Chapter 1

CALLIE

“Trent, where’s my money?”

It’s only 3 A.M, but my voice is loud enough to wake the entire building. I rush out of the bathroom in a panic, nearly tripping over my own feet, my hands shaking so badly I can’t even pull my trousers up properly.

I don’t care.

All I care about is the missing thousand dollars.

“Trent…” My voice cracks as I stagger into the livingroom, tears already blurring my vision. “Explain this to me.”

I press my phone against my boyfriend’s face to wake him up. He stirs awake, acting like a sleep deprived workaholic when he's been in bed all day.

He grabs a pillow, pressing it over his head, like he desperately wants to mute me. “Are you insane?” He mutters, “It’s freaking 3 in the morning.”

“I don’t care,” I say coldly, “you’re not sleeping until you explain exactly what happened.”

He tosses the pillow across the room, agitated. “What the hell is your problem, huh?!”

“You!” I shout back. “A thousand dollars vanished from my account.” I snap, “and you expect me to keep it down?”

“And why the hell are you dragging me into this?” He asks in his usual irritating tone, and it makes my blood boil. He’s feigning innocence when he’s clearly the culprit.

“Don’t play dumb.” I take a step forward, then turn on my phone screen. “You literally sent all my money into your account, Trent. Why the hell would you do that? The rent is due tomorrow!”

Trent finally looks up. He has the audacity to look up without guilt in his eyes. He shrugs, then lets out a yawn. “Oh, about that,” he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his pajamas. “A man’s got needs, Callie. I used it to take care of some things.”

My jaw clenches. “Some….things?”

“Look, I thought I could turn it into more.”

I gulp slowly, “turn it into more? How?”

He ruffles his hair, “I had a sort of system, but—”

My stomach drops. “You gambled it.”

He doesn’t deny it, and my legs sway. Gambling. No. There’s no way my money is gone. I reach out for a couch to lean on, but my stomach still twists so violently, I think I’m going to puke. “And? Where’s the money now?”

Trent hesitates for a few seconds.

I nearly collapse.

“Trent,” I call again. Softer this time, even more desperate. “You know Landon would kick us out if we don’t pay tomorrow, right?”

He sighs. “I know, Callie.” He runs his fingers through his hair, “fuck, I know, but I don’t have your money anymore.” His eyes trail lower, “it’s gone.”

I don’t have your money anymore.

I scream so loud, I think I’m going insane. “Trent, I’m not letting this one slide!” I point at the empty tv space, “You sold my tv, something I worked my ass off to buy, and gambled away the money.”

“I apologized for that!”

“And when you collected my salary in advance to pay off your loan?”

“I said I was sorry, what more do you want?” He stands to his feet, running his fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to visit the past, alright? We’ll get through this.”

“The past?” A cold laugh crawls out of my throat, “that happened two months ago! You promised me it’d be the last! You promised to never gamble again!”

I drop to my knees when my legs fail me. “How long do I have to keep up with this? I tug at my hair, pulling it so hard it hurts. “How long before you get a job, Trent?”

A loud crash sends my nerves spiking out of control.

Trent grabs another vase and smashes it on the ground.

A few drops of blood splashes on his shirt, but he doesn’t seem to care. “Do you think being jobless excites me too? Do you think I haven’t tried sending applications?!”

“And what about menial jobs like mine? Is serving in a downtown restaurant too degrading for you? Is that why you prefer lounging all day on my bed? Is that why you’d gamble away foolishly while waiting for one big payment that’s never going to come?!”

Trent turns all red. He looks so furious, I take a step back, but a small creak from the kitchen makes him freeze.

What was that?

And then something makes that sound again, like a large weight pressing against wood, and a cold shiver runs through me.

Someone is there.

I take a step near the kitchen, but Trent stops me. “Callie,” he says quickly, “don’t go in there. Let’s go back to sleep, we can have this discussion tomorrow.”

“No.” I swat his palm away and walk further, but Trent is quick to stop me again, grabbing me by my waist this time.

“Callie,” there’s a slight urgency to his tone, “there’s nothing in the kitchen, you’re probably stressed. You need some rest.”

Maybe he’s right.

Maybe I’m so worked up, I’m hearing things.

I finally step away, my heart still racing, until something black on the floor catches my eye.

A thong, and it isn’t even mine.

My breath stutters as I bend to pick it up, my fingers trembling, and that’s when I hear a sharp inhale.

I look up to find Brittany standing at the edge of the kitchen doorway, wrapped in one of Trent’s shirts, her makeup smudged, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. She squeezes her face, eyes fixed on Trent. “I can’t hide in there anymore, it’s too stuffy.”

She’d been there all along?

I instantly turn to face Trent. He’s quick to raise his hands up, panic flooding his features. “Callie, I can explain. Brittany is—”

And that’s when I realize his lips are red.

Brittany’s lipstick is red, too.

“How long?” I can’t even recognize my own voice due to the tears building up. “How long have you been cheating on me?”

Trent swallows hard, and I’m forced to yell. “How long?!”

“A few months.”

Brittany laughs, “don’t lie, Trent,” and then she smiles at me. “We’ve been screwing each other since the night you introduced me to him, Callie.”

Three years.

My knees nearly buckle.