Page 3 of Their Wicked Ways

It wasn’t like any of this was a shock. Of course Naomi would have moved on. And it wasn’t some big revelation that my mother was still up to her old tricks and trying to emotionally manipulate me from three states away.

Abandoning my mirror, I picked up my phone to order a car.

I couldn’t wait until I found a place in the city. I loved my aunts, and I’d be forever grateful to them for taking me in when I’d had no one and nowhere to go, but living almost an hour away from my jobs and friends wasn’t sustainable in the long term.

I was about to open the Uber app when a text caught my attention.

Chanel: I have to cancel tonight

She’d added a line of crying emoji.

Chanel: my asshole boss scheduled me to work and only told me an hour before I had to clock in

I checked the time stamp. She’d sent it when I was in the shower.

My heart sank. This was my first Friday night off since I’d started working at Crimson Club. I’d been looking forward to going out with my friends like a normal twenty-three-year-old.

Jett: that suuuucks. He’s the worst

She read the text before my screen went dark.

Chanel: he sucks soooo bad. I hate him but I need this job

Another text came into the group chat.

Becca: now I feel like the worst person ever because I have to cancel too. Arias running a low-grade fever

Jett: oh no. Is she okay?

Becca had two kids. Aria was three, and Felix was fourteen months. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to cancel last minute because something came up with them, and it wouldn’t be the last. That was just par for the course when you had little kids.

Becca: I think so. She was fussy today but she hasn’t been sleeping well. Hopefully it’s just from being overtired

Becca: I feel so bad we ruined your night off

Jett: nobody ruined anything. It’s fine. I promise

Chanel: what are you going to do?

Jett: not sure but I’ll figure something out

Chanel: I gotta go. I’m at work and can only hide in the corner for so long

Jett: good luck

Becca: I gotta go too

Jett: let me know if you need anything

Becca: thanks. I hope your night is awesome!

I waited to see if either of them would answer. When my screen went dark, I tucked my phone into my pocket and looked around my room.

What the fuck was I supposed to do now? It was too late to see if anyone else wanted to hang out, not that I had a ton of friends to choose from. If I wasn’t with Chanel or Becca—oralone—I was with my coworkers, who were all working at the club tonight.

I could just stay home and relax, but the thought of spending the rest of the night in my room with just my thoughts was even less appealing than going to a club alone.

I needed to be around other people. I needed loud music and flashing lights to distract me from everything that had happened in the past hour. I needed an escape. To shut my brain off and focus on something other than the clusterfuck that was my life.