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Looking around, I try to figure out where I should start. I pull out her nightstand drawers but quickly close them because they only contain old pictures from high school and some sex toys which I didn't need to know that she had.
I check out the closet next. If it was me, that’s where I would hide something of value. I rake through the clothes to see if she has any hidden boxes behind them. Glancing up at the shelves, I notice a lone black box–
Stepping on my tip toes, I reach for it and grab it with my fingertips. When I open it, I get more confused than ever. There are pictures of her with much older men in compromising positions. Underneath the pictures, I find a ledger with names, dates, how much they paid, and who fulfilled the order.
Oh. My. God. My step-mother is auctioning off her own daughters for their bodies and then taking pictures of them for blackmail. My face twists in disgust. I can’t believe this is what they’re up to. That’s when a lightbulb goes off, fuck, this is how she has so much money, when I don’t have any.
But why would Mia have the ledger and not my step-mother. Glancing back through the pictures, I see that some of them actually have my step-mother in them and others have Mia but none of them seem to have Leah in them. Maybe Mia and I aren’t that much different. Maybe she is cruel to me because we are the same. Both of us are just trying to get away from the one who wants to keep us all under her thumb.
A loud noise comes from downstairs “Shit,” I mumble. Sweat starts to trickle down my spine as I hurry to shove everything back in the box. Placing it back on the shelf, I try to quietly get out of the closet.
The sound of the shoes on the stairs causes my pulse to pick up. I desperately scan the room looking for something to clean. A pile of dirty clothes. Yes!
As the footsteps come closer, I quickly move across the room, keeping my back to the door and trying to act as nonchalantly as possible. Gathering the clothes, I hear Mia’s screechy voice, “What are you doing in here?”
I slowly turn toward her trying not to give my thoughts away, keeping my voice calm. “I’m getting the laundry.”
Turning my focus back to the dirty clothes, I continue to gather them and ignore Mia, trying to keep my hands from shaking. I don’t need Mia to be suspicious. I need her to think that I’m just doing my regular chores. I don’t look at her, because if I do, I might give myself away. Once I’ve gathered all the clothes in my hands, I go to leave the room as fast as possible.
ten
Ella
Returning to work is harder than I thought. It’s still hard to believe that I spent the night living a fairy tale just thirty six hours ago and now I’m back in the nightmare of my life. Killing myself doing chores at the house, walking on eggshells then going to work all night at the bar.
At least when I’m at The Tower, I’m finally able to relax. Or at least relax more than I can when I’m at home surrounded by my wretched family, for lack of a better word. This place sometimes feels more like home than my real home, and the people here are more of my family than those who are legally.
I shove my purse into my locker and check my phone one last time. I only see messages from Suri. I haven’t responded yet and the guilt of avoiding her is starting to eat at me. I vow right then that the next time I’m off, I’m going to have to make time to see her. I miss her. I know she’s been dealing with a lot, with Brendan and her family's hot and cold behavior.
For some reason when I don’t see any other messages, I feel disappointed. Which is ridiculous since I didn’t even give the man my number. When I really reflect on it though, I think I’m more disappointed in myself because instead of being brave and telling him my name, I took the cowardly way out. Now I’m ruined. I’ll never experience anything like that again. I’ll end up measuring every future lover against him, and I already know no one will ever come close.
I put my phone back in my locker to prevent me from dwelling on my mistake and spending my shift checking for messages. I’m ready to get lost in more mundane activities. Over the years I’ve learned that sometimes peace comes in the form of routine, and doing things that are normal. When I need normalcy in life, I clean, organize, and stick to a schedule.
I quickly look around for Amber. I can’t wait to tell her about my night. It's weird that she hasn’t called to ask me about it, but I know she’s busy.
When I take my place behind the bar, Amber is nowhere around. Hmm…that’s weird. She’s always at the bar.
A customer gets my attention, so I walk over distractedly, “What can I get you?”
“Whiskey. Neat.”
For the next hour, it's just a constant making of drinks and listening to customers ramble on and on about their lives.
When the bar calms down and I still haven’t seen Amber, I start to get a little worried. She usually loves to mingle with the customers. That's what makes her a great manager.
I see Paul standing by the door. If anyone knows where she could be, it will be him. As a bouncer at the bar, he looks like a big scary guy but I know he’s actually a teddy bear, especially toward Amber.
“Hey, Paul,” I call.
Returning my smile, he looks over at me, “Hey, Ella. How are you tonight?”
Shrugging my shoulders because even though I like Paul I’m not going to dive into what I’ve been dealing with lately. “I’m good.”
Paul gives me a look like I’m full of shit but he keeps his mouth shut and just dips his head in acknowledgement and goes back to counting customers. “Paul, do you know where Amber is? I haven't seen her at the bar yet.”
He stares right in my eyes like he is trying to assess my intentions. I wonder what happened in the last couple of days that made him so wary. “She’s in her office. Ella… she could use a girlfriend.”
Softening my eyes, I place my hand on his forearm replying, “I’ll go check on her then. Thanks.”
