Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

ALICIA

I watch closely as Tanya throws on some clothes.

There's a difference in her movement today, a certain bounce in her steps that wasn't there yesterday. She seems excited for some reason she won't let on. She came in late yesterday night, reeking of alcohol and wearing the skimpiest dress I had ever seen. I was too clouded with sleep to string coherent words together but I'm definitely going to address it now.

"Tanya!" I wait for her to acknowledge her name but she doesn't break in her movement. If

anything, they become faster. She combs her shoulder-length hair and packs it up in a ponytail.

We are so different in every way imaginable. Where her hair is blonde, mine is pitch black. She's slim with a small stature, while I'm tall and hippy. I took after mother there physically, while she practically took dad's physical attributes. She's reckless and spontaneous but I'm careful and overthink everything before I make any decision.

"Tan-"

"Save it, sis, I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it. Just know I'm trying to become a better person for me."

I release the breath I didn't know I was holding. "I just wish you could talk to me more, I worry about you, mum would have-"

"Prayed for me instead of nagging me like you're doing right now." She says, finally turning to face me. "Can you at least do that?"

"Pray for you?" I look at her incredulously.

"Well, yeah! Can you just trust me just this one time that I'll make the right decision and not fuck things up again?" She sits on the edge of the bed and busies herself putting on her boots.

I flinch like I've been slapped.

She knows I hate it when she uses vulgar words. "I'm just not happy you're working in a club, and with that. . . man."

She looks up at me. "You know my boss? You know Mr. Ash?"

As I said, I've never blushed before, but twice in one week is cutting it too close. My face and neck heat up. The worst of it is, she notices. She stares at me, cocking her head to the side. I know she's waiting for me to say yes, I know him, but unfortunately going down recent memory lane is not something I wish to do. A vivid image of my hand doing things to my private part while watching his hand doing things to his private part flashes through my mind.

"So!?" She lifts a brow, still watching me.

"I. . .." I swallow thickly and shake my head to rid it of the images. "The point I'm trying to make is it's not right for a young female adult like yourself to work in such a compromising place as a club."

She rolls her eyes and continues fiddling with her boots. "Compromising! Wow, sis, you must be pretty flustered, breaking out the big words."

I know I'm dismissed when she continues dressing. A few minutes later, and without saying anything more to me, she picks up her bag and walks out the door. Insufferable child. I throw one leg of my shoes at the door and watch in horror as the heel cracks open. This is the last straw.

I begin to bawl.

Let me tell you - I'm an ugly crier. My eyes swell to twice their size and snot always, always finds its way down my nostrils.

Suffice it to say - it's not pretty.

It's a work day, but I can't muster up the energy to get ready, and talk more of actually going there. My phone rings somewhere in the house but I don't have the energy to go look for it. I'm spent. How long I sit on the floor crying, I don't know, but the bedroom door bursts open and Clarissa comes in.

"Alicia!" She rushes to me but then stops when she looks at my face. I catch the cringe, right before she brings out her handkerchief from her bag and hands it to me.

This sets me off in crying fits all over again. She drops to the ground and holds me in a tight embrace. She rocks me to and fro, smoothing back my hair and cooing soothing words into my ear. After a while, I calm down and pull back. "You don't need to say it, I already know it- I look ugly."

A smile tugs at the corner of her lips. "It's Tanya again, isn't it?"

I sigh and clean the snot dripping from my nostrils. "She got this job in a club. Can you imagine, Clar, a club?"

It's her turn to sigh. "Tanya is a very opinionated young lady."

"Are you telling me. I worry she might get into bigger scrapes, worse than juvie, you know. She wants things she can't have, like the good life. Some days ago, I saw a new phone with her. She said it was her work phone, that her boss gave it to her. Can you imagine that?"

"Alicia, all you can do is advice her and hope for the best."

I roll my eyes. "That's if she'll let me do that. She says I should pray for her like mother used to do instead of nagging her."

She grimaces and moves back. "Well, now, I know just the thing that'll take your mind off your troubles. The Vikings series."

It's my turn to grimace. I hate films with blood and gore, but Clarissa thrives on them. I don't have the energy to argue against it now though so I just shrug. We gravitate to the sitting room where she immediately hones in on the CD of the Vikings series. No surprise there, because she kept it in that same place. She announces she's going to make us something to eat and heads to the kitchen. In the next five minutes, she's back, holding a big bowl of popcorn and two cans of soda.

Is this her idea of breakfast?

I should have known, seeing as she can't cook to save her life. I resign myself to my hungry fate and try to concentrate on the film. I try, I really do try, at least to watch for her sake, but my constant yawns have begun to get noticed by her.

"You should stand up for yourself more often, Alicia. I'll change it to something more your speed."

She picks another film and inserts it into the VCR. I don't know which of the films is even more cringe-worthy.

Vikings or The Godfather?

A quarter-way into it, I nod off. When next I open my eyes, it's to a blank tv screen and an empty chair. There's no sign of Clarissa anywhere. And then my eyes land on the note on the table.

Hey, Lis, sorry I had to bounce. Have a date with Tommy. Don't miss me too much!

I roll my eyes and throw the note in the trash. When I check the time, I'm shocked to see I slept for a whole four hours, despite sleeping soundly at night. Sadness will do that to one. Loneliness and sadness are a terrible duo to experience. I'm probably going to die a sad, lonely old maid. I'm getting sad just thinking about it when my phone begins ringing shrilly.

This time I get up and go in search of it. After a thorough search for it in the bedroom, I beeline back to the sitting room and do another thorough search. The shrill ringing continues, giving me a headache. I check the kitchen just to make sure. Maybe Clarissa mistakenly took it thinking it was

her's, but one look at the tiny space and it's not there.

I retrace my steps to the bedroom and do another check. Still no phone. "Where are you, phone?" I mutter angrily.

As if it hears me, the ringing starts all over again, drawing my attention to the mound of clothes on Tanya's side of her bed. After moving them aside, I find my phone nestled underneath the bottom. The ringing stops immediately but when I check who the caller is, it's from an unknown number. I'm about discountenancing it when a text comes in.

You're my date for a business meeting tonight. Wear the dress and the accessories inside the package at your doorstep. A car will pick you up at 8 pm sharp. I don't like being kept waiting.

There's no name at the end of the text but I don't need it. I know it's Ash.

How did he get my number?

But of course, a man with low scruples such as he does would go to any length to get what he wants.

And he wants me.

He's going to make sure his side of the deal is sealed.

With my heart suddenly thumping hard, I make my way to the front door and open it. Sure enough, at the foot of it is a huge package. It's heavy as I lift it.

I check the time, and note, with a certain frenzy, it's six in the evening. I should be afraid. I should be terrified, but all I feel as I rush to take a bath is a touch of anxiety and a whole lot of nervous excitement rolling around inside my stomach. I probably have the shortest bath because ten minutes later, I rush out. I tear open the package and bring out a dress. It's red and made out of a glossy stretchy material. I swallow thickly when I see the crisscross of bejeweled straps at the back.

That bastard! He knows I can't wear a bra with straps like this.

I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing my nipples. . . at least not in this dress.

Oh, so you'd prefer him to see them out of the dress? A pesky voice in my head speaks.

"The point is. . ." I start, realizing I'm having a full-on conversation with myself. "I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of winning. . . at least not tonight."

I pick up my phone and type on Google. How to wear a strapless dress without wearing a bra and showing your nipples.

Google brings up several colorful options, but none seem plausible at this point. So I resort to the next best thing I have as a hack - Clarissa. She lets out a loud squeal showing how ecstatic she is that I'm going on a date. After talking my ear off for almost five minutes, she gets down to business. "Spread a cotton ball over your nipples and tape it into place. If for some weird reason, you don't have a cotton ball handy, cut a panty liner into small circles and place those directly over your tits."

Before she can launch into asking more questions about who the guy I'm going out with is, I cut the call and set to work. The end result is not so bad. It's perfect, but then since I'm not wearing a bra and I'm a double size d, my boobs bounce with every small movement.

"Down, girls, down," I say to them as I look at myself in the full-length mirror.

The doorbell rings and my heart skips as I walk to the door on jelly feet and yank it open. I'm confronted by a man I've never seen before.

"Mr. Walter at your service, ma'am. I'm here to take you to Patched for the night."

I look at him blankly, not understanding what he's talking about.

"It's a restaurant, ma'am. Mr. Ash said to take you there." There's a tentative smile on his face when he finishes.

"Where is Mr. Ash now?" I can't help the disappointment I feel that he didn't come himself to pick me up.

"He got caught up with work but he's going straight there. I'm pretty sure he's waiting for you now."

"Can I see some ID?" I need to know he's who he says he is and I'm not being kidnapped. This is Los Angeles after all, although I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to kidnap me.

"I'll do one better, I'll call Mr. Ash and you can even speak with him." He brings out his phone and presses some buttons. I hear a ringing tone before Ash's deep voice comes through. "Sir, someone would like to speak with you."

I collect the phone from him and remove it from the speaker as I walk back into my apartment. "You have a lot of nerve."

"And you're trying my patience. Now, quit bitching and get your ass here, pronto. Capishe?"

He cuts the call and I close my eyes as I struggle to put my anger in check.