Page 10

“Thanks,” I say. “I should probably head to work, or I’m going to be late.”

Chloe gives me a look of concern but doesn’t argue. “Be careful, okay? And text me later.”

I say my final goodbyes to everyone and make my way to my car, feeling…

lighter, maybe? I don’t know. All I know is that I feel like giggling even though no one else is around.

Cade likes me? Chloe seems so sure about the idea, which makes me feel things I probably shouldn’t.

He’s just so perfect it hurts to look at him.

I almost don’t want to believe it in case she’s wrong.

That way when it all comes crashing down, my heart won’t be completely shattered.

I’ve never really been asked on a real date before. Jeremy, the guy from my group home, made a move once, and yeah, we fooled around in the laundry room a couple of times, but that wasn’t romance. It was two broken kids clinging to each other because it hurt less than being alone.

Besides, he talked endlessly about some girl he had to leave behind anyway. I was just the warm body that listened.

Never did I think someone as put together as Cade would even see me, let alone give me tickets to watch him play hockey. Maybe Chloe is right. Maybe it is more serious and as pathetic as it sounds, a tiny, reckless part of me hopes that’s exactly what this is.

The short drive to the club does nothing to clear my head. I feel like I’m already on that stage, living out the fantasy I’ve been thinking about this past year.

Cade smiling at me, loving me. Impossible… but maybe not.

After parking, I hoist my bag over my shoulder and walk through the parking lot. When I open the door and see Luke standing in his usual spot, cleaning glasses, I drop my gaze to the floor.

Another night, another attempt at avoiding him at all costs. I shuffle past him so quickly, I almost think I got away with it.

“You dropped something,” he says, making me stop instantly.

My breath catches as I look up, and all that hope of normalcy flies right out the window when I see what’s between his fingers.

The tickets.

My tickets.

Amusement flickers behind his eyes. “What are these?”

Swallowing, I say, “They’re tickets.”

“I can see that. Didn’t know you were a Crushers fan. Kind of assumed you didn’t have time for any of that,” he says, his voice dripping with suspicion.

“I’m not. I’m, uh, my friend invited me.” I have no idea what else to say because sometimes when I talk to Luke, I become a shell of myself. It almost feels like he already knows the answer and is just pushing my buttons so he can watch me unravel completely.

“Friend, huh?” He looks at me with a raised brow. “Which friend?”

“Chloe,” I answer on instinct. There’s no way I’m going to say Cade’s name in front of Luke.

They know each other and I don’t want Cade to change his mind after finding out I work here.

Worse, I don’t want Luke hurting Cade. Luke is possessive over his girls.

Whenever one of them gets a boyfriend, all hell breaks loose.

Mysterious “accidents” happen, girls quit without notice and the problem disappears along with the men who caused them.

“She loves the Crushers and I told her I’d go with her. ”

“Mhm, sounds like fun.”

That’s it? Fun? That’s all he has to say to me? It doesn’t feel like the end, though. After a beat of silence, I reach out for the tickets, only for Luke to snatch them away.

“Too bad you’re working tomorrow night.”

“Working?” I shake my head, my voice cracking ever so slightly. “That’s my night off.”

He laughs, the sound cold and brittle. “Not anymore.” He raises the tickets between two fingers, his eyes never leaving mine. “I’m going to need you to tend the bar while I’m at this game.”

There it is. I should’ve known this was coming. The minute I saw those tickets between his fingers, I should’ve known they were no longer mine. I’m not allowed anything unless Luke permits it and he’s not going to let me go out and have a good time without making me pay for it somehow.

“That is, unless you want to come with me?” The threat in his voice is clear. This isn’t an invitation. It’s an ultimatum. Go with him, or don’t go at all, and if I go with him, any chance with Cade will disappear.

“No,” I answer so quickly, I regret it immediately. The mere thought of being seen out in public with Luke sends bile soaring up my throat because it makes the fact I work here more real. “It’s just those aren’t my tickets. They’re Chloe’s. If I’m not going, then neither is she.”

“Mhm.” He leans back, his elbow resting on the bar as he taps his chin in mock contemplation. “That is a predicament. I guess you’re just going to have to tell her you lost them.”

My chin quivers with things I can’t say without consequences.

I want to so badly tell him to fuck off, but I can’t.

There’s nothing I can do. Once again, I feel trapped and powerless.

I look at the tickets one more time before Luke stuffs them in his pocket, reminding me all too much of that idiot Daniel from a year ago.

Take, take, take. How can I forget that’s the only rule here?

What’s mine is theirs until there’s nothing left.

I raise my hand, my hope lost. It’s my own fault for having it in the first place. “Sure, I hope you have a great time.” It’s lackluster and unbelievable. Not that Luke cares.

“Does that mean you aren’t coming with me?”

I shake my head. My fingers curl into fists as I straighten up, my pulse hammering in my ears. “Like you said, someone needs to be here. I expect overtime, though.”

“Overtime?” He raises a brow, surprised at my response. It’s the first time I’ve ever tried to barter with him, and frankly, it’s because I’m pissed off. Pissed off that he has so much control over me and pissed off that he clearly enjoys that fact.

He pushes his lips out, mulling it over. “A couple of hours overtime for a pair of hockey tickets. Sounds like a good trade-off.”

He holds his hand out, and I accept it. His hard calluses scratch across my palm. I shiver, hating the feeling and knowing one day he’ll no doubt ask for something I’m unprepared to give.

“Have fun,” I say tersely, pulling my hand away and heading to the back room.

A lump forms in my throat and it’s only when I’m through the door and in the changing room that I let my tears flow.

Everything good is always taken. I’ll never be enough. Why can’t I just accept that? Why do I persist in trying to be normal?

Sitting at the vanity, I take my phone out and text Chloe.

Savannah: Sorry, I won’t be able to make it tomorrow. Luke says I have to work. Maybe we can do something else another time.

I drop the phone into my bag, not wanting to think about it anymore. Chloe is the easy one to let down. She’ll be disappointed, maybe even a little annoyed, but she won’t push. She won’t ask questions I don’t want to answer.

But Cade?

My stomach twists.

He’ll think I blew him off. That I gave my tickets to Luke without a second thought, like they meant nothing. Like he meant nothing, but maybe that’s for the best.

If he knew the truth that I didn’t have a choice, then he’d see too much. He’d know I’m fucking broken and powerless at this point. I’m just a girl who dances in a rhinestone bodysuit because a man owns her debt and her future.

I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my fingertips against my temples hard enough to bruise, desperate to dam the tears threatening to spill.

It doesn’t matter.

It shouldn’t matter.

But it does.

Because for the first time in a long time someone made me feel like I wasn’t just an invisible foster kid drifting through life unnoticed. But after tomorrow? He’ll probably want to forget I exist.