Pastel Pink Bloodstain

my new life

i blink at the scene laid out before me. a white office desk, with a pastel pink desktop. white walls, a soft, thick pink carpet, and a pink office chair. in the chair sits a girl, about 19 or 20, the same age as me. she has big, curly brown hair, freckles, white skin, and blue-green eyes. soft, plump lips smile at me. i swallow and walk over to her. 'hello, i'm here to see the boss.' i stammer. she laughs. 'i am the boss!' she announces. i blink at her, trying to see if she's joking. she isn't.

'oh.' i say, trying not to sound surprised. she laughs again. 'don't worry, everyone gets confused.' i laugh shakily. she gestures for me to sit down, so i do. i swallow. 'larry told me you wanted to see me?' i ask. she smiles, softly this time.
'i just wanted to meet you. see what i'm working with. you're going to be here for a while, i imagine.'
she's surprisingly kind, though there's a glint in her eyes i can't quite put my finger on, which makes me feel uneasy.

'larry?' she calls out. he sticks his head around the door sheepishly. 'where is he staying?'
'in one of the rooms upstairs, boss.' he says, swallowing.
'they're disgusting and dirty! take him to a guest room. we can't treat him like an enemy, he did nothing wrong. oh, and what the fuck is he wearing?' she asks. she's half larry's size, but when she looks him up and down he's visibly nervous.
'i didn't know what to put him in, boss. this was all i had!' he replies.
'take him shopping this afternoon. if he's going to be a part of us i'm not trailing him round like that.'
'certainly, boss' he says, trembling slightly.

we leave the room, and he takes me along the corridor. he stops outside one of the identical white doors, pushing it open for me. i walk in, and look around me.

it's a white room, with a white double bed and white tiled flooring. there's a bathroom, a television, a sofa and a small white kitchenette. it's a tiny, clean, pure white apartment. i turn around and smile weakly at larry.
'this is where you're staying, curly.' he tells me. i swallow the saliva in my mouth.
'it looks expensive.' i tell him. he shrugs and nods.
'yeah, the business earns us a decent amount of money. we can afford nice things to live with. right, we'll hop right off. here's your key.' he hands me a small silver key on a chain. i nod and follow him up the stairs, back into the dank house above.

2 hours later we return, carrying h&m bags full of cheap jeans and t shirts. larry buys me food, toothbrushes, deodorant, and lots of other living essentials, including a new phone, wiped clean of contacts.

he leaves me to unpack in my room. i lay down on the white bed, staring up at the spotless ceiling. i had barely had a chance to think over what had happened. i didn't have much family or friends of any kind, so no one would worry about where i'd gone. my office at work might call me a few times, but they'd forget me without any hassle. people often just get up and leave around my area.

this was my life now. for some reason, i wasn't upset.

i didn't mind, actually.

i closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.