Mimi wrapped her coat tighter around her to fight off the cool September air as she walked out of the CatScratch Club. A blonde woman dressed in a nice leather jacket talking to the doorman caught the dancer's attention, but she kept walking. After Mimi left the building, the doorman told the mystery woman that she was the one she was looking for.
"Hey! You Mimi Marquez?" she called as she jogged down the street after Mimi. Mimi stopped and spun around.
"Depends on who's asking," she said with a harsh tone. She needed to get home and find money for a hit.
"I am. I'm your boyfriend's wife. My name's Alison."
Mimi's eyes nearly doubled in size. She knew who Alison was; all the Bohemians did. This wasn't going to be good.
"I don't have a boyfriend," Mimi said simply. Alison rolled her eyes and laughed.
"Bullshit you don't. I know that Benny's been screwing someone, and I know that that someone is you." Mimi shook her head and tried to walk away, but Alison grabbed her thin upper arm firmly.
"Get the hell off me!" the dancer exclaimed.
"Only if you stay away from Benny!"
"Benny isn't anything. I had a boyfriend, an amazing boyfriend, but he thought that I was with Benny too. I'm not; Benny and I are just friends." Alison shoved Mimi as if she was a disgusting germ.
"You're nothing more than a whore then! You've probably seduced and slept with every man in this dump. I mean, look at where you work!" Mimi was furious. Nobody talked to her like that.
"Not everyone can have dear old Daddy to put food on the table, and turn our husbands against his friends."
"Benny has no friends here." Mimi laughed sarcastically. This woman was completely clueless!
"Shows what you know! He lived two blocks away in one of the buildings Daddy-dearest bought last year."
"That's a lie!" Alison yelled. "Benny would have told me that. Why wouldn't he have told me that?" She was almost talking to herself.
"Um…because he was afraid of what you'd think?" Mimi replied as if it were the most obvious answer on Earth. Alison pursed her lips. This exotic dancer knew more about her husband than she did! Sighing, Alison reached into her pocket, produced a fifty-dollar bill, and handed it to Mimi.
"Here, take this, and stay away from Benny." Mimi stared at the bill.
"What?"
"Take
the damn money and stay the hell away from Benny!" Before Mimi
could protest, Alison balled up the money, threw it at her, and
stalked off to her car.
Open mouth, Mimi picked up the money. Now she needed a hit. It didn't matter that she was trying to quit; this stress was too much. First Roger getting mad at her, then Angel going in the hospital, and now this. Shaking, she walked down the street to an alley where she knew that The Man frequented.
Tears streamed down Mimi's face as she walked down the dark alley. Sure enough, there stood The Man with fake concern written across his face.
"Oh, did you have a bad day?" he asked. Mimi nodded. "I have exactly what you need to feel better." Mimi handed over the money, and The Man handed her her life support.
Just as The Man disappeared into the shadows, Mimi heard a familiar voice call, "Mimi? What the hell are you doing?" Roger grabbed Mimi and spun her around. "You were buying smack, weren't you?" Roger held Mimi's shoulders firmly.
"You don't understand," she sobbed as Roger pried the baggie out of her small hand. "With Angel in the hospital, and you, and Benny, and, and now Muffy." Roger put his large hand on Mimi's wet cheek. "I, I need to forget the pain of nobody caring about me."
"I care about you, and so does Angel. That's why I'm here."
"You never gave a fuck about me! You only pushed me away!" Roger threw the baggie at Mimi.
"Fine, go back to your damn drugs, but you get to be the one to tell Angel!" Roger yelled before walking out to the street.
Sobbing, Mimi took the heroin, and walked the other way. Angel thought that she was getting clean. How could she lie to her sick best friend? As Mimi walked home, she decided to completely avoid the subject of the drugs. It would be better for everyone. Later that night, Angel lost her battle with AIDS.
A/N: The fight between Mimi and Roger is based on the one during Without You. Just wanted to tell you so you got a better idea of what I had in mind. Much love (check out Off-Set and I'll love you even more!)
Tina101