Every little girl has a fairytale. A tale fed to her by society, telling her what's right and wrong. She lives like this up until the age of 15, when she realizes that fairy tales don't do anything. They're not real. A pretty picture painted by everyone to keep her from realizing that monsters are inside her, not outside. A prince won't come to save you, because who are you to a prince? And besides, princes don't exist.
****
I woke up in a warm bed, instead of the alley that I'd fallen asleep in. Despite how warm and cozy it was, I sat up quickly. Being in a stranger's bed was never a good thing, especially if you were me.
It smelled like an expensive hotel. Not a cheap motel that was where I usually conducted my dirty business. There was a bottle of Axe sitting on the dresser, that had male undergarments in it. Someone planned on being here a while. I looked down to see my regular clothes, well, actually, my skanky blue sparkly dress with no back, long sleeves, and short, gone. My shoes rested in the corner by the door to what looked like a room right beside it.
Carefully, I stood. The shirt fell at my knees, covering me pretty well. I walked silently to the door, pressing a multiply pierced ear up to it. Smooth, melodic voices drifted.
They were having a very heated conversation.
"Harry! Management will kill us! Why did you bring her?" Someone said. Harry... seemed familiar. Like the Harry had money.
"You guys weren't there. You don't understand how messed up she was. She was battered, covered in bruises and blood. She had cuts up and down her entire body. Black eye, busted lip. And she was crying. Silently, but still crying. You couldn't expect me to just leave her there to die!"
"Boys, it's true. I cleaned up her wounds. It was pretty bad. Harry did the right thing by bringing her to us," a soft, feminine voice said. Hearing that someone else cleaned my wounds made me weak at the knees. I brushed my long hair back from my face, cringing as I rubbed up on the gauze wrapped around my arm.
"Eleanor! Not you too!" Someone moaned.
"Louis, we couldn't have left the poor girl to die. I will not stand for it. Now I'm going to go see if she is up, so we can all be introduced and get on with becoming fast friends!" The girl, despite the beauty of her voice, sounded angry. I ran back to the bed, watching the door with wary eyes.
The door creaked open and a gorgeous girl with brown curly hair stepped in, smiling at me like I'd just given her the greatest gift in the world. "Hello, darling. I'm Eleanor. No need to be afraid," she purred. "Do you have a name?"
"Flora," my voice was weak.
"Flora, darling, are you up to meet some new people? They're rather nice. And they helped me care for you last night when Harry brought you home," Eleanor's voice was soft. Like she was afraid I would break if she said anything louder than a whisper.
"Do you have anything else I can wear?" I asked, not feeling just wearing a stranger's tee shirt. Especially when it smelled like cologne and male deodorant.
"Yes, darling. Come with me and I'll get you some clothes," Eleanor offered me her hand. Going against my gut instinct, I took her hand. Mine was bandaged and battered compared to hers, but she smiled at me with warmth.
****
After I was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve tee shirt, I was escorted back to the first room. Number 159. Eleanor had french braided my long hair back, so it tapped my butt as I walked. I smelled like Victoria Secret, and Eleanor had even done my makeup a bit. To hide my black eye and busted lip.
I looked almost pretty.
"They're all very nice," Eleanor assured me before opening the door. So many people, eyes trained on my face.
"Hello, I'm Harry," a brown haired boy with curls and bright green eyes told me, waving.
"I'm Louis."
"I'm Zayn."
"I'm Liam."
"I'm Niall," the last one said. They all smiled tentatively and waved. Now onto the girls, who were looking at me like a small child. Oddly loving
"I'm Perrie," a girl with shocking pink hair said, giving me a hug.
"I'm Danielle," a girl with curly hair quickly filled my empty arms.
"I'm Cecily," a girl with blue hair said. I definitely knew these people.... but from where?
"I'm Flora," my voice was still quiet.
"It's absolutely wonderful to meet you, Flora," Harry smiled, flashing dimples at me. I couldn't help but smile back a small, cautious smile.