8He locked the door with some difficulty immediately upon returning home. The meager, one room apartment was placed on the opposite side of the city, quite a walk from Lace's. Stained walls and brown-tinted water could have told you the extent of comfort the room provided. A dirty mattress lay flat in on corner, pushed against the wall.
Mev walked swiftly to the bed, dropping down onto it and pulling an upside down cardboard box that sat next to it closer to him, setting it in between his knees. He pulled both of the bags out of his pockets and slipped the one with moist, green, bundles of leaves behind the head of his mattress, between the wall and his bed. Then he turned to contemplate the bag of tinted pink powder.
"Fuckin' dirty speed," he muttered before grabbing a book he had stolen a few weeks ago from a bookstore a few blocks down from his apartment and setting it on the box. Carefully, he pinched some of the substance between his fingers and set it on the hard service, repeating this process a couple times before he was satisfied with the result.
Mev cursed slightly, seeing small chunks of the powder sticking together. He poured out a bit from the bag noticing, again, the quality of the drug. This would not last him a whole week. But 500 dollars was over the rent for one month.
Gingerly, he sculpted a long, thin line that would easily be equal to three normal coke lines, with his two-year-old school photo ID card. Mev shook the thoughts of money from his head. No need to worry about it now, he though holding the book steadily and setting it on the box.
Brushing his hair from his face and behind his ear he leaned over the box and, using a cut straw, snorted the tainted line up his nose, feeling it sting slightly. He sat up and closed his eyes, continuing to breathe in deeply. Mev sighed, remembering now the taste and tingling of it all.
After lying on the mattress facing the ceiling he sat up again, pulling himself to his feet.
"Working time," he stated miserably under his breath. Mev stripped of his clothing, exchanging the somewhat more laidback state for a fluffy black mini skirt, a fitted red halter top, fishnets and black pumps. Using dirty sink water he washed his face before applying charcoal eye shadow and black eyeliner and mascara, making his angry green eyes pop. A light pink gloss was applied to his plump lips, and a wax to his chin length hair to make it cutely messy. Looking into the small cracked mirror he kept close to his bed, he sighed, muttering to himself, "Fucking slut."
It'd taken fifteen minutes to pull himself together for his job. The drugs were just beginning to kick in and he smiled as he slipped his key into a small pocket on the inside of his skirt, kicking the door open and making his way down to the exit at the end of the hall.
The usual corner was a little over five blocks from his place; it was getting dark by the time he got there.
Kaiden Wallace sat on the clean, ivory-coloured sofa, sipping languidly at a glass of red wine. The same thing was on the evening news but he watched intently like he did every night. He couldn't get the boy, Mev as Lace had called him, out of his head. Not as much the boy as his piercing green eyes.
Kaiden was known for his hospitality, helping teen runaways with no place to go. He knew how family life could be hell. That gaze wasn't what the boy had wanted him to see, hadn't wanted him to see him caught off guard, vulnerable, sad. But Kaiden had seen it, recognized those feelings in Mev's eyes instantly.
Lace had told him to stay away, that Mev didn't need it, but he'd seen something that said differently in those green, bloodshot eyes. The boy had problems, but didn't all of the boys and girls he's helped get back on their feet? What made this skinny boy any different?
Kaiden stood, setting down his glass of win on the end table before turning to shut off the TV. Walking carefully, still lost in thought, down the hall and to his bedroom he noticed how tired he was. With the opening of a second building for his company tomorrow, it was a good idea to get some sleep.
Five hours, two customers, and 115 bucks later Maverick walked into his rundown apartment, completely unsatisfied with himself. He fell onto his unmade bed and stared blankly at the spotted ceiling.
115 fucking dollars. In seven days he'd need 500 to satisfy Chase, and more if he wanted any of the usual for the week. That wasn't even including rent needing to be paid next week and food.
Mev sat up quickly, irritated at himself for getting himself into such a mess. He grabbed the glass pipe from his hoodie pocket that he'd worn earlier that day and deposited on the floor.
The bag of green hid behind the bed previously was taken out and opened. Putting the bag up to his face he inhaled deeply and sighed, a smile playing on his face.
Carefully, Maverick packed the bowl before closing the bag and setting it on the box. He lit the bud and inhaled, using the choke expertly to make the better of his first hit. Squinting, he told himself to forget about money; he exhaled and watched the smoke fill the air around him.
Mev stood up and setting the pipe down briefly removed all his clothes and undergarments, slipping into a pair of blue flannel sweatpants he sat back down with his piece in hand and leaned against the tainted wall.
He smoked two bowls before just laying there on the dirty mattress, making patterns in the ceiling. His hands grazed his stomach, making small, gentle circles on a bruise he'd gotten from an earlier customer. His mind drifted to Lace. The man wanted him to come on Thursday. It's better than walking to streets, he thought. A small smile crossed his lips. He'd met Lace while tricking on the street one night about three months earlier. The man had made wonderful offers, said he usually went online to find escorts but Mev was a special case. Thursday, he thought, Thorsday. Wasn't it named by the Vikings? After their god, Thor? Maverick couldn't remember since it'd been a while since he'd last gone to school.
Words floated idly about his mind. Places he would go if he could, a kind face from his imagination that he'd dreamed of. Somebody who cared. Concerned eyes stared straight at him, a worried, contemplative frown playing upon rose-coloured lips.
Maverick jerked up quickly, breath coming fast and hands shaking slightly. A kind face. He remembered the encounter in the hall outside of Lace's room all of a sudden. Those caring eyes had somehow embraced him, squeezing his chest restricting him and making it hard to breathe.
He stood to go drink out of the kitchen sink, splashing water up on his face. Everything seemed to move so slowly. His legs tingled and moved lethargically. Rushing back over to his bed he jumped in and buried himself under the blankets, shivering. Only his head was peeking out. Closing his eyes, he attempted to forget everything. Gradually, he drifted off to sleep, a gentle face lingering in his head.
A/N: Alright, sorry this took so long and it's so short. I have more written out but I might want to edit or change it a bit before posting it. But I'll get it up as soon as I can. Hope you enjoy this chapter even if it's still just introducing characters and such. It got a little more into Mev's drug problems. Anyway, review, sorry for the wait again.