I escaped to the park that night, where they were showing a movie. It was a new thing that they did every saturday night, and I knew I would never see Jay at a G rated horse movie.

I didn't even know what the movie was about. I watched half of it and still couldn't tell you what it was about. When I sat down I was immediately taken in by how beautiful the sky was, with all the stars visible in a way only Pahrump could grant you. The grass was moist and green, and the movie was set in a place so beautiful I couldn't stop thinking about it. Idaho. My sister lived in Idaho, maybe I would go.

I spent the next hour thinking about Idaho. I imagined moving in with my big sister, taking showers everyday, eating my own food, maybe even going back to school. I played with the fantasy of falling in love, maybe being with someone who really wanted me. The little person in my conscience cried, but nodded in agreement. I would go to Idaho, and leave Jay here to be happy.

That night I called Chandra in desperation, begging her to come get me so I didn't have to see him anymore. She obliged as the good friend that she was, and we spent the night awake and talking. We laughed like idiots all night, and I told her all about Merrill as though I wanted nothing more than to be his girlfriend. She laughed at me, because she knew I was a liar.

The next day, I decided to try calling a guy that had offered me a job. He had seen me sitting outside the job agency, and had offered me a job as a maid. I took his card out of my pocket and called the number on it, Chandra begging me not to the whole time.

I didn't agree with Chandra, who said that this old man was looking for sex. Old men didn't have sex, they were just old perverts like my grandpa. How would he even get his penis up?And why wouldn't I be able to outrun him?

So I went, which proved to be an unwise decision. The old man was no spring chicken, but he wasn't a dead cow either. He had spent the day getting me drunk and explaining to me that he had hired me to be his girlfriend. My duties were simple, just spend time with him and have sex with him. In return, he promised to take care of me. The guy wanted to be my pimp.

I agreed, acted excited even at the prospect of being taken care of. I smiled and drank with him, hatching any escape plan I could think of. I wanted to run to Stoney's, run to Jay's, even run to my grandmother's. Instead though, I convinced him to take me to the Nugget to meet some friends for dinner. He never questioned me, and I never saw him again.

The first person I saw that day was Jay. He was wearing the shirt I had met him in, and I asked him if I could borrow it. I hated the mortal kombat shirt I was wearing because I thought the snake looked like a vagina, but worse, it had been touched by the old pimps hands.