Chapter 2

She tossed it back and swallowed it down. I saw her eyes scanning the crowd, probably looking for that hot piece of young ass she had her hands on earlier. He was standing in the corner with some other woman, and I saw the fire in my mom’s eyes flare up. This poor boy had no idea whose attention he had attracted, and I found myself watching as my mother drunkenly stumbled over to him.

But my entertainment was interrupted by a voice I wanted to hear.

“Mom at it again?” Sofia asked.

“Sweet fuck, I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

I threw my arms around my best friend before drinks started being called out for us to make.

“Ken called in sick, so here I am. And not a moment too soon, I see.”

Her eyes were looking over at my mother who had slipped herself between the young girl and the guy who had his hands on her earlier.

“That poor boy doesn’t know what he’s in for,” I said.

“Maybe she won’t cause a scene tonight,” Sofia said.

“My mother causes a scene every fucking night,” I said as I started grabbing drinks. “It’s just what happens.”

“So! Where are we with our clothing store bank account?” Sofia asked, trying to steer my mind away from my mother and her drama.

“Once you make your deposit for the month, we can start looking around for shops to buy.”

“Are you fucking serious?” she asked. “We’re there? Finally?”

“Yep. Checked the account yesterday when I made a deposit.

Between the two of us, we’ve raised one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.”

“Once I make my deposit,” she said.

“Yep. Once you do that,” I said, grinning.

Sofia was going in with me on the clothing store. We were best friends since we were in middle school. At the bar, she was another underaged girl who looked decent in a tight leather top and short shorts, which meant she would rake in tips as well as men who would come to drink our disgusting concoctions. She loved the idea of an affordable biker-wear store, especially since leather jackets and the lace-up shoes were always so damn expensive everywhere.

The two of us had worked our asses off to save up the money we had.

We never splurged on ourselves, and never spent a penny that didn’t need spending. We didn’t have credit cards, and we drove piece of shit cars that barely got us to and from our jobs. That’s the only way we’d been able to save up so much money in only two years. Well, that, and the money Sofia always seemed to accumulate from her various boyfriends over the years.

She was a trooper.

Sofia was also the girl who could fix anything, from busted up laces and beat-up motorcycle helmets, all the way to motorcycles themselves. If it was in the biker world, she could fix it. I wanted her not only as someone I could trust to help run the place but as someone who could help open the patch shop I would eventually implement.

“You girls still talkin’ about that stupid shop?”

And my mother was back.

“Hello, Grace,” Sofia said.

“Your top’s too tight,” my mother said.

“No luck with the guy in the corner?” I asked.

“Cock’s too small.”

“Fuck, Mom. Seriously?” I asked

“You fucking asked. Keep your mouth shut if you don’t wanna know.”

“And yes, we were talking about the shop,” Sofia said.

“It’s a stupid idea. It’ll never work,” my mother said.

“We’ve already saved up.”

“sofia. No,” I said, shaking my head.

“Saved up what?” my mother asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“You’re living in my house and under my roof. You’re supposed to be helping me with bills,” my mother said.

“And I do. I pay the electric bill, the water bill, and I stock the fridge.

Plus, you drink for free. Whatever I do with my money outside of that isn’t your damn business.”

I pulled another shot glass from beneath the counter and poured her a shot. She threw it back, and I promptly refilled it as Sofia eyes grew wide.

“How much has she had already?” she asked.

“Not fucking enough,” I said.

“Okay,” my mother said breathlessly. “Let’s go see if his cock grew a bit."

“I don’t think you understand how alcohol works,” I said"

“How do I look, Bella?” My mother gave me a drunken twirl and landed flat on her ass. She was giggling and hiccupping as a few men began to gather around her. She looked up at them with this disgusting desire in her eyes, and I turned my back so I wouldn’t have to watch. They were ogling over her like she was in some porno, and I wasn’t going to watch my mother paint herself as that type of woman.

“You okay, Bella?” Sofia asked.

“Just let me know when she’s gone,” I said.

I hated it when my mother got this way. I hated it when she told me I would never amount to anything. Mostly, I hated it when I prayed that she would somehow transform to be a good mother when she was sober, only to be disappointed time and time again.

My mother was going to get herself into trouble one day, and she was going to end up coming to me for help. And now, she had an idea that I was stowing away money somewhere.

Which meant she was going to go looking for it.

My only hope was that that I had pumped her with enough alcohol to make her forget all about this conversation.

“Okay, everything’s good now, I think,” Sofia said.

“You think?” I asked.

“I mean, it depends on what ‘good’ is. She’s leaving.”

“Yep. That’s a good thing.” I turned around and saw my mother hanging off the guy who had his hands on her hips earlier. I had no idea where the younger girl was, and I didn't care. We had bouncers at this bar for a reason so, if something had happened, then they were on the case. All I knew was that I saw my motherwho was two shots away from throwing up her guts shoving her hands down the pants of a boy who looked barely twenty-one years old.

“I gotta fucking get out of here,” I said.

“I can take your shift if you want,” Sofia said.

“No, no, I don’t just mean tonight. I need to get out of this bar period.

Out of my mother’s house. I can’t fucking stand it anymore,” I said.

“Well, I’ll make my deposit in the morning, and then we can go shopping for a place to put a cash offer. We’ll find a place that has that loft or whatever you’re looking for, then we can start moving you in. It might not have electricity or running water, but it’ll be better than what you’re in now.”

You’re damn right it will be,” I said.

“When’s your next day off?” she asked.

“I’ve got Sunday and Monday,” I said.

“Let’s shoot for Monday then? The deposit will have hit, and I can go with you. I don’t think I have Sunday off.”

“Monday, it is, then.”