“What is she doing here?!” The startled finch that was resting on the windowsill scampered skyward at the sound of the young woman’s screaming. From the outside, the scene looked quite awkward; a woman, looking to be in her early twenties, was standing opposite of a queen-sized bed, pointing an accusing finger at the comforter. Under the bedspread’s navy blue confines, another girl’s naked body was hidden. The fabric was bunched around her breasts as a makeshift cover while she leaned her trembling torso against a young brunette man, a look of shock plastered to his face. He stared back at the woman across the room, mouth agape. An inhuman silence fell over the air occupying the 15 x 15-foot room, and it was quiet for a few tense minutes.

The standing girl dropped her arm to her side, clenching her fists in agony. Behind a thick, chocolate lock of hair dangling over her left eye, a single tear trickled down her cheek.

“Answer me, Jake!” Her voice was wavering as she held back the tears, but there was no doubting the power it had. The boy looked up at her and moved his lips to answer. But before they had parted enough to let him plead, she interrupted him. “I’m gone for a week,” she paused, narrowing her eyes sharply, “a week, and I come home to find this! You in bed with some run-down tramp!”

“Alicia, please,” The man’s voice was soft and deep, but his fear was evident. “This isn’t what it looks like…” Alicia’s jaw dropped.

“This isn’t what it looks like? Jake, you’re naked in bed together, you’re clothes are scattered all over the apartment, and she was on top of you when I opened my door! How can this not be what it looks like?!” The girl buried her head in his arm, blonde hair cloaking her face. She began to sob softly. Alicia flicked her gaze to the woman, eyes flashing with an inhuman hatred. “Oh shut up, you!” she yelled coldly, the blonde looking up at her and crying even harder. “I just came home to find you having sex with my fiancé! If anyone has any to cry right now, it’d be me!” A few more hot tears rolled over her defined cheekbones, this time some from both eyes. What little eyeliner she had on followed the tears hastily, staining her cheek with intricate ebony lines. Jake wriggled his bicep out of the terrified young woman’s death grip and dangled his feet over the bed. He reached down on to the floor and pulled on a pair of boxers that had lain in a heap at the foot of his nightstand. He then stood up, walking over towards Alicia slowly. He outstretched his arms.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” his gaze matched the sympathy and concern in his voice. She glared at him, once again yelling.

“No you’re not! The only thing important to you is that you get what you want when you want it! The last thing I need right now is for you to lie to my face!”

“C’mon, Alicia!” He paused to think of an excuse, an action that both caught. “I, I was drunk, and so was she…”

“W-What?! You weren’t drunk at all!” Both looked towards the bed, where the blonde still sat shaking. Her heavy make-up had dissolved in the salty tears and the delicate skin around her eyes, both above and below, was stained pink and black. She glared at him, sniffling and gasping between breaths. “You told me you were single, Jake!” Alicia raised her eyebrows in surprise and Jake’s mouth again dropped. “Not only do y-you have the audacity to l-lie to her, but you also l-lied to me?!” Alicia looked back at him, stare icier and more hateful than it had ever been before.

“You told her you were single?!” He looked back at Alicia who he had, for the most part, completely forgotten about. She parted her pinky and her middle finger, attracting attention to rather expensive looking diamond band looped at the base of her left ring finger. “I guess you forgot that you were going to get married in two weeks!” He looked around the room for some sort of answer, as if it was written in the air itself. He looked back at her, worried.

“But Alicia I love you!” He took a step towards her, and she immediately took a defensive stance.

“Than what’s with the one-night-stand?” She demanded. He shook his head.
“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh, I understand all right!” she snapped aggressively. “You just had to have that one last little fling before you’re ‘tied down’, didn’t you?!” She began to cry. “I loved you Jake! All I ever did was love you! Why did you have to throw everything away?! Why did you have to be so stupid? Why did you have to lie to her, me; why did you lie at all?!” Everything was coming out of her mouth before she could think what she was vocalizing. Everything had been so perfect when she’d left, and now this!

“C’mon baby, you know I’d never hurt you on purpose!” She glared up at him, gritting her teeth agitatedly. He stepped closer, and her knuckles flexed as she tightened them. “And what do you mean ‘loved’? I still love you, Alicia. I always will…” He placed a strong hand on her shoulder. She gave a hellish yell and delivered a firm and excruciatingly painful looking right hook to his face. He stumbled backwards, holding his mouth as he dropped on the floor. His lip had swollen, and a small stream of blood ran out of a large crack in it. The coppery tasting substance splashed his tongue, and he looked up at her, wide-eyed. The hit had brought him to the ground and pounded rigorously. He never knew she could hit that hard…

“Don’t touch me…” she hissed, tone demonic and dark. Her head was hung, eyes staring at the ground. Tears rolled off of her skin and came splashing to the floor, dotting it in tiny salty puddles. He got to his feet, a bit dizzy from the blow, and stumbled towards her. She immediately pointed at the door, not even bothering to look up. “Get out, Jake.” He went to say something, but she looked up and interrupted him. “Get out of my apartment, and do it now.” He blinked a few times, looking like a boy whose puppy had just died. He hesitated only for a moment before he slowly treaded towards the door, Alicia sniffling softly behind him. He opened the oaken door, pausing for a brief second before leaving. Alicia listened intently as he walked through the living room, and it wasn’t until the soft sound of the door shutting that she even straightened up. She sighed once, running her fingers through her hair before letting it bounce back into place.

“I’m so, so sorry…” She glanced over at the girl who had been on the bed. She was now standing near the edge of the bed, the comforter wrapped around her entire being as a sort of dress. Alicia’s eyes glimmered in the faint light, an action that could’ve been slight happiness or just more tears.

“Forget it,” she said softly, tone now more feminine and kind. She almost had her normal, bouncy disposition back, save for the ghastly sound of phlegm in her throat and the way her pitch wavered. “All I want right now is some hot tea…” She met gazes with the girl, and a ghost of a smile flickered across her pale pink lips. “Join me?” The blonde smiled and nodded gratefully. Alicia walked out of the bedroom and into her living room, trekking across it and into the kitchen. She began to gather random necessities from scattered cupboards before piling all of them on a silver tray. She walked to the other side of the bar, stealing a stool after offering the girl one. She smiled at Alicia, taking the seat with a sigh.

“I’m Lauren, by the way.” Alicia looked up at her from the pot of water she had boiling. They hadn’t spoken for the first few minutes of the sitting, as it was too awkward. In the midst of all the quiet, she’d gathered the water and placed it on the stove, which was situated at the end of the bar on the opposite side of Lauren. She smiled, complexion slightly foggy behind the floating cloud of water vapor.

“I’m Alicia, if you hadn’t guessed. It’s nice to meet you, but I’m sorry it had to be so,” she paused and thought of the right word to use, “unfortunately timed.” Lauren smiled.

“Same here.” Alicia dropped five packets into the bubbling liquid, the peach tea inside swelling with water as it began to steep. She stirred it with a wooden spoon while the two made light, casual conversation. Neither brought up what had happened; both were in a sort of denial about it all. They both had been cheated in some way or another.

After about five minutes of brewing, Alicia drained the mixture into a pretty, white porcelain kettle. She poured herself a batch into a matching teacup, attempting to pour some for Lauren in another. She spilled a few drops, and for the first time Lauren noticed how bad Alicia was shaking. She wished she could help, but the way she saw it, it was best to keep quiet. She’d already ruined this woman’s life enough as it was.

“Thanks.” Lauren took a small sip of the tea and grabbed two crystalline cubes that sat dormant on a nearby saucer. She dropped them in, Alicia copying her after popping one in her mouth first. Lauren sighed in content; the warm liquid was wet and soothed her dry throat. She looked over at Alicia, who was seated across from her on the opposite side of the bar. “Thanks so much. Tea feels so good after a good cry.” They both chuckled softly, although it sounded more forced than anything.

“I apologize for being so mean earlier,” Alicia said suddenly, speaking quickly and almost inaudibly. Lauren smiled.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said simply, honestly. “If I was in your position, I would’ve personally beaten the snot out of whoever was in my bed.” Alicia smiled.

“Believe you me, I wanted to,” She said honestly and in a non-offensive way, “but I was kind of too shocked to move, y’know?” Lauren nodded and Alicia took another gulp of her tea.

“We met last night at the bar,” she began softly, Alicia looking up at her with an interested stare. “He looked a bit troubled, and I asked him what was the matter. He told me he was lonely, and so I said that I’d talk to him for a bit. We both only had one beer, but we did talk for a while. I went to leave, and he pulled the whole ‘You made everything all better and I want to make it up to you’ bit.” She paused, looking at the floor with a sarcastic smile. “The funny thing is I bought it. He asked if I wanted to come over and hang for a bit, but I had noticed his ring. When I asked, he said that he was single and that he had bought the wrong ring by mistake and simply not noticed it until it was too late to return it. Halfway out the door we were on each other like wolves, and as soon as we got here everything got bad.” Alicia nodded, taking it all in. “He said this was his apartment, and when I asked who Alicia was he said it was his sister who lived with him. I got your name from some of the drawings on the walls.” Alicia nodded. She was a talented artist, and had many of her works framed and hung on the wall. It was her subtle little way of gloating egotistically. Lauren took Alicia’s left hand. “You have no idea how sorry I am…” She looked as if she was going to cry again. Alicia flashed a warm smile and gently squeezed her hand.

“It’s all right, Lauren.” She said sympathetically. “Jake was a liar and a brute, and he simply outwitted both of us just long enough to have us fooled. Sure he was my fiancé, but if he did this once, who’s to say that he won’t do it a second time?” Lauren nodded, taking another gulp of her tea.

“True, true.” she said, “But I still can’t help but feel it’s my fault…”

“I know. I feel the same. But it was him, Lauren. He decided to cheat and lie, and he’s the one who’ll be paying for it.” She smiled, and both downed the last of their tea in unison.

*     *     *     *

Through the salty mixture of runny mascara and tears, Alicia could barley see the clock. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her palms, streaking them with the ebonite liquid, and attempted to look again. 4:46. She’d come home at about twelve-thirty, and Lauren left at around two. It wasn’t until she was by herself, however, that she really had a breakdown.

She’d been crying for quite some time, and crying harder than she ever had. How could he betray her like that? What did she do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing! She clenched her fists viciously and cried tears of rage, chest shaking and shuddering with every breath. At this point, she could barley sit up. Her whole body was shaking in small tremors, and her eyes hurt from the crying; they were constantly wet and yet burned incessantly with the pain of dryness. Her nose was running as well as her make-up and her hair had become a mass of knots. The shocking reality of it all gripped her stomach and twisted it grotesquely, a monster set out to terrorize her soul. But as of now, she was angered more than disappointed. He was such a lying cheat! He’d taken advantage of her trust, and now it was shattered; at this point, she felt as if the whole world had turned its back on her. Lauren had been crying, but why? Alicia had been torn to ribbons from this, and all that blonde got out of it was a free wild night and a beer! It angered her more, and she continued to cry, this time grabbing a pillow and smothering herself with it. She screamed and screamed into the fabric, the dulled sound still louder than ever. She wanted to throw things and scream out her window, but she decided that Los Angeles wouldn’t care any more than anyone else would. However, she could care less about what anyone thought at this point.

She felt like a child. A used, manipulated little child! She followed Jake’s intentions and believed him blindly, and only to be gutted in the end! She began to calm down a bit now, as she had been crying for over an hour, and the shaking was beginning to wear off. She made her way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and clicking the lock. She grabbed a towel out of a cabinet behind the once opened door and tossed it on the counter beside the sink. Alicia pulled open the glass door to her shower, fiddling with the knobs until the water steamed and rolled upwards toward the small vent above it. She slipped out of her dirty jeans and loose black hoodie, entering the column of liquid with a satisfied sigh. The warm water felt good on her sore muscles. She stood under the water for a few minutes motionlessly, just letting her body soak before she grabbed her shampoo. She squeezed a small lump into her palm and massaged it into her scalp, eyes shut as she thought deeply about a great many things. She was in there for a good twenty minutes before finally exiting. She pushed open the door and wrapped the towel around herself, the cream terry fabric just brushing the midpoint of her thighs. She wiped the mirror’s foggy surface with the heel of her palm and cleared a small circle of it. She stared at her reflection, finally cleared of the make-up.

She was a pretty girl, many addressing her as beautiful. But she herself thought that she was undeserving of such a title, as most twenty-one year olds do. Her hair was the hue of chocolate, falling in soft locks to a length ending between her shoulder blades. The strands seemed to be confused as to whether they were straight or curly, and one always fell annoyingly over her left eye. She had slightly defined cheekbones and lips the color of pink roses, smooth skin slightly tanned. Her eyes were her most bedazzling feature, however; they were an intense shade of jade green and flecked with tiny bits of gold. Her dark, long lashes brought them out prominently, and they resembled cat’s eyes in a way. They glittered as she studied her reflection, thinking to herself. She needed to get out of this place and go somewhere fun; somewhere that she could really have a good time. She was, as of a few hours ago, single; she smiled at the sense of freedom this brought. After a few minutes of silent thinking, she snapped her fingers. She smiled crookedly at the mirror, eyes sparkling with mischief. She was going clubbing.

She flipped the fan on as she left the bathroom, re-entering her bedroom and walking directly over to her dresser. She whipped open the first drawer, revealing all her undergarments and scattered lingerie. She smiled wickedly; she wanted to be a tease. With a sinister smile, she picked out her Victoria’s Secret panty and bra set, both made of black lace with a darker fabric underneath. The panties were boy-cut, and one tiny black velvet bow could be seen on each hip. Her bra had a slightly larger bow between the cups. She smiled, satisfied, and slapped it shut, simultaneously tearing open the next drawer. She dug through her tops, finally finding one she wanted. It was a powdery blue baby-doll tee that buttoned up halfway, a small white butterfly embroidered above the small pocket on the left breast. She also grabbed a white tank top to go under it. Finally, she came to her bottoms. She immediately got out her favorite jeans; they were faded, light blue flare jeans, the flares slit on the outside seam and held together by a small flap of black lace fabric. Running up her legs, two black Chinese dragon silhouettes spiraled up her shins, the heads of the roaring animals coming into view on the front of her thighs. She threw them on the bed, grabbed the pile of clothing, and again sprinted away to the bathroom. She quickly dressed and applied her make-up, determined to look her best, and when she was done she surveyed herself.

Alicia herself was skinny, but not emaciated. She was about average for a girl her age, slim stomach trim enough to be shown off. Her shirt came to a halt just above her navel, letting two curvatures in the small of her back peeking revealingly out to the world. She wasn’t bulky, but she could defend herself, biceps of decent size. She had the build of a runner; she was willowy and lengthy, coming to stand about 5’9” altogether. She seemed to have a glow about her as she put in a pair of diamond chains, the earrings hanging about and inch down in total. She also adorned herself with a matching navel ring and a silver necklace. The chain hung down just enough to let the diamond butterfly charm hang comfortably between her clavicles, and it sparkled radiantly.

After a few minutes of silent thought, she regained her focus and smiled at her reflection. All she needed to do was brush her teeth and apply some lip-gloss. She did this, along with spraying herself with a fruity and glittery body spray, and was ready to leave. She grabbed her small black wallet, shoved it in her right frontal pocket, and started out for Club Ice.