“Is that why we’re here? Where’s the money?”
She leaned forward, sniffed, and again, before raising her head, eyes closed.
“No money. He must have taken it. But we’ve got a briefcase full of coke.”
“Shit. Janine won’t let us take a bag of drugs with us, all the way to the coast.”
He stepped closer. Whatever he was going to say next was lost when he saw a trickle of blood run from her nose. He watched it drop to the filthy brown carpet and melt away as if it had never been, except where it had brushed against the inside of her bare thigh on its way down.
He searched in his jacket pocket, found a serviette. “Here. Your nose is bleeding.”
She reached out blindly and took the serviette, opening her eyes slowly as he turned and walked back to the balcony. She dabbed at her nose. A couple of spots, nothing serious. Then she looked down. She licked her finger, used it to wipe the dried crusted blood off her thigh. She opened the serviette and saw the lipstick kiss on the other side.
Noddy stood with his back to her, scanning the street outside. “Look, we’ve been here too long. We need to leave.”
She laughed quietly. “Don’t be silly. We’re never getting out of here.” She smiled, folded the serviette carefully, tenderly, and slipped it into her pocket. “Did you ever love me? Even a little?”
He turned, eyes wide. “What?”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. You don’t have to answer that.”
He glanced back over the balcony. “Morag…”
“It’s better not to care, you know? About anything. Then they can’t hurt you.”
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Cheers.
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