⚒⚒

Moon needed some alone time after the information Daisy gave her upon her return. And a night out at the club was perfect. The music, the people, the dancing, the alcohol; everything there was the kind of distraction she needed.

Her head felt like it was going to blow from the mental distress she was experiencing. Could there really have been another person... another personality living in her head since birth? She spent the time alone (with Daisy away in Dawn Hill) in a state of hysteria. What if everything she was doing wasn't really her? What if the recent raw emotions she felt for Joe were because of... of... Victoria Monroe?

She smacked the side of her head. "Focus, Moon. Don't think about her. Remember what Daisy said; Sly and Detective Cole are now the enemy. That's what matters." But even she knew that wasn't the truth. She was too selfish to think about other people when she was going through her own problems. 

She spent her alone time drinking herself to sleep. That helped to forget her troubles for a short time. And when she would wake up, she would cry herself to sleep. But when that didn't work, she would take sleeping pills. 

But over the last twenty-four hours, she couldn't sleep. The fear of Victoria taking over her mind was too much. And her body was on the verge of breaking, while her mind was getting closer to insanity. 

She needed something stronger to ease her off, for at least a day or two.

A man in a hooded jacket approached her parked car and she slid down the window. She gazed around and saw no one else was there and asked, "You have it?" 

The man patted his jacket's pocket. "Are you a cop?" he asked.

"No, are you?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then he broke the sudden tension with a laugh. "Alright, I believe you." He took out a small, transparent polythene bag with white powder in it and handed it to her. "That will be fifty bucks."

"What? You said thirty when we spoke."

The man shrugged. "I changed my mind."

Moon placed the bag on her lap and reached inside her purse. She mumbled curses under her breath as she took out the fifty dollars and gave it to him. 

"Nice doing business with you, ma'am." The man left.

Not wanting to wait, Moon opened it up and smelled it. A rush as good as satisfying your sweet tooth coursed her body and she fell back on her seat. The last time she had any was back in college. Back then it was necessary for her to use it. It helped her finish first in her class because while other students were busy sleeping, she was doing extra work. 

She dug her forefinger in the bag and came out with a small amount. Leaning forward, she sniffed then rubbed her nose repeatedly. "I feel nothing." It wasn't enough. She needed to up her dosage. She poured some of it on the dashboard and took out her credit card. She used it to separate the powder into five lines. "This will do," she said, her eyes glistening at the sight. 

Reaching in her purse once again, she took out a small notebook. She tore a piece of paper and rolled it. Then she leaned down on the four lines, put the rolled paper between her left nostril and snorted the first two lines. She put the rolled paper under her right nostril and snorted the remaining two. 

"Wooo!" she screamed, her pupils were now dilated. "Party time!"

⚒⚒  

The whole club was jumping up and down, dancing to Jump by Kriss Kross. The lights changed from green to blue to red to yellow, it was like a carnival in there. Everyone seemed to be having fun, but no one more than Moon. She was living her best life.

"I'm on top of the world!" She grinned.

The song went on for the next few minutes before the DJ changed it to Hips Don't Lie by Shakira. Most of the men left the dance floor and more women stepped in. Some started swaying their hips left and right, and other gyrated their waist to the beat of the song. 

Moon was at the side twisting her waist with ease when a man came behind her and put his hands on her waist. If it was any other day, she would have pushed him off and cursed him out. But she was exhilarated and in a state of euphoria. 

She grabbed his hands and moved them up to her breasts. It caught the man by surprise and she smiled. You're mine now. She started grinding on him.

"You're a bad girl, aren't you?" the man said, his voice deep, trying to keep up with her movement. 

"You have no idea." She turned around and put her hands around his shoulders. To her shock he was a handsome guy. He had a full beard, a nice smile, and even smelled good. She was accustomed to creeps trying to get with her, but that was a welcomed surprised. "What's your name?"

"Marcus."

"Only Marcus?" Her brow quivered.

He slid his hands down to her rear. "Marcus Thompson," he whispered in her ear.

Moon felt his strong hands squeeze her ass like how a child squeezed a squishy toy. She enjoyed it. It had been a while since she let a man touch her like that, and with what she was going through, she needed some touching and loving and squeezing and kissing and sexing. 

She slid her hand down his pants and her eyes grew. "Someone's excited," she said.

"What can I say, you know how to excite a man," he replied, then smiled. His canine teeth were so sharp, but Moon paid no mind at the time. "Come with me." He led her past the crowd and into the bathroom. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a packet of cocaine and opened it. Moon's eyes widened, excitedly. "You use?"

"Of course." She rubbed her nose. 

Marcus made three lines, then took a small tube from his pocket and gave it to her. "Ladies first."

Moon bent down and snorted all of it. Moaning, she turned and said, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"That wasn't why I brought you here anyway." Marcus pulled her close and kissed her. One of his hands was on her cheek and the other on her back, supporting her not to fall as she had to stand on her toes. 

It was getting intense the more they kissed and he lifted her onto the bathroom counter. He took off his shirt and Moon kissed his naturally curved chest. It was one of mother nature's best creations. 

He lifted her chin and started kissing her neck. Moon slid her fingers through his hair and grabbed it. Marcus' lips slid down to her chest and her moans increased. He went on his knees and she got to her feet. He opened her jean's button and pulled them down. When he reached for the fishnets she wore, Moon had done the same and the confusion made her stumble backwards and hit her head on the wall.

"Are you alright?" Marcus asked.

"Yes," she replied, rubbing her head repeatedly with a grimace. Looking around, she saw dirty sinks, used tampons on the floor and puke near one of the bathroom stalls. She felt sick. "I have to go." She pulled up her jeans. "Thanks for the good time, though," she told Marcus, gave him a kiss on the cheek and left. 

Once she got outside, she took in a deep breath. She hadn't realized how heavy the air inside was. How was she even able to breath? She took out her phone and watched the time; it was five minutes before midnight. "I need to get back home. I wonder if Daisy has returned from her double date."

She walked into the parking lot and heard: 

"Hey, you, wait up."

She turned and saw Marcus. He was with four other men. "Hey," she said back, putting on a smile. 

"Sorry for stopping you, but I thought you may want a ride home. You don't want the police to stop you on the highway and check if you've used any drugs, do you?" 

No, I don't. "Thank you, but I am. I am friends with a detective, he can help me out if I'm caught," she lied. 

"Is that so?" 

"Yes."

The frown on Marcus' face slowly disappeared. He seemed like a man who was not used to hearing no. "Come on, Moon, don't be like that."

Moon had a feeling in her gut like something bad was about to happen and took a few steps back. "How-How do you know my name?" she asked.

Marcus smiled, rubbing back his hair. "What?" He chuckled. "Come on, you told me when we were dancing."

"No, I didn't. I remember us dancing, then me asking your name before we went to the bathroom." She was regretting not to go with her purse to the club. There was a can of bug spray inside.

Marcus laughed again, but this time his face had a sinister look. "You know, I would try to convince you by saying you told me in the bathroom, but I think you've already suspected that I am lying."

Moon walked back until she hit the bonnet of a car. The men Marcus was with moved forward. "Stay back! I will hurt you," she warned.

"Come on, Moon. You know you're nothing without Daisy and Joe," said Marcus. "That's why this time around I am going to make sure I kill you before they find us." 

What is he talking about? Moon tried to recall if they had met before, but her memory was a big blur at that moment. 

"Get her," Marcus ordered his men. 

Two of them tried to catch Moon, but she broke their arms and knees. She didn't see the third one coming and got knocked from behind. She fell down, bleeding from the back of her head. Marcus turned Moon around and straddled her chest.

He punched her face. "Look what you're making me do." He did it again, Moon's blood spilling on the tarmac road. "You're going to pay for what you did." He started jabbing and scratching her face.

Moon lay there, accepting her fate. Maybe it was her time to die. She wasn't mad about it. If dying was the solution to her recent distress, then she welcomed it with open arms. She wondered if people would cry about her. Would her sisters even know? Would they even care? The two hardly showed any sign of sadness or tears when their mother died, so why would they do it for her? 

As blood covered her ebony face, Moon whispered, "I am ready to die now," and spread her hands wide.  

One of Marcus' men pulled him away. "Remember what the boss said; No killing before he approves."

Marcus pulled his arm away from the man's grasp. "I know." He rubbed Moon's blood on his jacket and looked at the young woman. He spat on her face, then said, "Take her."