“You’re working tonight?” I jump at the sound of Lily’s voice. Surprised to find her in the bathroom doorway as I set out my makeup and curling iron.
“Unfortunately,” I huff, stifling a yawn. After reading the four agreed-upon stories with Remi, she demanded a fifth and I’d caved. I also let her talk me into laying with her until she fell asleep and nearly nodded off myself.
“You can’t be serious right now? You’re supposed to be off tonight!”
“I know. I’m sorry!” I wince.
“But didn’t you work last night? And the night before that?Andthe night before that?” Lily points out. “We were gonna watch movies!” The pout that accompanies her whine gives Remi a run for her money.
“I was, but Giovanni texted me a little while ago that they’re short staffed tonight. He asked if I could cover a shift. And given my current situation—” I say before looking up. Lily’s gloweringat me in the mirror’s reflection, leaning with her back up against the bathroom door.
“I can’t borrow any more money from Gio. I’m barely keeping up with the payments from the last time. She needs that new medicine.” Not only would it mean one injection a year instead of once a month, but the current medication she’s on isn’t working all that great. Remi still has the occasional asthma attack, and we still find ourselves in the emergency room far more often than we should. Each time getting slapped with another bill.
Honestly, the up-front cost of the new meds mightsaveus money in the long-run.
But as desperate as I am for that new medicine, Gio is becoming a much bigger problem. Despite me making regular payments, he has already sent his goons after me on more than one occasion. I assume whenever he’s low on cash himself, he tries shaking it out of anyone who owes him. I’ve found his guys waiting for me outside my apartment and the dance studio twice in the last couple of weeks. It was only luck that Remi wasn’t with me either of the two times they’d shown up, but it’s only a matter of time.And how much longer until their threats become reality?
“I know,” she laments. “I wish I could help more.”
“Lily, no.” I put down my eyeliner pen to face her. “You already do more than enough!” Seriously, I oweeverythingto my best friend. When I got pregnant with Remi four years ago and my own parents disowned me, she was there. Every step of the way, she was at my side. Together, we moved out of the dorms since I couldn’t stay in them once I had a baby. We got an apartment, and she helps me out with Remi whenever she can.
But like me, she’s in her final year at the Conservatory and works mornings at the diner down the street, on top of teaching dance classes at the studio with me. And unlike me, she doesn’thave a scholarship paying her way. It’s the only reason I was able to continue at Delacroix after my parents cut me off.
“I’m going to ask Gio if I can pick up some dancing shifts,” I tell her, uncapping my blood red lipstick.
“At what cost, though?” Lily sighs, and I know she’s frustrated with the situation more than with me.
“I know. But I’m just going to be dancing; I’m still not going to do any of theextrastuff some of the girls do.”Like whatever goes down in those private rooms…“I’ve got one talent, and I might as well use every weapon in my arsenal to get myself out of this mess. The tips from the bar are great, but they don’t compare to what I can make in one shift dancing.” I look up at her. “You know Gio’s guys have been hanging around, and I’m afraid to think what might happen if Iactuallystart to fall behind on payments.” Their threats keep me up at night. Gio’s guys have made it incredibly clear that what I can’t pay in cash they’ll take inotherways.
“You really want creepy, old guy hands all over you?” Lily curls her upper lip with a grimace. “Or worse?”
I frown at the notion, my make-up brush frozen on my cheek. “The bouncers are good at their jobs and besides, it’s only temporary.”
With rent, daycare expenses, payments to Gio, and Remi’s medical bills, I’m drowning. The water has been slowly creeping up, and now it’s at my neck.I’m running out of time and air to breathe. The only way out is with money—money I’m going to get, one way or another.
I can tell by the look in Lily’s eyes that I’m not going to like what is on the tip of her tongue. “Say it. Whatever it is. Out with it.”
She frowns. “I was just thinking, have you considered asking your?—”
“No.” I turn away, reapplying a second coat of mascara in the mirror.
“Briar, I’m sure they wouldn’t?—”
I spin around. “No, Lily. My parents made themselves perfectly clear; if I decided to have Remi, they weren’t going to help me.”Cut off. Disowned. Thrown away.I embarrassed them with my little “mistake” and if I know my parents, I’m exactly where they want me to be.On my own.
“And besides,” I sigh. “I already asked them.”
Lily’s mouth falls open. “You did? Why didn’t you say anything?”
I shrug. “There was nothing to tell because they said no.”
“Bastards,” she bites out, shaking her head and tightening her fists.
“Everything will be okay. I’ll pick up more shifts at the club, pay back my debt to Giovanni, nail the showcase and score an audition with the Boston Ballet, or at the very least a paid position with the Conservatory.”
“That’s a lot that has to go right,” Lily warns.
“There’s not a whole lot more that can go wrong.” I twist the cap back onto my tube of mascara and drop it into my makeup bag. It’s frustrating that no matter how hard I work, how far I climb, I just can’t seem to get us out of this damn hole.
