Always the Same

I don't own the rights to the Jeep Cherokee...Daimler Chrysler does. And, Alice Cooper doesn't belong to me (in spite of the fact that I'm a HUGE FAN of his work). I don't own any of the other characters other than myself and Flo.
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I rolled over and groaned the following morning. I managed to sleep through but I paid for it. My skin felt like there were ants crawling all over me. I got up from the bed and noticed small streaks of crimson-I had bled a little after cleaning up. I pulled the sheets off and remade the bed with clean ones. I then picked up the few items of clothing I had left on the chaise from the previous night. Since it was just me, by myself, cleaning up was pretty easy. I walked to the closest and looked around, trying to find something to wear. You would have thought that the huge walk-in closest should have had plenty of choices but I settled for an old, worn and, most importantly, loose sundress. I needed room to move and something that would not irritate my skin further.

I walked into the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. I saw the note I left myself to remind me that I needed to go shopping and re-stock. I walked back out into the living area and moved towards my sound system. I hit a button that turned on the CD player and Alice Cooper’s voice slithered out of the speakers. For whatever reason, his music of death and the psychologically twisted soothed my battered soul. I walked back through the kitchen to the laundry room and started to wash the bed linen. After that, I moved back into the kitchen and paused at the fridge. I opened the door and peered inside-nothing appealed to me for the moment. I grabbed the jar of Irish cream flavored coffee lightener and bumped the door closed with my hip. I pulled out a clean mug from the overhead cabinet, poured the coffee, dumped three spoons of sugar and added the creamer to the cup. I gave it a quick stir and sipped slowly as I went back to the living area.

I flipped the switch to turn the computer on. There were a couple of e-mails that required answers, two marriage proposals and the usual number of requests for intimate sessions outside of the club. I checked my bank balance and paid a couple of bills. I quickly glanced over some stocks I had purchased and sent an e-mail message to my broker regarding some changes to my portfolio. I shut the computer down and went to switch the laundry over. When my stomach growled at me, I knew I couldn’t put off the trip to the grocery store off any longer.

I grabbed my purse and shopping bag and headed to the door of the loft. I set security system and took the elevator down to the garage level. I walked over to my yellow Jeep Cherokee and climbed in. I backed out of the slot, drove to the entrance of the garage, and pulled out into the street. I felt the hairs on my neck prickle-it felt like someone was watching me. I shook it off and went to the market.

I knew that I wouldn’t be working later that night so I decided to treat myself to a steak, some easy to steam veggies, and coffee ice cream. I wandered over to the produce section; I wanted to see if anything appealed to me. I added bananas, mangos, star and kiwi fruits, apples and a ripe pineapple to my shopping basket. I glanced up briefly and caught a glimpse of ice blue eyes staring at me over the top of a pile of oranges. I looked away and quickly looked back-the eyes were gone. I wondered if I had imagined them in the first place. I continued to move through the store but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Not the creepy stalker kind of watched but something different. Something I had never felt before-curiosity. I headed toward the front of the store to pay for my groceries and then left. I loaded up and returned to my loft.

The message light was blinking on the phone; I checked the machine. The first message was from Flo-she wanted to see if I was all right. The rest of the messages were two telemarketing calls and four hang-ups. I wondered briefly about the hang-ups but I shrugged them off. They were probably wrong numbers and I didn’t want to read too much into them. I took the grocery bag into the kitchen and started to put everything away. I grabbed the kitchen extension and called Flo back on her cell. She sounded relieved and wanted to know if I planned on showing up later that night. I told her probably not; I really needed the time to wind down. We chatted a bit longer and she hung up not long after that. I cleaned what little mess in the kitchen and lay down on the couch. The CD player changed disks and I drifted off to the sound of Alice Cooper’s voice.

*** ***
The alarm went off. I turned and started running for the stairs. The guards met in the atrium and started to look around. I tried to ease open an emergency exit door but someone saw the motion. “Over there…someone’s moving by the door. Stop them!” I tore the door open and started up the stairs. I had a couple of flights on the guards before I heard them start up as well. I reached the roof access and pushed the door open.

I’m running across the roof.
*** ***
I sat up quickly and looked around for…someone? There was a loud knock at the door. That was what woke me up, not the sound of shouting voices. I stood and walked over to the door. I unbolted the locks and opened it to face a dozen long stemmed, blood red roses. I signed for them and brought them into the loft. I moved across the living area to the pass thru bar by the kitchen. I noticed the envelope tucked inside and carefully pulled it out. There was no message-just a Duel Monsters card. Why in the world did someone put a trading card in the envelope instead of a message? I shook my head as I positioned them on the bar. The roses were beautiful…I wondered who had the taste to select them and send them to me? I had received gifts from clients in the past but these felt different. Too many weird feelings in one day-I needed to get a grip. I moved to the kitchen and started to fix my meal.

A short while later, after I was done eating, I decided to go into the club after all. I still felt like I was being watched and it bothered me to the point that I had to either leave the loft or go nuts from the paranoia. I changed and headed out for the night. I went back down to the garage and soon found myself pulling into my reserved parking place. Wheeler glared as I walked towards the entrance; someone had worked the jackass over pretty well, if the bruises were any indication.

“Thanks a lot, you fuckin’ bitch! I got these from Marik, after you left. He wasn’t too happy when he came to, so he took it out on me,” he snapped.

“So I guess the old saying is true: what goes around, comes around. Maybe if you tried to act like a human being, people wouldn’t be so quick to treat you like you deserve.” I snarled back. He jerked the door open and looked away as I entered the dark club.

I looked around and saw that Flo wasn’t on stage. I asked Mai, the bartender on shift, if Flo was with somebody.

“”No, she’s in the back. Could you do me a favor and take her this water? I’m kinda swamped at the moment…oh, and do you want your usual?”

I nodded and she fixed me an amaretto with cola with a shot of vanilla after she passed me Flo’s water. I thanked her and headed towards the back. I passed the office that Bakura and Marik shared; I peeked in. Bakura was behind his desk, working on some papers. I strolled in and perched on one corner of the desk. He looked up and grinned at the nonchalant poise.

“So…how pissed is he anyway?” I asked without hesitation.

“Who-Wheeler or Marik?”

“I saw Wheeler on my way in and I’m not too worried. He can think about revenge all he wants. The second he tries, however, I won’t hesitate to take him out and you’ll be stuck finding a new bouncer, again. No…I’m more concerned about Marik.”

He patted my knee before he shooed me over to the couch. I stood and moved to make myself as comfy as I could on the cool, slick leather.

“Well, after he came to, he went looking for you and found Wheeler instead. I gotta tell you, he wasn’t a happy camper. But, I have to admit, he’s damned lucky you didn’t snap his neck.”

I sighed, “I’m sorry if you had a bad time with him last night. There is so much crap going on in my head and I just couldn’t stand any more of his shit last night and I snapped a little.”

“A little?” he snorted. “If that was a little, I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end if it was a lot. Besides, the sex was fantastic…I may even have you do that again for me sometime.” Bakura smiled softly but it faded very quickly as he stared at me. “ Do you remember the first night I saw you here at Infernal Desires?”

I closed my eyes briefly, “I still haven’t figured out why you never pressed charges. How much damage did I cause and what did it cost to have the fish tank replaced? “.

He laughed. I had only been in town for a couple months at the time. I wandered into the club, drunk off my ass and looking for trouble. I blew past Wheeler and Bandit Keith, staggered to the bar and demanded a drink. Bandit Keith was Wheeler’s back up at the time. The two of them shoved their way over to me and ordered me to pay up or get the hell out. I told them, in explicit terms, what they could go do to themselves. Keith grabbed me by my upper arm and tried to drag me back to the door. I started kicking and yelling for him to get his damned hands off me. It became harder for Keith to control me so Wheeler tried to grab my other arm. I ended giving Wheeler a head-butt that broke his nose and jerked my arm out of Keith’s hands before I shoved him, ass first, into a huge fish tank nearby. The tank toppled off the cabinet and crashed to the floor. I screamed, grabbed a large tub of water from behind the bar and scooped the flopping fish into it. I looked at the scar on the inside of my left arm, near the elbow crease, and remembered how I had sliced myself open because I had reached into the broken tank to grab the last of the fish before they suffocated. I then reached into the pockets of my pants and threw what money I had on to the bar before I turned and lurched out of the club. I ended up needing thirty-five stitches and a tetanus shot…the club was out the cost of a new fish tank and one bouncer. Keith quit that same night; I had heard that he took it hard that a woman kicked his ass and left town for good.

I ran a finger over the scar and sighed heavily. Bakura heard the sigh and smiled softly once more, “How are you doing, Dark Star? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like crap.”

“Gods…why can’t you just call me Xenobia? It is my name, after all.”

“As long as I’m you boss, I’ll call you by whatever name I see fit.”

I shrugged and sighed once more. “I’ve been better. But, I can’t seem to shake the feeling like I’m being followed and watched. Not a creepy kind of watched but like they were curious. That, and the usual crap load of luggage I carry around in my head.”

“Do you want me to check it out for you? I would really like to protect my investment.”

I stood and moved back to the desk. “Let me get back to you on that one. I was headed back to see Flo and I plan to grab some costumes that need some working on. Still friends, right?” He stood and took hold of my wrist.

“You know, I only do what I do because I sense you need it. I always have since that first night. I do care, in my own way, and I’m here for you always. Why don’t you just send the costumes out to be fixed…everyone else does.” Bakura kissed my cheek, in a fatherly way.

“But, I’m not like everyone else…you keep telling me that, remember?” I teased. I turned and walked out of his office to the sound of his laughter.