Chapter 1: Webbed

"When you realize that you have been the third wheel in their love story, sit up and think straight!"

Easier said than done.

I watched my best friend in bed, curled into the arms of the only guy I ever liked. 

Ethan.

Being in the same study group, Lisa didn't think he was good enough for anyone. Until I told her I wanted to ask him out. 

I gathered the shattered pieces of my heart, shut the door on them and lumbered downstairs. Between anger and the hurt chipping away at pieces of my heart is the fact they're both my friends. 

Lisa, the cheerleader who's been more of a sister to me.

Ethan, the nerd I found too hard to ignore.

Both in bed the same day I asked him out on a date.

I didn't wait for her to come downstairs. I knew she would bolt after me, so I went home straight with nerve breaking exhaustion. 

Should I curl up and cry in a corner? Hell no.

When you're a foster kid, you don't get those privileges. 

A minute after I got home, her call came in.

" Hello, Nicki... listen, it wasn't planned. It just happened..."

I imagined her gesticulating while speaking, and him on the bed watching her pull those excuses into my deafened ears.

" I gotta go," I spoke calmly, reining in my anger. By tomorrow I'll be fine. Until them, I hate everyone right now.

" Nicki, we are still friends right?" She probed, voice a little above a whisper.

" Maybe tomorrow," I thought and hung up. 

I'm back here in this government assigned shelter. What was once a haven has become a nightmare.

I thought I had the best foster dad in the world until he was snooping around, prying my phone, and peeping into my room through the keyhole.

An ass!

The next morning, I'm fixing breakfast when I heard him cough.

“ Nicki, you will be eighteen in two days. Anything you want for your birthday?” He approached my side of the kitchen counter and placed his hand on mine. He moves a finger in circles, tracing invisible lines on the back of my palm.

Honestly, I'm resisting the urge to wack his head with a fry pan. After what he did few days ago, I'm planning his funeral.

So, here's the gist.

He sneaked into my room. I assumed it was Maya, a younger foster kid. While few of us have separate room, others, especially the younger ones, share, and most times Maya comes to mine.

He crawled under the sheets. It took his calloused large hands to alert me of the intruder. 

“ Wanted to give you a massage,” the fat old piggy brute blurted. 

“ Ohh!” my lips tilted in disdain. That was the beginning of my nightmare. Today, he's tone deaf to the dripping venom in my voice.

A breath away from me, he continues. “ Whatever it is, I can arrange it to be bought.”

I feigned a smile. Exaggerated. “ You have done enough. I might be leaving few days after.” I announced and watched him grow pale.

“ But you can stay as long as you want. This is your home now.”

I dramatically touched my heart. “ That is so kind of you. I will be eighteen. It's only appropriate that I leave as soon as possible.”

He grabbed that opportunity. Looked sideways and inched closer, right behind me.

He grabbed my ass. I jerked at the unexpected touch and clenched my fist. He pressed my well rounded butt, leaned in and took a deep breath.

It felt nauseating and different.

No one has touched me in such sensitive places before. I went through high school without any form of romance. Ethan would have been my first.

Besides, with the way he guarded me from boys, I didn't expect him to be such a jerk.

“ I could give you your very first experience.”

I frowned. “ This jerk knows I'm still a virgin?” 

I turned and wriggled out. “ The kids might be watching,” I spoke flirtatiously. 

He chuckled. “ Later then?”

I shrugged and watched his pot belly take the lead. 

“ Gross!”

He didn't look so terrible in my eyes until these past few days.. Now I can't imagine him being anything order than a pig.

I am yet to round off all the necessary requirements for my college admission. But I haven't mentioned it to anyone, except Ethan. We applied to the same school.

Since I don't have money for hostel accommodation, I also applied for the Devinsky free accommodation for indigent students. Hopefully, I can sort out myself before graduation.

Right now, I have few days to the deadline for my acceptance fees, and the tuition for my first year.

I practical have no idea of how I'm going to get the money. 

Raising the complimentary card Ethan gave me days before he made his choice, I dialed the number.

He said they might have a job. No idea what kind of job, but I have to give it my all. It's my only hope right now.

Following some direction, I met with the card owner in a restaurant.

One glance at me, and he nodded, somewhat satisfied.

" You will do just good. I have an important guest. He just arrived. You will be serving him tonight."

It didn't sink in at first. I imagined that the restaurant needed private services for VIPs. Something within that line, but a rough guess quickly snapped my eyes right back at him.

" What kind of services do you mean?"

His face contorted into a frown. His heavily built figure looked like a flood about to drown me in its waves. But his remark made my heart shutdown.