Vice

Forty Nine

A few streets away from a small pub, she sat, staring at the cigarette as it turned to ash and drifted away in the wind. She watched it until the orange embers grew too close to her forefinger.

Thea sighed heavily, pushed her hair back and struggled to get to her feet. She stumbled once but caught herself on the brick building. She placed her forehead against the cool rough surface and steadied her breathing.

How had her life crumbled to pieces in just a few months?

She scoffed and pounded the freezing brick with her fist. She never had a life to begin with.

From the moment she was conceived, Thea was fucked.

Her parents had made sure that. While she loved the memories she had of her mother, she knew better than to believe she was a good person. She did, willingly, marry a greedy heartless hit man.

But she didn't blame her mother. Couldn't blame her. In fact, Thea's own life closely resembled that of her mothers. She could only hope she would have a happier ending. Or at least a shorter one.

Thea had inherited the DNA of a killer. But she wasn't always alone. Shane had always been there. Every horrible thing she went through, he was there. Despite everything, at least they weren't alone. At the end of the day, there was someone to lean on. Someone to conspire with, to build an empire with. Years were spent forming the Knights, pouring over battle strategies and dodging hostile fights. 

And now she had been beaten down.

She was sick to her stomach.

Thea sighed and pushed herself away from the wall, stumbling down the sidewalk. It was just cold enough that she could see her breath.

Cold and dark. The sky was starless and the roads dimly lit with street lamps.

It was stupid to walk around alone at this hour, she learned that the hard way only a few weeks ago. But she was drunk and she didn't care.

What more could they do to her?

Thea stopped and looked around, "Come and get me." She cast out her arms and spun towards every dark crevice, every looming shadow and threatening figure, "I'm right here you fuckers!" Her voice echoed down the street, which was as empty as she felt.

Only the distant sleepy sound of late night traffic greeted her.

Don't do anything stupid. Shane's voice drifted through her hazy consciousness.

That's your job. She would've sniped back.

She couldn't help the sickening contempt festering within her, spidering to the surface with the realization she would be forced to endure this pain by herself. 

She took a deep swig from the bottle and coughed. The liquor burned her throat and spread a warm feeling through her numb extremities.

Shane was gone.

She took another swig.

She was alone.

She stumbled off the curb.

"Fuck." Her weak knee buckled beneath her, knocking her off balance.

Luckily she was able to catch herself before plummeting to the hard concrete. Blinding lights distorted her vision bringing waves of anxiety along with it. She drunkenly took a few steps back as the car screeched to a halt in front of her. She silently cursed under her breath.