2
1614 Words
Miko
“Are you alright, dear?” My mom asked softly as soon as I walked into her ward.
I stifled a sigh.
I put this away till I couldn’t, staying away for three days because I was avoiding facing her and my younger sister. Right now, they were regarding me with pity and I hated it.
“Of course I am! How are you? Sleeping well?” I forced a cheer into my voice, kissing her forehead.
She was frail, but strong enough to sit up in her bed. “You don’t have to act strong, love.” She whispered softly as she grabbed my hand.
She’d always told me Sean was playing me but I always vehemently defended him. Right now, I feel like a big fool.
Mira, my younger sister, wordlessly walked up to me and embraced me tightly, making my eyes sting and my heart ache so much.
“Seriously, guys, I’m already over it.” I sighed expectedly after the hug broke.
They didn’t seem like they believed me but at least they humored me, pretending to be interested in the weather and other irrelevant things.
“How’s work? Stressful?” Mira asked and I shrugged.
“It’s going well, same boring routine. And you? How’s school?”
I have no intention of letting them know that I’m out of a job, or that I have four more days to move out of the house.
They’d just worry unnecessarily, and I didn’t like that.
I’ll fix this myself.
After all, it’s my fault for trusting Sean. I was already looking for a job relentlessly and so far, I was yet to find one.
A knock echoed on the door and I frowned.
“That’s Ethan. He told me he was coming over.” Mira explains before going up to pull the door open.
Ethan bounced in, hugging and kissing my mom’s cheeks, then he proceeded to flick Mira’s nose to her annoyance.
“My favorite cousin!” He gushed, throwing a hand over my shoulder. “Can your boyfriend help me speed up a meetup with Hunter?” He eagerly waved his phone in my face, his screensaver seeming to be burning a hole into my head.
It was a picture of Hunter on the ice, grinning brightly and holding up three awards. His face was perfectly chiseled, his dark grey eyes bottomless and his jaw looking hard enough to divide air.
“Ethan! She and Sean are no longer together!” Mira admonished and Ethan’s face fell, guilt replacing his excitement.
“I forgot about that. Sorry, cousin.”
I swallowed hard and forced myself to smile. “It’s fine, Ethan.”
Ethan has relentlessly made this request countless times because he was a very big fan of Hockey star Hunter, who happens to be Sean’s older brother.
When I brought my cousin’s request up with Sean, he had shut it down fast, because weirdly, he hated talking about Hunter, but I kept lying to Ethan that Sean was working on it.
Despite not being into hockey, I knew who Hunter was because he was a literal hockey prodigy and there was no escaping his accomplishments. Classified as a living legend, he’s won so many championships, awards, and has broken countless awards before suddenly disappearing from the ice and the internet three years ago.
I had never met him before, but I hated him so much since Sean once told me Hunter believed I wasn’t good enough for him.
Well, screw both of them, and hockey in general.
My mind briefly traveled to what Lily drunkenly said to me last night while we ate alcohol induced ice cream and watched a depressing movie.
She suggested that I stalk and then seduce Hunter as revenge on Ethan.
But that has sounded so ridiculous to me.
Because aside from Hunter being about ten years older than I am, he’d most likely be disgusted at the thought of bedding me since he’s once told Sean I wasn’t good enough.
Fuck him, and his asshole brother.
***
“You got the job!” Lily screamed, and then we were screaming and hugging tightly, jumping around.
“Thank you, thank you!” I cried out earnestly, feeling so grateful to my best friend. After almost five days, Lily managed to get me a job in a strip club opposite the store she works in.
To work as a cleaner there.
“We’re besties, I’ll really do nothing for you!” She gushed and I knew she meant those words, and my chest instantly grew warm. She treated me like we were now siblings. We’ve been friends since forever and right now, she hates Sean more than I do and wishes she could kill him.
She cupped my face now. “And don’t forget, you can come stay at mine for a few months till you’re on your feet again. I keep telling you, you don’t have to handle all this on your own. It doesn’t make you weak.”
Those words made my eyes sting a little, and we hugged tightly again. “I’ll remember this, Lily. Thank you again, for being my best friend.”
She hugged me tighter.
I moved out of home years ago and have promised to be independent ever since. The thought of leaning on someone, even if it’s Lily, makes me feel like I failed.
But at least I have someone in such a time, especially someone who cares as much as she does, and that’s what matters.
That evening, I got into casual clothes and headed over to the club, nervous but excited to start, cause I couldn’t wait to start earning again.
I have two more days to spend in my house since the quit notice, and so far, Sean hasn’t reached out to me since.
I knew he was waiting for me to call pleading for him to ask the landlord to act right, then he’d insist on doing that after I’ve signed the nda.
But I’ll never do that. I'd rather just live on the street instead.
I wasn’t even sure of why I was refusing to sign the nda.
I don’t plan on ever talking about our relationship to any interviewer or the likes. If he was so humiliated about being with me, I want to also never revisit the past.
When I stepped into the club through the back door with my new ID card, I was shown around the places needing cleaning, and I was already getting ready to clean when worried voices reached me from straight ahead.
“Why isn’t she here tonight? It’s the famous mask night tonight with very important guests and everything needs to go well! All the strippers need to be ten in number but it’s only nine so far.”
My forehead furrowed in confusion, and I was walking past the door when it suddenly swung open, leaving me blinking into the eyes of a stoic looking matured woman.
“Are you the new stripper coming to apply tonight?” her eyes raked over me quickly.
“I— I’m not—-”
“Good thing you’re early! You’re just what we need and you’ll be joining the other girls tonight.” As those words left her mouth, she yanked me through the door.
“I’m sorry, I’m a newly hired cleaner, not a dancer...” I explained as my eyes fell on all the other stunning ladies doing their makeup around a long dressing table.
The woman’s eyes raked over me again. “It doesn’t matter. You’re just what I need for tonight— pretty face, curves in the right places, and skinny. Can you fill in as a dancer? Can you dance?” The woman slowly walked around me, still examining me like I was a piece of meat.
I squirmed. “Um… I don’t really dance…”
The woman rolled her eyes now. “Dear, you’ll be paid well, be rest assured.”
My interest piqued. “How much?”
By the time I heard the price, I instantly agreed. There was no hesitation, even though I was quite antisocial and wasn’t the best dancer out there.
The money would be able to help me get a new tiny apartment in two days, and I’ve been so worried about this since the moment I lost my job, so this feels like my prayers just got answered right now.
For once, it felt like the universe was finally smiling down at me, and by the time two hours passed, the night was officially starting and all the girls were walking to the stage.
It was hard balancing on the tall heels, but I made sure to be in position on the stage by the time the curtains slowly dropped.
Bright lights landed on us, and I felt frozen for a moment, self-consciousness engulfing me as Sean’s harsh words echoed through me.
‘You aren’t hot anyway, I had to force myself to be with you throughout those years.’
I could feel myself start to crumble, then my eyes fell into the crowd. All I could see were masked faces— masks of different colors, sizes and types, and i instantly remembered that tonight was a masked night.
This way, I can’t tell if anyone would be judging or laughing at me. I won’t see disgust in their eyes either, and with that, I managed to shake myself out of it.
“You’ve got this, Miko.” I whispered to myself, then slowly, I began to move as practiced, reminding myself that Sean was a bastard and I was hot and stunning.
- Writer
