The Girl Who Sleeps With a Knife

As promised, Joan did stay later at the pub than her regular shift; it wasn't until four in the morning until she was able to trudge her soar, sleepy legs to her doorstep, fondle with the keys until the door buckled open. Despite her drowsiness, she wasn't ready to sleep just yet. She stripped down to her underwear, put her curly afro into bantu knots, lit a cigarette, and popped 'Aladdin Sane' into the record player. She felt the music throughout every bone and muscle in her body, her arms and legs moved as slowly and fluidly as syrup in the a bottle, releasing smoke from her mouth like the struggle of her night. This was how she made it through the day.
The next morning she awoke in her own bed with covers over her body, which she found unsettling.
"I passed out on the couch last night," she mumbled to herself,"I know because I was thinking that I needed a more comfortable couch. How the the hell did I get here?"
Trembling, she slipped on a huge shirt she had stolen from her ex-boyfriend, and retrieved the knife she kept safe under her pillow. Firmly grasping the knife, she slowly made her way down the hallway to her living room. Focused and fearful, she was ready to strike whoever was sitting in her couch...anyone except--
"ROCKO!" she exclaimed furiously,"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY PLACE?! HOW-WHY-WHA-" she held her knife even tighter and held up with her feet firmly planted to the floor.
"I can explain," he said trying to no avail to calm her.
"YOU BETTER! BECAUSE I AM READY TO CUT YOU UP LIKE THE JIVE TURKEY YOU ARE!" every muscle in her body was clenched, "ANSWER CHRONOLOGICALLY!"
"Alright," he stood up with his hands held up,"but first you have to calm down."
"NO WAY DADDIO!"
"Alright, so I...came by, one 'o clock sharp, just like you said. I knocked on the door a bunch of times, then one of your neighbors opened the door to see what the problem was. I asked her, "Joan Rockett lives here right?" she said yeah; I asked her if she knew if you came home last night and she said, "Yeah, I could hear her playing her records." she also told me it'd be best to come by later because you usually don't leave the house until two."
"But instead, you broke into my house," Joan interrupted.
"Your door wasn't locked, Joan. I saw you sprawled half naked on the couch, I thought--"
"That I was raped," she finished,"Let me get this straight: you came by my pad, knocked on the door but heard no answer, so you let yourself in, saw me on the couch, thought I was raped so you picked me up and took me to my bedroom. How the hell does that sound to you, Rocko?"
"I guess I did push the boundaries, didn't I?"
"Are y-ARE YOU ASKING ME IF YOU PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES HELL YEAH YOU PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES YOU FUCKIN' THREW THE BOUNDARIES OUT THE GODDAMN WINDOW," she yelled, "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA?!"
He frowned,"I don't know why I thought it was a good idea. You were the one to set the date so I thought you'd be ready. I got really worried, my mind automatically thought the worst; especially since you have five locks on your door and none of them were being used."
"Is that all you got because there is no way in hell I'm falling for that "I was worried about you" bullshit. That last man to take advantage of me was the guy who wore this shirt," she tugged the t-shirt that fit her like a dress, "You know what happened to him?" he shook his head with what seemed like terror in his eyes,"I cut his finger off. A man took my mother, the Man took my brother, and a man took my dignity; I will be damned if I let a man take anything else from me, can ya dig it?"
Rocko stood there, stiff as a board; he has seen death, he has seen fear, he has seen fire, but he has never seen anything more dangerous than Joan Rockett. He saw that the storm that rages about her soul protects frailty in her heart, and there was no way on Earth that he didn't need her in his life.
"Let me take you to dinner."
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"Anywhere in New York," he offered, "I want to take you out, and by the end of the night if you decide you don't ever wanna see me again, I promise you, you won't."
It was along moment before Joan lowered her guard, she stood up straight, loosened her neck, and placed her knife in the leg hole of her panties. "You're not gonna...eat a bullet, are you?" she asked quietly.
"No, no, no,"he answered,"if I wanted to kill myself,sweetheart, I would've done it.'
She sighed,"You better your blessings on that sweet face of yours, this is the second time I almost socked it to ya." She went into the kitchen to make some coffee, she asked him in an annoyed tone,"Do you want some coffee, Santino?"
He gave a small smile that he made sure she wouldn't,"No thanks, but is it okay if I have a cigarette?"
"Go out to the stair well."
As he stood he tall self up to open the window in the living room and stepped out on to the stair well, he mumbled to himself,"She is one tough cookie."
"Yeah, I am tough," Joan said leaning against the window,"but I ain't no cookie, you dig?"