ie

outside was a pale,

empty, but the sheets were still warm, the pil

e betrayal. The bloody escape. The wild, des

st, revealing a canvas of dark bruises bloomin

Sullivan. I had just lost my virginity to a compl

in the adjoining bathroom se

still

uld I possibly define what we had done? He was my savior, b

to lea

a meat grinder, I scrambled out of bed. My dress, tor

n't wea

t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. They were hu

on, feeling

something so intimate? I didn't want to owe him anything. I wante

man's leather wall

nd practical, f

y

. Then we would be even. He saved my life, I paid

uld salvage a single shr

ghable trinket now-and the delicate diamond necklace

with hundred-dollar bills. I pulled o

cash under

hundred dollars. For a night like that, it was an insult. But it wa

write a note, but found none.

n the bathr

seiz

f the suite, down the empty morning cor

I kept my head down as I sped through the grand lobby,

doors and the cold New York air hit my f

ab I saw and gave th