Chapter Text
Annie January had never thought that when she moved to New York City, she'd be scraping by living in a roach-infested studio apartment. No, she thought she'd at least be signed to a label, maybe even playing some background characters in TV shows or movies. Instead, she was stuck at a dead-end job paying her outrageous bills as well as her mother's hospital bills.
Donna January was the person who made Annie this way. The pageants, plays, and mini-productions for school gave Annie a taste of the attention she could garner, but they all took a backseat once her mother fell ill. She remembered breaking down when her mother told her about her cancer. It took her father; now it came for her mother.
Things changed.
Annie decided then and there that she'd put her dreams on hold. She just needed to scrounge up enough money for her mother to get all the treatment she needed, and then she'd go back to her dreams.
Annie never thought she'd be in the same position she was in six months ago.
The rain came down in sheets, almost as if someone were pouring a bucket over them from the sky. It reminded her of nights in Iowa with her mother. They'd sit on the screen-in porch and watch the rain fall. She always loved the smell of rain, but being drowned in it wasn't something she considered could happen to her.
Annie groaned as she berated herself again for forgetting her umbrella before hopping on the train. It had been cloudy for days, but it finally broke through on her workday, as if a flood were happening.
Her blonde hair was plastered to her skull like a helmet. She could barely see through the water in her face; now, her bangs covered her eyes. She crossed her arms tighter around herself, and her soaked T-shirt and shorts clung to her body as she continued down the sidewalk.
The walk to work felt longer than usual due to the rain; she'd been walking for hours. As she rounded a corner, her eyebrows raised, and she noticed a crowd forming on the sidewalk before her.
Annie knew well enough to keep to herself and mind her own business. Getting into a shouting match with a New Yorker in the rain at 10 o'clock in the evening was not something she wanted to deal with. She couldn't help but listen in as she came closer.
She glanced over to the other sidewalk, but she noticed she'd have to cross the lake that formed in the middle of the street. She huffed and looked to her right, seeing an alley; she could duck there and wait it out.
"Please! I'm telling you… I'll get the money. You know… You know I'm good for it! I just…I just… It's been bad. I'm up to my neck in bills!" Annie heard a man pleading as she pressed against the wet brick wall. Something about this scene wasn't right, her body told her as her heart raced.
Annie peeked around the corner and saw a man standing in the crowd. His silhouette was barely visible through the heavy rain. She couldn't see much of his features; he was too far away, and the rain blinded her.
"10 percent interest on top of the principal every day until I get my money," the man said with a menacing growl. Annie felt a shiver run down her spine at his voice. It sounded like what she'd imagined the boogeyman to sound like when she was younger. If the rain hadn't caused her skin to break out into goosebumps, she was sure his voice would've.
The lightning must've been a paid actor, because it lit up half his face as it brightened the dark sky. She could see the curl to the man's lip and the unnatural fangy smile on his face. He looked like a monster, and this was some sort of game.
"Should I leave you with a reminder because Charles, you wouldn't want poor Cleo to have to bury her father, now would you?" She heard the voice snarl.
Everything happened faster than Annie could keep up with. The tall, broad-shouldered man raised his hand with something shiny glinting in his palm. It was a gun. Her eyes widened as large as dinner plates as the man swung the gun, hitting Charles across the face.
The strike caught him on his temple around his forehead, and blood immediately sprayed from the broken skin. Annie covered her mouth to muffle the scream she wanted to release. Her heart could stop at that moment. She stayed frozen as she watched the scene in front of her.
"You always have a fucking excuse, Charles, but there's a price. If I have to come out myself, I'll see to it your daughter has her work cut out for her with a closed casket." His voice was low and deadly as he made the promise to the kneeling man.
Almost as if he felt like he was being watched, his eyes flickered from the man, and for a brief moment, his icy glacier-blue eyes met hers. But it didn't seem like he noticed her. He looked at her, almost like he was staring through her.
Annie tried to keep herself still. She did not want to be seen, and she did not want to be next. The man suddenly turned on his heel and barked orders in a low voice. She did not know what he said, but everyone scattered like roaches. She next noticed car tires screeching on the rain-slicked streets, almost at risk of hydroplaning as they left.
The man was the last to leave, along with someone else. He turned on his heel in the downpour before stalking to a vehicle. Annie watched from her hiding space as the last car left; no one was left aside from her. She released the breath that caused her lungs to burn.
Annie's heart raced as she stayed hidden in the shadows, and her hands shook as she realized what she had witnessed. She didn't know who that man was, but she knew she had to be careful; men like that tie up loose ends, and she hoped she wasn't one.
Annie couldn't think about that; she had work to get to. She couldn't be late again. She glanced around one last time. The street was empty; even "Charles" was gone. She forced herself to keep on her path to work. The rain grew heavier as she started to walk once more.