Page 10 of Never To Suffer (The Hollywoodland #4)

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

THE HIVES

“It’s only been a few weeks and you’re already moving back in with your mom?” the pink-haired goth girl asks me while I hold a dress up to her and scrunch my nose.

“Yep! Xander mentioned something about unsafe living environments in our notice, so maybe they won’t charge us.

You should have been there the other day.

I woke up freezing my ass off, but by the time we tried to go to bed, I ended up sleeping in the tub surrounded by ice packs.

Fucking insane.” A piece of bright green fabric grabs my attention, so I grab it, presenting it with a waggle of my eyebrows to Alexis.

“No. Not green, please. It’s a fantastic color for you, but I’m a pale white girl. It makes me come off as…toxic and sickly.”

“Fiiiiine. I’ll buy it for myself. I can work on it on the drive to Portland.”

“You will not!” Our heads snap up at the familiar voice as we both smile at the gorgeous, tall blond who could be a double for Marilyn Monroe walking our way.

“First off, why are you showing dresses to Lexi? You don’t have the million dollars it would take to get her into one!

And, also, I want it! I need something new for your show when it rolls through LA. ”

“Oh my god, Laurie!” I scream and throw myself around her. “I’d love it if you came to the show. If we make it that far.”

“You will! Craig’s bringing a bunch of guys from the gym, and I’ve got flyers up all over the firm.

” She flashes a sympathetic glance as her long, slender fingers rest on my shoulders.

“I hope it’s okay, but we’re skipping any of the nights you aren’t playing, so once we have dates, we’ll buy whatever we need.

We already have tickets for the finals, too, because you’re making it to the fucking finale. Do you understand me?”

“Same for us, Steve, and Ethan,” Lexi adds. “It depends on the Parrots’ schedule, but some of the other guys on Ethan’s team said they wanted to go, too.”

“Oh my god, we’re going to have a crowd? We need to make the finals now.”

“That’s what I said. So, pick out a whole new wardrobe to work on, missy,” Laurie says as she types on her phone, not bothering to glance up. “Remember when we used to go watch Steve’s ex?”

“Steve’s ex? As in Kennedy?” Lexi questions, eyes narrowing and face turning like she bit into something sour.

“She couldn’t play an instrument if her life depended on it. Except maybe the skin fl?—”

“Dani! Come on, she’s trying. She has a new job, and it’s going well. Coop says she’s almost unrecognizable now.”

“As what? A porn star? Because I’m pretty sure that’s her calling.

” My head snaps toward Lexi as she rolls her eyes and gives me that face.

“What? That’s a compliment! Porn stars are bad ass!

Whatever, Laurie’s talking about Skylar, who played in a band when they dated Steve.

Mad skills on the bass, a phenomenal body, a functional brain, and a pretty face. ”

“That pretty face broke my brother’s heart,” Laurie adds as she eyes the clothes on a new rack.

“I’d be mad about it if Steve hadn’t found Ethan, but I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t miss them.

I hope they’re doing okay. Wherever they ended up after all that shit happened.

I always thought they’d end up with you. ”

“I heard they were backpacking through Europe. Such a fucking Skylar thing to do.” I avoid the last part of what Laurie said, but the heat fills my face. I bite my lip before blurting out, “Xander wants me to text them.”

“Do it!” Laurie replies.

We spend the rest of the afternoon practicing the fine art of thrifting.

Or, more accurately, Laurie and I shop while Lexi plays on her phone and allows us to dress her up.

Laurie has a rockin’ body, but even though she’s post-op, it’s difficult finding clothes to fit her and complement her style.

That’s where I come in. Fashion school dropout, baby.

Even Lexi benefits from my mad skills with a pair of scissors and some thread.

She’s got hips that hypnotize her husband, but standard pants off the rack fail her, and I give her more options than leggings every day.

I’ve even gotten her into a few dresses. And repaired them after Jamie ripped them off her.

Plus, they pay me for my time in buying me all the thrifted material I could ever want. Win fucking win. When Lexi’s finally had enough of our shopping, she drags us down the street for food, but mostly to refill her coffee.

“So, what’s new with the trio? I heard you’ve moved into the new place.”

“Don’t ask.” I pause long enough to drop my things into the booth and drop into it.

“Okay, you already did, whatever. Megan didn’t work out since she’s shagging Rory, our bassist. So, we kicked Megan out of our triad and fired Rory.

I’m fine with that, except now we’re stuck with a shitty bassist until we can find someone new who doesn’t suck.

But the apartment can only be described as an absolute shithole—falling apart around us and has mice. Like, so many mice.”

“Daniella Silva,” Laurie scolds. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“About which part because that’s a lot to?—”

“The apartment! Is that why we haven’t been over?” Laurie asks.

“Kind of?”

“You could come live with us, but I’m not sure Jamie would be okay with it,” Lexi blurts out before chomping down on a fry.

“I’m sitting right here, Lexi. Did I piss Jamie off or something?”

“What? No!” She holds up her hands, a fry dangling from her fingertips. “I mean, he’d be limited to which rooms he could rip my clothes off in.”

“So, we can’t move in, but I’m okay with that because I don’t want to see naked Jamie.”

“Dude, you’ve seen all the boys naked at the house parties,” she shrugs, holding the fry out for me.

“Fair.”

As much grief as I give Xander for not having goals or a steady job, I’m a different flavor of the same problems. I’ve never held a job down longer than this one.

At every other job, I ran away as fast as I could because it never felt like work or a commitment.

Working for Sam never feels like that. I take all the time off I want; I dress and do my hair however I want, and I swear as much as I want.

And now we’ve gone remote, so it’s like a paycheck for being awesome.

Sam has told me multiple times that I’ve got a job as long as I’m getting the work done, and I do that.

It’s easy. Answer phones, tell people they’re fucking idiots, take notes. Done.

Laurie taps her manicured nails on the table before pointing them at me. “Ladies, we’re off topic and there’s a giant purple elephant in the room.” We both stare at her with blank faces and she rolls her eyes. “There’s a simple—and brilliant—solution to both of your problems.”

“Yeah, and he’s trying. It’s not like he sits around all day listening to idiotic and misogynistic podcasts while playing the same game online with the same group of ten-year-olds all day. Wait—are we talking about Xander?”

Laurie’s eyebrows knit together. “Strangely specific description, but no. I don’t mean Xander getting an actual job.

That would crush the poor boy. I’m talking about your apartment.

Lexi? Isn’t your latest tenant moving out soon?

And weren’t you telling me, like, a week ago how much you’re dreading going through that process again and how you’re thinking about selling the condo? ”

“Oh my god, I totally forgot I even had that place.”

“You forgot you own a place in the arts district? You’re turning into one of them, Alexis!” I stare at her through squinted eyes and frown, laying on the dramatics for effect. “I’ve been fearing this day ever since you married that rich asshole!”

“Dude, James is basically your brother.” Lexi giggles at my terrible southern drawl.

“He didn’t have a hundred dollars to his name when we met!

He didn’t even have enough for a motel room in Vegas when we got married!

I paid for the license, Coop paid for the hotel rooms, and you paid for my kinky lingerie! ”

“Yeah, but you still married him and now you’re dual-income-no-kids rich, and forgetting about quaint little properties you own around Los Angeles.

” I grab her hand, examining her fingers.

I love Jamie, and I consider him one of my brothers, just like with Steve and Coop.

My boys, I call them, but I still mock them every chance I get.

“Does your pinky automatically stick out when you drink tea based on the zeroes in your bank account? Or is that a conscious effort thing?”

“Oof, the pinky!” Laurie giggles. “I’ll remember that question when you’re a famous rock star swimming in your cash filled swimming pool.”

“I kind of forgot.” Lexi shrugs, sliding her tray over so I can polish off her fries, like I always do.

“I don’t deal with the place anymore, so I forget it exists.

Besides, it’s better to remember where I live now.

A happy, loving, homey place my mother has only been in for a whopping five minutes. ”

“I get it, babes. But I love watching you get all angsty about it. Okay, back to the real shit. Laurie, what does Lexi’s place have to do with me?

” The kid behind the counter yells my number and I jump up to grab my food.

Out of habit, I grab a handful of condiments to bring back to the apartment, so we don’t have to pay for them.

This shit has to stop. Dropping back into my chair, the two women stare at me like they’re about to burst. “What did I miss?”

“We found you a place! I mean, my place! I mean, you should come live at my condo!” Lexi practically screams this at me, causing heads to turn.

One, an older man, scowls at me from under his red hat; I flip him off and mouth the words lesbians .

It works, and he stuffs his trash in the can and stomps out. “Isn’t that an incredible idea?”