Video Girl

Aliyah’s POV:

Today we had a run through of Some Kind Of Drug, I live in a hotel right now, hiding out from this guy that has been tormenting me since I became a Video Girl, more of a stalker/admirer surely scary, so far he hasn’t found my hotel yet, I do have it under a different name, Gerald doesn’t know a thing, I am too afraid of what will happen if I tell him, he was just recently arrested for assault against one of the guys at the strip club for trying to rape me, I didn’t want to see him go behind bars for murder. I wake up from just falling asleep an hour ago, I roll over as my phone chimes with an incoming video call, I accidentally roll off my bed and onto the floor,

“OW FUCK!”

I quickly push myself up and grab my cell phone seeing Gerald’s smile on my screen, I swipe to answer the call, Gerald’s face pops up on the screen,

“Morning Aliyah, I will be there in a half hour to get you for breakfast, then we got to go start practicing Some Kind Of Drug, how’d you sleep?”

I smile back at him, hiding the fact that I only got an hour of sleep, “Good, like usual.” I smile again and laugh a little.

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping....” Gerald says, concerned.

“I am fine Gerald, stop worrying about me please?” I look at him after sighing a little, I hated when he got like this.

It made me feel so bad for hiding things and lying to him, he gets this look in his eyes every time I leave for the night, a look that shows I might not be back again, and that look scares me to death, I have nearly touched death about 5 times since I became a Video Girl 2 years ago.

FLASHBACK

I stand next to my best friend/fellow video girl Mia Johnston, my arm is around her as a fan snaps a few photos of us, after they finish we step away from each other, I am approached by this tall spanish dude, who introduces himself to me,

“Hello I am Kai Salvatore, I help run a strip club on Sunset Blvd, you should stop by sometime,” He holds out a card to me.

I take it with a smile on my face, “Okay, we will see.”

Kai smiles at me, Gerald’s voice pulls me from the conversion,

“I need my main girl over here please!”

I looked at Kai, “I’m sorry, I have to go, when I’m done here I will stop by the club okay?”

He smiles at me and nods, “Okay I will see you later.”

I turned to walk away from him, walking to Gerald, who pulls me to him and puts his arm around me as a photographer took our pictures, I was still in my outfit from the Video These Things Happen, I posed with him and put my hands on him for the pictures, when we were finished, he turned to me and says,

“Get yourself into a hotel, that will be your home Aliyah, I will see you tomorrow to go back over the video again.”

He hands me a black credit card, I look down at it, reading the name on it Gerald Earl Gillum, I looked back at him, “Thank you Gerald.”

“No problem, you’re apart of the G-Eazy crew you will be taken care of Aliyah, now go get some sleep, I will see you in the morning,” He hugs me tightly.

I hug back, then let go and turn to walk away, I walk towards the dressing rooms, I walk to my dressing room door and open it, going inside, I grab all my stuff and shove it into my bag. I shut the light off to my dressing room and close the door, pulling out my phone I order an Uber, then text Kai,

Me-Hey Kai its Aliyah, I’m going to be on my way.

Kai- Okay sounds good see you soon hun.

I waited 5 minutes for an Uber, got in and looked out the window as he began to drive towards Sunset Blvd, when he stopped I handed him a $100 for a tip,

“Thank you miss, have a good night.”

“You’re welcome, I will be ordering an Uber to The Standard, Downtown LA, in a few hours,” I reply back to him, with a smile.

He smiles back, “Okay sounds good, maybe I will get lucky enough to get the call.”

“Alright see you later Mr. Uber Guy,” I laughed as I opened the door and got out, I shut the door and turned to the club in front of me.

I had never been in a strip club before, I walked inside, a bouncer pulled me to the side,

“Are you Aliyah?”

I nodded, looking up at the guy, “Yes I am.”

“Okay Kai is expecting you, follow me,” He says.

I walk with him as I hear the music for I Mean It start, we enter a private room, there is a pole in the middle with a blonde girl dancing on it, I follow the bouncer and sit next to Kai,

“Would you like a drink?” Kai asks me, turning to look at me,

“Sure, Jack and coke,” I smile at him, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” He says to me then turns to his bouncer, “Go have one of the waitresses bring us two Jack and coke’s okay?”

The bouncer nodded, then disappeared, a few moments later a waitress came back with two glasses, I drank a lot and somehow ended up on Kai’s lap, I came to my senses still drunk, I looked at my phone, it was 1:30am and I had to be up at 5:30am,

“I hate to kill the party, but I need to get home so I can get up for work tomorrow.”

Kai smiles, getting up with me still on his lap, he placed me on my feet, “Okay I can give you a ride.”

I quickly shook my head, “No it’s okay it isn’t far I’ll walk you continue your fun, thank you for inviting me.”

Kai nods, “You’re welcome have a good night, get there safely.”

I nodded before turning around and heading out of the club, I pulled up Maps on my phone and typed in the address for The Standard Downtown LA, I squinted at my screen, it was a 15 minute walk, I could do it, drunk in heels. I began to walk towards downtown, I look over my shoulder it is dead silent out, I turn back around, walking as I do, a few more minutes down the road, I don’t look or see the car flying up the side street until it connects with me, knocking me over, I couldn’t breath, I could hear voices, I pushed myself up, trying to breath, but then give up as I pass out. I woke up in the hospital alone, I looked at the clock it read 6:50 am, I was so dead, I was late for the video shoot and I was never late. The doctor released me about 20 minutes later, I showed up at the shoot, bruised up and sore, the moment I walked in I headed for the dressing rooms fast, I undressed and looked at the damage in the mirror, which made me cry silently, then I hear the door open, I turn and come in eye contact with Gerald, who has a look of pure anger in his face at all the marks on me.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Is all I said to him.

FLASHBACK ENDS

I walked into my bathroom of my beautiful hotel room, a clean towel hanging from the hook, I undressed, looking at myself in the floor length mirror, I had some bruises that were fairly new, thanks to Kai. I got into the shower, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to hide these bruises from Gerald and he would question them yet again, I would have to lie and it hurt when I did. After my shower, I got dressed in a sundress, and heels. I ordered an Uber to the place we always went to breakfast, LA Cafe. I walked out of my hotel room, closing the door behind me, purse in hand, I walked to the elevators and got on, going down to the first floor, I exited the elevator and was greeted by the desk person of the day Logan Walters,

“Morning Miss Cruz! Have a lovely day!”

“Morning Logan, thank you, you have a nice day as well,” I smiled at him, before walking towards the front doors, I walked out the doors and down the steps just as my Uber was arriving, I got into the car and we headed towards LA Cafe, when we arrived there was already a group of the paparazzi surrounding someone, I got out of the car and instantly all the camera’s pointed to me and began flashing,

“HEY LOOK ITS G-EAZYS MAIN VIDEO GIRL!”

I looked around the paparazzi and smiled at them all, Gerald voices made them stop,

“Let the lady through! Give her some space guys.”

That is when they all parted, making a clear path between me and Gerald, I began to walk towards him as he walked towards me, we met in the middle and he grabbed my hand and lead me inside, the camera’s flashing still, I wondered what crazy story they would spin today about me and Gerald. We walked to our table and sat down, I started off with ordering a coffee black, Gerald also ordered a black coffee, I got a bagel with cream cheese and he got some toast.

“So why are you not sleeping?” Gerald asks me, looking up at me after chewing a piece of toast.

I finished chewing a bite of bagel with cream cheese before I answered back, “It is just hard too, that is all.”

I looked into his eyes, trying to detect weather or not he thought I was lying to him, it was part of the truth but I still couldn’t tell him about Kai and all the awful things he had done, I never brought Gerald to the strip club on Sunset Blvd I avoided that one when we hit them for videos, but somehow Kai got a guy into the club I was at and that was the guy that tried to rape me and got his ass beat badly by Gerald. He has this whole Angel/Devil thing going on and the Devil part of him is bad, I watched most of the girls he dated just dump him and he gave up on finding love and just put his focus on me and getting me perfect in each music video. It was hard not to have feelings for Gerald, he did so much for me and he treated me so good, I didn’t deserve this at all.

“Well would it help if you had someone next to you?” Gerald asked, then took a sip of his coffee.

“I don’t know, honestly,” I said looking down at the rest of my bagel and suddenly becoming full.

“Would you like to try tonight? You could spend the night at my place,” Gerald says, taking another bite of toast.

“Sure, we can try,” I say back to him, pushing my plate away and pulling my coffee closer.

Gerald looks down at my plate, then back up at me, “You barely ate, are you sure your okay?”

I look up at him and nod, “I’m fine G, really I am.”

There I go lying again, this was eating me up inside and it was killing me slowly.

“Okay if you say so hun,” Gerald says drinking his coffee.

We sat in silence the rest of breakfast, when the bill came he paid it and we left in his car, heading to the studio. When we arrived we got out and went inside, I went for my dressing room, locking the door, since Gerald would usually walk in to check on me, I undressed taking a look at the bruises again, they were getting worse, I covered them up the best I could and got into my outfit for the video, unfortunately I was also to be naked for some of the video, I left my dressing room and headed for the staging area, my heels clicked against the floor as I got to my spot, when the music started, I did everything we had practiced perfectly, I even got the bath scene down in one shot, Gerald was impressed today, I was on top of my game. My phone chimed when I entered my dressing room,

Kai- I need u at the club in an hour, I have a new client that is interested in seeing you dance

Me- Okay I will be there

Kai- Good see you then hun

I sighed, I was hiding so much from so many people,I heard a knock on my dressing room door, I was soaking wet from the music video, I was already undressed naked, I grabbed a towel and headed towards the door, I opened it and in front of me stood Gerald,

“Hey that was great, you took off kind of quick, you sure your okay?”

I nod at him, “Yes I’m sure, I have to meet my friend in an hour.”

He nods at me, “Okay I will let you get to it, can we meet for dinner?”

I look at him, thinking for a moment, “Yes, what time?”

“7:30 Bestia,” Gerald said with a smile.

“I will be there,” I say back to him with a smile.

“Alright, I will see you then!” Gerald says before turning around and walking away.

I close the dressing room door and get dressed, redo my makeup, fix my hair and order an Uber to Sunset Blvd strip club, I leave the dressing room with my purse and cell phone, heading outside to wait for my Uber. About 10 minutes later it arrives, I get in and she drives me to the strip club, I give her a $100 tip and get out. I walk inside the strip club, the music is loud, the bouncer gently grabs my arm, I look at him,

“Follow me, Kai is expecting you.”

I nod, this bouncer was never rough with me, I looked down at his belt, spotting a gun, I almost wanted to grab it and run away, or point it at Kai, but then I would be dead in 2 seconds. I looked back up and kept walking with the bouncer until we hit the VIP rooms, we walked into a room numbered 6, I walked over and sat next to Kai who had a scarier looking guy on his other side,

“Aliyah meet Cobra, he would like to see you dance.”

I nodded, knowing better than to protest in front of a guy like that, they started a song and I began to dance, showing Cobra what moves I had, Cobra was impressed when I finished, he wanted alone time with me, he handed Kai a huge stack of cash and took me by my hand and I lead him to an empty room down the hall, we entered and I locked the door behind us, and then I turned around to face Cobra.

“Don’t be shy, I won’t hurt you.” Cobra says, looking at me.

I look back at him, then slowly walk towards him, he gently grabs my hand and pulls me down next to him and leans into my ear and whispers,

“I am an undercover DEA agent, I am trying to nail Kai to a wall, if you could tell me anything to help the case?”

I look at him and laugh like he said something funny, putting on a show for the cameras, I moved so I was straddling his lap and leaned in whispering back,

“He beats me or has his guys do it for him, he is dangerous and scary.”

Cobra nods and laughs keeping up the image, “You are too funny, now get up there and dance for me.”

I smiled and got off his lap, climbed up on the stage and began to dance for him, he threw $100 dollar bills at me, I slowly stripped for him making it seem like a real show, after that I got off the stage and gave him a lap dance he would never forget, during the lap dance he carefully slipped his business card into my bra and whispered,

“You call me if you are in trouble and need us.”

I nodded and flirted with him, “I will don’t worry, maybe a house call is needed.”

Cobra chuckled, “I only allow the best and you defiantly meet that.”

After that time was up, I was also ready to go, I had to meet up with Gerald for dinner, I headed back to my hotel, making sure no one followed me, I went inside and up to my room, I felt dirty and I needed to get clean, I showered for 30 minutes then got out and got myself ready for dinner, I picked out a nice pair of jeans, heels and nice shirt, got dressed, did my make up and hair, then I headed outside to meet the limo Gerald had rented for the night, the door to the limo opened and inside sat Gerald Gillum, looking as handsome as ever,

“You look amazing Aliyah!”

“Thank you you look so handsome!” I reply back to him smiling as I got in and sat next to him.

He handed me a glass as the door shut, “Here, something to start the dinner off right.”

I laughed as I took the glass from him, I brought it to my lips and took a sip, it was jack and coke my favorite, he seemed to know me too well. I mean we have spent so much time together over the last few years. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, causing me to look at him, silently then he leaned in and kissed me on the lips, softly, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. I kissed him back, then slowly pulled away,

“What was that for?” I ask him, looking up at him.

He looks down at me, he cracks a smile, making my heart just melt away, “I have wanted to do that for two years, I should have been clear about how I felt about you, instead I have watched you disappear on me for a few days at a time with no contact and it scared me, every time you go ghost, I panic and then you show up covered in bruises and marks and won’t tell me what really happened to you, you do not have to be afraid of what I will do to this guy that is hurting you, I want you safe and I feel like you are not.”

I look up at him, wishing I could spill my guts, but every time I try I stop because the imagines of the guns pointed at my head, yelling at me to not squeal or I would be dead.

“I am fine, I can handle the mess I put myself in Gerald,” I say to him, as the limo stops and the door opens.

“You don’t have to though, you know that right?” he says as he gets out.

“I know, but right now I have too,” I say back to him, taking the hand he held out to me.

I get out and we don’t say anymore on the subject, we walk into the restaurant and enjoy a nice dinner together, after dinner we get into the limo and go to Gerald’s house, we walk inside and he closes the door behind us,

“Okay so tomorrow we are going to start the rehearsing for a song I just finished working on called Order More, you are my main girl like always A, I know you will shine in this, I hope you are ready for some fun,” Gerald says turning to me.

I look up at him, “It sounds like a wonderful time G, I can’t wait.”

He smiles at me, then goes into his freezer and grabs a bottle and two glasses with ice, he pours the liquor over the ice and hands me it, I get a whiff of it, Hennessy one of Gerald’s favorites, I clink my glass against his and take the shot, then he pours us more, we get extremely drunk, then he lights a few blunts and I black out, not remembering a thing from there on out.

The Next Day......

I woke up with a pounding headache and I felt a breeze on me, I looked down and saw I had on a shirt that wasn’t mine and no pants, I looked around the room forgetting where I was for a moment, then my eyes landed on Gerald, who was naked head to toe, I tried to remember if we had slept together or not and just couldn’t. I quietly got up and pulled on my jeans, I dug through my purse for sneakers and socks, putting them on, I grabbed my cell and headed out for a morning walk. As I left Gerald’s driveway, a car hit me, causing me to drop my cell phone near Gerald’s mailbox, it smashed when it hit the ground, screen cracking to an unreadable screen, I fell forward, hitting the ground hard, my head connecting first, I passed out for a few minutes, when I woke up I was breathing heavily and tried to sit up, I was pushed back down by a pair of hands I recognized all too well, Kai’s. I look up as he looks down at me,

“Well if it isn’t the video girl aka whore, spending the night at some guys mansion,” He snarled at me, harshly.

I wasn’t his property, I was a girl that was famous and in every one of G-Eazy’s music videos, he hit me very hard on the right side of my face, causing me to pass out again.

Gerald’s POV:

I rolled over, feeling an empty space beside me, I quickly got up, looking around, I saw Aliyah’s purse laying on my floor near her heels and shirt, my shirt was gone and I was naked, did we fuck? Where the fuck was Aliyah? I walk to my door as there is a knock on it, I open the door to one of my body guards,

“Aliyah is missing, we found her phone smashed by the mailbox, and there is a lot of blood on the ground out there sir.”

“You’re fucking kidding me right? She is missing?” I was getting angry, someone kidnapped my main video girl and the girl I was in love with.

I went insane, I spent the first few days looking for her and turning up empty, by the 4th day I knew something was majorly wrong, she is usually back by now.

A WEEK LATER.....

I hear the door open to the studio, along with the yells of my body guards,

“ALIYAH?! Can you hear me?”

I ran towards them, stopping short when I took in the sight of Aliyah, she was bandaged up, a hospital bracelet on her wrist, she was shaking a little bit, she had this huge nasty bruise on the side of her face, I started to walk towards her again, when she spoke finally,

“I got away finally,” Then she fell to the ground, barely breathing.

I ran to her and scooped her up into my arms, and brought her home.