3. Stella #2
As Sal made his way back over to us, I shoved some eggs into my mouth and chewed, hoping he wouldn’t poke at what I was up to. The less people knew, the better. I swallowed hard around the eggs, feeling a sharp zap hit my temples. My fork slipped out of my hand and clattered onto the plate. Shit.
Helena swung to look at me, wincing. “Your migraine back?”
“Yeah,” I said, blowing out a shaky breath through pursed lips.
“Where are your glasses?”
I touched my face. Oh, right. I’d forgotten them again. “Shit. Probably back in my locker at Polaris.”
Helena sighed. “Finish eating. I’ll swing by the club and grab them. But you have to wear them when you’re not working.”
“Alright, alright. You’re sounding more like my doctor every day,” I joked as a wave of nausea hit my stomach.
“I got this,” Sal said, scooping up my plate. He must have been hovering, listening to our conversation, the nosy bastard, because he had the whole breakfast boxed up in seconds, sending me on my way with a promise I would get some rest and take my medicine.
Gratitude filled my chest at these people I was lucky enough to have in my life. With the loss of my parents at such a young age and now my twin sister missing, the found family I’d made was the only thing keeping me sane. Them and vengeance.
Home wasn’t far away, thankfully, but by the time I was opening the door to my studio apartment, the migraine was back in full force.
I stumbled past my entryway that was dotted with an array of knives embedded in the wall.
It was the perfect space to practice knife throwing and doubled as easy access to my favorite weapon should I ever need it.
Kicking off my high heeled shoes, I wobbled over to the kitchen, throwing my leftovers into the refrigerator with just enough energy to close the large curtains that hung on both sides of my floor to ceiling windows.
My apartment didn’t have the best view, seeing as it faced the run-down building on the other side of the street, but it did have a balcony and a walk-in closet that sold the place for me.
It might have been on the smaller side, but it was perfect for now.
Exhaustion and pain throbbed in my temples as I tumbled into my queen-sized bed.
Before I passed all the way out, I remembered the flash drive in my pocket.
Fuck.
My fingers skated past the tight fabric and wound around the small device that could change everything.
“You better have been worth it,” I mumbled at it like it could somehow hear me, before I tucked it away in my nightstand drawer.
The small silver device looked so unassuming amongst the amount of crap I’d been hoarding away in there, falling in between a slim flashlight and a stack of take-out menus from local restaurants I rarely ordered from.
I fell asleep before I even realized my head had hit the pillow.
Sometime later I awoke to the sound of water running in my kitchen and Helena whispering curses under her breath.
“Where the—” a crash of dishes ricocheted in my head. The pain had ebbed some, but enough of it lingered to be annoying. “—ah fuck!”
“You good?” I mumbled, peeking one eye open to see a slash of light cutting across the room stemming from the kitchen area.
“Yeah, but a couple of your plates are toast.”
Groaning, I hoisted myself out of bed feeling a thick film on my tongue.
Dammit. I’d forgotten to brush my teeth before I passed out.
But seeing as how wrecked I was, I considered myself lucky that I even made it into my bed at all.
“That’s unfortunate. Remind me to snatch your key away so I can save the rest of my dinnerware from suffering the same fate,” I said, stumbling into my bathroom.
“Haha,” I heard Helena remark.
Looking in the mirror after the night I had should have come with a warning.
I nearly jumped at my own reflection. I looked like someone had dragged me behind their car for several miles and left me for dead.
The circles beneath my eyes were prominent and made even worse by the smudges of mascara mixed with eyeliner.
Glitter clung to my eyelids and down my cheeks, while my dark hair was a tangled knot on top of my head.
Now, I knew I didn’t look this bad at Sal’s, or I never would have heard the end of it. What the hell had I done in my sleep?
Scrubbing my face clean of makeup rectified a portion of it, but those circles would need a strong concealer to combat them.
My hair was a whole other story that would have to be sorted out in my everything shower.
Being a stripper had its perks but the amount of upkeep it required was sometimes exhausting.
The moment I quit dancing on a pole was the day I would go full bush and never twist myself in a pretzel again to make myself a hairless wonder for the male gaze.
And if I ended up with a guy, he’d have to love me just the way god made me. Bush and all.
“Did you bring my glasses?” I called out while wrapping my body in a clean magenta colored towel.
“Yeah. They’re on the counter. Listen, I think I got all the shards of glass picked up, but I would wear shoes in here because I’m not totally sure.”
“Thanks Mama Helena.”
“You’re welcome. Now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get laid.”
“Use protection!”
“Hilarious,” she called back. I heard the sound of the door snicking closed and the scrape of her key locking behind her.
With my head feeling clearer, I was finally able to fully take in the damage from the night before.
The bandages my aunt had placed were easy to change out.
And just like I thought, the wounds were superficial.
I could cover most of them up without a problem.
But that left out lap dancing for at least a week.
Up close, someone could notice. Though, I knew which of the guys belonged to the Underwoods.
They were arrogant enough to think that working for the notorious crime family somehow made them desirable.
The only thing I desired from them was information on my sister. And maybe their deaths.
That flash drive might have brought me somewhat closer, but I was out of my depth. I might have had the determination, the rage, and the audacity to go up against them, but I was still only one person. What could one person do against such a well-connected, powerful force?
I didn’t have the answer to that question, but I was going to find out one way or another.