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I brushed my hand over his head with a smirk. He’d recently started putting product in it, and I loved to mess it up. He escaped and went straight to the bathroom to fix his hair.
Laughing at him, I sank onto the couch next to Everleigh. “Hey, Ever.”
“What did she do this time?”
I swiped a hand over my face, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Same as always.”
“You staying over?”
I nodded. “If it’s okay with you?”
She nudged me and hit Play on the remote. “You know you don’t have to ask. You’re always welcome.”
Archer rushed out of the bathroom, his hair shiny from the extra product he’d added. “Hey, you started it without me.”
Ever rolled her eyes. “You missed two whole seconds.”
He growled at her and settled atop the backrest of the couch. His position looked decidedly uncomfortable, but Archer had always climbed anything he could; balancing on the back of the couch wasn’t a challenge for him.
Ella, their housekeeper, brought us dinner downstairs. She greeted me with a smile, not surprised I was there. I was a regular fixture at their house, after all.
We finished our dinner and settled in for another movie. Everleigh had every subscription service out there. I didn’t even own a TV.
I’d been getting drowsy, my eyes drifting shut, when shouts from outside interrupted our movie marathon. I recognized the loud voice instantly and was wide awake again. Sprinting up the stairs, I raced around to the front of the house. When I saw who was charging up to my friend’s front door, my pulse picked up, and my muscles tightened to the point of pain.
As soon as Mom set her eyes on me, they narrowed to slits, and she stormed my way. “We weren’t done talking.”
Her loud, high-pitched voice rang through the quiet street. I didn’t need to check to know that anyone who heard her would watch with avid fasciation. After all, everyone knew when Lila Henderson was involved, they would get a good show. I just hoped nobody called the cops.
I stepped toward the street. “Let’s talk over there.”
Putting her hands on her painfully narrow hips, she shot me a smirk. “You act like you don’t want your little friends to see me. You should finally accept that you’re trash who pretends to be more. If you’d accept your place in this world, you wouldn’t struggle so much.”
Gritting my teeth, I held back the tears. She didn’t deserve them. “And what exactly is my place in this world?”
When her eyes flashed with something I called her demons, I knew I’d be in for it.
“You think you’re too good to work at Diamond’s?”
I flinched when she mentioned the only strip club in town, Diamond Jewels. My hunched shoulders and fisted hands did nothing to help my case since Mom was a bloodhound on steroids. As soon as she sensed weakness, she’d take me apart bit by bit.
Working hard not to let my fear show, I pushed my shoulders back and lifted my chin in defiance. “It’s just not for me.”
I was also only seventeen. Not that the owner would care how old I was.
She pulled herself up to her full height. She was an inch taller than me and loved looking down at me. I’d always been small. And malnutrition had made sure I stayed that way. “I have bills to pay, and Marty is ready to give you the prime spot. He’s wanted you to dance for him since he saw the show you put on at your sixteenth.”
That was a memory I liked to keep buried in the darkest recesses of my mind. I’d had too much to drink and somehow ended up at the strip club, dancing on the stage. Turned out I was good at it.
“I’ll repeat what I’ve said to both of you many times. I’m not interested.” I turned to walk back inside, hoping against hope that she’d drop it.
A hand clamped onto my arm, and I winced at the pain. Her grip would leave another bruise to add to my tally.
“We’re not done.”
She’d be relentless until I gave in. But I hoped that before that happened, I’d have left town. And I’d better sort something out soon because she wouldn’t let this go. Especially not since I’d found out that she owed Marty a lot of money—and intended for me to work it off.
“Everything okay out here?” Ella appeared next to us, and I fought hard against the urge to sigh in relief. She’d dealt with Mom many times in the past.
