me to say that I was untouched, so that they could give me a skilled and good partner for the night. 

It was a huge pain in the ass.

Who loses their virginity in a stylized brothel?

Me.

I closed my eyes and inhaled quietly. 

"Virginity. I came here to get rid of it."

I said it in a simple and clear manner and by the baffled reaction of the hostess, the message had transmitted quite well. She nodded, her lips twitching up in a real smile, which made her look even younger.

"I will need your name, age and preference with types, my lady. If you will trust me with it I will get you a perfect partner."

My annoyance of her politeness grew to the point that I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I coughed awkwardly, with one of my hands in my pocket. Standing straight, I let a screaming fake smile stretch on my lips, which the woman clearly noticed.

"Your politeness is very annoying, especially because I'm not a lady in the slightest."

The words came out, woman blinking rapidly in the next five seconds, searching for the right answer to give me.

"I-"

"My name is Rose Devlin, a 21 year old student and I really have no preferences as long as we get this over with soon."

The time seemed to stop as the woman continuously stared at me in slight disbelief.  But I was honestly getting too spooked, annoyed and nervous, to be patient and polite. I was fine with being a simple girl, who had a virgin hole and now it's all going to change because of my two best friends. I know many would say, I should've refused and that it's my choice, or maybe that I should find better friends, but that wasn't the case. Meeting those two was the best thing that happened to me, but being there friend was the gift I never could've imagined. As they said 'this is for your own good and for you to enjoy', I couldn't simply say no. I could've lied, but that would quickly be shut down.  And as I kept on fighting with my better judgement inside my head, complaining to myself nonstop, the hostess had finally written down the information she had received. Her eyes flickered through  the members list, as she immediately got to work. She asked for my card and typed in a number on the laptop at the reception desk. When her eyebrows shot up, it seemed as though something very unusual had occurred, which gave a very nice kick to my already scrambled mind.

I sighed and upon realizing that what she was doing would take a while, I turned around my eyes scanning my surroundings. 

The hall was bright with a crystal chandelier right above our tiny heads. From the outside, it gave off a feeling of a fun and chill place to come with your friends, but on the inside, it looked like you were standing in a damn castle. There were two separate hallways from the reception desk, both which lead to stairs for the second floor. My guess was, that since they were in the opposite ways, one staircase led to one wing and the other to the other wing. Even though I kept looking and looking, I couldn't quite grasp how big this place actually was. It must reach down the far end of the street and back again, and to add to it, it was a tall building. It probably had a number of rooms that passed two zeros. 

The color was completely in tone, a light purple then turning darker at some point along with the tiles that looked beautifully polished. I was getting dizzy from how bright it was, even the crystals had a kind of purplish hue, which made them shine even brighter. Sighing to myself, my brain went back to my previous questions and doubts, my uneasiness and the desire to leave this place as soon as possible.

Honestly, it was too much and by now I finally realized that I looked like a homeless person compared to this shiny place. But soon enough, my thoughts stopped as the hostess called out my name, her eyes shining with a pleasant smile on her lips. I was in for some painfully good s**t, and I was all but ready to accept it.

Just as I was about to indulge myself in yet another awkward conversation, the front door opened and closed with a slam. My shoulders jerked at the sudden, loud sound and I clicked my tongue at how someone could be so barbaric. At that point, I didn't realize that turning around would be my best and worst choice ever, which led me to be stuck in place yet again.

What I would see, or rather who I'd meet, would be someone I'd remember as my first and last.

Unknown time

The streets buzzed with life. As I turned corners and avoided crowds, limping towards the once safe place, I couldn't help but feel jealous for the people who walked around aimlessly, going about their everyday lives.

I felt the blood drizzle down my leg. Leaning on the wall of a building, in the secluded path that was away from the main street, I groaned in pain. The drugs were out of my system. My body was now feeling the pain it was supposed to. Tiredly, I moved away from the spot and finally found what I was looking for. The guy who sells cocaine. I remember him now. 

Stopping near him, he almost walked away. I grabbed his  arm and pressed a bundle of money to his chest. 

"Whatever you have, for this."

I said, straining my voice as much as I could. He quickly pulled out a bag of the white bliss, and took the money. In a second, he was gone. Finally finding a spot, I sat down and  inserted the powder through my nose. I waited patiently. It's been an eternity since I was this patient. It's been only a few days since I was using drugs to block out the pain. 

My phone buzzed. With a blurry vision, I looked at the text. I was almost there. Almost. I just needed a few more careful steps, and I would be out. I would be out. Finally. I would be able to rest. And as my vision blurred further, I laughed to myself. The sound echoed in the empty street, jumping between buildings. But soon, it was replaced by the memories of its cries. And the image of its face. That poor child that I had to leave behind. That poor unfortunate...soul.

"Analia."

I called.

"Analia, you have to get away."

I yelled.

"It's okay."

She said.

"It'll be okay."

Her tiredness was written all over her face. There was blood everywhere. The maids did their best to clean up as quickly as possible. I needed to go. She knew I needed to go. Why would she stall. But she was tired. Tired and bleeding. And they were almost here. She looked at me pleadingly. She was 12. Her arms stretched out and she handed me her baby. The little fucker that kept on crying and crying. 

"I can't."

"Please. Take him with you."

"You know I can't."

"You can. He's just a baby."

I stared at her, studying her features for what felt like an eternity.

That's what I remember. My head spun. It was still crying. But I remember. How it went down and how it ended. What I didn't know, was how my fate would end. After all, I was the one who unleashed the monster from its cage. 

I opened my eyes, and looked at the ground. The pain was fading. I didn't feel it as much. Hurriedly fixing the bandages that were soaked in bright red liquid, I felt as the drug finally took over my whole body. There was no shivering anymore. No pain. No cold. I picked myself up and continued on. I had to keep moving, had to keep on going. I was almost out. 

The skies were gray, the rain would fall. And every trace that I had left behind would be erased. Every trace of what I had done, would be gone. There would be nothing left.

Yes, the rain will erase it. Everything.

And that one bullet wouldn't be spent for nothing.