Page 67 of Forbidden Heart

I spin around, unable to keep the hope out of my eyes.

“Yeah, thought you’d be interested.” He sneers.

“What kind of job?” I ask, unable to hold back the sliver of hope. I’ve applied to so many places that I’ve pretty much given up, and now Father managed to find someone who’d hire me?

“One of the girls at the diner quit, so I convinced them to give you a shot,” Father says. “It’ll only be a few shifts a week, but it’s a start. If you don’t screw it up, it could be a full-time thing.”

His words echo in my head. Full-time. I might end up with a full-time job. I could get my own place. I could make a life for myself. I could have a future.

“Would you please come inside?” Father adds, not sounding at all like himself, and I feel a sudden wave of hope.

Maybe he won’t be so angry all the time if I can just hold down this job. I’ll work hard and make sure not to break anything or screw up. I’ll show up early and leave late and be the best waitress the diner has ever seen!

I’ll even pay for groceries and some of the bills while I save up. Then maybe things will be different. Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad.

Still, I hesitate.

I swore to myself I wouldn’t come back here. Yet here I am, about to step back into my old life when I’m this close to freedom. Am I really willing to give up everything just for a shot at a job? Then again, what am I really giving up? The guys all hate me. I have nowhere else to go. This job is the best chance at a future that I’ll ever have.

Chapter 27

I glance toward the street and then back at Father. The smart choice would be to head back inside, accept the job, and try to make the best of it. My legs refuse to budge.

I need to get inside, now, before Father loses patience with me. I want to turn around and head back to LUV Academy and the princes who want nothing to do with me.

"You’re lucky the diner’s even willing to hire you, Roonie,” Father shouts. He’s right.

If I walk away now, I may never be able to find another job. I won’t have a home, or a way to support myself, or anyone to turn to except Angela. And if she’s no longer waiting for me at Bailando, I’ll have no one. Because if I can’t power on my phone, I’ll have absolutely no way of reaching her.

Yet even knowing all that, I can’t bring myself to go into the house. I can’t go back to that life, even if the alternative is no life at all. So I do the only thing I can. I back away.

“Get back here, you ungrateful excuse for a child,” Father fumes. ”I’ve spent months trying to get you a job, and this is how you repay me?”

I don’t reply. I turn around and run.

My feet carry me down the street, toward the campus entrance that leads to Bailando. An uneasy feeling still sets over me, paranoia that Father’s giving chase. I keep looking over my shoulder, but there’s no sign of him. And each time a car drives by, my heart lurches into my throat, but it’s never his old beaten-down sedan.

When I finally stop to catch my breath, birds chirp and the sun shines overhead. Across the street from me, an elderly man walks an equally elderly dog. A girl jogs by, headphones in place, head bobbing. A few teens play basketball in a driveway. Everything seems normal.

I take out my phone and try to power it on, but the screen refuses to light up. So much for that.

I’m glad I thought to look up Bailando earlier, because at least I still know where to go. I just have to hope Angela’s still there, because if she’s not, I don’t know what I’ll do.

When I reach LUV Academy, Marcus the RA’s words ring in my head. He told me to leave campus, but I don’t care. I keep walking.

When I finally reach Bailando, an unlit neon sign tells me it’s a Latin night club. What could Angela possibly be doing here in the middle of the afternoon? Maybe this is just the entrance she takes into campus, and she left a long time ago.

I try the club’s front door, anyway, but it’s predictably locked. With no other choice left, I knock. To my surprise, I spot a figure approaching through the door’s tinted glass. Angela!

“You made it.” She grins, pulling me into the hug and leading me inside the club.

Warm golden light emanates from sconces and hanging fixtures, creating the feeling of candlelight. An inviting expanse of shining dance floor calls to me. It begs for Cinderella to dance with her Prince Charming and for Beauty to waltz in the arms of her Beast. Neither of whom want anything to do with me.

“That’s such a sad song,” Angela says softly.

“Oh, sorry.” I grimace, since I just randomly broke into song.

“No apology necessary. Dancer, remember?” She points at herself and grins. “Now come, sit.”