Beth blushed and looked a little uncomfortable at the praise. She'd obviously never had anyone say anything like that before. Oh, she'd been praised f...r her good grades and what a good student she was, but if anyone had told her she was beautiful, it sure hadn't taken hold in her mind.Our food came about then and the conversation turned to Monday."Are you sure I can pull this off?" Beth was starting to get nervous again."I'm positive you can. Look, what you'll be wearing is about what every. "No baby, ya got it all wrong. What's mine is his, we're buddies, ya know that. "And then Justin who had been right outside the door listening to everything came in drunk as a skunk, too. "C'mon, let us on. "Rick said. I went to get up quickly off the bed but he grabbed my arm and pulled me down. "Leave me alone Rick, you're drunk!"I freed myself from his grasp and ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I was scared and shaking. Rick was yelling and threatening to break the door down. I. She told Brenda about an abusive husband, a bully who was responsible for her fading bruises, she said how her lover's boss had given them a job, more than a job, a beginning, a new start and how excited she was about the future!Brenda was a smart lady and when she added two plus two, she came up with four, she said nothing apart from the odd smile and nod in the right place, it wasn't until her new acquaintance left and was met at the door by a scruffy looking drunk, who took her arm and held. She felt goosepimples rising across her tightly crossed arms. Her nervous, embarrassed compulsion to cover herself as much as possible. Yet, the fire from the barrel bathed her in waves of blistering heat. Its forked spew of flickering yellow and orange light casting away the shadows of all the figures surrounding her and it. Casting away the sparks and ashes of all she had left to own in this world. There, into that rusted old oil drum, had she deposited the very clothes from her back… right.