(13) => (12)

Jenice went to Al's place. Partially to get rid of John, who had been irritating her for weeks now, but also because she just needed his positive attitude around her. He let her in at once and saw John behind her. He rolled his eyes and closed the door behind her. 
"He's still being a puppy then." 
"Unfortunately!", she flopped on his couch.  
He walked over to the seating area and put her legs on his lap, so he could sit on the sofa too. He caressed her knee.  
"Hope, he'll stop someday." 
"We both!" 
He watched her and smiled. 
"What are you grinning for?" 
"Oh, nothing." 
"Yeah right." 
"I was just thinking how cute you were when you're angry.", he said while he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. 
"That's not funny, Al." 
"It is.", he kissed her shortly. 
"Okay then, if you say so.", she replied while caressing his cheek. 
He grinned at his victory. He held her tightly and they began to talk about bits and thats and laughed about each other's jokes. This is what Jenice needed the most at the moment. Just to get her mind off her situation at home. Al always enjoyed her company. He'd want her with him forever. But he knew she wouldn't be ready for that. As she still refrained when it came to physical contact and they hadn't had sex since that time they were drunk. She even barely touched alcohol. She must be scared in his opinion. She was, she was scared of doing things mindless again. She had made a vow with herself to only take action after thinking it through. Al knew how she thought even if Jenice wouldn't realize it herself. After eating pizza for dinner with Al, Jenice decided to leave. 
"I am going to hit the road." 
"You sure?" 
"Yes." 
"Wouldn’t you want to stay?" 
She smiled and kissed him. "See you tomorrow." 
"Until tomorrow.", disappointment was audible in his voice. 

Jenice was walking home, slowly. She didn't want to be home quickly, this would mean no freedom and she wanted to be free, free as a bird. She didn't want to get tamed. And she didn't want to get caged. Her freedom was the most precious thing she had, no one was going to take this from her. Not a relation, not possessive John, not her family. Her freedom was hers. She passed a tattoo shop, which was about to close. She rushed in, breaking the vow she had made with herself. 
"Hello, sorry. But can I still get a tattoo?" 
The artists smiled at her and offered her a seat. 
"Sure, dear.", said a woman who had sleeve tattoos and a visible chest tattoo. She could also see some tattoos on her back. The woman's ears were fully pierced and she had a septum piercing and angel bites. The woman was wearing a corset which showed a lot of bare skin in the middle where it was laced and some black jeans with platform shoes underneath. She was thin and must have been almost 40 years old.
"So, what did you had in mind, dear?" 
"I'd like something with wings." 
"Any body part in mind, dear?" 
"My back. Hey, what about wings covering my back fully?" 
"That will have to be done in more than one session, dear, otherwise it will hurt too much. We can do the lining right now though." 
"Great!", Jenice smiled. 
"You'll have to take off your shirt and bra. You can lay on this chair.", they led her to a chair or bed that looked like the table on which a doctor researches you, covered in brown leather. Jenice took off her clothes and pressed herself on the leather. She sighed deeply but happily. They began to wash her back and rub it in with disinfectant. They scraped off the moist and began to prepare their equipment. 
"So, dear, we always clean our equipment or replace it, so you don't have to worry for diseases. We use the same materials as a surgeon when it comes to cleaning up and treating the body. Besides this is going to sting.”

 They placed the needle on her back and they began to tattoo the outlines and the rest of the line art for her tattoo. It indeed stung, but she was a tough girl and she didn't shed a tear.  
"Want to see the result, dear?", the woman asked when they were done. 
"Yes, please.", Jenice pushed herself up and covered her breasts with her arms. They led her to mirrors which were placed so that she could see every angle of her body. She stared at the red skin on which a tattoo shone of wings. She smiled. This was already pretty in her opinion.  
"You'll have to come back, at least twice, dear." 
"That's not a problem.", she smiled.  
"Well then, now you'll have to pay." 
Jenice walked back to the chair and put her clothing back on. Then she returned to the woman who was sitting at the table where she first had to sit when she came in. She paid the amount which was asked for the first session. She smiled at the lovely people. 
"See you soon!", she waved to them. 
The woman smiled and shook her head. 
"Full of life and spirit. Wings a sign for freedom. I guess we should have made it clear that we wouldn't continue tomorrow." 
The two men, who were equally fully tattooed and with a fair amount of piercings smiled. These three took a shine to the girl. They hoped she'd come by a lot, even if they didn't had a session.  

Jenice rushed home now. She was so happy with the beginning of her tattoo. It already looked as a worthy tattoo in her opinion. She was a blank canvas that still had the opportunity to get covered with her life story. When she came home John was still awake. He sat on the couch. She shook her head. 
"Fuck you, Bright. Don't be such a drag. I can take care of myself, idiot." 
"Where have you been?" 
"None of your business." 
"Somebody did drop you off, right?" 
"No." 
"You've been on the street on your own?", John exclaimed. 
"Yes, I have been alone on the fucking familiar street on which I have been walking my fully fucking 16 years.", while saying this, she was attending the stairs and she finished the sentence before she was at the top of the stairs, so she wouldn't wake someone. She went straight to her bedroom, closed her door and locked it. She sighed. Then she smiled when she thought about her tattoo again. It still stung though. But they had taken good care of it. They had treated it before tattooing but also after, which was of course more important in her opinion. She took off her clothing and didn't put on pyjamas. She laid down in her bed on her belly. She laid her head to rest on her pillow and smiled happily. She was at ease. She’d fall asleep fast.