t w o
Can't you see it's we who own the night
Can't you see it's we who bout' that life ?
I was watching TV when my mother came stumbling in through the front door.
"Honey!" she called out to no one in particular. "I'm home!"
Not even two seconds later, the sound of various items falling to the ground filled the air around me.
In her stoned daze, she had accidentally knocked over the coat rack that was sitting next to the door. Her careless actions didn't faze me as she has been following this routine for the past five and a half years now.
My mother's voice suddenly sounded behind me, and the question that she delivered in the form of an accusation snapped me right out of my thoughts.
"Who gave you permission to touch my shit?"
Here we go.
"Excuse me?" I retorted coolly.
When she didn't respond, I slowly turned my head to look at her.
"There's a bottle missing from this cabinet," she all but slurred.
My eyes fluttered shut at her observation.
"Ask Tyler what happened to it," I finally pushed out. "One of his little friends came over here not too long ago, so he's probably the one who took it."
Silence.
All that my mother had to offer me was silence.
Works for me.
I returned my focus to the TV so that I could continue watching my show of choice, Supernatural.
"Tyler!" The volume at which my mother yelled my brother's name caused me to flinch.
"What?" my brother screamed back in annoyance.
A prolonged period of silence passed on our mother's end, prompting Tyler to stomp his way down the stairs.
He let out a sigh as soon as he stepped into the kitchen and the look on his face told me that he knew exactly what our mother was about to say.
"Did you go through my stash?" Monica asked him. The unsteady movements of her body caught my eye as she slowly began to sway back and forth.
Tyler simply shrugged his shoulders in response to her question. "Josh wanted to do some shots, so I showed him where you keep your stuff."
For some reason, this alarming piece of information made our mother's lips curl up into a tentative smile.
"That's okay, honey," she cooed before her eyes quickly cut over to me. "Go get me some more Grey Goose."
I immediately pulled a face. "No."
"What do you mean, no?" she cried dramatically. "I'm the adult in this situation; therefore, you have no choice but to do as I say."
It took everything within me to suppress my amusement.
"Is that what you're calling yourself these days?" I chuckled. "An adult?"
Tyler began to back out of the room after our mother's hold on the countertop loosened considerably.
"Last I checked, you're living underneath my roof, so unless you want to get put out on the streets, I strongly suggest that you follow my orders," she seethed.
Upon hearing this, I swiftly clambered up from my spot on the couch. "I'm twenty years old, which means that I, too, am an adult; however, it also means that it is against the law for me to purchase alcohol in the country that we live in."
My mother opened her mouth to retaliate, but I quickly decided that I didn't want to hear the excuse that she was about to feed me.
"You know what?" I interjected sharply. "Never mind."
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tyler shuffling over towards the stairs.
"I'm not about to argue with you," I carried on in the blandest of tones.
My mother let go of the counter entirely as I made a move to walk out of the room. "But know this: I stopped listening to you the day you left me to rot in that holding cell after I got caught shoplifting liquor for you."
A scoff escaped my mother's lips as she recalled the scarring event—well it was for me, anyway.
"You knew what you were doing," she sneered.
My movements came to a halt as the way that she delivered this jab made my blood boil.
"Dad died a few months prior to that incident, and instead of comforting me like a normal parent would, you threatened to take me out of dance after I refused to run your stupid errands," I spat.
"So, yes, my fifteen-year-old self might have known what I was doing, but do you honestly think that I was worried about the consequences of my actions? "
The pause between my question and my response was brief. "No. Dance was the only thing that helped me cope with dad's death and you threatening to take that away from me was not only a personal attack on my happiness but an attack on my well-being. So, excuse me for complying."
My next words managed to tip her straight over the edge. "Your job as a parent is to guide me away from situations like that . . . not be the one leading me into them."
The room proceeded to grow silent, save for the soft chatter emitting from the speakers of the TV.
Monica stood, glaring at me from her spot near the island, and her calm demeanor made me somewhat nervous due to the fact that I had just outwardly called her out on her bullshit.
Before I could get a read on her emotions, Monica's body began to shake, and it was at that moment that I suddenly understood the meaning of the phrase 'the calm before the storm.'
In this case, the storm represents the meltdown that she was about to have in about 2.5 seconds.
The drugs that she inevitably took were beginning to wear off, and trust me when I say, her comedowns are never pretty.
When she unexpectedly collapsed down onto the floor, I turned to my brother for help.
"Tyler, can you please wet a towel in some cold water and bring it to me?" I asked, trying my best not to sound frantic.
I then rushed over to my mother's body and cupped my hands underneath her armpits so that I could prop her up against the wall.
"Tyler!" I shouted his name after I failed to receive a response from him.
Nothing.
I glanced over my shoulder to see that he was no longer standing by the staircase.
He was gone.
"Dammit," I muttered as I now had no choice but to turn my attention back to my squirming mother.
"It's all your fault," she wailed while pushing and thrashing against me wildly. "It's all your fault."
I straddled her waist to try and keep her steady, and after a few more minutes of screaming, she finally stilled underneath me.
"You took him away from us," was the last thing that she whispered before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
After hearing two small sighs escape her lips, I gently lifted myself up and away from her body.
It seemed as though she was going to be sleeping off the remaining bits of her high, and it's times like this that make me the happiest because it means that I don't have to do anything except check on her every once and awhile.
Since Tyler decided to pull a Houdini, I had to drag my mother's body to the nearest piece of furniture so she wouldn't be sprawled out on the floor all night. Given my lack of upper-body strength, the furthest spot that I was able to pull her to was the couch.
I gently set her down on the cushion before throwing a thin blanket over her moderately large frame. After turning the AC on full blast, I took one last look at the woman I used to call 'Mom' before I turned off the lights and bounded up the stairs to my room.
In a perfect world, I would be spending the rest of my Friday evening doing something fun with my loved ones. You know, things like watching movies or playing board games.
But in case the events that just occurred didn't make things clear enough for you . . . my world is far from perfect.
After my dad died five and a half years ago, my life has been nothing but a whirlwind of depression and despair.
Everything around me has since fallen apart, and I've lost all hope in my way of positive thinking.
In response to my father's passing, my mother sought to numb her pain with drugs and alcohol. Tyler, on the other hand, has always been self-absorbed and his personality has only gotten worse since our dad died.
To his credit, he's always been more of a momma's boy, which explains why he and our mother are still close despite her ever-growing addiction. I consider myself to be more of a daddy's girl, since my dad and I shared a love for all things music back when he was alive.
He was the one who signed me up for dance after he caught me researching different dance routines on the family computer when I was younger.
Even though dance has completely changed my life, I sometimes wish that my dad had never pushed me to follow my dreams. You see, there is a reason why my mother and Tyler distance themselves from me to the degree that they do.
Their disdain stems from the fact that they believe that I'm the one responsible for my father's death.
Tears began to blur my vision as distinct memories and emotions linked to his passing came flooding back into my mind like a tsunami.
I immediately pushed those feelings aside as I entered my room.
No need to go back there just yet.
After shutting and locking my bedroom door, my feet guided me over to my pillow-infested bed.
My thoughts continued to haunt me as I curled up underneath the covers with my one and only Pillow Pet, Daisy.
I've sent my mother to rehab numerous times and it angers me to see that my effort, as well as my money, have since been wasted as she continues to shoot up with her friends every chance that she gets.
But that was then.
This is now.
My anger was no longer present and the reason for that can be attributed to the realization that I had just a few short months ago.
I realized that you can't help those who are unwilling to help themselves.
The first step in getting clean is admitting that you have a problem.
The rest of the process that follows is all about changing your actions and your mindset.
My mother is, unfortunately, not yet ready to do these things, so as of right now, there is only so much that I can do to help her. And since our money is currently on the line, I've been holding back in regards to spending our funds on things that aren't of the utmost importance.
The sound of my default Apple ringtone blaring out of my phone's speakers pulled me from my thoughts, and I slowly reached over to grab the outdated device from my nightstand.
I stifled a groan after I glanced down at the caller ID.
This can't be good.
"Hey, Vee . . ."
Veronica skipped the formalities altogether as she quite literally yelled out a set of orders for me to follow. "Get up and put on that red dress that I bought you because we're going clubbing!"
A car horn rang out towards the end of her sentence, and the noise made me purse my lips in suspicion.
"Veronica . . ." I said slowly. "Where are you right now?"
One giggle was all it took for me to bury my face in Daisy's fur.
"I'm on my way to your house, silly."
A whine traveled up my throat as soon as I registered her response. "Veronica, I—"
"You, nothing," she cut me off firmly. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your Friday night lounging around with Thing 1 and Thing 2?"
I opened my mouth to respond, only to screw it back shut after my phone vibrated against my cheek.
I pulled the device away from my ear to see that I had received a text from, in the words of Veronica, Thing 2.
This text provided me with the motivation that I needed to go along with Veronica's plan.
"Call me when you're outside," was all that I said before I ended the call and scrambled over to my closet.
Ashley is Tyler's on-again-off-again girlfriend, and the girl always makes it a point to tell me that her sister can hook me up with a makeover for a discounted price whenever she sees me.
Let's just hope that we don't cross paths on my way out the door.
For her sake.
Not mine.
Since Veronica had already picked out my outfit for me, I simply went to the end of my clothing rack and pulled out the dress that she had instructed for me to wear.
For my birthday last year, she ended up buying me this tight red dress that has ruching on the sides. The dress itself is in perfect condition seeing as the term 'going out' is one that I've yet to get a working definition for.
After taking a quick shower and lotioning the span of my body, I slowly slipped the skimpy dress on over my head.
My mouth fell open the minute I turned to look at myself in the mirror.
I haven't worn anything this tight in a while, so the curves that greeted me were nothing short of a surprise. After a moment more of me fooling around in the mirror, I ran over to my makeshift vanity to straighten my hair.
It took me less than five minutes to straighten my whole head since my hair was still partially straight from the last time that I put heat on it.
In the end, I decided to let my champagne blonde locks cascade down my back, and I let out a small sigh as my hair stopped just a few centimeters short of my butt.
"I'm in dire need of a trim," I muttered while bending down to grab my heels from underneath my bed. After removing them from their box, I made a move to slide them on, only to stop part of the way through after my phone began to ring for the second time this evening.
I proceeded to teeter back and forth on the pads of my feet as I attempted to answer the call while simultaneously reaching down to slide on my right heel.
After a momentary struggle, I was able to skillfully sandwich the phone between my shoulder and my ear so that I could fasten the strap around my ankle.
"Hello?"
"I'm here," Veronica announced in one of those 'hurry up' tones.
My fingers continued to wrestle with the strap as the silver prong wouldn't go in through the small, pre-punched hole.
"Coming," I huffed.
When she didn't say anything further, I pulled the phone away from my ear and ended the call.
Once my heels were safely secure on my feet, I reached over to grab my lip gloss from inside my desk drawer. Since I don't wear any other form of makeup, I simply swiped the tinted gloss over my lips before jamming the tube into my wristlet.
Upon exiting my room, I quickly yet carefully approached the staircase.
The sound of my heels clicking against the hardwood floor bounced off the walls of our freakishly long hallway, and the noise made me want to go back to my room and put on a pair of flats.
I would've done it, too, had the thought of Veronica disowning me not popped into my head a few moments later.
She'd kill me if I showed up to the club wearing flats.
In the time leading up to my foot touching down on the first step, an additional thought suddenly presented itself in my mind.
Shit.
I swiveled around on my heel and ventured back down the hall in the direction of Tyler's room.
Without even bothering to knock, I yanked open his door.
"Can you watch Monica for a couple of hours?" I asked. "I'm going out with Veronica."
Instead of providing me with one of his usual snappy responses, he merely threw a 'yeah, whatever' over his shoulder.
Well, that's new.
Tyler usually jumps at the opportunity to insult Vee given that he hates her with a burning passion.
The same goes for Veronica.
Maybe he's being nice for a change . . .
I reached behind me to close the door, only to pause in my tracks after Tyler decided that he wanted to add on to his previous statement.
"Tell that bitch that I said, what's up."
Never mind then.
If Veronica hadn't called me at that exact moment in time, I would've retaliated. But since she's been waiting for me for over five minutes now, I decided to cut my speech short. "Okay, but when she beats your ass, don't come crying to me."
Tyler chose to address my warning with a sarcastic smile, and this action was all it took for me to slam the door in his face. With an amped-up pace, I raced down the length of the hallway before I crept my way down the stairs.
I had to pass through the living room to reach the front door, which wouldn't have been a problem had my mother not been sleeping less than three feet away from me. My fingers remained crossed at my sides as I silently prayed that the click of my heels wouldn't wake her up.
It didn't, thankfully.
A warm breeze washed over me as soon as I stepped out of the house, and it led me to reach down and pull at my dress as the material had already begun to ride up my thighs.
"Okayyy!" Veronica wolf-whistled after I slid into the passenger seat of her car. "You're going to be turning heads tonight!"
I rolled my eyes at her while fastening my seatbelt. "If they aren't you, I don't want them."
This particular comment made her smirk, and before I could make sense of what was happening, she took my head in her hands and placed a brief yet sloppy kiss on my cheek.
"That's my girl," she beamed, praising me for my protective nature. She then pulled her body away from mine, threw the car into reverse, and peeled out of my driveway all in one fluid motion.
Our destination wasn't unknown since we went to the same club every time we went out. Since neither of us was twenty-one yet, we could only attend Club Neon, and on special occasions, Club Xenon.
Veronica's uncle owns both of the buildings, so we're always guaranteed a chance to get in despite our shortcoming of age.
"Tyler said hi, by the way," I said, recalling his message from earlier as we got ready to turn onto the expressway.
"In a much less friendly way, I'm sure," Veronica guessed with a scowl.
I turned my head to look at her. "You already know. He said, and I quote, 'tell that bitch that I said, what's up.'"
From my peripherals, I could see Veronica's fingers tighten around the steering wheel, and for a moment, I began to question whether it was a good idea for me to bring this up to her while she was driving.
"Well, you can tell that stronza that I said, vaffanculo," she clapped back harshly.
Her colorful choice of words left me uneasy as she tends to speak in her first language when she's angry.
"Will do," I sighed after she shot me a sideways glance.
We drove the rest of the way in silence since we both needed time to mentally prepare ourselves for the chaotic scene that we were about to walk into.
As we pulled into the parking lot of the club, Veronica began to badger me about the answer that I had given her in response to the question that she asked me at lunch last week.
"Are you sure you don't want me to set you up for an interview with Kyle?"
My eyes rolled back into my skull as we continued to drive around the parking lot in search of an empty parking space.
"I'm positive," I confirmed, hoping that my words were enough to reassure her that this wasn't something that I wanted her to do.
She pursed her lips together in an I-don't-believe-you way, but she nevertheless brushed it off.
"Fine, I'll let it go. But, babes, I've got to tell you that this is the easiest high paying job that you'll ever come across.
I mean, a sixty grand payout just for cleaning and watching over somebody's house? Are you kidding me?!"
Great.
Now she's trying to make me second-guess my decision.
It's a shame I'm so stubborn . . .
"I get that it's a Friday, but it's overly crowded here tonight," I pointed out, switching the topic entirely.
We'd been going around in circles for the past five minutes, with no luck in finding an open parking space.
"Maybe there's a VIP guest that's here," Veronica speculated while flipping on her turn signal. "Looks like we're going to have to park in the alley."
She then inched us down the back alleyway that we typically use to get inside the club. After illegally parking her car in the middle of the pathway, Veronica shifted the gear into park before she unlocked all of the doors.
"It's your night to be the DD," she called out to me after we had safely slipped out of the vehicle.
I watched in amusement as she rounded the front of the car with the keys dangling from her index finger.
When she came to a stop in front of me, I snatched them away from her playfully. "Isn't it always?"
She shot me a wink. "Love ya."
Before I could respond to her ridiculously false statement, she lifted her knuckles and knocked rhythmically on the club's side entrance door.
A few seconds passed by before someone finally came over to let us in.
"Uncle Ash!" Vee exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on her uncle's smiling face.
"What's up, munchkin!"
I immediately stepped off to the side so that the two of them could hug each other, and my heart yearned for the touch of my dad as I watched Ash squeeze his niece tightly.
Their embrace lasted a few seconds longer before Veronica pulled away from her uncle with a grin.
"Oh, you know, just making my coin and all."
Ash smirked at this. "As you should be."
His eyes then traveled over to me. "Hey, Lilac."
"Hey, Ash," I breathed while reaching out to give him a side hug.
After we broke apart, Veronica and I quickly made our way into the building, and we were met with the familiar sight of Ash's office upon stepping inside.
The bass coming from the ridiculously loud music that was playing inside the club shook the walls, and the vibrations managed to fuel my already amped-up adrenaline as we rapidly approached the door that led out to the main area.
We were seconds away from stepping outside when Ash suddenly called out to us from his desk. "Tell Ty that you're kin to me and he'll get you whatever you want."
"You're the best!" Veronica yelled before she twiddled her fingers at him and yanked me clean out of the room.
The pungent smell of beer filled my nostrils as Veronica and I clambered down the steps that opened up into the mosh pit. My eyes were instantly drawn towards the sea of people, partying below us, and after eyeing the size of the crowd, I made sure to tighten my hold on her hand.
'Yoncé/Partition' by Beyoncé began blasting out of the surround sound speakers the second our feet came into contact with the dance floor, and the distinct sounding intro caused Veronica to turn her head and look at me.
"What do I always say?" she asked me eagerly.
My response was more of a question than it was a statement. "Never sleep with the same guy twice?"
She shook her head at me. "Girl, no."
"Don't leave your drink unattend—"
"No!" she sassed. "Think higher!"
The answer that she was looking for dawned on me as soon as she said this.
"Only God can judge us," I said with a grin.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "There it is!"
Before I could say anything further, she dragged me over to the center of the dance floor and parked my body next to hers.
Beyoncé's sultry voice filled the air around us, and before I knew it, I became lost in the music.
Drop the bass, mane, the bass get lower
Radio say speed it up I just go slower
High like treble, pumping on them mids
Ya man ain't never seen a booty like this
"Get it, bitchhh!" Veronica screamed as I instinctively moved my hips to match the beat.
Someone standing beside us whistled, and I glanced over to my right to see a man old enough to be my father watching me with a look that could only be described as lust.
"Don't even try it!" Veronica shouted while pulling me flush against her body. "She's mine!"
One look at her expression was all it took for the man to hold his hands up in surrender.
In light of him scurrying away, I couldn't help but snicker at the fact that a grown-ass man was legitimately scared to take on my little-ass best friend.
"Let's go get drinks!" Vee suggested after the song began to transition over into 'Partition.'
Nodding my head to show her that I understood, I quickly laced my fingers through hers so that we wouldn't get separated.
On our way over to the bar, I spotted several men dressed in all black. They were posted at all four corners of the room, and the stairs leading up to the VIP section were completely roped off.
Somebody famous must be here.
"Can I help you two?" a deep, masculine voice suddenly rang out in front of me.
I looked up to see a cute dark-skinned man leaning against the counter with a hint of a smile on his face.
His tattoos were the first thing to grab my attention, and my eyes traveled down the length of his neck to see that it was completely covered with ink.
"Hi," Veronica giggled. "It's Ty, right?"
I was quick to roll my eyes after Ty proceeded to do one of the most cliché things that a bartender can possibly do:
He threw a white hand towel over his freaking shoulder.
"Yeah," he responded in a dodgy voice. "Do we know each other?"
Veronica giggled once more, and I watched in amusement as she leaned over the counter, making sure to show off her cleavage in a non-discreet way.
"I'm Ash's niece, Veronica," she explained, revealing her identity to him.
A look of recognition flashed across Ty's face, and whatever he was thinking in that pretty little head of his caused his smile to widen.
"Oh, so you're the one that Ash keeps bragging about," he replied. "He always talks about how his favorite niece managed to score an internship over at Rodriguez Enterprises."
Veronica shot him a lopsided grin as she reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, attempting to play her success off humbly.
"Yeah," she sighed dramatically. "That's me."
The interaction happening before me made me want to vomit.
"Didn't we come over here to get drinks?" I asked, voicing my confusion loud enough so that they both could hear me.
Ty's eyes slowly drifted over to me, and his facial expression made it seem as though he had just now noticed that I was standing here.
"And who might you be?" he questioned in a semi-flirtatious voice.
This didn't fly over well with me.
"A girl that's exclusively here to look after her best friend," I deadpanned. "She'll take a shot of tequila."
Ty arched a brow. "And, you?"
I leaned my hip against the counter. "I don't drink."
Veronica pulled a face as soon as these three words came tumbling out of my mouth.
"But, Lilaccc," she whined, stretching my name out for added effect. "You never drink with me."
I shot her a pointed look. "I'm driving home, remember?"
She pouted at me. "One shot won't hurt."
I opened my mouth to respond, only to delay my speech after Ty returned to us with two shots in his hand.
"She's right. It won't."
My face crumpled together in confusion. "What kind of bartender are you? You're not supposed to promote drinking and driving."
Ty simply shook his head at me. "Just take the shot, sweetheart."
Veronica grabbed the shot glass that was closest to me and shoved it into my hand before she reached down to pick up the other one for herself.
"On the count of three," she declared.
"One . . . two . . . three." We threw our glasses back at the same time, and I instantly got ready to gag at the sour taste, only it never came.
In fact, the tequila kind of tasted like . . . water.
I whipped my head around to look at Ty.
He caught my stare in a matter of seconds, and my lips curled up into a smile as he chose to address our secret with a wink. "Let me know if you want to order anything else."
He then excused himself to the other end of the bar so that he could take care of another customer.
I slowly set my shot glass back down on the counter, grateful to have Ty's help in pacifying Veronica.
"Ooh, girl, come on!" Vee exclaimed while tugging on my arm. "This is my song!"
As we pushed our way through the massive crowd of people, I suddenly contracted the feeling that someone was watching me.
The intensity of it was enough to make my hair stand on end, and my eyes immediately scanned the area for a potential perpetrator. I glanced back at the bar to see if it was Ty, but I quickly came to realize that it wasn't as he was now deeply immersed in making what looked to be a vodka mixer.
Still feeling weird, I returned my gaze to Veronica, who had now resorted to shouting at people to move out of the way so that we could make it to the center of the crowd.
'Straight Up & Down' by Bruno Mars graced my ears as we came to a collective stop in the middle of the dance floor.
"Lilac, if you don't bust it down in the next five seconds, we're going to have a problem!" Veronica yelled while pushing my body in front of hers.
Even though I was 100% sure that someone was staring at me, I slowly began to move my hips to the sensual lyrics of the song.
Come on here and show me why you got the whole club starin' at you.
You got me sayin', "Damn girl, break it down for me."
Veronica cheered me on as I continued to sway to the melody, and any tension that I previously felt faded away for a brief moment in time as the music captivated my attention.
My movements soon came to a halt when Veronica stepped up beside me. She threw her left arm over my shoulder unexpectedly, and the action caused me to flinch as my eyes hadn't been focused on her directly.
"You okay?" she yelled in my ear.
I shook my head. "I have the strangest feeling that somebody's watching us right now."
She opened her mouth to reply, only to get cut off after some girl bumped into us with an unnecessary amount of force.
In the blink of an eye, Vee was turned around, ready to confront her.
"Watch it," she hissed.
The girl must've said something not-so-nice back because Veronica took a couple of steps forward in response to her statement.
She only does this when she's getting ready to sock a bitch, so I quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards me.
"Let's go get you another drink," I suggested while steering her away from the intoxicated girl.
My eyes scanned the club in search of an escape route, but what I found instead made my heart drop.
A man stood, watching us from the VIP section upstairs, and my face undoubtedly lost its color as he was the reason why I've been on guard for the past five and a half minutes.
The dim lighting mixed with the fog that was actively spewing out of the fog machines made it nearly impossible to make out who the man was.
I turned my head to get Veronica's attention. "Vee, look."
She lifted her head and followed the point of my finger with her eyes.
"What am I looking at?" she shouted over the music.
A frown slipped onto my face as I quickly glanced back up at the VIP section.
The sight that I was met with made my mouth run dry.
The spot that the strange man had been occupying was now empty.
He was gone.