Blue Velvet

Addiction- a mental or physical dependance on a substance or activity. Everyone’s addicted to something. For some it is greasy food and shitty television. For others, their vice is something a little more dangerous- alcohol and hard drugs. There are days on end when the line blurs as to when one ends and the next begins. Words and faces blend together. Its great while the high lasts; but then the plateau hits and all you can seek is normalcy.

Waking up, a deep chill ran down Emma’s spine as her bones groaned in agony. Sleeping on a cement floor would do that to a person though. The brunette rubbed her eyes and slowly pushed herself off the cold, dirty floor. Glancing down at her feet as she followed the single ray of sunshine on the floor, Emma merely shrugged at the fact that her shoes were missing and a small hole was forming around the ankle of her tights. She took in her surroundings as she carefully maneuvered around sleeping bodies. The soft echo from a far off dripping pipe only lead the brunette to the conclusion that she was in some sort of warehouse.

Once out of the confines of the large warehouse, the brunette was able to find her way back to a main road quickly. She stood at the roads edge for a while, hoping for a car to stop. After waiting for what seemed like ages, Emma dropped her arm and started walking. She followed the road for a while until a car pulled over with its window rolled down.

“Are you alright, dear?”

Emma ducked down to be eye level with the open window and held back a smile at the sight of a well aged woman behind the wheel. “I uh, I seem to have lost my way last night.”

The woman nodded, a look of deep concern flashed across her face. She leaned over the passenger seat unlocked the door, “Get in, darling, get in. You look to be freezing! My house is just down the road. I’ll fix you a cup of tea and warm you up.”

“Thank you, m’am. I appreciate it.” The brunette opened the door and chattered her teeth a bit for show.

“I’m Annette Collins, by the way.” The woman introduced herself in such a friendly manner.

Emma rolled her eyes slightly at how trusting the woman had been by allowing a stranger into the car, “Emma." Last names seemed a bit unnecessary.

Strapped into the seat, Emma leaned back and allowed her aching bones to rest as she watched the patches of trees pass her by. The brunette let out a soft yawn and stretched her hands over her head only to notice a small purple bruise beginning to form around her hip. She smirked to herself before pulling her top down modestly as she felt Annette’s eyes on her person.

Emma allowed her eyes to do a bit of staring themselves. Annette pulled into a petrol station and excused herself to the ladies room while the car filled up. In the back seat was a very expensive looking hand bag as well as a few shopping bags from rather high end boutiques. Emma whipped back around as she heard Annette’s shoes clicking on the pavement. The gears started to turn in her mind as she watched the older woman pull out a rather stuffed looking purse from her bag.



“Is there someone you can call?” Annette called out from the kitchen just around the corner.

The brunette thought for a moment, “No. I’ve got an address though if you don’t mind.” Listening to the shuffling about in the next room over, Emma’s eyes fell on the open purse that sat beside her on the coffee table. A smirk washed over the brunette’s face as her bony fingers did a bit of investigating in the open money holder.

The woman returned with a pair of house slippers in hand along with a piping hot cup of tea. “Don’t be silly, dear! Where are you headed?”

“I’ve got a friend in Hammersmith; he isn’t around but I’ve got a spare key.” Emma studied the woman’s face as she took a sip of the tea.

Annette nodded thoughtfully, unsure if the poor girl had any idea just how far she was from her friend, “Hammersmith you say.. darling, do you know how far off that is?”

Emma shook her head; all she knew is that the party started in some dingy pub, “Last I checked, I was just off Oxford Street.”

“Well, it seems you’ve found yourself all the way out in Scarborough.” Annette watched the girl’s face twist into an expression of confusion, “We’re about four and a half hours north of where you want to be.”

The brunette simply nodded as Annette then went on to ramble about meaningless nonsense. As soon as Annette said she’ll be able to bring Emma as south as Birmingham, the younger of the two shut off. The older woman was visiting an aunt with dementia, or maybe it was a cousin with cancer. Either way, it didn’t really make a difference.

Numbness in her toes subsided as Emma stepped back outside into the brisk autumn air. The slippers on her feet were well worn but still held their shape in the sole. Climbing back into Annette’s maroon 1993 Mondeo, Emma did her best to ignore the lingering scent of oatmeal- something she assumed all old people smelled of. Every so often, the brunette would catch the older woman staring. She was quite though, as if she were afraid to ask too many questions.

The silence was happily welcomed by the young brunette. Her head still ached slightly from whatever illegal activities she participated in the previous evening. As small glimpses of the past came back to her, the most puzzling piece of the night was how she managed to wind up in a warehouse full of people four and a half hours north of where her night began.

“So, I’ll drop you off at Birmingham New Street for the train to bring you down to Watford Junction. You’ll have to take a few transfers to-”

Emma cut Annette off quickly, “It’s quite alright. I know how to make my way down to Hammersmith. I appreciate you even bringing me to Birmingham. Thank you though.”

The grey haired woman nodded and reached over to place a gentle hand on Emma’s thigh, “You remind me so much of my niece. What a sweet girl she was.”

“What happened to her?” Pushing her headache aside, Emma was always in the mood for a good story.

Annette recoiled her hand quickly, “Some people just make a lot of bad decisions.” The conversation died quickly after that. Emma crossed her arms and continued to stare out the window. Her mind drifted back to the first bad decision she had ever made.