Her Reckless Rockstar by Gena Snow

Chapter 6

 

Avery

 

 

 

I can’t stop my tears from flowing again the moment I get into my car. I know I overreacted, but I couldn’t help it. Seeing my nude pictures on Tristan’s phone just brings back all the shameful memories. I hated them and hated him for taking them. All the fantasies I had for him in the past days turned into nightmares. How could I have lost my head for a man who obviously was attracted to my body only? I had been careful all day, after the kiss, and avoided being charmed by him, but in the pool, I just lost it. Jeez. He must’ve thought I was a whore.

I certainly behaved like one. Didn’t I give him head, and didn’t he call me a champ? When he asked me whether I had practiced a lot, I wanted to laugh. What would he say if I told him it was my first blow-job ever? He would think I was joking.

I surprised myself, too. I always thought the male appendage was gross. When I saw pictures of a woman sucking it, I always wanted to throw up because guys peed with the thing, right? But earlier at the pool, I thought it was the most beautiful thing on earth, and I was hungry for it. It didn’t make me vomit as I expected. It didn’t taste like candy as people claimed, either. It was salty, and I liked it.

So I guess I can’t blame him even though he treated me like a porn star. But I feel stupid because I thought he liked me for reasons other than my body. The moments we worked together in the kitchen gave me a false impression that he was a sweet, sympathetic guy. Who am I kidding? Why would he, a rock star and a billionaire by birth, treat me other than dirt?

The worst part was, I had to thank him for the check he wrote me after calling him a jerk.

What a humiliation. But I had to suck it up because pride wasn’t an option for me.

I gave that up since the moment I became the head of the household, and earning others’ respect is just a luxury I’ll never have.

If Tristan thinks I’m a whore or a porn star, so be it because I’ll never have anything to do with him again. I wouldn’t refuse to serve him at the bar, of course, but I wouldn’t let him touch me again.

With that resolution and knowing the two-thousand-dollar check is safely tucked in my purse, I feel better. After I park on the street, I wipe my tears before getting out of my car. I don’t want Harper or Jamie to see me like this.

When my dad was alive, we used to live in the two-bedroom house in the front. After he passed away, we moved to the one-bedroom in the back because we couldn’t afford the rent. We’re working on moving to a larger place, even though our current rent is low. Harper and I take the bedroom, and Jamie takes the couch in the living room.

 

Harper is in the living room doing her homework.

“How was your day?” I ask. Harper works part-time at a mall on weekends.

“Not bad,” she says. “Busy. Made lots of sales.”

“Great!”

“Plus, I’m getting a raise,” she says and high-fives me.

“Congrats! Let’s celebrate. Want to watch a movie with me?”

“Nah, I want to finish the project.”

Harper is a senior at Alton, getting a degree in business management. And she’s a straight-A student.

“You had dinner?”

“Yeah. I had a slice of pizza before I came home.”

“Good.” I change my clothes quietly, not disturbing her further.

Harper is a sweet little sister. I know she wants to graduate sooner, so she’ll reduce my responsibility. But the truth is she’s already helping me a lot.

I empty my purse and smile when I see the check. However humiliated I felt when I took it from Tristan, the amount pleases me now. I wave it in front of Harper.

“Awesome!” she squeals.

“Yep!” I say with a grin. “Soon, we’ll be able to afford a bigger place.”

We high-five again at the prospect.

I go into the bedroom to stash the check in the “safe” in my closet. It’s just a cookie tin I put all the tips I earn from work before depositing them into the bank. I haven’t had time to go to the bank for months, and I have at least five thousand dollars in the can.

But when I open the can, my heart plunges. It’s empty.

I freeze with my mouth hangs open for a second, and then I scream.

Harper rushes into the bedroom, and seeing the empty can, also gasps. “What’s wrong?”

She knows where I keep the money.

“Did someone break in?” I ask. “Was the door locked when you were back?”

“Yes,” she nods. “And everything else is fine,”

She’s right. There’s no sign of intrusion anywhere in the house.

Which leads to only one possibility. Jamie.

We stare at each other. “Where is he?” I ask. Jamie has a parttime job at a fastfood place and should have finished work hours ago.

“Let me call him,” Harper says and dial his number.

After not getting an answer, she hangs up.

Tears roll down my cheeks as my sister hugs me. “Don’t worry, sis. Maybe he hasn’t used it.”

But it’s no use. I think of the worse. Is he back to doing drugs? He stole my money when he was struggling with his addiction years ago.

She calls again but still no answer.

“Let’s call the police,” she says. “Maybe someone broke in.”

I nod after a moment’s consideration.

Harper is dialing the number of the police when the front door opens. We both rush out of the room. Jamie is back.

“Where the hell were you?” Harper shouts at him.

“With some friends,” he answers without looking at us.

“Did you take the money?”

“What money?”

He’s clearly lying. I know my little brother. He isn’t good at it.

I push Harper aside and stand in front of him. Jamie is a bit taller than me, but I stare at him firmly in the eye, giving him no chance of escaping. “Answer my question, Jamie. Where the hell is my money?”

His pretense falls after a moment’s struggle. He drops onto the couch, propping his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, Avery. I... spent it on coke.”

“Oh Lord,” I mutter as a chill runs down my spine as my worst nightmare is confirmed. “I thought you quit.”

“I’m sorry. The truth is I’ve never got rid of it completely,” he says with head hung low.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“I… I didn’t know how to. I was ashamed of myself…”

“So you kept it to yourself and stole my money?” I scream at him.

“I’m gonna return it, I promise!”

“Oh yeah? How? By doing drugs?” I scream. “That’s over five thousand dollars, Jamie! Do you know how hard I have to work to earn that?”

“I know. I’m sorry!”

“You don’t know! You idiot,” I continue to shout. “I’m not talking about bartending. I’m talking about dressing like a stripper and acting like a fucking whore, and flirting with men who look at me like I’m a slut!” Now, speaking about pride! All of it flushed down the toilet.  All the humiliation is for nothing. 

“Stop it, Avery,” Harper holds me and pats my back.

I sob loudly. “We’ll never move out of this rat hole.”

“Sh--,” Harper pats me gently. “It isn’t a rat hole. We don’t need a bigger place. Besides, Bob never raises the rent.”

Mention of the name sends a jet of bile to my throat. If she only knew the truth about the man and what I had to do to keep the rent low!

“Get out of here, Jamie,” Harper says to him. “We’ll talk later.”

And then she helps me to bed. “You should rest, Avery. We’ll worry about everything else tomorrow.”

I don’t struggle. I’m simply too tired to disobey my little sister.