Be my rock | GHOST X OC FF

Merry Christmas, Grimes.

10 years ago

"Hey kid, come here," the backroom of Julio's night club buzzed with chaos. The girls bare chested roamed around fixing their hair and dousing themselves with glitter. A teenaged Grimes among them. Doll, a 6'0" woman with rich brown skin and wavy brown hair beckoned Grimes with a pink acrylic finger. Grimes walked over digging in her Jean pocket. Grimes pulled out a $20 bill and put it in the woman's hand.
"Thank you," Doll purred putting the $20 in her bedazzled bra. The woman's red lips curled into a snake-like smile.
"What time do you go on, Doll?" Grimes asked. Doll fished a blunt from her makeup bag and a lighter. Handing it to Grimes, Grimes lit the blunt and gave it back to Doll.
"After Star and Felicia. This is my last gig kid. My sugar daddy's paying for me to move with him to California," Doll said blowing out smoke. The smell burned Grimes's nose.
"That's cool," Grimes said although she was sad. When she ran away from home, she ran into Doll downtown. Doll told her that she worked at a place where Grimes could make a little piece of money.
"Wanna come with me?" Doll asked. Grimes pondered the idea. She knew Doll but she didn't know her sugar daddy.
"No, I'm ok. I have my own plans," Grimes said. Doll eyed the young girl and stood.
"Do I look ok?" Doll spun around, the beads on her bra wire jingling.
"Yup!" Grimes smiled. Doll pat Grimes on the head and walked away. Grimes reached in her back pocket and fished out a note for Doll and shoved it into the woman's makeup bag. Grimes looked around the room. All of the women were preoccupied with getting ready to notice her slipping out the back door. As predicted the security guards had walked away from the back for a break. Grimes hopped up on the green trash bin and climbed onto the ledge of the club. Two big windows faced the back of the club. Grimes stepped along the ledge until she made it the second window which was cracked open. Yes! Grimes slowly opened it. Inside it was foggy with smoke. Nude portraits hung on the walls in black and white. A dark brown mahogany desk was littered with paper work. Grimes slid inside and carefully crawled under the desk. There, a sleek black vault sat. Julio's personal stash. Julio wasn't like Doll or the other girls. He wasn't kind or understanding. He had strict rules that everyone had to follow.  Grimes had learned that Julio not only ran the strip club, but also trafficked drugs to Mexico. Grimes laid on her stomach and peered at the combination lock. Carefully looking at the indentation of each dial the lock opened with a click.
"Wow," Grimes gasped. She stared at the piles of banded hundreds. Quickly, Grimes grabbed as many as she could stuff in the drawstring bag she hid under her oversized t-shirt.
"Julio! I need to talk with you man!" Someone shouted from behind the door.
"Hold on Manny, I got some business to take care of," Julio's high voice sounded sending a jolt of fear down Grimes spine.
"Shit!" Grimes closed the vault and turned the combination numbers randomly. She climbed back out on the ledge as Julio entered the room. Ducking down, Grimes trembled.
"Julio, I'm sorry man, but I really need to talk to you!"
"Someone's been in my fucking shit!" Julio yelled. The sound of a gun cocking sounded and Grimes whimpered. Feet stomped out of the room and Grimes stood up. She lowered herself down onto the trash bin and ran back into the backroom of the club. Doll was fluffing out her hair when she saw Grimes.
"Hey kid, what's wrong you look green," Doll laughed. Grimes gave an awkward smile but the room was spinning. She couldn't believe she pulled it off. That quick. That easy. The front door of the back room slammed open and a ripple of bullets rang out. All of the women hit the floor.
"Which one of you bitches stole my goddamn money? Huh? Who the fuck was it?" Julio yelled. Grimes laid face down with her hands on her head. Standard procedure.
"Ashley, stay calm," Doll whispered to Grimes. Grimes nodded. The women whimpered as Julio stepped around them. The floor vibrated and Grimes winced as Julio stepped on her braids.
"Everybody get up and strip. Everything comes off!" Julio barked. Doll and Grimes stared at each other. Everyone stood up and looked at Grimes.
"Leave the kid out of this! She's innocent," Felicia cried.
"She's guilty until proven innocent just like you bitches. Now. Strip!" Julio yelled  he turned to Grimes and pointed the gun at her.
"She ain't no kid. This bitch is 18 and by  law she's an adult. Pants, shirt, bra, underwear. Off. Now!" Julio roared. Grimes whimpered as she slowly undid the buckle of her pants.
"Oh shit!" Someone cried out. Grimes looked towards the door and Manny (one of the old security officers) stood with three other men, guns in hand. Shits rang out every which way. Grimes hit the floor and shielded her head. Screams erupted. Doll quickly ran out the back and held the door open.
"ASHLEY COME ON!!!!" Doll screamed. Grimes got up, dodging the bodies scrambling around. As she neared the door someone grabbed her leg causing her to fall.
"Go Doll! Go!" Grimes cried. Doll took off. Grimes looked to see Carter hanging onto her leg. Black mascara running down her red face, her lace front lifting. Grimes tried to crawl away but the bottom of her shirt lifted exposing Carter to the money she hid. Carter and Grimes held a look. Grimes shook her head slowly. Carter's grip tightened. Grimes heart flipped as she struggled to break free. Carter was a cool girl. She came to perform every night, ate lunch with Grimes sometimes, and went home. There was a rumor that Carter had slept with Julio but Grimes never played into it.
"Ashley stole the money!" Carter yelled. The men looked in their direction. Grimes kicked Carter in the face hard causing Carter to release Grime's leg. Grimes scrambled up onto her feet and ran out the back door.
"Get that bitch!" Julio yelled from behind her. Grimes ran down the neon colored strip turning down an alleyway. Shots rang out behind her. Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Grimes chest was on fire as she supported the bag on her chest. Her feet burned as they slapped the pavement. A twinge in her side began to cramp. The subway station was only a few feet away.
"Ashley stop!" Manny's voice called out in the distance behind her. Grimes didn't turn back to look. She fell down the steps, back hitting the floor. The subway train was there and boarding.
"Ashley!" Julio yelled. Grimes forced herself up and hopped over the turnstile.
Shit. The doors were closing. Grimes pushed her burning legs to run faster. She narrowly slipped through the crack as the door closed. Grimes coughed as she caught her breath.