13 Fucking Tourists (1/2)

Jessie

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I did something horrible.

I did something that could get me killed.

I kept some of the money Salt had given me.

My reason wasn't about being selfish, it wasn't because I wanted to hoard it for myself, I knew better than to screw with Virgo's money for my own benefit. I had seen it happen over the years on occasion, a girl here or there who thought they could out smart him. It never worked. Those girls never came back, they would vanish as if they never existed.

Except I knew, I knew exactly what happened to them.

There were very few secrets between Virgo and myself, mostly because I had been around long enough to witness it all. And if I didn't see it, I heard about it one way or another.

When I was little, about ten or so, Virgo had this woman. I thought she was his wife, I was naive back then, and too immature to see the whole picture.

In reality, she was never more than property to him.

This woman would bring me things. She'd bring me food, she'd bring me extra blankets and medicine if I was ill.

I remember her brushing my hair one night, her hands tender and soft. Her name was Samantha, but Virgo called her Tabby Cat. She would whisper in my ear stories about her childhood, her voice so delicate I had to listen really hard to even hear her.

We would talk about going to the beach and riding the waves, she would talk about going to Disney World and how one day we would travel to the Grand Canyon.

And I would sit there as she brushed my hair, my mind swirling with images of all the wonderful things we were going to do together.

Samantha had the bluest eyes I had ever seen, and her hair was the color of gold. I remember thinking that she was too beautiful to look so sad. Her face over time had started to sink in, showing the bones of her cheeks. A dull gloss coated her eyes, making her appear so tired.