I stubbed out my cigarette in the over flowing ashtray, and immediately lit another one. The air was heavy with smoke, it was too cold outside to open a window. It wasn't going to make much difference to the flat, it was already tired and worn out. The paint was peeling. The curtains had long gone, only to be replaced with a stained sheet, that hung awkwardly against the window.
It wasn't a clean place at all. There were takeaway boxes in the corner, and burnt cigarette marks on the carpet, but it was my home. Temporary of course.
I had lots of visitors and people passing though constantly. They always added to the wear and tear.
Pete was sitting across from me in my flat drinking a can of larger.
"What was her name again?" He asked.
"Pippa." I said with bitterness. He had never met her, and didn't seem like he could now as she had run away from me.
I had told Pete about it and he had come straight over. I had only known him a few months but he seemed like decent bloke. A mutual friend had put us in touch, he'd also vouched for him.
He started off by buying drugs from me, small amounts at first but then more and more. He had contacts in the north that were moving it on. My girls were of interest to him too, and it was something he wanted to dip his toe into.
He hadn't met any of them yet. I couldn't risk him poaching them. I was trusting him more and more though. So soon that would change.
"Where did she go?" He asked, taking a big drink from the can.
"She's moved in with some dyke."
He sniggered. I didn't blame him, it was a fucking joke.
What I didn't tell him though was that I had introduced them. It had been my idea to make Pippa more marketable by getting her to appear in some porn. I didn't expect the dyke of a producer to start fucking her. What's more I didn't expect them to move in together.
"Watcha gonna do?" He asked.
"Get the fucking bitch back, is what I am going to do. Gonna make her pay too."
He sniggered again.
I grabbed my can and took a big gulp.
"I gave that slut a roof over her head when she needed it, got her making some decent money too. Even helped her get a new place of her own. She was a little fiend with the drugs as well. Always coked up. Bitch." I was fuming.
"You can't just make her come back though."
I waved my hand at him dismissively.
"Course I can. She owes me, lost earnings."
"Yeah, but how, I mean." He asked.
I lent closer to him.
"I know where they live. Just the two of them. The dyke and Pippa. Me and you are gonna pay them a visit."
"Yeah and then what?"
"Pippa will come to her senses soon enough. That dyke needs to be taught a lesson though."
"Yeah." He said and chuckled.
"Tie the bitch up nice and tight, and show her what a real cock feels like."
Pete gave me a wicked grin. I could tell he liked that. I was sure he'd be having a turn on her himself when the time came.
"So what happens when you get Pippa back?"
"That's easy." I said. "Gonna take her somewhere quiet, once she starts begging for a hit she will do what I tell her."
"She might have kicked it." He said. That had entered my mind before.
"Once an addict always an addict. Give her some to take her mind of the unpleasantness and bingo, she'll want more soon enough."
"So, when you wanna do it?"
"Tomorrow night. Got some stuff to do now."
He nodded.
"What about the cops, won't the lesbian go to them?"
It was a fair question.
"We'll make sure she doesn't. Women like that know the game, they know what can happen if they start grassing people up."
We chatted a bit more about the logistics. He told me he would drive me there. He had a car that he was using that had been stolen a few weeks previously.
All I needed to do was to pick up a roll of tape and a couple of woolly masks.
"Got my stuff to do." I said dismissing him with my hand.
"See you tomorrow then bud." He said, and finished his drink. He didn't put it in the trash. Just left it for me to clear up. Typical.
I didn't see him out.
Pete was a good guy. At first I hadn't trusted him, but I was really warming to him now. After this I think I would get some of my girls to work for him, just on the side.
I had been neglecting Pippa for a while. She'd gotten her own place. A real run down flat. It was cheaper than working her out of hotels.
It was my own complacency that had led to this. Too many girls and not enough time.
There'd never been a problem with her before. She was smart enough to run most of her clients herself. I only popped by now and again to take my cut and see if everything was okay. Mostly though it was to supply her with the drugs she craved.
That's how we first met. A dealer that I knew told me this real pretty girl was trying to buy drugs off him. He told me she'd been asking about discounts. I gave him a nice wad of cash to send her to me for her next score.
At first she paid with cash, but it wasn't long before she was paying with her body. I had the feeling it wasn't her first time making that sort of transaction.
In her state she couldn't hold down a regular job, so I got her doing the only thing female addicts are ever any good at.
For the brief time Pippa had been here she had kept the place clean. I missed that.
I reached over for Pete's empty can and tossed it into the corner.
The stuff I had to do tonight didn't require me leaving the flat.
No time like the present, I said to myself and went to go and see my new guest.
************
Her name was Sophie. She was eighteen, and had runaway from home. I found her in a park near the train station sitting on a bench. She'd had the foresight to bring a backpack with her. It had been clutched tightly to her chest.
That was as far as her preparation had brought her. I sat with her, and we talked. It transpired that her family life wasn't all peaches and cream. She didn't go into it much. I didn't need her too.
I offered her money to be getting on with, which she gladly accepted. My next offer was very casual, just a bed for the night. That was accepted too.
Once back here, I offered her a drink. We spent the night talking, laughing. Eventually she opened up about her frustrations with her parents. I don't think they were abusive at all. They just didn't understand her complicated feelings.
I did. I understood her very well, and told her so. For this she was very grateful.
She was a very naive girl and had been somewhat sheltered.
She told me they were constantly bugging her to get a job and move on with her life. She'd had too much of the easy life. Her parents coddled her too much, gave in to every whim. They hadn't given her much motivation to fly the nest.
There had been a big argument and after she stormed off to her room, her mind was made up. The next day she grabbed her backpack and was gone. At her age they couldn't stop her.
It was a cry for help. I'm sure if I didn't find her she would have gone crawling back.
After a few more drinks I deflowered her on the front room carpet.
That was a few days ago.
Now she was sitting on the bed that she called hers.
She wasn't a bad looker. No beauty. Not like Pippa. Very plain. A wide mouth that had a cute little overbite. Her hair was nice though. Long and dyed blonde.
Her chest wasn't as big as Pippa's either. Just enough for a good handful. She had a tight snatch though.
There was a big smile on her face as I came in.
