𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 by A.P.Mary

5.

"Stop for God's sake" I started to whimper as Nisha passed the tattoo gun over my upper thigh, leaving ink and blood on it. I've been lying here for at least three hours, with the sound of the buzzing machine and my screams filling the room.

"Don't be such a crybaby; the tattoo will make you a thousand times hotter, and it perfectly covers the enormous scar you always complain about being 'too disgusting' " and she proceeds to start the machine and place the needle again on my skin. The drawing of a black snake is taking form, and at this point, it even has a life of its own.

"I swear I got shot in the stomach, cut on the face, and stabbed at my legs, but this is killing more than those three things put together—fuck, please give me a break!" And she stopped it right away. I gasped for air, looking like a fish out of a tank.

"No more than ten minutes; I have places to be in about three hours." I sit up on my left side, still feeling the needle in the right one buzzing my leg. She lights a cigarette and passes it to me, thinking it would stop me from complaining about my leg.

"Another meeting? Didn't you attend one yesterday?"

"Yes, but we didn't finish yesterday; we left without a clue on the track we were going for, and Blaise threw a fit at the end because someone hurt his ego by doubting his ' brilliant idea' or something like that. It's a good plan, but we still need more."

I feel the smoke fill my lungs and calm my nerves "Alright, let's get to work then," I say, pushing myself up from the couch. As I stand, the pain in my leg sends a jolt of pain through my body, causing me to stumble. "You alright?" she asks, concern etched on her face. "Yeah, just need to stretch it out a bit," I reply, trying to shake off the pain.

"Can I ask what this idea is? You always forget to inform me of everything."

She looks at me, debating if the supposed "important information" should be shared with me, and without saying anything, she pushes me back down and suddenly starts the machine, putting the needle back in my skin.

"Ten minutes passed." I scream like a pig.

The argument was successfully avoided.

~

I, pushed by me and advised by myself, decide to casually lean my ear on the meeting room's door, being careful to make no noise and being as smooth and sneaky as I could be. I hear noise, but from here, every word sounds like gibberish, so I choose to lean on the keyhole.

I hear constant huffing and pens clicking here and there, until gibberish turns into Blaise's voice: "What's this? some American high school movie? How could a ball solve our problem and attract those guys here? This is batshit crazy; my idea is way better than a prom party."

"Kill it, Blaise; we're not going to play them with some creepy text through a screen. I'm very grateful you hacked into their databases, don't get me wrong, but we need to take action before things get worse than this; those motherfuckers literally blackmailed us to kidnap her , of course knowing she's literally one of the best of our group at doing everything and also knowing that, without her, we would be at least 40% more vulnerable than we already are." I heard a crack in her voice, but the point was successfully marked, underlined, and sent.

They want me; those men want me, and of course I knew that already years ago, but the worst thing is when you get people worrying about you. I am absolutely not afraid of them as much as I am of Nisha and Blaise. I have no intention to let them carry the weight of keeping me away from this; am I stupid? Well, Nisha's shoe will indeed hurt.

"Hi guys." I open the door with a wide smile, just to find at least twenty people seated on a U-shaped table, everyone now looking at me. I can almost feel the tension in the room, but I avoid it as much as I can. Blaise watches me with wide eyes, slowly trying to open his mouth. "No need to ask; yes, I heard it, and there's no way you're going to protect me without me knowing."