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Backstory- Todd

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Things were going good, almost too good to be true. As she pulled weeds from her dingy garden, Amber told herself that she had been extremely lucky that year. She had made two new friends, whom she would trade everything in the world for, and her best friend had come back into her life after two long years, even after she thought he had died .
“Yeah I have been really lucky, haven’t I boy?” she laughed lightly, taking a minute to scratch her dog behind the ears “Oh yes, lucky lucky indeed, I even have such a cutey pie for a dog!” She smiled again at her pet, continuing to work only for a while longer until she felt a single cold drop of rain fall onto the back of her hand. Looking up, Amber’s smile quickly fell into a fr own as gray clouds rolled in quickly above the town.
“Let’s go inside now Jona. Storm’s a comin’”


She thought she would end up going straight to bed, but the rain beating down on the building made it impossible for the girl to sleep. So instead, she wrapped herself up in a blue tarp and sat up in the empty bell tower, watching the rain fall on the bleak town.
‘I hate the rain’ she said, looking up at the clouds ‘ you can’t see the stars when it’s raining.’
That, and the rain always brought back bitter sweet memories. Ones that she was always afraid to remember, but couldn’t help but play back perfectly .


4 years before initial infection. </i>


The cold hit her hard once the drugs had worn off. It was cold in the room, and Amber curled up into a tighter ball underneath the thin hotel sheets. Her client had left a few hours ago, leaving her alone in the room.
“Why do they always keep the rooms so fucking cold” she cursed, finally giving up on sleep and going to the bathroom for a hot shower. For the longest time, she sat there, letting the hot water wash away any trace of the deeds she had done the night before. She wondered when she could get her next fix.


The rain of New york had made everything mucky and gross, just the kind of place Amber hated. That day , she merely sat on the stoop of the home with the rest of the girls, who were glad that the girl was generous enough with her earning. She had bought two boxes of donuts and coffee for them.
“I’m so jealous” one of the girls, Shiree , said to her “ you can still shoot up and look so good. Most girls look like zombies after doing this work for so long .”
Amber merely shrugged, finishing her third donut . She had already heard it all before, mostly from the bible thumpers that dared to criticize their way of living.
“Oh my god, Chloe!”
Amber , and several others, turned and sow one of their “ sisters” step out of a cab, She was limping, and covered in bruises. Her beautiful blond hair was matted in knots, and a horrible black eye had swollen to the point where she could no longer see.
“What the hell happened to you?!” Shiree said, turning the small girl around to see the full extent of the damage.
“I-its nothing, Just a guy who wanted…. It was just a job.”
“bullshit” Amber said, handing the girl her cup of coffee and leading her to the stairs so she could sit “ Chloe don’t lie to use. We aren’t stupid. You shouldn’t be taking dangerous clients!”
“ I know…but he seemed like a nice guy at first. I thought it would be a good score. It was fine at the start, but then he got –“
“Violent?” Amber finished, with a sharp edge on her voice. It was enough to bring the poor girl to tears.Amber couldn’t stand to look at her like that. The otherse quickly moved in to comfort her, while the red head decided then was a good time for a walk.


By the time it got dark, Amber was pretty sure that she had been through half of Brooklyn.All day she had walked around, stopping finally at a shady looking smoke shop. The kind with iron bars on the doors and windows, complete with tacky posters and neon signs.
After bumming a pack of cigarettes from the clerk ( in exchange for a little off camera action), she sat on the curb on enjoyed the momentary warmth. Two people, who she had seen coming down the sidewalk, stopped in front of her. She only flicked them a quick glance before staring back down at the pavement.
“hey there beautiful” one of the boys said in a cute tone “ whats a pretty girl like you doing out here on a cold night? Wanna come over to my place and warm up a little?”
She looked up at the two again, taking a long drag from her cigarette before blowing the smoke in their face. From the looks of it, they were just hoodlums with no money. They wouldn’t be able to pay her for her services, which was a shame to her really. Normally, she could milk threesomes for every single dime.
“Sorry boys” she said standing up to leave “ but I’ve got some where I gotta be. Come back later, when you’re actually worth my time.”

She walked away from the tacky shop, and was down the street and around the corner when she felt some one grab her by the hood of her jacket. Trying to scream, a single thought ran th rough her mind at that moment.
No one will hear me
She was dragged into an alley, and flung violently into the fence, which she caught herself on before she could fall into a pile of trash.
“Come on now baby” the same boy said , grabbing her wrists and pinning her against the fence “ ya weren’t being very nice back there. You really should be nice to a man who’s just trying to get you out of the cold”
“Let go of me !” She snapped, struggling a bit “ SOME ONE HE—“
She didn’t know why she was screaming to begin with. No one could hear here, no one would care. Before she could even finish her cry for help, the second boy clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Oh” she thought as the boys worked at tearing open her jacket and unbuttoning her jeans “ I’m… I’m scared….”
It wasn’t the physical act of sex that frightened her, not when she had been sleeping around for food,money and drugs for almost a year.Those times were usually on her terms. She had control over those people.
“Not this….” She felt hot tears come to her eyes. Her fear had taken away all the strength in her arms and legs. Amber closed her eyes, and just waited for it to be over.


But it never came.
One moment, she felt the tight grip holding her wrists, the nxt, it was gone and she was on her knees gasping for breath .
Lookingup, she saw a tall muscular figure pulling the two boys away from her. Holding her jacket shut, Amber could only watch as punches and kicks were thrown, curses were screamed, and the two boys ran away.
“Are you alright?” The man slowly approached her Amber, like she was a hurt dog that could either run or attack if he got too close. Slowly she nodded. Trying to speak, but finding no voice. Slowly, she tried to stand, but found no strength. He offered her a hand, which she gingerly took to get up
“ Thank you…” she finally said, barely above a whisper.
“Hey, you didn’t answer my question. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.. I’m fine.” She snapped “ look, you did your good deed for the day, now will you just…just go away and leave me alone.”. She didn’t want to deal with people any more. People were awful. People had tried to hurt her. She didn’t want to have anything to do with them. Right then, she just wanted to be alone.

“Hey, you’re a friend of Chloe’s , right?”
At the mention of a familiar name, Amber’s ears perked. She turned to face him, and for the first time, she got a good look at him . Easily in his twenties, he was tall and lean. With dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked like some rock concert security buff, not some guy who dealt with drug smuggling hookers and would be rapists.
“Not really friends…why? You know her or something?”
“Kinda. She’s like my little sister, we grew up together. She asked me to come find you and keep an eye on you. Make sure you were alright.”
Amber scoffed,beginning to walk away , not surprised at all when he stepped up to her side and walked with her. “ we aren’t really friends…”
“Well” he continued, offering her a light for her cigarette “ you don’t have to be a friend of some one to care about them.”
Amber was quiet for a moment, thinking about poor hurt Chloe. She promised to buy the girl a hot meal from where ever she wanted, after she had some more cash.
“What’s your name any way ? Chloe never mentioned having a brother”
“ Name’s Todd. It’s a pleasure to meet ‘cha” he smiled at her, a clean pearly ,kind smile “ and you are?”
“…Amber”




Following the events of that night, Amber began to see more and more of Todd.Apparently, he and Chloe used to be a thing, but they ended their relationship on good terms because they thought they made better friends.
The woman who owned their “ home” had hired him on as a part time handy man, or a body guard. It was hard to tell which . Either way, he was always around, and grew particularly close to Amber. Both shared an interest in art,food, and music; Especially music. Sometimes, Amber would just sit in the garage whle he worked, just to listen to his cd’s on the stereo while she doodled in her notebook .


“You think I should get a tattoo? Why?”
“Cause I think I have an idea that would look good on you. “
“Oh yeah? Like what?” Amber leaned over his shoulder, trying to get a peek at the design he had scribbled into her notebook. He laughed and pushed her away
“Oh come on! You can’t expect me to let you just put random shit on me! That’s not fair!”
“I promise, you’ll love it sweet heart. Besides, it’s a small one, you could easily cover it up or something.”
Amber stared long and hard at Todd, who had that puppy dog look in his eyes. The look she couldn’t resist.
“Fine, but I’m not paying a single cent, and your boss can’t do shit about it “
“Don’t worry . I’ll do this one personally, free of charge.”


That night, Amber and Todd were the at ones in the tattoo parlor where Todd usually worked. His boss didn’t seem to really care, so long as he made sure the place was locked up. Todd was quiet as he worked, pouring all his concentration onto his design that he penned on her left hip .
Amber, who was used to showing off her skin, was oddly embarrassed. His hands were warm on her skin, even through he rubber gloves he wore. That , and it was just the two of them. Just her and Todd. Not some cheating business man / husband looking for a good time while his wife slaved over dinner.

“There” he said two hours later “ All done. A fuckin masterpiece if I do say so myself “
He stepped back, and was smiling at his handy work .
“Let me see” Amber hopped off the chair, feeling a dull sting in her hip as she walked towards the mirror. Stepping in front of the clean glass, her eyes immediately lowered, looking at the piece of art on her skin. It wasn’t anything too flashy, just a spiral of stars that formed a small circle, with a single word in the center .
“Wish?” she read aloud, looking at the actual tattoo
“ I noticed that you draw a lot of stars and stuff like that in that notebook of yours, so I thought it would look good on you. Do …do you like it ?”
Amber stared at her reflection for a long time, not at the tattoo , but at Todd who returned her stare in the glass.
“Yeah, I love it “


Everyone within their circle of friends soon knew Amber and Todd were a thing. He didn’t really care that she still sold herself for money and drugs, so long as she shared it with him, which she didn’t mind at all. She always stayed at Todd’s place, which was a nice upgrade from the cramped and crowded girls home.
One particular morning , Amber was sitting on the steps of the home with Shiree smoking when she saw Chloe running up to her. She looked panicked.
“Amber!” she said stopping in front of her “ ya gawta cawl the cops quick ! there’s a bunch of guys at the shop ! they had guns-!”
Initially, Amber wanted to ask her what the fuck she was talking about. But the panic soon hit her also.
Todd was working that day.
“Go inside and tell Chora to call the police!” she leapt off the steps and ran in the direction of the tattoo parlor.
Todd, please be safe… don’t do anything to get yourself killed… why? Who would want to hurt you any way?

She made it there before the police, much to her relief. The outside of the building looked untouched, but as soon as she opened the door and stepped inside she wanted to vomit . The coppery smell of blood and stale smoke hung in the air. There were burn marks and bullet holes in the front counter. Amber’s blue eyes scoured the floor, seeing streaks of blood on the checkered tile.
“Todd!” She saw him slouched against the back wall, blood staining his arms and shirt “ Todd? Todd?! Answer me dammit!” she knelt in front of him, hyperventilating and on the verge of tears. Her hands felt his neckline for a pulse, finding only a bullet hole instead. She sat there and cried, pressing her forehead to his, wishing for the familiar warmth of his skin, but feeling only a cold dead touch instead.
Everything around her went silent. She didn’t even hear the sirens of the police, or their voices as they tried to tell her that everything was going to be okay . She didn’t hear the voices of the detectives as they tried to question her, or of Shiree as she picked her up from the station .



“Apparently” a pair of girls gossiped in front of the house “ Todd was getting in too deep with the drugs. Tried to compete with the big time dealers and pimps.”
“Poor Amber. I heard Chloe was actually the one who did it. She killed him because she wanted him back but he said no. Took all his money and his stash and skipped town.”
“Have they found her yet?”
“ No… I don’t even know if they are trying either…”
She couldn’t stand to listen to them. So she got up and went for a walk. It was raining. Todd had loved the rain but Amber….
She hated it . And she always would.




It was cold.
Her eyes snapped open and she soon realized that she wasn’t in new york any ore. It was still raining, but lightly. Nothing more than a pit pit pat on her blue tarp .
“How long was I asleep?” she yawned, looking down at the ground below, seeing a couple of unead praw the streets. For a moment, she wondered if Chloe had become one of the rotters. It was exactly what she had desereved. Amber sighed, enjoying the cold , and looked up at the sky ,
“ I guess… I was lucky that year too “ she said to herself, noticing a small break in the clouds where the stars were peeking through . “ that year… I met Todd… and Jonah too….”
She vaguely remembered the night of her attack that had taken place ony two days after Todd’s murder, but she could never forget meeting the priest in that hospital for the first time.
High up above, a shooting star lit up the sky. Amber smiled brightly, closed her eyes…

And made a wish.
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Comments8
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MarieJaneWorks's avatar
This is soo wonderful
I cant wait for our trade!
And im so honored to be your first partner in one!