Euphoria

CHAPTER 10

*TINSLEY'S POV*

I laid in my room and stared up at the slowly-moving ceiling fan. I missed at least a week of school and there was no way in hell I would be able to somehow catch up. The only person I even talked to during that time was Jax.

When I had gotten the phone call from the hospital, I was in biology with Jax. I had picked up the call and one moment I was laughing and joking around with Jax and the next, I was stunned into silence. It was the doctor. He told me my father was in the hospital and that he had gotten into an accident on his way to work.

My phone had slid out of my hands and, as if in a movie, I watched in slow motion, as it fell to the floor and a deafening crash brought me out of my stupor. I could feel Jax calling my name but I was frozen. I couldn’t move.

Then, suddenly, I was out with Jax in the hallway and I could see his mouth moving but I couldn't hear anything.

My head was swarming with thoughts. My dad was in the hospital, unconscious. That meant bills, lots and lots more bills. My mother wouldn't know what in the world to do. She was a lazy, fat ass that didn't do a thing except work and work. And my brother....if we didn't have money, that would mean we would starve and my dad would die.

That meant I needed a job. We needed money and that meant school would need to wait. The supermarket was hiring. I could apply there and at the fast food place across from my house.

My hearing returned and I slowly registered Jax's face.

"Are you okay?" He had me by the shoulders and looked extremely concerned. I inhaled a sharp breath and said, "I need to go home."

****

Now, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and applied a thick layer of lipstick and pulled up the lace bra that left nothing to imagination. Whenever I wore it, I felt like I was dumping cold water on top of myself.

I gave myself a last once over in the mirror, then headed towards my little brother's room. When I looked inside, my brother was sleeping peacefully, looking as if everything in the world was perfect. I smiled to myself, then gently closed the door.

As I headed to the front door, I could hear my mother's snoring in the living room and the muted sounds of the TV. I sighed and headed out of the house. These days, that was all my mother would do. Work, eat, drink, sleep. It was like my brother and I barely existed. That was why I was working. At a strip club.

****

The music was pulsing and the other girls were dancing around the poles, swinging their hips and doing other kinky moves. I gently slid down the oiled pole and tried not to throw up as the worst part of the night loomed over me.

It wasn't always like this. I was able to get a night shift at the fast food restaurant across from my house, but when it got shut down, I was forced to find another job. One of the girls that worked at the supermarket during the day with me suggested this place. And even though it was filled with disgusting people, it paid well and if I was really lucky, I could walk away with 200 dollars a night.

But most of the time, the men at the club were handsy even though they weren't allowed to touch the girls.

Now, as the girls and I walked down the stage in the most seductive way possible, I tried not to shudder and shrink back in disgust. The girls and I had gotten close during the time I worked here and we had divided up the men we would tend to each night. The older girls tended to the older ones and the younger girls were left with the younger men.

I tried to walk as seductively as possible towards a young man in the corner of the club. He was sitting in the dark and as I got closer I got a feeling of deja vu. He felt familiar but I pushed the feeling away and slunk closer to him.

I slid into my stone mask and stretched my mouth into the most seductive smile I could muster. When I finally got close enough to see who he was, I reeled back in surprise. No. It couldn't be.

"Tinsley? Is that you? Oh my god." Tony.