I clocked out of work after making quite a bit of money from tips alone. It would definitely help replenish some of the money I had spent on clothes and necessities.

While I was happy to be free from work, going home was another situation entirely.

When Tori dropped me off, Melissa was still at work for another hour. That left me alone with Frank.

I knew he was completely s**t-faced the second I walked through the front door.

He sat in the recliner watching some fuzzy football match on the TV. His face contorted in anger and I sighed.

“Where the f**k have you been?” He spat, struggling to lift himself off the recliner.

I tried not to roll my eyes, knowing it only pissed him off more.

“Working, Frank.” I repeated myself for the hundredth time.

I turned to walk up the stairs and escape his drunken tirade when something he said had me turning back around.

“Working?” He scoffed, wobbling as he stood from the recliner. “You were out whoring around like your f*****g mother.”

This time I did roll my eyes. If he wasn’t drunk all of the time he’d remember that Melissa made me pay for everything myself. I didn’t have time to ‘w***e around’ when I was busy supporting myself and going to high school.

“Melissa isn’t my mother.” I snapped, turning to walk up the stairs.

His hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me backwards.

While I didn’t fall, I did stumble back a few steps.

“Get off of me, Frank.” I mumbled, my body tensing in fear.

few times he had managed to get this close to me weren’t pretty. Frank was always handsy when he was

my sensitive nose. He yanked me closer to him and

with fear. He was much

the disgusting smell

and I gritted my teeth

get off!” I screeched, bringing my knee up in

as his hand dropped my wrist. I could hear his drunken yelling as I ran to

fumbled with the lock through the tears that had

locked, I flopped down on my bed and let a few

would all be worth it when

like her own daughter and instead looked forward to escaping the

hours, not daring to move until I heard the front door open and

the shower. The steaming water hid the tears as they fell from

extremely aware of Frank’s movements in the house, and always needed to be on guard around

out of the shower feeling completely exhausted, and fell into

much too quickly. After a few hours of

one of the outfits I had recently bought,

down at the handprint bruise left on my porcelain skin and

class of the day was with Tori. We sat and talked while working on our assignments. My next class was the one I was worried about. Kade’s comment about cologne at the restaurant had me confused, but I let it

and Alec both looked equally irresistible. Both of the twins’ hair were tousled and had that messy look that other

sat at our normal table, only this time Alec sat across from

seemed to be more serious than Alec and sometimes scarier, so I plopped down in the seat beside

he had won some bet. I kept my eyes averted from the sinfully attractive twins and

project?” Alec teased, his hot breath curling around my

shut and ignored him. Of course I finished the

fingers danced over my shoulder and tickled my collar bone. I sucked in a sharp breath at the tingles that bubbled

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