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  “The bathroom is through there” Alison said, pointing towards the door next to the fridge/freezer.

  Madison turned sharply and grabbed the door handle to the bathroom. Her hand suck to the sticking, brass door handle as she twisting it – opening the door. The smell hit Madison like a ton of bricks – an invisible barrier in the doorframe. It was so overpowering it almost knocked her off her feet. Madison gagged unwillingly, making no noise and swallowing down the vomit that burned the back of her throat. She threw her hand up over mouth and pitched her nose, trying to peer through the bathroom with only a crack of the door open.

  “What’s that smell?” she said, muffled.

  “Umm…damp” she said, unconvincingly.

  “That’s not damp! It smells like something’s died in there?!” Madison spat, disgusted.

  “We suspect there might be dead rats under the floor boards. It just needs a good clean and a couple of air fresheners to take the smell away. I’ll arrange for a cleaner to come in before you move in” Alison protested.

  The bathroom was the same layout of the bathroom in the Travel Lodge. The only dissimilarity was a small window above the toilet that looked out onto a brick wall of the building behind, the brick wall was too close and too high to allow any real light into the room. From what Madison could make out of the bathroom furniture it looked quiet new, but like the rest of the bedsit, it was covered in a thick layer of brown dirt. The smell was too much and Madison quickly shut the bathroom door before the urge to vomit came back. She turned to face Alison slowly, removing her hand from her mouth and nose.

  “So…what do you think?” Alison said, after a few seconds of holding eye contact.

  “You’re joking, right?” Madison asked sarcastically.

  “I’m sorry? This is all we have in your price range. You can wait and see if anything else comes up, but properties this cheap in central London are extremely rare” Alison said sympathetically – knowing she had Madison backed into a corner.

  Madison was hopeless, she knew Alison was right, but living her would be like her worse nightmare. She had little other option, and this property was right in the center of London, with a little TLC the property could be brought up to a habitable standard - It was either this or go home to Phil. He probably hadn’t even noticed Madison was missing yet, and even if he did, he didn’t know Madison’s mobile phone number to contact her. She had left it for him countless amounts of times on the fridge, should there be an emergency, but he always lost it or put it in the bin. The thought of returning home to Phil and her old life of misery – Madison would rather take her chances in the house of hell!

  She scanned the room one last time and took a deep breath.

  “I’ll take it” she said faintly.

  “Excellent” Alison said, clapping both her hands together in victory.

  “But… You have to get someone in to clean this place before I move in. And get them to do something about the smell” Madison ordered.

  “Consider it done” she said happily, a satisfied smile creeping across her face.

  Madison imagined that Alison and her work colleagues would have a good laugh at her expense back at the office. She would probably get a nice big pay rise after closing this deal.

  They left the room together and began to head back down the large main staircase towards the front door.

  “When do you want to move in?” Alison asked.

  “As soon as you can get the cleaning done, how long do these things normally take? Do you need references and stuff?” Madison asked.

  “Not for this place. All we need to know is that you have a job and can make the rent payments?” she said, flashing her unusually white teeth at Madison.

  “Yes, I do have a job” Madison lied. Firstly, she had to inform her current employer back in Thatcham that she wouldn’t be returning to work, and then she would find a new job in London. She wasn’t planning to be unemployed for very long and she had savings for all the necessary upfront payments of a deposit and first month’s rent.

  “Great! How’s tomorrow at midday sound? I’ll get the cleaners in first thing tomorrow morning” she said.

  “Great” Madison said, stepping reluctantly down each step.

  Back at the office, Alison pushed document after document under Madison’s nose. All the normal legal contacts you expect to see when signing a rental agreement. One form stated Madison was employed, another requesting a small deposit which Madison withdrew from the bank along with the first month’s rent and the last form was detailing her bank account details so they could deduct the rent each month. Once all the legal documentation had been filled out and money had been exchanged for keys, Madison left in search for food.

  She flipped the sunglasses back down from the top of her head as she exited the Estate agents. She had forgotten about the bruising on her face during her viewing at the house of hell, but suddenly she felt strangely insecure as she entered the sea of pedestrians on the streets of London once again. The warm delicious smell from the bakery next to the Estate agents hit Madison causing her stomach to rumble violently. It occurred to her that she had not eaten since 5.30pm yesterday; she needed something more substantial to eat then a pastry from the bakery – so she went in search of a proper meal. The street was busier than it had been this morning, people lined up along the pavements as they tried to find their way through the crowds. Cars and taxies roared down the three lanes road, blowing their horns at pedestrians who attempted to cross the street. Madison’s stomach rumbled again, it felt empty and hollow. She headed against the sea of people, turning to the right at the corner and walking down the pavement. She pasted three shops before she came to a halt. A billboard sat on the pavement in front of her – it read “hot and cold food served all day, bar opening times are from 11am - 3am”. At the bottom on the billboard scribbled in yellow chalk was another sign, it read bar staff wanted. Madison had never worked in a bar before, but she had nothing to lose by applying for the position. The nightclub was in an ideal location, just walking distance from her new home.

  Pushing through a gap in the crowd, Madison headed up the large concrete steps of the nightclub. A gold sign hung from the brick wall next to the two large, solid, wooden doors of the night club – Luxuriance it read. She pushed open the door to the left and entered. Inside the entrance was a wide room that was painted completely black. Spot lights lit up the room, two elegant, red sofas sat in the middle of the room - centered around a glass coffee table. A large mahogany receptionist’s desk sat to the right of the entrance, an Apple computer sat central on the desk. Dark brown, varnished, floor boards stretched across the room, behind the sofa’s, across from the entrance was another set of double doors. Madison made her way around the sofa’s and coffee table towards them – she pulled open the closest door. The next room was almost ten times bigger than the one she had just entered, and even more elegant. On the right side was line of round glass tables with very expensive modern, silk chairs position around them. In the middle of the tables and chairs, was silk sofa’s position around glass coffee tables. To the left of the entrance, across the back wall was the bar. It was the biggest bar Madison had ever seen, stretching across the entire length of the back wall. It was made out of black, sparkly, marble that glistened under the hundreds of spot lights on the ceiling of the nightclub. Bottles of alcohol hung from the wall behind the bar, fridges filled with bottled beers and alco-pops sat behind the bar. The whole room was very stylish and furnished to a high standard.

  A middle aged woman stood behind the bar, her face was a little wrinkled, but she looked good for her age. Her long blonde hair was swept up into a messy pony tail, she wore black trousers and a black shirt with the nightclubs name - Luxuriance sewed in gold thread on the right breast pocket. At end of the room was a large, raised, stage for live bands and DJ’s to perform on. A balcony in the VIP Lounge overlooked the stage below. The rest of the floor space was one big, black, dance floor - a few high t
ables and chairs were spread out around the room surrounding the dance floor. The nightclub was the biggest Madison had ever seen and without a doubt the most elegant and exclusive. Night clubs in Thatcham consisted of a few smelly old sofa’s and a little dance floor that was normally too crowded for anyone to dance properly. The bouncers would pack everyone inside like a tin of sardines, their sweaty bodies grinding up against each other in a smelly, damp, pit of mess. The middle aged woman ducked underneath the hatch of the bar and walked towards Madison.

  Madison continued to stare around the room in amazement; she was too taken back by the sheer beauty of the room to notice the middle age woman was now standing at her side.

  “Table for one?” she asked.

  “Uh, Yes” Madison replied, spinning around face her.

  “This way…” she gestured towards a glass table to the right.

  Madison followed, sitting down in the low, red, silk chair. She placed a menu in front of Madison and smiled politely.

  “Thanks” Madison whispered.

  All the food on the menu sounded delicious - seafood platters, Moroccan style spiced lamb with homemade couscous, roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. However, the price of these dishes was extremely expenses – even the drinks menu was twice the price you expect to see in most restaurants. After studying the menu for a couple of minutes, Madison decided to go for the safest dish and cheapest dish she had had many times - cheese burger and chips. She glanced around the room again as waited for her order to be taken. The décor of the nightclub was extraordinary; each piece of furniture had its own unique detail. The sink sofa’s had specks of gold thread woven into the material, the legs of the glass coffee labels had gold ivory painted into them and the spot lights on the ceiling were designed to look like the nights sky – hundreds of tiny stars sparkling brightly.

  From the outside the nightclub looked like any other building, but inside it was a picture of taste and sophistication. Specially designed and modernized for upper class of London.

  “What can I get for you?” said a voice from her side.

  “Umm…the cheese burger and chips, please” she said, smiling.

  “What drink?”

  “Coke, please”

  The middle aged woman scribbled on her note pad and turned towards a door across the dance floor which led out into a brightly lit corridor.

  “Excuse me?” Madison’s said shyly.

  She stopped on the spot and turned back towards her.

  “I would like to apply for the job advertised outside” Madison said confidently.

  “Have you got any experience working behind a bar?” she said, eyeing Madison.

  “Umm…Yes” Madison lied – the second lie today. Phil had taught Madison to mix drinks from an early age. When Madison was a child, Phil experiment with his drink, now he generally just stuck to Whiskey, but back then he drank cocktails and various other spirits mixed with a soft drink. Although Madison had never worked in a bar, there wasn’t a cocktail she couldn’t make.

  She stared at Madison for a long moment, staring through the thick black of her sunglasses to the layered foundation which covered the purple bruising.

  Madison doubted in London it was an unusual to see someone wearing sunglasses indoors, but it seemed in this instance her efforts had been futile.

  “Take off your sunglasses!” she demanded.

  “My sunglasses? What? Why?” Madison asked, shocked.

  “Please take them off… ” she insisted, more politely this time.

  Madison felt intimidated by this strong, vibrant, woman and didn’t want to anger her further by not doing as she asked. She slipped the sunglasses off and popped them on the table. She didn’t know where to look; her eyes flickered around the room before slyly looking up to the middle aged woman. She sighed, not from shock or anger but from sympathy. She knew what was behind the sunglasses, but the sight of Madison’s damaged eye made her heart strings pull. She stared into Madison’s eyes looking past the bruising and the swelling, searching for the person behind her pain stricken, hazel eyes.

  “How did you know?” Madison asked curiously.

  She shook her head and straighten up her gazed lowered to the bruising underneath Madison‘s eye.

  “Honey, I‘ve seen it many times before - You weren’t hiding it very convincingly” she said, smiling sympathetically.

  “Oh…” Madison replied, looking down towards the sunglasses on the table in front of her.

  “I like you though. I hope you dumped the bastard that did that to you!” she said firmly.

  “Umm… Yeah. He is so behind me” Madison lied again.

  “I better not regret this” she said wearily.

  “You won’t” Madison said, hopeful.

  She eyed her for a long moment and then smiled, revealing a large set of crocked white teeth.

  “Great. I’m Faye, your manager and this is my club, Luxuriance”

  “Madison. Nice to meet you” she smiled.

  “I’ll need you here tomorrow night at eight. You will be trained on the tills, so we can get you up to scratch for the weekend” Faye said.

  “Ok. That’s fine”

  “And get some decent foundation. I don’t want to see anything like that on your face again, you hear? If I do, you’re fired. Ok?” Faye said, pointing to the bruising.

  Madison nodded furiously and popped the sunglasses back on, hiding behind the black lenses once again.

  “Great. I‘ll get your burger for you.”

  Chapter Five: The fresh start

  Madison stood in front of her new home, her stomach flipped at the sight of peeling paint, rotten wood and overgrown front garden. She couldn’t help but feel hopeless and sick with disgusted at the thought of living in this property. The house looked more decrepit and worn than it had yesterday; it seemed to have aged another hundred years in a few short hours. More paint appeared to be missing from the outside of the house revealing a mixture of dark and light rotten wood. A pair of crows had begun to nest in the large hole underneath the window ledge in the attic; they had filled the gap with leaves and dead grass creating a large nest for them both to perch in. Somehow overnight, more roof tiles had become loose – leaving a gaping hole into the attic on the right side of the house. The house looked like it would crumble and collapse at any moment. She had little faith that the house would still be standing in a month, let alone the six months she had signed the tenancy agreement for.

  Madison grabbed the handle of her large blue suitcase; a shiver erupting down her spin causing her whole body to shudder violently. Her phone vibrated in her handbag. She slipped the bag from her shoulder and rummaged for the small black phone. She glanced at the small screen on the front of her mobile phone – it was her old employer in Thatcham ringing her. They had tried calling Madison several times already this morning; they had left a message on her voicemail wondering whether she was alright and when she would be back at work. Madison ignored their phone calls. She wasn’t ready to talk to them yet, maybe in a few days when things had settled down and she could deal with the Managers questions into her personal life. At present, Madison had to sort herself and her new bedsit out before she started her new job tonight.

  She had spoken to Stephanie last night before she fell asleep. Stephanie was more calm and relaxed with the thought of Madison living in London and she was pleased that she had found somewhere to live and a job so quickly. Madison had left a lot of the details about the condition of her new home in the conversation. If Stephanie knew the truth she would only worry and all she needed to know at the moment was that Madison had a roof over her head. During the conversation Stephanie had asked whether she had heard from Phil - Of course the answer was No and after she had answered this question the conversation quickly ended. Madison didn’t need to be reminded of how little Phil cared about her nor did she want to be reminded of the incident that occurred. She didn’t cry last night when she was alone in the room of the Travel Lodge.
She had promised herself the night she arrived in London that she would never shed a single tear again for Phil or her old life, even though the emptiness and pain still dug its bitter teeth into her heart - she wouldn’t allow herself to fall apart ever again. Too many years she spent curled up in a ball on her bed wishing things had turned out differently - wishing her Mother was still alive. Now Madison could be whoever she wanted to be, she could do whatever she wanted to do without having any ties or responsibilities. She could lead her own life the way she wanted, and forget about all the pain she had buried deep down inside her.

  She popped the phone back in her handbag and looked back towards the house. She took a deep breath and exhaled, beginning to cross the distance of the road towards the house. She stood at the foot of the gate once she had crossed the road and stared up at the house. The window of her new bedsit looked cleaner than the rest of the property and a new set of white netted curtains hung in the inside of the window. Alison had kept her promise and brought the cleansers in this morning. One clean window in the whole house looked strange - obviously the other tenants were not as particular as Madison. She fiddled with the gate latch, forcing it down. The gate opened gently and with ease, Alison had also fixed the gate as she promised. Madison felt slightly more confident, and was eager to see what progress they had made with her bedroom and the hideous odor in the bathroom. Madison wheeled the suitcase up the overgrown garden path, pushing past the foliage that hung over from the overgrown grass and bushes. She still wore her thick black sunglasses even though the swelling had gone down and the bruising was beginning to fade, but she still felt self-conscious of the injury. The weather today was warm and sunny with clear blue skies, so Madison didn’t look too odd with her shades on.