Chapter Text
Prologue
The blue Saab sped on the empty street. The clock glared two o’clock in the morning. It was one of the only times you could actually drive through Los Angeles. Bette attempted to find her planner in her bag. She kept an eye on the road and a hand on the wheel, all the while rummaging through the bag on the passenger seat. She grumbled to herself. Her fingers grazed an object that had the right shape and feel. She closed her hand around it and yanked her hand out, but in her precipitation, the bag fell and spilled its content on the floor.
“Fuck!”
She checked that the light was green and slowed down just about. She grabbed the bag and put it back on the seat.
Farther away, on the other side of the street, a young woman stepped down from the sidewalk and onto the road, without paying attention to her surroundings. Her youthful face rose to look at the sky, seemingly searching for something. She was still walking and she staggered a bit on her bare feet with her head thrown back. She was in the middle of the street when she pivoted in the direction of the sound rushing her way.
Bette gave up and dropped her phone on the seat. She glanced up and her eyes widened. The woman was only sixty feet away, maybe less, frozen on the spot like a deer in the headlights. It took a full second for Bette to react. She swerved to the left and she smashed her foot on the brakes in a desperate attempt to avoid the girl. The tires squealed on the concrete. They left dark rubber marks on the concrete as the car did a complete 360 degrees on its wheels. It came to a standstill a few feet away. The violence of the stop almost sent Bette on the wheel. She gasped for air.
The engine stalled. Bette gripped the steering wheel for the longest time. Her joints were white around the black leather. Her breathing was ragged, her pupils were dilated. The handbrake grated in place and she removed her foot from the pedal. A hand pressed on her chest as she attempted to take deep breaths. She looked behind her and saw a white heap on the street.
“Shit!” she said.
She attempted to get out of the car but forgot to unfasten her seatbelt. It yanked her back and nearly strangled her.
“Shit shit shit!” she cursed, running in her heels. “Fuck, are you okay?”
She reached the girl. It was a woman, blonde. She was lying on her back, but her eyes were open and blinking. Bette fell to her knees but didn't touch her. Her shaking hands hovered over her body, appraising her. She looked for any sign of injury but couldn’t find any.
“I'm so sorry, I didn't see you, are you okay?” she shot in quick succession.
The woman blinked up at her, seemingly noticing her presence finally. She straightened and sat there on her ass in silence.
“Did I hurt you? Can you hear me?”
The stranger tilted her head to the side and saw the blue cabriolet in the middle of the street.
“Oh, that was your car.” She said in a toneless voice. “No, you didn't hit me. I think I lost my balance.”
“Are you certain?”
The woman nodded with an unbothered expression that made Bette’s eyebrows scrunch up even more in concern.
“Did you hit your head? Are you medicated? High?” Bette asked. “Are you in danger?”
“Streets are dangerous.”
Bette sighed and stood to her feet with an exasperated sigh. She surveilled the woman quietly and tangled her hands in her curls. Her watch indicated five minutes past two. She put her hands on her hips and studied the other woman’s appearance.
She was wearing a long empire dress, as white as can be. She was barefoot and the street lights shone on a lotus tattoo in color. Her blonde hair was messy but clean. Bette ran her eyes along her arms. There were no marks of any kind. The skin was smooth and pale. No syringe had met the crook of her elbows recently. In fact, she didn’t seem injured at all.
Bette looked at the street in the distance. Los Angeles wasn’t quite asleep but no one was gathering their way yet. She thanked whoever was listening internally. But it was late, or early, and they couldn’t linger all night.
“You can't stay here.”
“Oh… You’re right.”
The stranger stood with ease and, being barefoot, the top of her head barely reached Bette’s chin. Bette gazed into her hazel eyes and averted them just as quick. She had not realized until then that her face was so pretty. A pink flush spread on her cheeks. She cleared her throat and schooled her composure.
“Are you going to be okay?”
The woman smiled innocently and Bette sucked in a breath. “I will. Thank you for stopping.”
A myriad of expressions flashed on Bette’s features. A small frown, the ghost of a smile, a look of concern. She licked her lips and nodded.
“Ok, well… Take care. And get off the road,” she urged with a raised index finger.
Bette turned around and made her way back to her car quickly. She was eager to get home. Still, she glanced over her shoulder at the strange woman, who was padding hesitantly toward the sidewalk.
Getting inside her car and fastening her seat belt once more, she put the contact on. She looked in the rear view mirror and saw the woman, looking up and down the street in an obviously disoriented display. Bette cursed and softly banged her head on the steering wheel several times. She parked her car on the side of the road.
“The things I do,” she mumbled to herself.
She jogged to the woman, her heels clicking on the concrete. The blonde stranger turned her way with a curious expression on her face.
“I don't think you're okay. You should let me take you to the hospital.”
A frown creased the blond woman's forehead. “You're very nice,” she deadpanned.
“You seem lost.”
“I think I am.” She glanced around with an air of concentration. “I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go.”
“Maybe I can help with directions.”
The stranger smiled and Bette blinked before she shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“You see,” the woman said. “I don't remember where I was going or where I came from. There was a fountain and that's it.”
“It's the fountain in Grand Park. That's where you were coming from.” Bette nodded toward the spot across the street. “You don't remember anything else? Should we go back? Were there people with you?”
Each question came out faster than the next. Bette took a step closer but she remained at a safe distance. She kept stealing glances at the woman’s hands whenever they were hidden from view by the white skirt that billowed gently with the wind. God forbid she got herself shivved because she had decided to act like a Good Samaritan.
“I was alone when I woke up,” the woman said finally.
She stared in the direction of the fountain that she couldn’t see from there and her frown returned. Bette noticed the way she grasped the soft fabric of her dress and let it glide between her fingers. The faraway look was worried. Bette’s stance relaxed somewhat.
“My name is Tina,” the stranger said, looking at her once more.
She extended her hand exaggeratedly. The randomness of the statement made Bette chuckle.
“I'm Bette Porter.”
Their hands touched and a shiver traveled from the tip of Bette’s fingers to the rest of her body. Tina looked from her eyes to their joined hands with parted lips. Her grip softened so Bette could remove her hand but the foreign sensation had messed with her cognitive abilities and she remained there for a second longer. Their hands fell to their side. Bette flexed her fingers. Tina stroked her own with her thumb. Their uncertain eyes betrayed their trouble.
“Nice to meet you. Bette Porter suits you.”
Bette’s entire body hit the button pause until she barked out a real laugh.
“Um…” she cleared her throat. “Thank you… Tina…”
“I don't have a last name. I don't think I needed it where I’m from.”
Bette placed her tongue behind her front teeth to keep from snapping at her. She pinched the bridge of her nose. The oddness of the lost woman collided against Bette’s wall of sensibleness.
“You are a very peculiar woman.”
She chuckled but this one sounded uneasy. A car drove by and illuminated Tina’s silhouette from behind. In that moment, like it happens with most white fabric, the sheer skirt glared at Bette. The shadow of legs came into view, long and shapely. The car drove away, but the imprint burned her retina. Bette’s mouth went dry.
“I really think I should take you to the hospital… or a police station at least. Someone is bound to look for you.”
“You think so?” Tina asked with a hopeful voice.
Bette shrugged. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be the case. We all have someone who cares.”
Tina hummed wistfully. She looked toward the night sky. The smile that tugged at her lips gave her an almost childlike air. Bette followed her lead and gazed upwards. The immensity of the universe enveloped her in a warm cocoon. Despite the orange hue the many lights in the city propagated high in the sky, Bette could almost make out the brightness of the stars.
“I’d like it if someone cared,” Tina said.
Bette contemplated her side profile, angled dreamily toward a destination she couldn’t see. Tina caught her glance and smiled with her innocent honesty. ‘She has no idea how beautiful she is,’ Bette thought. She swallowed and glanced at her watch. A quarter past two.
“So what do you say? Do you agree to let me drive you to the nearest station? I have flip-flops you can borrow in the car. Walk downtown any longer barefoot and you will catch seven diseases before the sun rises.”
Tina giggled and it made her seem even girlier. She looked down at her bare toes. “This is all a little bit weird, isn’t it?”
“A little,” Bette lied.
Her survival instinct wasn’t ticked off by Tina’s presence but she could be wrong. L.A. wasn’t a nice place to hang around at night. Even here, near the city hall, she kept track of their surroundings. This was one weird encounter. She didn’t want another one, fatal.
“Let’s go.”
In the car, Bette instructed Tina to fasten her seatbelt. They both had been lucky that day, but she wasn't one to rely on it. Tina struggled a little, as if she wasn't used to it. Bette ended up doing it for her.
“You put it in there, see?”
She had bent over and from this angle, Tina looked even prettier. She had a focused expression as she observed Bette's actions closely. Later, as her exhausted body drifted to sleep in the comfort of her bed, Bette would think about this moment. She would wonder why she had accepted to help this stranger. She would blame it on her beauty and her long celibacy. But for now, she blushed and retreated to her seat as fast as she could.
“You're very nice,” Tina said for the second time that night.
Bette put the turn signal and drove into the road. She glanced at the passenger seat.
“I nearly ran you over.”
“But you didn't. And now you’re helping me, a complete stranger.”
Tina wasn't looking her way. With the soft-top and all windows down, she had put her hand out of the car. Her fingers were playing with the wind, creating invisible patterns. Her blond hair tangled around her face with the wind sweeping from all sides.
The engine roared on the empty street when Bette stepped on the gas. She recalled the incident and slowed down. Through the length of their drive, Bette stole glances at Tina. By the time they reached the police station, she had committed her face to her memory.
The clock in the car read 2:22 AM.