Chapter 7: A World In Black And White

The Benton Street Diner, Baltiney, New York...

Gripping the remainder of her two bagels from her previously ordered breakfast, the working girl known as Misty Davers continued to take small bites to pass the time as she stared out the window into the pouring rain that pelted against the sides of the diner and street respectively. She had both enjoyed the sound and dreaded the fact that she'd be back to walking about in it soaked from head to toe following her departure from the diner. She had also been uneasy about the fact that she'd once more have to be on high alert due to the number of women in her unsavory profession of sorts frequently being attacked and coming up missing due to the latest onset of sex traffickers. She had not feared them so much as she was watchful of them as rumors of several girls she'd crossed paths with had vanished without a trace. Misty turned her attention to her coffee and took a long slow sip. It was just what she needed to combat the cold and the leftover grogginess that lingered from earlier.

From what she could tell, this happened to be one of the more peaceful days she'd had in a very long time. She simply took time to enjoy her meal despite the numerous eyes that had been on her and the idle gossip that continued to go around with many a man woman and child interested in what she'd been doing in a family-friendly place as if she'd been about to take on clients just because she showed up.

Misty sighed as she slowly continued to sip her coffee.

If they had only known.

She thought as she once more turned her attention back toward the rainfall and the window.

There were plans for the remainder of the day but with the onset of rain, she knew it would be a waste to tack down her drawing books with all the water about. Slightly disappointed, Misty once more took a slow sip of her coffee. She'd been a big fan of keeping to herself, a means of survival that she learned during her first few months out into the open world.

In those days, she was young and dumb enough to think the world had been the kind of place that would give her a fair shake as it were. For the most part, she'd seen everything in black and white, so to speak. There were good people and bad people in her young mind's eye, but she had been fool enough to believe that she knew just whom each had been from just looking at them.

It never occurred to her that so-called good people could be downright horrible and that bad people could be genuinely good with the right motivation. Sadly, she had learned all too late that some people whom she considered to be good would end up treating her worse than those she'd deemed to be bad. The bitter sting of betrayal had not been far from the surface of her deeply intuitive mind as she took another sip from her coffee.

The rising heat from the mug and the cold from the outside window made for a nice contrast before her eyes as she continued to attempt to enjoy her meal.

Misty found herself once more watching the people as they passed by, her curiosity getting the better of her as she wondered to herself about the kind of lives they all lived and how comparable they might have been to her own.

Despite the staring and harsh remarks, Misty found that she'd been quite envious of them. They all had homes and places to be with families or at the very least people who loved them. She on the other hand was a lone drifter in an uncertain world with only the instinct for survival keeping her from crumbling after all she had to endure just to sit in a diner and order a round of black coffee.

She briefly thought back to her former boyfriend Zack and how he'd been the reason she'd been more so inclined to spread her legs for random strangers following his most devastating betrayal. She didn't want to think of him. The lying two-faced snake in a jock's uniform had ruined her life in more ways than one.

He wasn't the first to betray her nor the first to drive her along the path of self-destruction according to many an onlooker, but he was most definitely the catalyst for her current predicament. She felt foolish when looking back at how she truly believed that he'd cared for her.

The foolish sentiment of a foolish teenage girl.

Zack Runnels had only cared about himself and when he didn't get what he wanted, he saw his way to underhanded means of obtaining it himself one way or another. Looking back even briefly, Misty could see him being worst than her father if they had not been outright in the same league. Two disgusting bastards only out for one thing and when she didn't elect to give it to them, they each wished to do her harm.

Misty snapped out of her thoughts for a moment when she noticed that the same waitress from before had come up to her.

"Would you like some more coffee?" she asked politely.

Misty saw no harm in having a second cup, she needed to be alert for the remainder of the night after all.

"Why not?" she replied extending her half-empty cup for the waitress to refill.

"Looks like a doozy of a storm out there." said the redhead waitress named Cat. "Bet it'll be cold too, it's a shame not everyone has somewhere to warm up for the night to wait out the storm."

"It is indeed," replied Misty not at all forgetting that she'd been one of those unfortunate people.

Cat finished pouring her coffee and went to another table to ensure everyone else had what they needed.

Misty made it a mental note to leave the rather pleasant woman a tip before she left, she was kind to her after and seemed to be one of the few good ones she'd come in contact with for a long while.

Of course, the lonely streetwalker had been well aware of there being shades of grey in the world and in the people.

Even in people like her if anyone had told her she'd be walking the streets aimlessly and selling her body for cash before she fled the trailer park, she'd have spit in their faces. Now looking back, she figured a life like hers could have happened to just about anyone.