Chapter One
Wren
CLUSTERFUCK DOESN’T EVEN begin to define my day today.
While I didn’t enjoy working at The Hide Out, it paid the bills and gave me enough money to get some groceries for myself.
Things I could hide in my bedroom away from Karmen because she steals everything in sight.
I managed to get myself into a routine that works for me.
I go out applying for jobs in Briar Glen and the surrounding towns during the day, take an hour nap in my car, shower at the apartment really quick, go to The Hide Out for my shift, and then go back home again.
The only reason I don’t nap there is because when Karmen’s home, you can’t get any sleep.
Once or twice during the day I eat something and Carl always made sure I had a meal at the bar each night.
He caught me once or twice getting dizzy because I was working too hard and skipping meals throughout the day.
Like with my food, I got used to hiding money in the apartment when I was there and keeping it with me when I left for the day.
Unless it was a large amount. Then I have a spot in the wall I hide it in.
Karmen has proven to me repeatedly she can’t be trusted and I’m not about to give her more money than my share of the bills so she can pay them.
I don’t have a checking account, I’ve never had one for some reason.
So far, all of my jobs have either paid me in cash or I’ve gotten one of those pay cards where the money automatically gets deposited on it.
The Hide Out always pays in cash. I simply give Karmen the cash to deposit into her bank account for the rent and utilities.
Every month, the process was repeated and she always wrote me out a receipt.
I went without food and necessities countless times just to ensure I had the correct amount to give Karmen so she wouldn’t bitch about having to cover for me.
She never did, but I added in money to cover when she was short more than a handful of times.
It was no big deal as long as she was the one making things difficult for me.
The second I said or did something that wasn’t what she wanted, Karmen would throw a tantrum like a damn toddler before giving me the silent treatment.
I never minded because it meant peace for me.
Anyway, I get to The Hide Out only for Marlon, the owner, to pull me into the office before I could clock in.
He sat me down, told me he had to cut back on staff and since I was the newest one to be hired, I no longer had a job.
Marlon handed me over the cash to cover my hours as usual and sent me on my way.
He didn’t even apologize for having to let me go.
Marlon isn’t always a thoughtful or nice man.
He leers at women, says the most vile things about females, and is a pervert.
I’m not sure why I expected this interaction with him to be any different.
I only stopped long enough to talk to Carl because I wasn’t about to walk away from him without saying goodbye.
“What’s going on, Wren. You look shattered?” he asks while sliding a glass of soda over to me.
“I just got fired. Marlon said he had to cut back on staff and I was the newest hire, so I’m the one losing my job.
I don’t have another one yet, Carl. I haven’t even managed to get an interview anywhere,” I tell him before taking a long sip of my drink.
It’s cold as hell and burns on the way down, but I don’t drink alcohol so soda is my go-to when I’m here and Carl knows that.
“Are you shitting me? You’re the only one here besides me who actually fucking works.
This isn’t about Marlon having to cut back on staff, Wren.
He fired you so he could bring in his daughter.
I overheard him on the phone when I got here a little while ago.
She doesn’t even need the job, but her mom wants her to get some kind of experience or something like that.
This is bullshit!” Carl shouts, anger lacing his voice as he slams his palm against the top of the bar, startling me.
“This place is about to fucking go to hell because you’re the only one who cleaned the dump.
Everything that’s gone wrong has been handled by you.
Who the fuck is gonna take on those jobs now?
Tanzy sure as fuck won’t lift a finger to do anything. ”
“It’ll be okay. Thank you for the drink,” I say, finishing the soda and pulling out a few bills to slide across the bar.
“You’re not paying for it, Wren. It’s on me.
Get the hell out of Briar Glen. There’s no reason for you to stay here any longer,” Carl says, pushing my money back toward me before I gather everything in my hands and leaving.
“Live your life somewhere warm all year round and find the woman you’re meant to be.
Go to college and continue your education.
I know you graduated high school at the top of your class, Wren.
Put that mind to good use and don’t waste a second more in this fucked up town. ”
I give Carl a hug across the top of the bar before turning and walking out.
This is the last time I’ll ever step foot in the bar because I won’t come here as a customer.
The only person I’ll miss is Carl. He actually gives a shit about me and that’s rare in my life.
I can count on one hand the number of people who ever made me believe they cared and still have fingers left over.
The drive to my apartment doesn’t take very long.
In fact, I could walk to work every day in under ten minutes.
The only reason I don’t is because the neighborhood I live in isn’t the best. I’d be harassed and threatened the entire time.
Or dragged into one of the many alleys to be beaten and raped.
It happens every single day but I had no choice except to move in with Karmen.
I learned really quick it’s best to drive no matter how close my destination is.
Carl’s right, I need to get the hell out of Briar Glen and start my life over somewhere new.
Somewhere I can find a job and live in an apartment on my own.
This town holds absolutely nothing for me. I don’t have any family.
I grew up in foster care because my parents decided to leave me on the side of the road during a horrendous thunderstorm late one night.
Someone happened to find me and they rushed me to the hospital from what I’ve been told.
I don’t know much about my condition, but I was told by one of my foster families that I spent two months in the hospital before they discharged me into the custody of the county.
My first foster home kept me for three months before they decided I was too much trouble or something.
All I know is after that, I was moved from one home to the next after six months to a year.
When I was almost eighteen, I was put in my last foster home.
The lady who took me in was Mrs. Smythe.
Her husband had died from a heart condition they didn’t know he had and they weren’t lucky enough to have children of their own.
That’s when Mrs. Smythe decided to become a foster parent.
She was the best. I was never abused in any of the homes I was placed in.
That’s about the only lucky aspect of the situation I was in through no fault of my own.
There were two boys in the home when I was taken there—Tristan and Zach.
They were close as hell and about five years younger than me.
For the first time, I had a foster mother who treated me as if I were her own daughter and two brothers.
Tristan and Zach accepted me without question.
We hung out after school, helped Mrs. Smythe with chores, sat outside and just let the silence fill the air as we got lost in our own thoughts, and spent all of our time together.
They annoyed me the same way I imagine younger brothers annoy their older sisters.
It was the best six months of my life and I miss the three of them every single day.
The only reason I haven’t tried to look for Tristan and Zach is because I want them to live their lives without any painful reminders of that period of time.
I want them to be successful, happy, loved, and have the best of everything.
If anyone deserves it, those two do for sure.
I also don’t want to remind Mrs. Smythe of the day I left her home.
She cried while holding me tight and told me she didn’t want me to go.
It’s one of the memories I have and relive on a constant basis.
After parking close to the road so I’d have a street light nearby, I head inside the small apartment complex.
There are six apartments in this building.
It doesn’t get taken care of and is falling apart more each day.
The front door has a large crack through the glass that won’t take much to shatter completely.
Every single step inside sags and I feel as if I’ll fall through any second.
All the walls have peeling paint and large holes that have never been repaired.
The walls are so thin you can hear everything in each apartment on your floor and the one directly under you.
There’s also no insulation to speak of. As I get upstairs to my door, I find an eviction notice taped to it.
Ripping it down, I read it and discover rent hasn’t been paid in four damn months.
“One of you finally decided to show up,” I hear from behind me and turn to find Cliff, the landlord from hell. “Where’s my money?”
“I don’t know. I thought Karmen was paying it as usual. Can I still get inside? I have some money hidden. I can pay you and I’ll talk to her to find out what’s going on,” I ask Cliff as he glares at me.