After the very refreshing shower that I sat in for a half hour just letting the hot water wash over me, I step and dry myself off. I leave the bathroom and go into the bedroom.I’m wrapped in a towel and rummaging through my backpack.Shit! I never brought in the rest of my bags from the car. I have no clothes in here, I walk over to Steph’s closet and sift through her clothes. She’s at least a size smaller than me so jeans will definitely not work out. I look through her yoga pants, this will do. I slide a pair of black yoga pants on and find a gray hoodie to wear with it.I decide not to do my hair or makeup yet because it’ll just get ruined by tonight so I’ll hold off until later.I exit the room and only find Steph sitting at the kitchen table drinking a coffee. I sit beside her and ask where Mia is at. She tells me she had work stuff to do for tonight but will be back later to get ready with us.As much as I like Mia it’s nice to have it just be Steph and I.“I need to run to my
The three of us make our way to the club door. Stone, the very large man we met earlier today, stands outside a closed door that leads to the club. He greets Mia first and then nods to Steph and me with a straight, strict face.He opens the door to let us through and as soon as we walk in, dear Jesus what the hell did I just walk into?This is no club I’ve ever seen before. It’s dark in here and the music is near deafening. If it wasn’t so dark in here my cheeks would be as red as a tomato.There are handfuls and handfuls of topless women in here. Some are waitresses, some of them are the “bunnies”, as I like to call them in my head and some are strippers dangling off poles. Topless girls are sitting on middle-aged men nipping at their necks and ears.It’s unbelievably uncomfortable for me, I don’t even know where to look without seeing boobs.Mia guides us to a high-top, round bar table and we take a seat. I give Steph a death glare and she immediately looks away knowing she left man
I opened the door to free myself from whatever the hell that was going on behind me. It’s dark outside and although it’s May, tonight there’s a bit of chill in the air, so I wrap my arms around myself.I notice a man standing next to the door with one foot propped up behind him and the rest of his body leaning against the wall. I don’t even have to look his way to know he’s smoking a joint, the smell is so strong. I walk past him and decide to call my mom.It rings and rings and finally goes to voicemail and my mom’s voice fills my ear while I recite her words in my head and mouth it silently“Hi, you’ve reached Ellen Hill, I’m unable to get to the phone right now but if you leave your name and number after the beep I’ll get right back to you. Have a great day!” Have a great day…I wish Mom.“Hey Mom! It’s me…Sorry I haven’t called you in a few days, I’ve been busy. I finally got here and I know you’d be proud of me.” I say and while I’m still holding the phone to my ear talking, a la
I storm down the hall to get to the elevator as fast as humanly possible without actually running and attracting any other attention to myself by the people standing around.36 days, technically almost 35 because it’s almost midnight.I’m frantic in my thoughts at the moment that I actually forget to press the button for the elevator. After I stand there waiting for at least 20 seconds, I press the button and the doors open. I get inside and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I think to myself, maybe I can just leave here and find a cheap motel for the next five weeks.I can’t do this. I can’t stay here. It hasn’t even been a full 48 hours yet and I feel beyond out of place.I step off the elevator and make my way to Steph’s suite. I pull the key card out of my small purse and slide it in and wait for the green light. As soon as I see it, I push the door open, close it and slide my body to the floor and just stay there for five minutes with my hands cradling my head.Aft
It’s Sunday morning, officially 35 days left and I’m looking forward to just taking it easy today.Steph and Mia are still sleeping so I decide to leave the house to do a little shopping for some new work clothes. I don't have a ton of money to be spending at the moment but I do need more professional-looking clothes, I want to make a good impression on Marlene and the team.I stop by a nearby store and rummage through some of the clothes. I found a couple of outfits spending a tad more than I had wanted but it’s worth it. I picked up some black pencil skirts and some cute tops to go with them.I get back in my car and head back to the dreadful house. As I’m driving, I call my mom again. It goes to voicemail and I leave a message:“Hey mom, it’s me. Again. I’m having a rough couple of days just feeling out of place. I know it will all be better in just 35 days. I’m so excited to start working at my new job and have a place to myself again. I just bought some new clothes that I know yo
It's Monday morning and I’m lazily waking up and stretching from the long sleepless night I had along with the two glasses of hard liquor.Last night was weird but I can’t help replaying it all over in my head. If Wall Guy, or now officially “Funny” disliked me so much why’d he want me to drink with him and then not even want to say a word?Steph comes out of the bathroom with a towel around her body and a towel in her hair. “Hey babe! Bout time you woke up it’s almost 10:30,” she says. I furrow my eyebrows, rub my eyes with the back of my hand“Oh, shit really? I had a long night of tossing and turning.” I say and she laughs shaking her head.“I know bitch I’m fully aware, these black circles under my eyes didn’t come from me.” She says pointing underneath her eyes.“Sorry,” I mumble back.“It’s okay, you’re lucky I love you. So I’m going to get ready and then I need to head to my office for some work.” She says.I nod to her and snuggle into the blanket.“Alina and Ellie are coming
I’m sitting on the steps of the front entryway, although there is seating on the porch there’s just something about sitting on the stairs staring off into the distance and being alone in my thoughts.I wrap my arms around my knees and enjoy the warm California night. The grand fountain fourtyish feet away from me, is lit up with a warm orange light and making the most calming background noise. I think this is my favorite place of the entire house, go figure, it’s outside of it.I’m admiring the beauty when I hear a lighter flick and the smell of marijuana filling my nostrils. I’m startled at the realization of no longer being alone and turn around to see that guy Funny leaning against a large pillar smoking a joint. He really has a way of leaning against things and looking like he’s about to pose for a photo shoot without even trying.“You again?” I ask.He chuckles in a cocky way, “Me.”I shake my head and turn it back towards the fountain.“Are you like stalking me or something?” I
I stayed outside for an extra twenty minutes last night after Funny left, just processing everything. When I got back to Steph’s suite, I laid in bed wide awake with anxiety, I want to talk to Steph about all of this but I wouldn't dare wake her from her deep, snoring state, she'd kill me if I darkened those circles under her eyes for a second night in a row.…After I wake up from an awful quality of slumber, I join Steph and Mia in the kitchen grabbing myself a cup of cold brew coffee. I don't waste another second before diving into my questions.“Hey guys, did you know that X came back early?”They both look at each other confused. “What do you mean? And how would you know?” Steph asks.“Well…I went outside last night and that guy Funny was outside too and somehow it was brought up.” I say cautiously.They look at each other once more like they’re trying to figure out what question to tackle first.“Who’s Funny?” Mia asks with furrowed eyebrows.Oh yeah, I forgot she wasn’t here la