The journey to my apartment was short and boring, just like me. The same streets, the same shops, the same turns.

Just different people.

With different attitudes towards their life.

HopeWay street was a whole package with social elites to gamble their hereditary money, women with fewer privileges selling their body to the devil himself to people with begging for food in the streets.

And the name is HopeWay. Ironic.

Then in the middle of this, there were people like us, with nothing to lose, nothing to gain, living our lives just because we have to. We were neither the privileged one nor the helpless one. We were supposed to be the society changer. But instead, we became this hot blooded robot.

Selfish hot-blooded robot.

-

The scene in front of me was again not very foreign, young men and women dancing, drinking, enjoying their lives but this time I was also one of them.

I looked at Becca, eyes pleading to let me go to the comfort of my apartment, but all she did was shrug before storming past the lady who was puking her guts out.

With a grimace, I followed Becca into the club Sinful. There was this familiar smell of alcohol, sweat and puke in the club, making me aware that how typical this whole scenario was.

Becca, though, didn't give her mind to the smell or the noise, she dragged me to the dance floor and started to sway her body to the beats.

Without a single word.

Her actions were justified though, her boyfriend Kevin, the ultimate douchebag, cheated on her.

With their dog.

Now I didn't know the exact details, because Becca was crying hysterically once she reached my apartment. But it was clear that whatever happened wasn't the most ideal way to find your boyfriend cheating on you.

Even though cheating itself is bad enough.

The crowd was cheering and shouting and enjoying the night, as I sat in a corner and counting the time to go home.

Becca was dancing, grinding, kissing, basically doing everything a girl does after her breakup. The thought to leave her alone in this club where she was intoxicated beyond her limits didn't sit well with me.

She was the one who helped me in so many ways, the least I could do was tolerate this, a place which was covered with the smell of sweat and the decorated with the molecules of puke.

Becca, who was now kissing a random dude, helped me get the job at Lush, which was owned by her uncle, Dominic, when I stumbled upon her on the streets.

Crying.

Panting.

Screaming for help.

And she was the one, who didn't narrow her eyes on me, frowned upon me. Instead, she smiled and offered me her apartment.

To a stranger.

My panting didn't stop as I reached the bus station, in fact, it increased. My heart was thumping against my chest, so hard that I could hear feel it in my ears. My skin was hot and sweaty from all the running.

My eyes are blurry from all the crying I had been doing for the past two hours.

The night was dark, the moon was full, illuminating light in the dark streets of New York City, the street was lacking, lights and human beings. There was not a single person there, making the road looked like a set from a horror show.

I sat down in one of the benches, still panting hard, as I took a sharp breath to catch up with my fast-beating heart. My crying had now stopped, there were just small whimpers here and there. A moment passed by when I realised that I have nowhere to go.

The roads were still lacking any form of lights, except the moonlight. I stood up with not a single ounce of confidence and started walking towards the unknown destination.

The cold breeze was like a needle again my skin, my destroyed bra was hanging loose on my shoulder, barely holding my breasts, making me rethink about the choices that I had made two hours back.

~•~

One hour later, and there was still no sign of any help. My stomach was now rumbling for food. The scrutinising eyes of the people weren't helping either, they would just look at my limping form on the sidelines and walk away.

I tried for the umpteenth time to stand straight but with no luck, I stumbled on another figure.

Two hands shot up to hold me steady, making me flinch in fear.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked concern was clear in her eyes and voice. She must have realised that I wasn't okay, as she gazed upon my half-naked body. "Wrong question. Come home with me, you need some clothes and food, "

I could bet that my jaw was hanging on the ground, leaving an open space for any germs to enter my mouth.

She was offering me a place, me, a complete stranger who had a possibility to be a psychopath axe killer with ill motives to sell her body to the devil, but she didn't care.

Or maybe that was sympathy.

I couldn't be sure.

But she offered me a place, food, clothes without caring about the possibilities of danger that could be lurking behind me.

She just smiled and dragged my half-naked, limping, starved body to her apartment.

"Are you ignoring me or daydreaming again?" Becca's voice rang through my ears like chalk scratching against a blackboard.

I jumped out of the barstool and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" I said as I noticed that she was looking at me with concern on her eyes.

"You wanna go back?" She said although I could clearly see in her eyes that she needed this distraction. So, I shook my head and took a sip of my beer.

"I'm fine, don't worry, " I said dismissively, waving a hand at her and focused my attention to the beer in my hand. Becca raised one of her perfectly trimmed eyebrows, daring me to feed her the bullshit.

"Don't bullshit me, Lily, you the only person on the bar area. With this creepy-ass bartender, " She said nodding towards the bartender who was too busy gawking Becca's cleavage.

True, I was the only one in the bar area, sitting alone and trying hard not to punch the bartender who kept eyeing me like a piece of meat.

I sighed. Becca was right, I wasn't enjoying, but I also don't want her to feel forced to go back.

"Okay fine, I'm not enjoying this shit but you also need this distraction to get over that dog fucking douche bag, " I shrugged as I chugged down the last drop of my beer and turned fully towards her.

She remained silent, knowing that I was right.

"Alright, you go back, I will stay here for an hour before I go back to my apartment, " she suggested, pleading me with her eyes to agree.

"And leave you in this place where everyone is practically screaming danger?" I said with raised eyebrows.

"You know that I will be fine, don't worry about me, also there's this guy who seemed interested so..." Her voice trailed off as a teasing smirk formed on my lips.

"So you are going to be laid to tonight?"

"Shoo, don't give me ideas, "

"Alright, alright, I will take my leave now, " I said as I jumped out of the barstool and grabbed my purse from the table.

After bidding our goodbyes I proceed to search for a cab outside the club but with no such luck.

The night was clear tonight, which means that the stars were visible from here. As the night grew colder and colder I sat in one of the benches that were placed in front of the bar.

The starry night above was better than any software imitation. There were lighter patches, clusters of faint and bold light, the constellations altered according to the time of year. These were the same stars that greeted the ancients, the same ones that would be there in millions of years.

A sudden feeling of nostalgia hit me hard as I looked at the crystal clear sky. The memories of the past, the struggles of the present, and the planning of the future were what kept me going for years now.

And that was sad.

I was sad.

My life was sad.

I slowly got up from the bench and walked towards the taxi stop at the corner of the road.

Suddenly a figure out of nowhere crashed on to me making me snapped out of my gloomy thoughts.

"Shit, shit, shit," he chanted. I looked up to get a face to the voice.

Alright, he was hot.

Like super hot.

"Say another shit, " I mumbled.

"What?" He looked at me in confusion but the humor was clear in his voice.

"Say another shit so it will be an even number, " I said and this time I was red from the embarrassment.

I liked even numbers.

"Is this a new fetish in the market I don't know about?" He said, clearly teasing me.

I stomped on his foot with my nine-inch heels.

"Shit, what was that for?" He groaned. I smiled in triumph as he said another shit and turned away from him to catch a taxi before it gets too late.

But before I could move, the guy held my arms and looked at me in confusion. "You don't want... anything?"

"You are going to give me money to stomp on your foot?" I asked, confused myself.

"I mean, you know who I'm right?" His voice was both pleading and hopefully making me look at him as if he was crazy.

He could be.

"Who are you?" I asked the question which lingered in my mind since this whole weird encounter had begun.

Edited