🤍 Jessica's POV 🤍
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMrus1t9bq
"Thirteen hundred, fourteen hundred, fifteen hundred..." I count through the crumpled hundred-dollar bills in my hand, almost coming to tears.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84Ye1KHLHv
Twenty-one thousand dollars. I turn to my roommate and best friend, Rachel. "Rach... you don't have to do this."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxjOL5uorM
"Here we go again. Save it, Jess. You need help, I gave it. End of story. You know I'm more than happy to help," she replies, not looking up from her phone.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VPU66e57b
"You're the best. I don't know what I would have done without you. I promise to pay every dime back." I shoot her a grateful smile.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDT1rW2BLO
Finally, she meets my gaze. "It's a gift. You haven't gotten a job, and the strip club is doing really well. Why wouldn't I help? You'd do the same for me."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnS1uIOi9SW
For a heartbeat, silence hangs between us—then I surge forward, wrapping her in a hug so fierce it knocks her phone to the floor.
She laughs, a warm, familiar sound, and squeezes back.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQDK8gc814
Rachel and I go way back. We trace our friendship to a cluttered library table, sophomore year at Berea College, bonded by chaos, cheap stationery, and mutual blackmail.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIPWFTwMWf
We mistakenly took each other's diaries in the library, and the rest is history.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlKdbhkCfW
Hard to believe, right? I'll explain. Two sleep-deprived losers, hollow-eyed from cramming for midterms, hunched over identical five-dollar diaries from the campus bookstore.
Basically, we had the same cheap-ass diary, and for some reason, thought it was sensible to bring it out while studying that afternoon.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B4ZcTbI59
Fucking knuckleheads.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBIyoiDFcM
We'd both scribbled our darkest secrets in those flimsy, faux-leather notebooks—hers in reckless cursive, mine in anxious print—too fried to notice we'd grabbed the wrong ones until we'd already dragged our big backs to our dorms.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU83IxRYMYX
Oh well. I got home and shamelessly read it all. I didn't want to, but dang! Its contents were better than porn.
No kidding. Rachel is the wildest girl I've ever met. And in my defense, she read mine as well. And no matter how boring it was, a reading still takes place. No?
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FrKlIhLtw
Anyways, the next morning, we shamelessly met at that same library table, and I remember Rachel's first words—of course, she was the first to speak. "Don't even lie about not reading my diary! Your eyes tell it all."
I laughed genuinely for the first time that week and proposed a crazy idea.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUQiyRQgPz
Since we now literally know each other's secrets, we decide to be friends and swear to carry them to the grave.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwqJttTRKQ
A pact sealed in cringe and convenience.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGzgESUtKK
We've been inseparable since then, and years later, we're roommates, crammed into a mini shoebox apartment with my younger brother, Ken, trying to make ends meet.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBquDCzbM1A
Speaking of my brother, I give Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek and go to his little mancave to find him.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAO2KYAYFm
Typical. He is blasting NBA YoungBoy on the stupid speakers.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65ypEeGY6Y
I know it's NBA YoungBoy because that's all he blasts on those stupid speakers at skull-rattling decibels.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcemgQFYUM4
I fling his door open for the hundredth time that day, and as usual, I'm hit with the torrid smell of Black Axe body spray and 10-day-worn boxers.
And there the little rascal is, sprawled on the mattress like a squirt of ketchup on the table, singing off-tune.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Aq23WarK5
I rub my temple, counting to three in a bid to calm myself.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjhP53YTBR
It doesn't fucking work.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lVPD5BFUS
"Turn that shit off before I smack your two front teeth down your throat!"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthLpTnaGm8
Whoa. I can't believe my voice was louder than the music. Mariah Carey was found shaking in her Christmas fit.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU9hY4m8fv
Ken rolls his eyes at me before getting up and reaching for the remote.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lwfvvsQoj
The silence hits like divine intervention, and my left eye visibly twitches at the bliss. All of a sudden, the world seems to be working fine again.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSppjZSvDy
Rachel is worried, though.
"Um... Is Ken still breathing?" Her voice comes from the living room.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pEOxmifqH
"Sadly, yes," I reply with a dry tone.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxfk1pvyfL
"Can a guy get some privacy around here?" Ken asks, looking at me like I've cut off his air supply.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8M2JMUSasj
"Can we not have our eardrums perforated?" I shoot back.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQpJFpulir
"What do you want, Jess?"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyyUFfvKYQ
I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Rent's due. Your turn to bleed cash."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0YZ5hprxF
He flops onto his bed, sending a tsunami of dirty socks and energy drink cans to the floor. "Seriously? Now? I'm in the middle of a vibe."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkm0HUT3Dr
"Your 'vibe' costs just $600 this month, thanks to Rach for covering half of yours" I fire back, gesturing to the house.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZHBgKyM3q
"Oh, she did?" He smiles, surprised. "Thanks, Rach!"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFb3XpS2l9I
"Pay up."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFLMtGsxdj
He groans, dragging a hand down his face.
"Jeez. Calm down, Jess. I'm short, okay? Just take it from my bakery salary this month."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xujdggRG2
"Ah, yes," I snort. "Let's bankrupt the one business we've successfully been able to grow and manage. Brilliant plan, Einstein."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0PhfJxUl9
"Then what do you want? My kidney? My soul?" He fakes a cry.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWSw01EP8Z
"Hmm... Tempting, but kidneys are harder to sell on Craigslist. Let's stick to tradition." I pull out my phone, already scrolling.
"Let's see, last month it was your vintage Xbox. Month before, your 'limited edition' skateboard—which, spoiler, wasn't limited. You need to sue. What will it be this time? The signed Kobe jersey? The guitar you still can't play?"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjsOJ5sHvr
His mouth opens in astonishment, and his face twists like I've just found him guilty. "You're a tyrant!"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmlcWx6Cg9
"And you're a parasite with a Spotify addiction. Choose before I choose for you."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfCWXFVwVd
With conflicting eyes, he glares at his closet, a shrine to impulse buys and buyer's remorse. "Dammit. Take the jersey."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq7vtYji9s
"Good choice."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbn7kFoHJg
I'm halfway past the door when I think of something and smirk before turning back to him. "How much for the speakers?"
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡot3ISPtkV6
He whips around fast and looks at me with death in his eyes. Then up he gets, slamming the door in my face.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkALcAWwoo
I burst out laughing before adding kerosene to the fire. "You know, with the rate at which you default on rent, you'll eventually have to forfeit them. I'm very patient."
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGMpSgQsfR
I continue on my journey out, but not before I hear a muffled thud on his door, likely from his already deflated pillow colliding with it.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eHNUSNBC7
Do I like taking away his stuff? Heck no. But someone's gotta teach him the universe won't coddle him like I did. I've babied him so much in the past because we lost our parents at such young ages, and I didn't want him to lack that love. But at some point, a man's gotta learn responsibility and know that there are consequences for every action.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2SlvZ4Fyy
I walk back to my desk and reboot my laptop. It wheezes to life, its fan screeching like a tortured gerbil. I click into my inbox, bracing for the usual sermons of rejections.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJZ4DG1b2F
'We've moved forward with other candidates...'
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFfwqqrW5c
'Unfortunately, your experience doesn't align...'
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ChScaL8dd
'Thank you for your interest. Blah, blah, blah'
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AIkTJG5Uf
Which, by the way, is corporate language for 'lol. Never, bitch.'
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJAQPZcMYc
I sigh. Not in disappointment, because I'm used to it, and I've built an immunity to that particular sting. It's more... um...exhausted defiance with a sprinkle of impotent hurt.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5MR8rfmIJ
Like each no is a brick I'll eventually hurl through the window of every HR motherfucker who underestimated me. Yeah.
ns216.73.216.97da2
然後按「加至主畫面」