The Good Girl (3 page)

Shit. I didn’t want to think about this bullshit. Today was supposed to be a freeing day. Today was supposed to be fun – a day when I could finally let go of all the shit I’d been forced to think about day in and day out for most of my life. 

When Molly walked off in the direction of the creepy dude with the green eyes, I searched for a map. I had to find Chriss’ booth before I lost my appointment slot with him - something I had no fucking plan on doing. She was on her own with the serial killer in the making. I couldn’t save her all the damn time anyways.

It wasn’t long until I stumbled across his booth. A young bubbly blonde was standing in front of a mirror, admiring the stereotypical nautical star Chriss had just tattooed on her stomach when I walked up.

“Elle, babe!” Chriss stood and made his way over, ripping the vinyl protective gloves off and tossing them into the garbage can to his right.

“Long time no see. You gotta come to the city more often.” I wasn’t interested in taking the train to his shop in Connecticut anymore. It was overkill and that was why I hadn’t had any work done since the convention last year.

“Aww, did mommy and daddy buy her a piece of rebellion?” I laughed as the blonde walked off through the crowds. I hated her type. Perfect, every piece of hair on her head always in place and every inch of makeup like professionals had applied it. I’m sure she had a brand new BMW sitting in a parking lot on the Upper East Side too. Douchebag.

Chriss laughed and shook his head while preparing the fresh needles and new ink. After what seemed like an eternity later, I was finally laying on the table ready for him to begin. A crowd gathered when they saw the size of the stencil on my leg – well, because of that and the fact that I was lying on the table in my panties. Might as well give them a good show right?

“You could have at least worn boy shorts or something, Elle.” Chriss laughed, referring to the thong barely covering my ass. I was sure if anyone looked hard enough, they could score a free show too.

“I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t give the crowd what they wanted, right?” We laughed and bantered back and forth as the buzz of the tattoo gun filled the air between us. The bite of the needle was exactly what I needed to set myself free. It’d been so long since I used my ink as therapy. It almost let me forget my fucked up life.

Five hours passed in the blink of an eye and he was smoothing A&D ointment along my leg, telling me I could get dressed. I’d been so lost within my head that I didn’t even realize he was finishing.

Onlookers might have thought I was sleeping. Most people assume that; but what most didn’t know was that I was so deep within my own head that nothing could ever snap me out of the trance. It was only when the pain eased up that real life interrupted my musings. I reminded myself that I really needed to have more work done because I was the freest I’d felt in a really long time. Not even the booze could give me that kind of peace of mind.

“Holy fuck, Elle.” I hear Molly as she pushed through the crowd. Her eyes met my thigh, which was now covered in a large, dark angel. His wings are big and detailed, spreading across to the front of my body. He holds a scroll and shield - all helping to ward off the demons. My demons. The demons my parents gifted me with the moment they overdosed and allowed the drugs to kill them.

I’ve always found it funny that my parents named me Eleni. It means light. A joke when considering that my life has been full of darkness since I was brought into this shit-tastic world. Light - my ass.

As I pulled my pants back on, I reached for the flask in my purse and hammered back a shot of whiskey. Bringing it away from my lips, my eyes scanned the crowd that was still gathered around and that was when I saw him again. Not all of him, just the piercing green eyes that shone out from beneath the hood of his black sweatshirt. I felt like I was being followed; that, despite the hundreds of people surrounding us, I was the only person in his sights. Then again, I hadn’t gotten much alcohol into my system in the past couple hours so I convinced myself that it was just my fucking mind playing tricks on me again.

The demons fucking with me. Taunting me.

Fuck them.

Chapter Four

~ Gabriel ~

I was surprised she didn’t bleed more when she had the angel tattooed on her thigh. She woke up from the table after five hours of exposing her ass to the entire convention center.

Luckily for her – she had a nice ass.

I didn’t watch her the entire time. I passed by every once in a while, only stopping for a few minutes at a time to watch from within the crowd. She looked peaceful when the needle buzzed over her skin. While Chriss hunched over her body - inking then blotting and starting again - her eyes were closed, her breathing was slow and rhythmic and her body remained completely still – impassive. I was impressed. The detail that went into that piece was incredible and detail like that required a deeper line. I had dozens of tattoos like that inscribed all over my body and I knew that, after a while, it would feel like someone was cutting the design into your skin with a scalpel.

As I walked around the center, Eleni’s ditzy friend bumped into me a few times. She would laugh it off and lay her hand on my forearm. I pulled away each time, politely brushing her off. If it had been any other person, I would have been clear that I wasn’t interested, but this girl could either make or break my attempt at talking to Eleni. As it turned out, she was useful. When she ran into me in the crowd in front of Chriss’ booth, she wouldn’t shut up. I listened and after 30 minutes of rambling, she invited me to the bar that she and Eleni were planning on going to after the convention.

I smiled when she gave me that information and I told her that I had plans for the night. I didn’t, but it’s impossible to watch someone when they know that you’re there. If I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her, I could at least watch her from one of the shadowed tables in the bar.

After learning where Eleni would be later, I left the convention. Walking down the street quickly, I attempted to blow off some of the anxiety that’d built up in me from when I was around her.

She aggravated me – a bright soul grown dull from the amount of alcohol she used constantly to flood her system. She was angry, hurt and scared of life and she masked it with a bright smile and intoxicated eyes. From what I’d read and the pictures I’d seen, she was lost – floating and untethered. She was throwing away her life like it was nothing more than an empty bottle that could easily be replaced by another.

I needed to talk to her, to find out why I was so attracted to her despite what she represented in my life. She wasn’t my type. She was loud and obnoxious - but it drove me fucking crazy to not be around her. There had been many nights that I sat at her bar watching her – studying her every move. I was fascinated by the way her lips moved when she talked, or the small dimple that would appear on her cheek when she smiled. I never intended to become a stalker – and for all intents and purposes, I wasn’t – but I wanted to see her in person, to hear the voice that went with the bird she was flicking at some random guy. She was rude, angry, spiteful and so fucking beautiful all at the same time. It must have been her spirit that attracted me to her - her ability to project herself into the world instead of hiding behind ink or the walls of her house.

The reason that I wanted to be near her was the same reason that I despised her so much. She was alive, and I felt like I wasn’t.

But the alcohol would destroy her and I hated her for that as well.

After walking for at least an hour, I ended up back at the convention center. The timing was perfect because just as I strolled up the sidewalk, she stumbled out with her ditzy friend. Partially hidden behind a tree, I watched her stumble down the steps, holding onto her friend and laughing so loud that it echoed down the street. I smiled. Her face beamed when she was happy, and it was rare to see a smile on her face that was genuine.

The one I saw now was real and I wanted to know what it was exactly that took the weight off her shoulders. 

Through the rest of the day, Eleni and her friend barhopped amongst the many establishments spread within a half-mile radius of the convention center. By the time the sun had set, neither of them could walk a straight line. Eventually they ended up at the Green Room, a local bar that always had live local bands and plenty of groupies hoping for a drunken night with their favorite musician. I entered the bar keeping to the shadowed areas. Immediately upon entering, I noticed that Eleni and her friend were at the main bar ordering a round of shots. I wondered how they remained standing and watched them for another hour before Eleni’s friend pulled her out onto the dance floor.

She moved seductively, her hips swaying almost independently from the rest of her body. Even if I hadn’t been following her already, the way she moved would have attracted my attention. She danced like she was having sex, her arms in the air, the small bits of alcohol still left in her glass, splashing out and rolling down her arm. When she threw her head back laughing, I imagined that’s what she would look like speared on my dick, her mouth opened wide, releasing a scream that I had forced out of her.

And for as much as I hated her because of the life she chose to live, at that moment, I had to have her.

It was impossible to resist approaching her. Stepping forward onto the dance floor, I dodged other drunken dancers, making my way around the crowd to get behind Eleni. When I was close enough to reach out and touch her, two more men approached. They said a few words to her friend who immediately smiled and started dancing with one while shoving the other towards Eleni.

My skin prickled to see her accept him with open arms. I wanted nothing more than to rip his head from his shoulders and leave his limp and bloody body there for everyone to see. Eleni was mine and I didn’t appreciate seeing his hands rub down her back, or across her ass. By the time his mouth was running over her jaw to kiss down her neck, every muscle in my back was locked with the anger boiling inside.

However, it wasn’t my place to charge forward and claim her.

At first, she danced with him and I stepped back, still angry and jealous to watch his hands roam over her. He took liberty with her body, rubbing his hands over the curve of her hips, up along the sides of her abdomen, his fingers brushing along her breasts. She didn’t appear interested or responsive to his touch; but she made no move to push him away. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her head smiling, but still obviously not interested in taking it farther than dancing.

After a few minutes and without warning, he reached up and grabbed her face, forcing his mouth on hers and she pushed at him. Nobody on the dance floor noticed what was going on, not even her friend who was too busy making out with the guy’s friend. My fists clenched and I watched. She fought him, dropping her plastic cup on the ground and when it looked as if he’d overpower her, I stepped forward.

I’ll admit I’m a sick bastard. It turned me on to see her struggle against him. I imagined how the fingernails she used to scratch his skin would feel on my back, how her mouth she used to cuss him out would feel wrapped around the head of my cock. Those shouldn’t be the thoughts of a hero when he runs in to rescue the damsel, but they were mine.

When I finally reached them, I grabbed the asshole by the arm, pulling him off Eleni. He immediately turned to hit me, but I caught his fist easily using the fact that I was sober to my advantage. He started to yell at me, his words running together because of his level of intoxication and I laughed as I twisted his arm around, holding it against his back and pushing up. The snap of the bone made my blood pound even harder. He screamed again and I dropped him to the floor.

Leaning down, I spoke loudly in his ear. “I think you need to apologize to the lady for being an asshole.”

“Fuck you dick! Let me the fuck go!”

Looking over, I noticed Eleni stepping back, her eyes locking to mine as I continued holding on to her drunken attacker. He thrashed to break my grip, but when he moved to punch me again, I pulled his arm up and forced his face to the floor. It was his scream from that move that attracted attention and, eventually, the crowd began to move away.

With all eyes on me, I knelt down to give him my final warning. “Either leave the lady alone, or I’ll remove your other fucking arm after breaking it in three places first. Next will be your teeth and following, that I’ll break your fucking legs.”

His wrist snapped again under my grip and he screamed. I released him and he cradled his arm to his chest before running off the floor, most likely searching for help. Realizing it was time to leave. I looked back at Eleni and her blue eyes were opened wide as she stared at me. I smiled and grabbed her hand to drag her off the floor. At first she struggled against me and I hissed out a breath to feel her skin against mine. However, she was tiny and easily handled. Pulling her against me, I placed my mouth against her ear when I warned, “He’ll come back and when he doesn’t find me, he’ll look for you. I suggest you leave with me now.”

She struggled again, but then reconsidered. Her eyes looked to our right and she noticed the guy returning with a group of friends. It didn’t take long for her to understand that if she didn’t leave with me, she’d be dealing with more trouble then she was ready to handle. After she finally placed her hand in mine, we walked quickly from the bar. Pushing through the exit door, the cold night air brushed against my skin as I moved quickly to disappear into the shadowed alleys behind the building. She couldn’t keep up with my stride due to her small stature. Frustrated, I grabbed her legs, one at a time, and pulled the sky high heels from her tiny feet. She didn’t complain and she didn’t attempt to break away from me. Despite my hatred for alcohol, I was thanking God for it at that moment because she was too intoxicated to realize that a strange man had just dragged her away from everybody that could save her.