Booking Number: 140781 ©️

It was one of those hazy Saturday nights, the kind where the air feels thick with possibility and the weed hits just right. My best friend had been dating her for a few months—perfect face, high cheekbones, lips that could stop traffic, and a body that was thick in all the right places, curves that made my pulse race every time she walked into a room. She was a hood girl from the wrong side of town, with that raw edge in her laugh and a swagger that hinted at a life I’d never known—tough streets, late-night fights, and a survival instinct sharp as a blade. From the moment I met her, there was this electric pull, a silent current between us that neither of us acknowledged but both felt. Tonight, she was at my place, lounging on my couch while my friend and I passed a joint back and forth, the sweet, skunky smoke curling around us like a shared secret.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her—those tight jeans hugging her hips, the way her shirt clung to her chest. She caught my stare once, her eyes locking with mine through the haze, and I swear the room tilted. My friend, mellowed out and oblivious, mumbled something about needing the bathroom and shuffled off, leaving us alone. The second the door clicked shut, she was on me. No words, just this raw, urgent need. She straddled my lap, her hands fumbling with my belt, her breath hot against my neck as the weed-fueled buzz amplified every sensation. I didn’t hesitate—my hands were under her shirt, gripping her waist, pulling her closer as I yanked her jeans down just enough.

It was fast, desperate. She guided me inside her, and the heat of her was overwhelming, tight and perfect, her moans muffled against my shoulder. Her nails dug into my back, her body trembling as she came almost instantly, pulling me over the edge with her. We finished just as the bathroom door creaked open—barely time to pull apart, adjust clothes, and pretend nothing happened. She slid back to her spot, face flushed but composed, while I sat there, heart pounding, trying to focus on the joint’s lingering glow.

He came back, oblivious, taking the joint from my hand and taking a hit, plopping down between us. We passed it around like nothing had changed. But everything had. That quick, silent connection—it burned into me, into her. I could feel her gaze on me when he wasn’t looking, a secret thread tying us together. We never spoke of it, but from that night on, we were bound, a silent pact forged in those stolen moments, forever lingering in the smoky air between us.

Years passed, a decade slipping by like a quiet tide. I didn’t chase her with desperation or scour the streets in a frantic search—there was no need. That moment had frozen us, a union between two souls who recognized each other in an instant, a bond that needed no words or pursuit to endure. Recently, I stumbled across a county jail roster online. There she was, listed among the inmates, her mugshot staring back at me, still stunning despite the hollowed cheeks and tired eyes.

That recognition from a decade ago still hums in my chest, a steady pulse that time hasn’t dulled. Part of me considers driving down there, seeing her behind the glass, letting that silent connection speak again. Another part wonders if she feels it too, if those stolen moments linger for her as they do for me, etched into her soul behind those jail walls. Do I reach out, offer a presence, a link to that night? Or do I let the memory stand alone, a perfect snapshot of two people who saw each other clearly, frozen in time? The choice hangs heavy, but the bond remains, unshaken.

Neon Mercy ©️

I didn’t think I was going to do it—not really. I’d thought about it, maybe once or twice, late at night when everything felt heavier and the world just seemed… mean. Like it had its hand around my neck and was just waiting to squeeze a little harder.

But today, everything caught up to me. Rent’s late again. My manager cut my hours. I asked my mom for help and she didn’t even call me back. And I just sat there on my bed, staring at the cracked screen of my phone, wondering what I even had left to offer. And then, like… I don’t know, like something outside of me whispered it, the thought came back.

“You could.”

I didn’t even say it out loud. Just sat there, heart thudding, fingers numb. I told myself I was just curious. I mean, girls do it, right? I’ve seen the posts. I’ve read the threads. It’s not like I’d be the first. Not even the hundredth.

So I googled it. I looked at some ads. I didn’t even mean to go that far, but I did. They weren’t like I imagined—some of them looked normal. Cute even. Just girls trying to make it, same as me. I kept thinking: What if it’s just once? Just to catch up. Just to feel okay for a minute.

I didn’t feel okay though. My stomach was all twisted. I kept refreshing the screen, like maybe the feeling would go away. It didn’t. I made a profile. Chose a name that didn’t feel real. I couldn’t use my real one. That would make it too… true.

I stared at the “Post” button for almost twenty minutes. I was shaking. I kept hearing my dad’s voice in my head, how he used to say, “You’re better than all this mess.” But he’s not around anymore, and I don’t know if I believe that.

When the first message came in, I almost dropped the phone. He was older. Said he was “respectful.” Wanted to meet for an hour. Just talk, maybe more. Said he’d pay well.

And I said yes. I don’t know why. My fingers typed it before I could stop them. Then it was real. The world didn’t spin or anything—it just went quiet, like a pause in a song where the next note never comes.

Now I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, in a dress I used to wear to dates, and I feel… hollow. Not scared, not yet. Just weird. Like I’m floating just outside myself. I keep telling myself it’s just my body. Just for one night. I’m still me. I’ll still be me after.

But then I wonder—what if I’m not? What if something changes and I can’t ever go back to who I was before this night?

I wish someone would call me and tell me not to go. But no one will. So I’m going.

And I hope… I hope I come back the same.