Stripped of Innocence, chapter 3

I woke up with a headache that was enough to make a grown man cry. I groaned as I forced myself to sit up and take in my surroundings. Eerie silence filled the room. Examining the room, I saw it was anything but clean; Clothes strewn everywhere but the drawers, cd's, porn mages, and old plates with a the look of rotting food. The bed I was laying in, consisted of plain deep red sheets with a green and red plaid comforter to top it all off. I had to admit, this was the most comfortable bed I had ever laid in. Warm, soft, and looking visibly clean. I pulled the blanket back to look at my body; gray hoodie still intact but I had a foreign pair of boxers on.

Noticing the familiar cologne, and nearly gagging at the slight hint of rotting food, I peered at the clock.
12:39
Looking down at my exposed legs, I took note on how fast my bruises and things were starting to heal, but letting the scars still bring me back to a past not too long ago.
That was quick
I lay back down and pulled the blankets back up to my chin and snuggled in deep, as if the bed was the only lifeline I needed. The sun had not yet peeped through the small dusty window, making me think it was a gloomy day.
Then it hit me like a brick.

Whose room was I in? Why do I have a headache? Why am I wearing someone else's boxers with...Ew...A stain? And how did I get here.

I was way to tired to even contemplate the possibilities. Laying in silence, I slowly let my lids shut in a sleepy daze. Something creaked, making my head to snap towards where it came from. I saw someone I didn't really want to see. Tree.
He was staring intently at the cup in his hand. His tongue hung out of the left corner of his mouth, in pure concentration. Steam rose from the mug, nuzzled tightly in his rough looking hands. His face made me laugh out loud.
Startled, he spilled a bit of the liquid out of the cup, falling onto a discarded sock.
"Damn it to the fiery pits of HELL" He shouted over-dramatically. I just kept up my chuckling. He set the cup down on the nearest desk and huffily put his hands on his hips, imitating the "pissed off mother" look. He glared playfully.
"What's so funny missy? I could have died!" I got serious and said the first thing that popped in my head.
"Does that mean I'm naughty? Because if so, what would my punishment be? A spanking?" I slid out of the bed, standing up as if to challenge him, remembering he liked a challenge. I stood in his same position, hands on hips, but more relaxed, daring him with my eyes to say the next word.
"I could do more then a-" He was cut off by a girl walking through the bedrooms door. A gorgeous girl, a big chested girl. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, lowering my head with low self-confidence, my hands meeting each other behind me.
"Hey Babe. Last night was amazing!" She said holding his stomach from behind; her chin nestled into his back.
Jesus, last night? That means I slept away a day in a half. Jetlag comes with hitchhiking?
I heard her lips smack as her sloppily kissed his earlobe.
Looking up through my eyebrows, I saw Tre cringe.
"Yeah. Magical. Best I've had in a while," He replied with obvious sarcasm. Bringing my head up a little, I gave a small hint of a smirk to him, receiving a full tooth grin.
"I thought you liked it when you left the room saying how much you loved me."
Tre pulled a revolted face and made a vomited motion with his mouth. I laughed lightly still staring at my chunky legs, getting shot a glare from one person, and a grin from another. I closed my lips and creased them together to keep from laughing. The girl maneuvered herself so she was standing next to Tre, hands glued to her hips as she tried to act tough. Little did she know a scrawny girl couldn't scare me to what I've dealt with before?
"Who the fuck are you?" She snapped bitterly.
"The girl who can obviously satisfy a man," I lied, pulling on my boxers as 'exhibit A'.
"Oooo! Girl fight!" Tre squealed loudly, clapping and jumping about. I just laughed and felt empowered to not be stepped on by this girl.
"What are you trying' to say? You some kind of slut?" She took a step forward after accusing me of being promiscuous. If she tried to hit me, should I hit back?

"No, and if you are going to try and hit me, I shall not hit back. For I am a pacifist. I will not give into such temptations of fighting the willing just to blow off steam. I let that off in the bedroom." I said putting my hands up in a surrendering way, then dropping them to my sides, satisfied with my rant.
She tilted her head to the side and gave me a look like,' I have no idea what you just said.'
Tre was just laughing his head off in the corner where he had earlier positioned himself.
"Huh?" She said in a daze.
"Yeah, okay. I'm going to go and when you sort that all out in your bleach filled skull, shove it up that uterus you use as a toxic waste dump," I said waltzing past her. I back tracked a little and said," Nice shirt."
The shirt had read 'M.I.L.F In Training'.
Tre laughed even harder at my last comment.
"Meet me in an hour." He said as I walked by on my way out the door. I nodded with no readable expression, but inside my mind was whirling. I just told off a perfect stranger, was pretty good at it, and Tre seems interested. Today was turning out to be a good day if you ignore the excruciating pains everywhere.
I nearly skipped out of the room in excitement.

I ran to the bathroom to shower, again in low self-confidence. I knew I wasn't pretty or anything. Sure, I had a semi-clear complexion, but that was it. In my opinion, my nose was too small, my eyes were a dull yellow brown, my hair wasn't shiny and my lips were always chapped even after years of intensive Chap Stick. And I was a dancer. A lot of dancers are cursed with big thighs, a place where you use your muscles in just about anything. One memory I would never forget: Buying any dance tap I could, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, you name it. I would stand in front of the TV, for hours just trying to duplicate each movement.

Dancing was always my one thing that took away all my pain and distracted me. I would often cry while dancing with all the emotions that surged through my body. I thought about my imperfections as I showered, a common topic always rearing its ugly head.


I squeezed the extra water out of my hair, letting it fall lightly on my healing back. Whenever I used to get bruises and cuts from my mother or her boyfriends, it took forever to heal. But lately I've noticed ever since I stepped out on the concrete of Oakland, they have been nearly disappearing.

I stepped out of the steamed shower and wrapped the same towel around myself as I did last night. Then I realized I didn't grab my bag, carrying all my clothes and pocessions. I opened the door and peered cautiously into the hallway. Clear.
I walked quickly down the hall and laughed as I passed Tre's door, hearing him scream, "Well you climax weird!" So childish, but that's what drew me to him.
Nearly the door, I noticed my bag was open. I had made sure the night before that it was closed. Oh god, I hope no one went through my stuff and saw my journals. I started gathering my bag as the blonde girl stormed out of the hall in a rage, followed by a defensive Tre.
"I'm just saying you need some practice!" He said to her. She turned around before he could explain further and slapped him hard in the face.
"What the fuck was that for!?" He wailed.
"For...For your...Small dick and one nut!" She screeched before she ran through the door crying. I looked at Tre in shock.
"Gotta go!" I announced running past him with my bag in hand. I didn't want him to see me half naked of course.
I quickly shut the bathroom door, hearing Tre shout through fake sadness, "Now I'm all alone!" His voice cracked as he tried to pull off a fake whimper.

"Hold on!" I shouted through the closed door as I quickly dried myself more. I carefully slipped on my gray goodie and jeans. I tried to get most of the wetness out of my hair by towel, but it was still soaked through.
"Tre! Do you have a blowdryer!?" I yelled down the deserted hall after opening the door.
He came jogging down the hall and crushed me into the doorframe trying to squeeze by.
"Ow," I said rubbing my side, being over dramatic.
"Don't be a pussy," He said opening the cupboard beneath the sink. I just rolled my eyes.
"Aha!" he screamed in victory, pulling on a cord. He put his foot up on the counter to steady himself as he pulled on what I was guessing my desired appliance. The cord gave way, causing the blow dryer to come out full speed, and hit Tre in the forehead.
"You bastard!" He screamed rubbing his head. I broke out in a fit of laughter. "You're a real idiot." He giggled to himself.

"I wanna blow-dry your hair!" He screamed. All this screaming was going to give me a headache if it didn't stop soon. I looked into his eyes to see if he was serious. Behind his smirk, I could see he was dead set on drying my hair.
"Just don't make me go bald, and be careful!" I warned.
"Yippee!" He plugged it in and grabbed my brush that was laid out on the counter. I stood in front of the mirror, braced for pain.

Pulling the brush through my hair, he gently glided the hot air with it. It was surprisingly hurt free. I looked at Tre in the mirror to see that same concentrated face I did earlier. His mouth open, bobbing his head to an imaginary beat. I smiled widely, admiring him from afar. I caught his eye in the mirror and it felt like two minutes before we even left each other's gaze. The air burned the back of my neck, but I dare not tell him to move it. His smile turned soft as he broke eye contact, with a slight rose red coming to his cheeks.
Before I knew it my hair was dry and Tre had a clump of my hair whipping around his fingers, examining it slowly. He ran his fingers through my hair and looked memorized.
"Umm...What are doing?"
He broke out of his trance and looked at me in the mirror.
"Your hair is just so fabulous! Suck volume, such bounce!" He said in a lisp. He grabbed my head, and started rubbing his hands all through my hair, as if shampooing it.
Tre made a fake orgasm noise saying," Oh God! It hurts so good!" I laughed and yelled," Stop!"

I took off running down the hall, in result hearing Tre stampeding behind me. I squealed as I charged out of the house, jumping clumsily off the four steps and landing on my feet in a loud thud.
"Come back! I don't smell that bad!" He yelled like a child.
"Yes you do!" I retorted before being tackled from behind by a hyperactive man. He laid on me, smushing my once warm body into the dewing filled grass.
"God Tre! Was it absolutely necessary to tackle the wounded?" I asked, squirming underneath his body. I didn't get a reply as I still struggled.
"You weigh a ton," I added, trying to shove him off, as he was cutting off my air supply. So I did what I thought would work best. I grabbed his nipples hard and twisted them with no mercy. He rolled off me howling like a dog. I just laughed and lay there until I felt the dew hit my scalp completely. I didn't hear any rustling, so I lifted my head to look around.
"Tre!" I called.
No answer.
"Tre!" I yelled again, standing up. I felt someone grab me from behind and say," Boogado-boogada!" I whirled around to see Tre smirking strongly at me. I raised an eyebrow and stared into his eyes for about 5 minutes before he exclaimed," Lets go shopping."
"I have no money."
"Then whore yourself to people for money. Become a prostitute. "He offered as I rolled my eyes.
"Lets just go window shopping then. I could take you to CD stores and teach you my ways. He explained in a superhero voice.

What could happen? I thought.

"Sure, I just need to grab some shoes." I walked into the house to retrieve my Goodwill shoes. I never knew the brand, but I had picked them up from a local Thrift Store, obviously named Goodwill. Pulling them on, I made my way to the bathroom to give myself a little checkout before I leave with such an attractive man.
Ugly as usual. I thought.
I ran my fingers through my long brown hair and walked back out of the house, making sure I closed the door. Seeing Tre's small body playing air drums made me laugh out loud, giving him a start. He wheeled around and said," Ready Milady?" He asked. I nodded with a small smile and lowered my head as we began to walk into town. I let my hair dangle in my face as I stared at my shoes and stole glances at Tre slamming his hands on surrounding objects. He needs Ritalin, bad

I pulled at my shirt, unsatisfied, as we reached downtown. I snuck more looks at Tre as we walked. Walking with his head held high, he had a glint in his eye that I knew meant trouble. He smiled bigger then I've ever seen.
"Here we are. C'mon," He egged, grabbed me by the arm and ducking me into a random shop.
It smelled of heavy incense, mixed with dust and another smell that could be described as rotting animal flesh. Tre walked right up to a wall, like he knew everything placed in exact order. That's when I took notice to the various items placed in the shop.
Paddles, whips, chains, condoms, the works. Everywhere. It was a Sex Toy shop. I looked over my shoulder to see an old creepy guy staring at me. I went next to Tre and stayed as close as possible.
A man squeezed by and was prepared to undress me with his eyes. I clung to Tre's arm, feeling my fingers dig into his skin. He smirked over at me when I started to feel my head spin.

I couldn't breathe, my vision became blurred and the only thing I was holding onto, quickly fell out of my hands as I hit the floor with a whimper of his name.
"Tre"
I hit the floor hard on my hands and knees and started coughing hard. I tasted blood deep within my throat, dying to explode out. I covered my mouth as I coughed harder.
"What's wrong?" Tre said kneeling beside me. He placed his hand on my back, only making it worse.
"Talk to me. Shit," He mumbled as blood spilled from the crevice of my fingers. Blood came flowing plentiful as I uncovered my mouth to let it flow out.
"Call a fucking ambulance now!" I heard Tre yell to the clerk. The rumble of his now deep worried voice made me weaker, causing me to fall in a pool of my own blood.
"Fuck," He muttered, picking me back up into my old hands and knees position.
"Did you call a fucking ambulance?" He screeched to the clerk.
"It's on its way damn it!" They yelled back.
"He's coming for me, Tre." I said before blacking out completely.





Sirens. Lots of them. Voices everywhere, weaving with worry and desperation.
Loud beeping. A soft voice jumped out at me, away from the rest; Singing. That's when my eyes creaked open, hardly seeing with dry tears sealing my eyes slightly.
"Noelle?" I swiveled my head towards the noise to see a wide-eyed Tre Cool, white as a ghost and a creased forehead that at anytime I would have teased him for. I looked around his head a little, seeing I was in a white area that I presumed was an ambulance. A little red cross with the words 'Emergency Air Supply' hung above his head that I noticed was even too far away from me to even reach it if I needed it. I wanted to gag at the way my mouth tasted, blood and the acid burn of my stomach, with desert dry teeth scraping. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud holler," She's awake!"
I glared slightly, feeling my hands shake like crazy, along with my shoulders as I now felt how cold I cold.
"Of course I'm awake you as-" I was cut off this time, by my head falling to the side in a sleepful daze.