2019-08-10 - Bitch Better Have My Money

Zoiya hates being home alone. Being alone means that she has to think about things. Consider her past. Bad memories. When other people are around it's easier to push that shit aside and focus on the here and the now. Especially with roommates like she has. It's never really boring here. She has turned the television on and off at least four times, she has cooked toast and then torn it apart instead of eating it. She has even mixed margaritas, which she put away instead of drinking. Now she's dusting. She hates to clean, so obviously she is at the end of her tether and looking for any distraction that can be had.

Don't shit where you eat. It's something Dominic was told many years ago and something he's tried to live by since his life took a bit of a dip. It's why he tries to keep his criminal activities out of Gray Harbor. At least anything bigger than a drug charge. He never thought someone he took from out of town would ever make their way here, but he recently saw a girl he knows he put in a bad spot. But why is she here? Did he tell her he's from here and forget or is this just some really shitty coincidence? He had to find out either way.

She was a stripper in Seattle and if she's here maybe she's dancing. Dominic stopped by the cabaret and asked around about her. Fortunately he has a way with people and didn't have a hard time getting her address. Now he is standing outside on the sidewalk with a cigarette hanging from between his lips and his arms folded over his chest. The index finger on one hand taps the tricep on his other arm as he stands staring at Zoiya's residence.

Zoiya has no idea what's outside looking at her house, if she did, she'd have a baseball bat in hand and be screeching like a fishwife. No, she's still dusting, lifting up a lamp even to get underneath with her rag. She sighs, picks up the remote and turns the television on again. Disney Channel will keep her occupied. Singing children are good for that. She picks up her phone, attempts to send off another text to Blake and then she sticks the phone in the back pocket of her short denim shorts. She prowls back into the kitchen, picks up a piece of buttered toast, takes a bite, puts it down again and makes her way back into the living room. Where is everyone?!

Stepping up to the door of the house, Dominic reaches up and taps on it two times and then takes a long drag from the cigarette before pulling it out of his mouth and flicking it off into the distance somewhere to his side. This is a bad fucking idea and he should just go back home right now before the door opens and his life gets even more complicated than it already was. He just has to make sure he's not going crazy and this is the same girl. And he needs to know what the hell she's doing here.

Zoiya gets to her feet and pads barefoot to the door. Who forgot their key? She pulls the door open, a bright smile on her face, her mouth open to greet Lex or Blake, but this is neither Lex or Blake. "You.." She hisses, her eyes narrowing into slits. She plants one foot, and her right fist swings out, connecting solidly with his jaw. The only thing stopping her from leaping on him to continue the assault is that she really wants to hurt him. "I can't believe you would have the massive fucking balls to show your face. Where is my baseball bat." She leaves the door open and stomps toward her room, her voice strident. "You better have a duffel bag with four thousand dollars behind your fucking back Dom, or when I get back with my fucking baseball bat I'm gonna knock you out and slowly geld your fucking ass!" She sounds serious. "Where the FUCK is my bat!!"

When the door opens and he sees the smile on the girl's face he's taken a little off guard and the amount of time it takes her to recognize him and immediately react isn't enough for him to process in time. The fist connects with his jaw and sends him staggering to the side, "Shit!" He reaches out and manages to catch himself before he loses his balance, holding his other hand against the explosion of pain radiating through the side of his face. Shaking it off he looks to the door to see it standing open and Zoiya walking across the living room looking for a bat. He considers just leaving but now that he's here and the hornet's nest is stirred he instead follows her in and pulls the door shut behind him, hurrying across the living room towards where she was headed, "Jesus man, that hurt." Still holding his jaw he walks further in to try to make sure he can prevent Zoiya from getting her bat and finishing the job, "Would you just calm down for a minute?" That's likely.

Zoiya walks out of her bedroom, baseball bat in her right hand. Honestly she looks like she's slipped past where talking might settle things. Her hair half obscures her face, but what can be seen doesn't look remotely friendly. She hefts the bat, catching it above where you might grip it to swing at a ball. "Where. The. Fuck. Is. My. Money." Her voice is low and threatening, and she steps slowly to the side like she's gonna try to flank him. He outweighs her by a bit, but she's not gonna just give up. "Calm down. Did you really just tell me to calm down?" She asks, her hazel eyes getting wide. She throws her head back and laughs, but it's brief and bitter, and when she looks at Dominic again she holds the bat out, pointing at him with it. "I trusted you. I brought you back to my apartment, and you had the gall to fuck me and then walk out with my savings and .. you .. WANT me to CALM DOWN?!" It really wasn't likely.

When Zoiya emerges from her room with the bat already in hand, Dominic stops his advance and puts his hands out in front of him in resignation, palms towards her. "Okay, okay. You're right." He takes a few steps back when she moves to the side and shows no signs of actually calming down. "I will give your money back, I just don't have it with me." He side steps in the opposite direction and circles in order to keep enough distance to be able to avoid being clobbered and likely killed. "I just had to make sure it was actually you I saw. And clearly it is." He swivels his jaw from side to side a few times, pain shooting through half of his head.

Zoiya glances away from Dominic, because if she keeps looking at him she is going to snap and this doesn't need to be a double murder house. She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Her voice is low, anger simmering as she speaks. "You, of all fucking people, know who you're talking to. You don't have it with you, you'll make good? I've said that shit before, right before I blew town and didn't look back." Hazel eyes cut toward Dominic, a sneer curling her lip. "I'm never getting that money back, but you owe me and you're gonna fucking pay." She tosses the bat to the floor where it clanks loudly against the hardwood and stomps toward the kitchen. "This is where you live, isn't it? You slipped and told me that shit, and I came here looking for you." She pulls out a tequila bottle, splashes some into a squat glass and watches him. "Worried that if I found you here, others might?" Her voice takes a taunting edge, a bitter smile hid behind the rim of the glass as she downs the alcohol.

He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that she wouldn't buy it. He hardly bought it himself, but he knows he fucked her over. He's never proud of what he does but it's what he has to do. At least that's what he believes. When the bat bounces off the floor and she storms off into the kitchen, Dominic stands motionless for a moment, stunned and confused about her just giving up her weapon and turning her back to him. Maybe it's a brief lapse of reason. He hurries over to the bat and snatches it off the floor and looks around the living room quickly for a place to put it where she won't be able to immediately come back and finish the job. He almost comedically tiptoes to the couch and attempts to slide the bat underneath to hide it from Zoiya but isn't exactly quiet about it. After making too much noise by banging it against the floor, he darts upright hoping she doesn't notice what he was doing and walks over towards the kitchen when she mentions others could hunt him down if she did, "I hadn't thought of that actually.." He looks away for a moment, distracted at the thought before he snaps back to the present, "I just wanted to find out why you were here." He presses his palm against the inevitable bruise, "And now I know."

"You know what the worst part of all this shit is? I let you in, we connected a bit, and you rolled me anyway." Zoiya sets the glass down hard as a noise brings her attention back to Dominic, holding her baseball bat and then trying to look innocent. She steps around the counter, heading in his direction, her hands balled into fists. "Oh, I'm so glad that I assuaged your curiosity you shitheel." He's a little taller than she is, so she gets in his face, shoulders squared like she could take another swing at him at any time. "You wanted to know why I'm here, and now you know. Well sorry pal, it's not that easy. You're gonna get me back my money, you're gonna make this right, because if you don't. I'm gonna see to it that you swing, or worse." She points an inked finger in his face. "You're gonna make this right. I've had to fight for everything I have in this life, and knowing that, you still did it." She takes a breath, and her voice quiets a bit. "So why don't you tell me what kind of trouble you were in that you'd fuck me over. Literally and figuratively?" Her tone is conversational, like the anger she had coiled in her body just vanished. It's still there though, Dominic knows her well enough to know that, at least.

Not letting his guard down, Dominic keeps his eyes glued to the inked woman especially as she trudges her way back into the living room. He starts to assume a defensive posture and holds his arms up like he's a boxer at the beginning of a round. When her voice settles he reluctantly eases off the defense a bit and sighs. The fight or flight instincts kicking in 3 times in under 5 minutes is starting to fuck with him. "You're right. I am a piece of shit and there's no excuse." He can smell the tequila on her and for a moment considers asking her for a shot. That idea dismissed due to pure stupidity, Dominic steps back and leans against the arm of the couch, "I took the money because I would've been killed if I didn't. Not that it matters but that's the only reason."

Zoiya almost barks out a laugh when Dominic gets into a boxer's stance. This isn't their first fist fight, and it probably won't be the last, but she knows how to get under his guard if she really wants to. "I know that you're a piece of shit. I knew you were a piece of shit when I invited you into my life. You were my piece of shit and if someone was gonna plug you.." She narrows her eyes and shrugs. "You should have told me. I might have helped you willingly." She clenches her jaw, stares up at him and looks like she wants to punch him all over again. "Still pissed off at you. Take two steps back." Nevermind that she is the one who invaded his personal space. She twirls a curl around one finger and looks lost in thought. "What have you got going on here in town that's going to get me my money back? I need a car. I've had to start gathering funds all over again. You put me back behind square one."

When Zoiya invades his personal space again, this time while he's already more or less sitting on the arm of the couch, he instead stands up and just faces her. She's going to hit him no matter what if she really wants to so fuck it. "I probably should have told you." He stares down at her for a long moment before he side-steps towards the door and tugs it open, pulling out his pack of cigarettes as he walks out onto the step and lights it. Taking a long drag, he turns around so he can continue talking to her as he calms his nerves with tobacco. As he stuffs the pack back into his pocket, when his hand emerges it's holding something else. He tosses it into the living room at Zoiya. A small baggie with some white powder. "Been doing pretty well lately moving some of that. Probably not well enough to buy a car but in time, maybe."

Zoiya watches him side step her and head toward the door, her eyes following him. Much of the anger seems gone, or at least it's been displaced somewhere else. She takes a seat on the couch, pulls her feet up and simply watches him. Silence can be uncomfortable. A hand comes up, catching the baggie that he tosses in her direction. She turns it over, opens it and gathers some on the end of her finger, sniffing it up her nose. "This is a start." She rolls her eyes, and has the audacity to look disappointed as she watches him smoke. "Dealing isn't gonna make you the money you need to repay me. You better have a con lined up somewhere. If you can manage to make me my money back, I might reconsider cutting off parts of your body when I find out where you live." She sniffs and turns her head so that she isn't looking at him anymore. "Probably should have told me, probably? What a load of shit." She pockets the baggie and folds her arms over her chest, clearly still angry.

Watching Zoiya take a bump of the baggie and then pocket the rest of it causes Dom to visibly wince. Now he wishes he had taken one himself before giving the rest over to her. Distracting himself with another drag from his cigarette, he begins to pace outside her door, "I don't have anything lined up at the moment. That," he says as he points inside at her, "has been keeping me above water for a while now." He interrupts himself with more nicotine and getting the gears turning in his head, "I don't pull of big jobs in town, so I'll have to come up with something." He tosses the rest of the cigarette out into the street and steps back into the house, shutting the door.

Zoiya isn't looking in his direction, she misses the wince. Her gaze shifts back to Dominic when he speaks and she sighs loudly. "So I'm going to have to wait." She pushes to her feet, walking barefoot to the door, holding out a hand for the cigarette. "Give." She demands, wiggling her hand indicating that she wants one of his cigarettes. "Keeping your head above water. So you're having a shit time here? Why do you stay?" She looks distracted, her eyes flitting around the yard, to Dominic, and back inside the house. "Don't shit where you eat." She lets her tongue drag across her lips, and sighs. "How can I help you out, Dom. As pissed off as I am at you, I'll help you. I have to keep you close, so you don't try to take off without paying me. I'm keeping a fucking eye on you."

Fishing his pack out of his pocket again, he hands it over to Zoiya along with his lighter. "This is my home." He folds his arms over his chest as he watches her, "There's nowhere else for me to go." In all honestly he's never even considered leaving Gray Harbor permanently. He leaves all the time to run cons but his plan is to always return here. The very idea of not coming back hasn't entered his mind. The idea of her helping him almost makes him laugh out loud. Why would she offer to help him even if it is in her interest for him to do well? He took everything she had. "You could let me have one last bump of that," he says only partially joking. "Otherwise I don't know. I'd have to give it some thought if you're actually serious."

"Yeah. Well.. I never had that problem because I don't have a fucking home, right?" Zoiya hits the bottom of the cigarette pack, taking hold of the cigarette before she hands the pack back. She lights up and paces around the living room, a frown on her face. "Yeah, I thought the same thing about New York, and here I am in your --home--." She gazes at him, eyebrows raised with a mild look on her face. "You don't get a bump, you gave it to me, and it's not part of the pay back. Sorry. You'll survive without it." She holds the smoke up to her lip, inhales and exhales it out slowly from her nose. "I'm not the one who has a pattern of lying and taking off, Dominic." She eyes him, quirking a brow. "I was straight with you, you're the one who fucked me over." She shrugs a shoulder, moving to sit on the couch again. "So if I say that I'm willing to help you, I'm straight with you. What can I do?"

Disappointed to hear that he can't have a bump, Dominic sighs and nods as he takes the pack back from Zoiya. He considers lighting another cigarette but they're in her place and he's not going to introduce more smoke. "Fuck, I don't know how you can help. At least not yet." He reaches up as he lowers his head and runs his fingers through the hair on the back of his head and then briefly squeezes the back of his neck to get rid of the tightness in the muscles. "Maybe keep an eye out for any especially gullible and reasonably wealthy gentlemen callers at the club that I could relieve of their money?" He's just spitballing but the longer he thinks about it, it really doesn't sound like a bad plan. With the exception of it being in Gray Harbor.

"I'm not risking my job, asshole." Zoiya responds quietly, smoking while she stares at the wall of the living room. "Sit down where I can see you, away from the baseball bat. I'm still not ruling out that you might need a whack upside your head." She frowns, stands up quickly and scowls. "No, .. no don't sit on my couch. Don't come any closer." She takes another hit from the cigarette and exhales. "You're .." She clenches her jaw, turning to go into the kitchen, turning on the cold water to kill the cherry on her cigarette. "I kind of want to hit you again. I still don't feel better." She admits quietly.

"Fair enough." He paces slowly from one side of her living room to the other, occasionally glancing in her direction to watch her smoke or watch her stare back at him angrily. Come closer, don't come closer, you're about to get mauled with a baseball bat. The fact that he isn't already bleeding out from open head wounds on her floor is a surprise to him. "I should go." He stops pacing and peers across the living room in her direction. "You think I'm going to take off and not pay you back, which is reasonable. But if I stay here you're going to kill me. Plus, this is my home, so I'm not going anywhere this time."

"You're going to pay me back or I will kill you." Zoiya might be capable of it, maybe she's not. She glances over at him, her eyes shifting over his face, down his body. "You should go. Get the fuck out of here. Leave your number, and if you hide from me the hide and seek will end bloody." She doesn't come back into the living room, she'll hit him again if she does. "Fuck you, Dominic. You really fucked up in Seattle. I kind of hate you now."

Giving Zoiya a hard look, Dom pulls out his phone and swipes a few times and starts tapping his thumb on the screen. He slides the phone across the couch cushion towards Zoiya where she'll see his number typed out on the dialer. Once she's had enough time to take his number down, he'll take his phone back and drop it into his pocket. He doesn't say anything else and just turns and heads towards the door, giving ut a shove open. Before stepping outside, he pauses and gives her another last glance, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow. It could come across as remorse if one looked close enough. And then he steps out and closes the door behind him.