"Dammit." She took another swallow, feeling the booze burning its way down her throat. "Why the fuck does this have to keep happening?" She pounded her heel on the steering wheel. "I'm so tired of this, so fucking tired." The sting of tears burned her eyes but she refused to give in, instead starting the car and squealing tires as she sped out of the parking lot.

Chapter Fifth

Laura heard the door unlock and stopped typing. A quick glance at the clock in the lower right hand corner of her computer screen confirmed it was far too early for Crystal to be home. "Crystal?" she called, rising to her feet and opening her bedroom door.

"Yeah, it's just me." As she stepped onto the landing, Laura could easily see the puffed lips and broken skin. "There was an incident at the club tonight."

"Let's get you cleaned up." She guided Crystal into the bathroom, pretending not to notice the paper bag in the stripper's hand or the way it was covertly set down on the floor next to the toilet.

"I can"

"No argument," Laura said, cutting off the protest. "Whether you want to tell me what happened or not is up to you but I'm not going to let you let this go untreated." She opened the medicine cabinet and took out the peroxide, cotton balls, and antibiotic cream. "Here, sit on the toilet and tip your head back."

"Is it really that bad?"

"You don't want to get a scar, do you?" Holding a cotton ball over the sink, Laura soaked it with peroxide. "I have to clean it first to see how bad it really is. Hold still, this might sting."

"Yeouch!"

"I told you. Now hold still." Cotton ball after cotton ball was used to gently cleanse the area. "That looks pretty nasty."

"I think he was wearing a ring."

That explains the jagged looking cut, she thought to herself. "So you want to tell me what happened?"

"Mud wrestling, a drunken asshole and an even worse asshole for a club manager," Crystal sighed. "Easy."

"Sorry. I really think you could use a stitch here just to be on the safe side."

"No. I really don't want to have anyone look at it."

"Okay. I think I have some butterflies in the first aid kit. But you have to keep it covered with the ointment to keep it from scarring." She stopped wiping and gently cupped Crystal's chin with her fingers. You have such a pretty face

The thought entered her mind and almost passed her lips. "Let me get the butterfly."

After the bandage was in place and the bruised area treated, Laura stepped back to give it one last check. "There. I think that will take care of it. You'll have to keep putting the ointment on but I think it'll heal up fine." She began straightening things up.

"Laura?"

"Yes?" She turned to see Crystal looking at her nervously.

"Um there's another place," she began, standing up and turning her back to the writer. "I figured I'd soak in the tub and that would take care of it but "

"Let me see." To her surprise, Crystal began lifting her shirt. "Where is it?"

"On my back. I think I fell on an ashtray and got burned."

Laura knelt down until her face was level with the small of Crystal's back. She reached up and took over the task of lifting the shirt. There on the right shoulder blade was the burn. "Ooh."

"It is a burn, right?"

"Oh yeah, looks like you landed right on a cigarette. I'll get the burn cream and a gauze pad." She turned away quickly, opening the linen closet and staring past the cream. Why do you always end up getting hurt? "This happened at the club?"

"Right in the middle of the first set."

Laura rested her fingers on the tube of burn cream. "And things like this happen often?"

"Not often but once in a while. Usually they don't get to do more than cop a feel before the bouncers get hold of them."

And copping a feel is okay? You've gotta get out of this line of work, she thought to herself before picking up the tube. "I have to clean it first before I can put the cream on it. Think you can hold your shirt up out of the way?"

"Yeah."

Crystal stood facing away from the mirror while Laura wiped the injured area with the soaked cotton balls. "So how are you going to work with that lip?"

"I'm not. People don't pay to see busted lips. I'll wait until the swelling goes down and see how good the makeup covers it. That and my back." "I don't know if you're interested or not but Michael was talking after you left about that new project his has downtown."

"The office remodeling he was talking about at dinner?"

"That's the one. He said he was in the demolition phase. You know, cleaning out the old sheetrock and carpeting and such." Tread carefully, Taylor. "He's looking for some extra help to haul things out of the building. It's hard labor but he pays well. I was even thinking of working a day or two after my writing deadline to earn a little extra cash."

"He'll hire people for just a day or two? What if they don't have experience in construction?"

"Well" Laura crouched down to get a better look at the burn. "How much experience do you need to pick up a piece of sheetrock and throw it in the dumpster?" She tossed the cotton ball in the wastebasket. "Ten bucks a hour."

"Ten? Just to clean out an old building?"

"Hold still," she admonished. "You were burned pretty good, Crystal. It blistered up and broke the skin. You'll have to be extra careful. It looks like it's in a tricky location."

Crystal reached behind her back, straining with her fingertips to reach the spot covered by tape and gauze. "It is. I can barely touch it." "I'll take care of it then. Just yell to me after your shower and I'll put a fresh bandage on it for you. And yeah, ten bucks an hour. It's hard work and the turnover rate is high enough at that price."

"You mean he can't keep people for that much money?"

Laura fastened the last piece of tape and straightened up. "Some people just don't want to work that hard, no matter how much the pay is. Since Michael can't afford to make it a long term job, most only stick around for just a few days while looking for other work."

"But if they did a good job, would he keep them on?" Crystal asked while lowering her shirt.

"I don't know. I imagine he always has a job or two that need to be done even with subcontractors. I've helped him out a few times for a day or two when he was shorthanded. It's hard work but he's always appreciative." Come on, Crystal. All the sweat is still ten times better than taking your clothes off for these people. Look what happened to you tonight. As much as she wanted to voice the words, Laura held back. She had dropped the hint. It was up to Crystal to take the next step and pushing her wouldn't make it happen.

The blonde woman turned around to face her. "Thanks for helping me with this."

"You're welcome. Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened?" She put her hand on Crystal's shoulder but pulled it back when she felt the stiffness at her touch. "I really am a good listener. We can even go out on the deck if you want."

"No. It's late and you need to work on your book. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"Are you coming to the game tomorrow?"

"Um, sure if you want."

"Good. Remind me to give you one of my hats to help keep the sun off your face. It gets pretty hot out there." The cream, cotton balls, gauze and peroxide were returned to the cabinet. Soon they were just standing there, in the bathroom with nothing to say. "Um, so uh." "Um, yeah. I guess I'll catch you tomorrow. Thanks again for helping me with this," Crystal said, pointing at the puffed lip, the ointment causing the light to reflect brightly off it.

"Of course. See you tomorrow. Pleasant dreams." She heard the low snort and the rustle of the paper bag as she reached for the door handle. She stepped into her own room and looked up at the ceiling. She's had a rough enough day. Please let her sleep easy tonight. Sighing with resignation that she had done all she could do, Laura sat down at the computer and looked at the screen, reacquainting herself with the last few paragraphs she had written. Cracking her knuckles to limber them up, she began typing, tuning out the world around her and focusing on her characters instead of the deadline.

One sentence, then two appeared on the screen. It's hot in here. Pushing with her feet, she wheeled her chair over to the sliding glass door and opened it, letting the night air in through the screen. Immediately the now familiar scent of pot mixed with incense filled the air. Hmm She sniffed the air again. It's not cherry or vanilla. Lilac? Listening carefully, she heard glass clinking together followed moments later by the sound of Crystal's lighter. The smell of pot grew stronger.

Standing and pushing her chair under the desk, Laura opened the door and walked across the landing to stand in front of Crystal's bedroom. She knocked lightly. "You busy?"

"Uh" Laura heard a drawer open followed by the sound of what she assumed to be Crystal's pot pipe being thrown in. "Come in."

"I um," Okay, so now what? "I was just wondering what scent this incense stick was." She walked over to the dresser and looked at the small cone burning in the metal dish.

"It's called Rain." Crystal was sitting on her bed, her legs tucked up beneath her. The lamp next to the bed was on, a mirror on the wall causing the light to reflect onto the white ceiling, giving the whole room a soft glow. The stripper had changed into gray shorts and a white undershirt, her breasts pressing hard against the thin white material.

"I don't think you've burned this one before." She picked up the box full of incense cones and read the label, deliberately keeping her eyes away from her roommate's obvious attributes. "Hard to tell though, you seem to use so many different varieties."