Unconscious

She was lying with her back against the brick wall, her head of red hair flopped down over her scrawny chest, like someone’s rag doll that didn’t have enough stuffing in its neck. Her yellow sundress was stained with the filth of the alley and the tattered ends lay dead against her legs. On leg crooked toward her, bent at the knee, the other stuck straight out pointing away from her body. Covered in the sleeves of a dingy oatmeal-colored sweater, her arms with the hands palm-up, finger curled at her sides. Jillian gaped and drew her arms over her red-sequined shirt. She rarely cut through this alley to get to the club, but she was late and this route was direct and uncluttered unlike the alley a block down behind the laundr o’ mat.
Shivering in the chill air blown down the alley she thought about calling for help. The woman’s body didn’t look that old, but she couldn’t see her face because of the hair. Maybe she was dead? Maybe just passed-out? Had she come from the club? Had someone brought her here? Jillian’s mind began frantically piecing a story together for the woman. She was around Jillian’s age, a drugged up- no a hooker. She was a dancer at the club that went out the door with the wrong guy. She had no money, at least not after the guy stole her wad of ones. Were could she have put the cash though? Her dress was skimpy. It didn’t have any pockets. Maybe she stuffed it in her bra? He had killed her for the cash, no just knocked her unconscious, she couldn’t have been worth jail time. Maybe she had it coming? Maybe she knew better than to go out the door with the creep. Maybe she had wanted to kill him?
Jillian sucked in her breath sharply as the woman on the ground twitched. Her head jerked back to reveal a young face. Focusing on Jillian she too sucked in a breath. “Get away from me slut,” She spat. “Were you trying to rob me or something?” Jillian looked down at the shirt skirt and slinky top she always wore to the club. “Uh nuh,” she mumbled running toward the club and away from the gaze of the woman that accused her of crimes even without knowing a thing about her.