The Score (13 page)

LAUREN

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“Noooooooooo.” I bolted upright in the bed gasping for breath. My chest heaved up and down fiercely. I clutched my chest and felt that it was soaking wet. Fear gripped me in a suffocating hold around my throat. I was scared to look down at the hand that I had placed on my chest. Slowly I raised my trembling hand in front of my face and widened my eyes.

“Ahhh,” I let out a long exasperated breath. It was only sweat on my hand and not blood like I had dreamt. I looked down at my nightgown and there were no bullet holes in it. Another sigh of relief escaped my mouth. I whipped my head around and realized I was still in my hotel room alone. The same recurring nightmares of Matt and Yancy catching up to me had been paralyzing me for the two weeks since I'd left them high and dry with not even a dime of the money we had stolen.

“Damn, Lauren, you have to get it together. You can't keep running off of one hour of sleep every night. You have the entire city to explore,” I mumbled to myself.

I tossed the duvet aside and climbed out of the bed. I raced to the safe in the hotel closet and punched in the code I had made up. The safe clicked open. I peeked inside. I pulled out the stacks of money that I had there and held them up against my chest.

“No one can take you away from me,” I spoke to the money. “You're all I need in this life.” I laughed to myself at the fact that I was actually talking to the money like it was a person. It was something I had seen Matt do back in the day when he had it like that. Back then I thought it was the craziest shit I had ever witnessed. I couldn't help but think about one of those times now....

 

 

 

* * *

I rushed around the hotel room and quickly got dressed. I needed to get out and stop giving in to that lingering fear about Matt and Yancy finding me. I'd planned to leave the country via New York so that I could do some shopping before catching an international flight. Plus, New York was a huge city. What were the chances that Matt and Yancy would even think to come look for me here?

“Can't stay cooped up in this room any longer. Maybe a little retail therapy will help me get rid of these jitters,” I said to myself aloud as I slipped my feet into a pair of pumps.

I finally stepped out of the Millennium Hotel in New York's Times Square and inhaled a lungful of the smoggy city air. I had my ivory and black Chanel CC monogram scarf tied around my head and my eyes were covered in a pair of black oyster shell, oversize, round sunglasses—all Jackie O. style. I had an off-white cap jacket thrown over my shoulders to dress up the dark blue fitted skinny jeans and pointed toe pumps I was wearing. It was a classic, high fashion, but still a not too dressy look. Perfect for New York City, the fashion mecca of the world.

I had always dreamed of moving to New York City when I was a little girl. For some reason as a kid I thought that the streets of New York were paved with gold and everyone who lived here was rich and famous. I used to watch shows that were based in New York and dream of one day standing on the streets of Manhattan and looking up at the crazy tall skyscrapers. Now, I couldn't help but look up at all of the tall buildings just like a little kid would.

Even when I got older and after I got with Matt, he and I would come to New York to shop for all of the newest clothes and shoes, since it took forever for new styles to get to Virginia Beach. I remember those trips would leave me feeling full of life, but I still didn't feel like I had gotten the full effect of being from the city. It was always a quick run up and back down south.

Not now. This time I was here on my own terms. I might even be here to stay. I jumped from a loud car horn blaring in front of me. I had to smile at that. In Virginia no one ever blew their horns unless it was to warn someone that they were about to be run over.

This little old country girl was big city living right now. The blaring of car horns, the brightly lit up billboards, the throngs of traffic and all of the people crowding and rushing up and down the sidewalks, all gave me life. The city that never sleeps was very fitting for me since I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep since arriving in New York. I inhaled one more time. It was off to be a New Yorker for the day for me. First things first, I had to get around.

“Taxi!” I yelled, and waved at one of those famous New York yellow cabs. The car pulled to a screech at the curb. I hopped into the back, smiling like I had just gotten on a roller coaster at an amusement park.

“Where to, lady?” the driver said rudely. All I could do was keep smiling. Even the rudeness of the native New Yorkers was fascinating to me.

“Fifth Avenue . . . where all of the high-end stores are located,” I instructed. The taxi rushed out into the traffic and of course a bunch of other cars and taxis blew their horns at him. I just shook my head.

I watched the cityscape whiz by out of the window. I was in amazement. There were thousands of people on the streets and everyone looked like they had a purpose. Everyone looked like they had money in New York City too. I was down with that. I was trying to fit in too.

I touched my pocketbook where I had three stacks of cash, just waiting to blow it all. I know that was probably the ghetto thing to do since I was kind of on the run, but I had decided that before I settled down someplace for good, I was going to enjoy myself. I had given a lot of time to being Matt's girl and it was my time to focus on myself.

I wanted to see and feel exactly how the other half lived and this time I was going to do it with my own money, not with Matt's drug money or with fake credit cards. Today, I was paying cash for everything that I wanted.

The taxi dropped me off in the heart of Fifth Avenue. Every single high-end store you could name was there. The first store I went into was the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store. I walked in and my eyes grew wide. I couldn't believe I was standing in the very first Saks Fifth Avenue store ever to be created. I don't know why Matt and I had never come to Saks in New York. It was something to see, too. I whirled around on the balls of my feet in amazement. The store still had its old vintage feel. The ceilings were grand with intricate swirly designs and the most beautiful crystal chandeliers hanging from them. They were still the old, wooden ones with the large steps. There were a few modern touches to the store, but for the most part the store had kept all of its original woodwork and style. It was nothing like all of the smaller, newer, not-so-grand Saks stores everywhere else. As soon as I walked in three women dressed up in black pencil skirts, white blouses, and black blazers rushed over to me. They looked like triplets, which I found amusing.