Emotionless Pt. 04

Lauren shook her head. "See you tonight." Then headed out to her bike and off to work.

As she pulled into the club parking lot, she saw Jessie's truck. She was glad she was wearing a helmet because she couldn't help but to grin. Then she saw Jennifer with an angry glare. Lauren knew Jennifer was going to get on her about buying a motorcycle. Jennifer hated when Lauren would take the doors off the jeep when it was warm. She pulled into her normal spot and got off the bike. Jennifer rushed up to her as she pulled her helmet off.

"What in the actual fuck Tripp?" Jennifer shouted.

"I had to get a vehicle I knew you wouldn't drive so you couldn't wreck it." Lauren smiled as she headed towards the door of the club.

"Really? You dick! You have to get rid of it!!" Jennifer followed her in.

"I don't think so. I really like it. I've always wanted one. I should actually thank you for wrecking my jeep. You gave me a reason to get it." Lauren said as they approached the bar. "But I promise to be careful. Now will you stop bitching at me?" Lauren slid her jacket in her book bag, then placed her helmet and book bag on shelf under the bar.

"Fine. But I'm not visiting you in the hospital." Jennifer stomped off to the bathroom.

Lauren laughed at Jennifer and Jessica having a similar reaction. She knew they both just didn't want her getting hurt, but Lauren wasn't an idiot. She knew how to take care of herself. She had been doing it all her life already.

Lauren decided to make herself a drink before getting the bar ready. By the time she finished, Jennifer was back. They began cleaning the bar and setting up for the night. Matt walked up to the bar from the V.I.P. section "Well, well. Can't believe you have been on time the past few days Tripp. Hell must have frozen over."

"Don't get used to." Lauren looked Matt straight in the eyes.

"You are lucky you helped get this club turned around. Be ready tonight. We should be even busier than last night."

Lauren nodded. Jennifer jumped in "So Matt, you keeping that new DJ?"

Lauren continued what she was doing but listened carefully. "I haven't made a final decision yet. But I have had pretty good reviews so far. What do you think about her?" Matt scratched himself.

"She's definitely one of the better ones that have tried out. Kinda cute too." Jennifer glanced quickly at Lauren. Lauren felt her anger start to rise. Nobody knew she actually felt something for Jessie and she didn't intend to inform anyone. But she definitely didn't want to know she had competition, especially not Jennifer.

"I thought you played for the other team now?" Matt said almost disappointed even though he never had a chance with Jennifer.

"Depends on the day." Lauren gave a crooked grin.

"Ass." Jennifer slapped Lauren across the shoulder.

Matt laughed as he walked away. Lauren took a second to notice that Jessie wasn't at the stand. She wondered where she was. She glanced over at Jennifer who was busy making a drink of her own. Lauren headed to the bathroom before they opened. As she walked into the bathroom she heard laughter from one of the stalls. It was probably one of the waitresses and the bouncers having sex. They seemed to always be occupying a stall. Lauren minded her own business as she ran cold water through her hands. She looked up from the sink as she heard the stall door open.

"Hey." Jessie said to Lauren as she followed a waitress out of the bathroom.

Lauren felt the anger rise. She wasn't sure why she was so angry at knowing what they were doing in the stall. It wasn't like her and Jessie were anything more than friends. But it didn't stop Lauren from feeling the fire in her stomach rise as she began to see red. Without thinking, she hit the wall. She felt her hand go through the wall. She battled to calm herself down so she wouldn't cause anymore damage. Once the fire was subdued, Lauren looked at her hand and noticed her hand was slightly cut up, then she looked at the wall and noticed the hole. Matt was going to be pissed. She grabbed the table and plant next to the door and placed it over the hole. It didn't really cover it, but it made it less noticeable. Shrugging, Lauren washed her hand and headed back to the bar. She felt her hand sting some, she knew she probably broke something.

Lauren got behind the bar just as the first crowd came in. She decided to just focus on work because thinking of Jessie would cause the fire to spark again and she didn't want that to happen. Lauren glanced at Jennifer and smirked at her. Jennifer blushed and continued working. They both got into rhythm shortly. It wasn't long before the club was packed. Lauren and Jennifer were having fun tonight, mixing drinks and pouring shots, tossing bottles back and forth. For every shot they poured for a customer, they poured for themselves as well. Lauren was feeling pretty good, she even forgot about the pain in her hand. But Jennifer finally noticed it, when Lauren handed her their next shot. "Tripp, what happened to your hand?" She questioned.

Lauren looked at her hand. "Nothing."

Jennifer grabbed her hand and pulled it to her face "That's not nothing. It looks swollen, it's probably broke. Did you get in a fight?"

"No. I hit a wall okay?" Lauren pulled her hand away.

"Why? What wall?" Jennifer downed the shot and got to mixing more drinks.

"The bathroom wall here. And no Matt doesn't know." Lauren followed suit.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Probably not. Doubt anyone notices. I put the plant in front of it."

Jennifer laughed and continued to work. Lauren was glad Jennifer didn't notice that she ignored the 'why' part of the questioning. She didn't feel like explaining to her that for some reason she felt tremendous betrayal by someone she really didn't know and was just beginning to form a friendship with. Lauren took another shot and got right back to work. The next few hours flew by just as fast as the first few hours. Before she knew it, Jessica walked up to the bar and ordered a soda. She wasn't a big fan of drinking but she enjoyed visiting Lauren at work.

"How's work going?" Jessica asked Lauren.

"Pretty slow." Lauren grinned at Jessica as she shook someone's drink then poured it into three glasses.

Jessica chuckled. "I see. So where's this girl you mentioned this afternoon."

Lauren's face grew serious "Nowhere. Don't worry about it."

"Aww come on. I want to meet her." Jessica pleaded.

"Oh you mean the DJ?" Jennifer chimed in.

"No, she doesn't. Drop it." Lauren said sternly.

"That's her up there." Jennifer pointed towards Jessie.

"She's really pretty and the music is awesome." Jessica replied.

"I said to shut the fuck up." Lauren slammed a glass on the bar so hard it shattered in her hand.

"What the fuck Tripp? Let me see." Jennifer glanced at Lauren's bloody hand. "Go wash that off. I'll clean this up."

Jennifer got the bleach out and cleaned up the mess. Lauren went out to the back, holding a towel wrapped around her hand. Jessica followed Lauren to try to help. When she got outside, Lauren took the towel off and got her first look at her hand. She must have had a tight grip on the glass when she smashed it because her hand had several cuts that were very deep. She threw the blood-soaked towel on the ground and walked to the water hose that was attached to the back of the building. She heard the door open and saw Jessica walk out.

"What is your problem?" Jessica walked over and helped Lauren.

"Nothing. I just don't want Jessie brought up again, okay?" Lauren squirmed at the pain she felt in her hand.

"Okay, you didn't have to get so violent though." Jessica held her hand still. "You should probably go to the hospital. Your hand is bruised."

"Yeah, that's from punching the wall in the bathroom. I'll be okay."

"You punched the wall? What has gotten into you? I thought your anger was under control." Jessica examined Lauren's wounds.

"Please just drop it okay?" Lauren pulled her hand away.

"Fine. I'm going home. Get your hand bandaged up." Jessica left.

Lauren knew she pissed her off, but she just wanted to forget everything. She went inside and grabbed her book bag. She put a bottle of whiskey in her book bag as she took out her jacket. Jennifer was busy with customers so Lauren walked off without saying anything. She found Matt near the front door "Matt, I cut my hand up pretty bad so I have to go to the hospital. Jennifer said she was good by herself." She lied.

"Whatever Tripp." Matt rolled his eyes.

Lauren didn't care, she just left. She put on her helmet, revved up her bike, and took off. She sped down the interstate. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she didn't want to be anywhere around people. Lauren sped up. She enjoyed feeling the adrenaline from driving so fast on a motorcycle, making the twists and turns in the roads. She came up to an exit and decided to take it. She'd find a quiet place to park and drink her whiskey. She came up to a park. It was dark and nobody was around. Lauren parked her bike and left her helmet on the seat. She walked for a little and found a tree to sit under. She pulled the whiskey from her book bag and started drinking. She looked at her hand, it had started bleeding again, she wasn't sure when. She just shrugged and kept drinking. With each drink Lauren felt the pain of her hand go away. As she got halfway through the bottle, she began to forget Jessie. She pulled out her phone and sent Harper a text. She didn't expect Harper to reply, it had been days since they last spoke. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes for a second. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at it as she drank from the whiskey bottle. She was surprised to see a response from Harper and so quick.

"Hey stranger."

Lauren replied "What are you up too?"

"Nothing. You?" Harper sent back almost instantly.

"Sitting at some park, drinking."

"Why?"

"It's quiet and now I'm too drunk to drive home."

"Do you want me to come get you?"

"No it's okay. I remember a hotel down the road. I'll walk. Thanks though."

"Nonsense. Where are you?"

"Umm, I got off exit 29 on the interstate, took a right and stopped at some park."

"Sit tight. I'll come find you."

Lauren put her phone in her pocket and chugged the last of the whiskey. She closed her eyes again. Jessie's smile appeared, then the sight of Jessie following the waitress out of the bathroom. Lauren opened her eyes quickly. She became enraged, there was no controlling it. She threw the whiskey bottle at a tree across from her. She was so confused, she couldn't feel so strongly about someone she just met. But she couldn't deny the connection she felt. Lauren lived her entire life without feeling so much for a person, other than her sister. All Lauren wanted to do was drink and take her anger. Then she remembered how she used to be, drinking every night, bouncing from couch to couch. She fought very hard to not go back down that road. She wasn't going to let it happen again. Lauren got up and stumbled to her motorcycle. She knew she shouldn't drive but she put on her helmet and got on her bike. As she turned it on, she heard a vehicle approach. She assumed it was Harper and thought she got there pretty fast. Lauren turned the bike off and took off her helmet. She heard the car door open and shut.

"You got it?" An unfamiliar male voice called out.

"I'm sorry." Lauren finally turned to see some man pointing a gun at her.

"Who are you? Where's my money?" The man shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you to have my money." The man shouted.

"Look, I don't know you or what you are talking about. I'm waiting for my friend to come pick me up. I drank too much to drive home."

The man got closer to Lauren and she squared up, preparing herself, in case he decided to attack.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about you stupid bitch." He swung at her with the gun.

"What the fuck?" Lauren anticipated the strike and moved. She quickly swung back and landed her fist across his jaw.

He reacted by punching her in the stomach, which made her feel sick. Despite her broken and bloody hand, she propelled her already broken hand into the man's abdomen.That was when she heard two more people get of the vehicle and approach the two of them fighting. The new attackers quickly grabbed her arms while the man with the gun began hitting her over and over again. Lauren fought with everything she had, but she was too drunk and weak to overpower them. They forced her to the ground, never letting up on the beating. Nearing unconsciousness, the man stopped hitting her. She thought it was over, but the two men holding her down didn't let go. Then she heard them talking.

"Hold her down. Let's teach her a real lesson." It sounded like the man with the gun, but Lauren's eyes were swollen shut.

Lauren knew what was coming, she tried fighting back. The man kicked her in her ribs. She heard a zipper being undone and then felt a tug at her pants as they were ripped off. The man forced himself inside of her. He held her by the throat, choking her. As she was choking, one of the other men shoved his dick in her mouth. She heard them laughing and joking about how tight she was. It seemed to go on forever. They kept taking turns on her. They would pound into her until they were close, then they ejaculated in her mouth. Finally when they had their fun, the man laughed and said "That'll teach you to not pay for my drugs."

She heard them pull off. Lauren tried to pull herself to her feet but couldn't. She laid there in pain and agony. She thought Harper should have been there by then. She couldn't believe what happened to her. If she hadn't of lost her temper at work, she wouldn't have been in the park where apparently an exchange of money was supposed to occur. Maybe Harper decided to back out on picking her up. Surely she wouldn't have done that though.

Lauren must have passed out because when she woke up it was day and she was in her apartment. 'Good', she thought, maybe it was all dream. She tried to sit up, but she felt immense pain throughout her body. She grunted and laid back down. It wasn't even a second later, when the door rushed open. "You are wake. Thank goodness." Harper exclaimed.

"What happened?" Lauren struggled to get out and sit up again.

"I don't know. I got to the park an hour after we texted and I found you on the ground, bloody and beaten. Your clothes were torn too. When I told you I was going to get you help, you just kept saying 'no hospitals.' So I brought you to your apartment and got you cleaned up." Harper said hurriedly.

"I went to my motorcycle to wait for you. A guy approached me and I was too drunk to fight back. Where's my motorcycle?" Lauren took a dry gulp.

Harper handed her a glass of water "Here drink some. I had your motorcycle towed here. We need to go to the cops and make a report. They can't get away with this."

Lauren took a sip before replying "No. No cops. I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. They'll get what they deserve. Thank you for my motorcycle and well saving my life. What do I owe you?" Lauren didn't want to bring up the rape. She just wanted to forget the whole thing, it was her fault anyways.

"Your clothes were ripped. Justice needs to be served and you shouldn't have gone through that."

"It is what it is. I'll be okay." Lauren noticed the bandages on her hands and felt the bandages across her stomach. "Did you do this?" she pointed to herself.

"Mhm, I'm a nurse. So I grabbed some supplies at the hospital before getting here."

"Thanks. I have to get to work. What time is it?"

"3 in the afternoon. But you don't need to go to work. You need to rest. If you want I'll talk to your boss."

"No. I'll stay home and talk to my boss later."

"Okay. Want lunch?" Harper stood up from the bed.

"Yeah."

"I'll cook something for you. I got you groceries this morning." Harper left, shutting the door behind her.

Lauren laid back down and closed her eyes. 'Fuck' she thought. She couldn't believe this. She hoped she would just wake up and this would all be a dream. She grabbed her phone, she had a message from Jennifer and Jessica.

"Thanks for leaving without telling me fuckface." Jennifer

"You make it home okay?" Jessica

Lauren put her phone back on the nightstand. She could smell Harper cooking. Lauren struggled but finally got up and put a shirt on over her bandaged body. She slowly made her way out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Harper looked up.

"Coming to help." Lauren walked down the hall holding herself up with the wall.

"No, it's really okay. Go lay on the couch." Harper turned to the stove. "I'm making pasta."

"Fine." Lauren moaned and slowly made it to the living room.

When she finally got there she laid on the couch and turned the T.V. on. She flipped through the channels until she saw 'Shawshank Redemption' on. She placed the remote on the coffee table and watched until Harper brought her lunch.

"Here ya go. Ohh I love this movie." Harper handed Lauren a bowl of delicious looking pasta.

Lauren sat up and took the bowl. "Thanks."

Harper nodded and went to fix herself a bowl. She came back and sat next Lauren to eat. When she finished, Lauren placed her bowl on the table and leaned back. She propped her feet up on the table. "Thanks. That was delicious."

"Geez did you even taste it? You're welcome though." Harper looked over after finishing a bite.

"Yeah I tasted it. I'm a fast eater, plus I don't even remember the last time I ate."

"You want more? You need to take better care of yourself." Harper looked at Lauren concerned.

Lauren nodded. "Please and a beer."

"No beer. Not until you are a bit better off." Harper went to fill up their bowls.

When she came back she said "I went ahead and made a casserole. It's in the fridge. All you have to do is put it in the oven for half an hour. I have to go to work in an hour, but if you want I can come back after. To check on you, you know."

Lauren nodded. "That's fine. You can take my keys and come in when you get off. You work long shifts right?"

"Yeah. I'll be quiet when you get home. And I'll sleep on the couch so if you need something."

"I said you could come over after work, not stay the night." Lauren gave Harper a crooked grin as she placed her already empty bowl on the table.

Harper giggled. "Well fine then."

"I'm kidding. You are more than welcome to stay whenever you want."

"Yeah yeah, only cause I cook for you." Harper smiled.

"Well of course. But that's besides the point."

They both smiled at each other and then watched the movie. Harper put up their dishes and got dressed for work. She wasn't kidding when she told Lauren she always kept clothes in her car. Harper was ready and gone to work soon. Lauren laid on the couch and started channel surfing again. She started watching another movie and soon fell asleep. She woke up a few hours later to another movie. She felt hungry again so she slowly made her way to the kitchen. She preheated the oven and then put the casserole in. She was surprised when she opened the fridge, it was full of food. She went to grab a beer when she remembered Harper saying she couldn't have any, so she took a soda that Harper had bought instead. Lauren took a sip then sat it on the bar. She stumbled to her bedroom to grab her phone. She made it back to the bar and took another sip from her soda.

She sent Jennifer a text "Sorry, had to get my hand taken care of and you were busy. It's a lot worse than expected. I won't be in tonight."

Then she sent Jessica a text "Yeah just woke up. Thanks for checking in."

She sent Matt a text too "Matt, sorry for leaving early last night. Hand is a lot worse than expected. Won't be in the next few nights."