“What about the money? If you needed money… you could've just told me.”
“No, I couldn't. You're my best friend, Alexis, but there are some things that friends just can't always share. I'm poor, and it sucks. This is my way out.”
Alexis put her hand on mine. “Your way out is your college degree. But if this is something you want to do on the side, your secret is safe with me.” She sighed. “Just don't call me from jail anytime soon. I don't think I could handle another night like we just had.”
“Deal.”
Chapter Six
I mostly laid in bed all day, watching reruns of Friends, and eating a ridiculous amount of food. The best treatment for a hangover. Alexis gave me space while she did her homework, and then went out to lunch with a friend. It was nice to have time with my thoughts, but it also set me on edge. I was suddenly counting down the days until I would be back at the club. I was also counting down the minutes until a cop showed up at my door, and ruined my whole world.
Once I was in hour three of my small pity party, I received a text from a number I didn't recognize.
Will I see you this week?
I typed back, Who is this?
It's Shane from the library. I thought we could hook up again. He even put a winky face. It was cute, but it wasn't what I wanted anymore. I now had higher aspirations, but I had to let him down gently.
Sorry, I have midterms. It was true, I did have midterms, and I really needed to study, but my hangover wasn't getting the books into my head through osmosis. Not that I really expected that to work, anyway.
Sucks. I was hoping we could spend more time at the library together.
Geez. He wasn’t giving up easily. I'm sorry it's just not going to work out for me. I have other things to focus on.
Like school? Or like a new job?
How the hell did he know? No one was supposed to know. That was the rules. There was no way he was there last night, but did he know someone who was? I didn't type anything back. I just sat on my bed with my knees curled up under my chin. I certainly wasn't close with my parents. My mom was a deadbeat, and my dad was remarried, but if he had found out that I was an escort, he would certainly disown me. I had a younger brother to consider, too. He looked up to me. Maybe I should end this before it even begins. I pulled out Monique's business card, and started to type her number, when one another text came through from Shane.
Your secret is safe with me. Just be careful.
I wasn't going to type back because I didn't want to confirm or deny what I was doing with my free time, but it was interesting to me that he was warning me, not trying to blackmail me. Normally, he was such a pompous ass that I would've totally expected him to try to out me as fast as he could. But, instead, this kinder side of him had taken me by surprise. And, it had certainly put me into an overwhelming spiral. One text had made me rethink everything. What would another week do?
It didn't take long for me to find out.
Chapter Seven
I studied all day Monday, to catch up on my readings from the weekend, and by Tuesday, I was ready to take on the world and my midterms. But, as I put on my sweatpants and a hoodie to catch my 8 AM, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I didn’t look right somehow; I didn’t look like myself anymore. I mean I looked like me, but not how I could look. The club had showed me that. Things could be different for me.
I wanted to be in the corset and ruffled panties with a pair of high heels and deep red lipstick. It made me feel confident and beautiful. But, when I walked into my class in my sweatpants, I just felt like every other girl that was taking the test. Though looking at some of their hair, I could see I fared better than others, and one girl actually look like she pulled some out. I felt sorry for her. I was still definitely concerned about my grades, but considering I was waiting for cops show up at any moment, I had bigger fish to fry. But I kept my head down, and did my work the rest of the week, soaring through my midterms and feeling good about myself by the time Thursday rolled around. I had a final Friday morning, but it was an essay, and I decided to turn it in early, in case I was occupied for the entire night once again. I prayed that this time it wouldn't be with a murder.
I had been watching the news all week; his wife had definitely been behind it. She was splashed across every news headline. They claimed that she knew about his multiple mistresses, and how he never paid any attention to her anymore. Apparently, they'd been living in separate homes for over a year. I just felt bad for the children; they were all adults, but having their names smeared in the tabloids wasn't fair to them. Their mother had gone off her rocker, and honestly, to me, it had seemed like their father was just a lonely old man. The kids didn't seem like people that deserved this kind of attention.
On Thursday afternoon, I watched them parade the wife around in handcuffs in front of the precinct. I heard Alexis come in, as I sat on the couch, glued to the TV. But I tore myself away to focus on her. She had been a bit more stressed out than I was about midterms. It was surprising because her grades were usually really good. When she got home, I understood why she was so worried.
She flopped down on the couch next to me, looking completely exhausted. She put her hand over her eyes, and shook her head in frustration. “What's going on with you? I mean midterms weren’t really that bad.” Honestly, they hadn't been as difficult as I was expecting.
She pulled her hand away from her face. “My dad is coming to visit. He thinks that I don't focus enough on school, and he wants to make sure that I'm not partying all the time.”
“Oh.” Alexis's relationship with her father was a bit strained. When her mother took her on shopping trips in all the famous cities in the world, her dad paid for it. But he never came along, always too wrapped up in the business world to take time to see his own daughter. And any time he did come, it was just to tell Alexis that she wasn't doing a good enough job. It always riled me up, though I never said anything to her about it.
“I don't understand why he doesn't think I'm doing a good enough job. I mean, I made the Dean's List last semester. Just because I am hanging out with some guys, and going to some nightclubs doesn't mean I can't keep my head on straight. Right?”
I nodded. “Of course you're right. Your grades are fine, I’m sure. When was the last time you saw him?”
She shrugged. “Maybe Chris
tmas? I don't really remember. Oh God, that's terrible too.”