the hem and at the shoulder, shredded like it had been caught
by something with teeth. Dani bought it that way. She liked
clothes with manufactured holes. If they didn’t come that way,
she often made her own tears or cut her way into them sooner
or later. Clothing without tears, without holes, without just a
little bit of shredding was too perfect and she was against the
pursuit of that. The unattainable goal. The dress hugged her
body, but it wasn’t a good fit somehow; where it should be
smooth there were wrinkles and puckers that literally ruined
the illusion. And it was too short. Dani normally wore it with
leggings. Today, she’d opted to go without.
They signed the register, Dani scrawling her name even
though she felt numb and wooden. She’d stopped to consider
what a terrible idea this was, but she couldn’t see a way
around it. She couldn’t manufacture money out of nowhere.
Five grand was measly, but for just a few minutes here and
there, it would be worth it. Five grand was still better than no
grand. Dani had to admit she was hoping for more. That Emily
would need her more often and would be required to pay her
more, as per their agreement. Dani couldn’t bring herself to
feel like a bad person, hoping Emily’s problems dragged on.
They weren’t life threatening, after all, and Dani needed the
money badly
enough that she had no time left for morals and
conscience.
Dani watched Emily carefully as she signed. Her face was
far from impassive. She looked ridiculously happy with her
blonde hair done in beachy waves that trickled like water over
her shoulders and down her back. How she managed to get
those curls to stay in one hundred percent, Dani wasn’t sure.