Little Brown Benefit novel Chapter 3

"And that's never going to happen again. I promise you we'll be fine."

That night Judy didn't sleep well. The next morning, I got her ready for school and I went searching for another job around the city. I had to try at least but I got turned down at every attempt I made.

At my apartment, I sat, exhausted and defeated. Judy came home early and we decided to go to a nearby park for some fresh air and an afternoon walk.

I watched as Judy made friends with two other kids, around her age and together, they ran through the trees and played on the slides.

I missed the young me, and Judy reminded me so much of myself. I used to come to the park with mom for walks and ice-cream cones. It was one of our favorite things to do. Judy hardly remembers her and dad but I couldn't forget.

Tears filled my eyes and it dropped when it got too heavy.

Judy ran up to me.

"Sis, you're crying."

"No. Something got into my eyes."

"Yeah. Tears got into them." Her arms circled my neck and her new friends joined in.

At 6:00 P.M. after Judy had her last ice-cream cone, we left the park and headed home and found our belongings on the pavement. The locks on the door had been changed so we couldn't get in.

With anger, I went to seek Wayne but he had locked his office and wasn't answering my calls.

Other tenants saw what was happening and began recording the situation. Judy was crying bitterly and I was yelling out Wayne's name.

The sky got dark and the rain poured down. Judy and I scurried to take our things out of the rain. I took out my phone and called Remy.

Remy came. She came within a time span of ten minutes, since we lived in the same neighborhood, and help us carried our things to her car. She then drove us to her place.

"You can have the couch and Judy and I will share the bed." She said once we were settled.

"Thank you so much, Remy. I really appreciate this."

"Girl, it's not a problem."

Remy's place was small, suited only for herself. Her couch was uncomfortable but I had no position to complain about it.

"Sacha, have you ever thought about becoming a stripper?" Remy asked me the next morning when Judy left and we were alone.

"What? Hell no!"

"Don't be so modest, girl. Plenty of girls out there are stripping and making a good living."

"I don't care about their living. I'm not exposing my body to a group of people I don't know."

"Sometimes, you speak like you're still a virgin."

I turned away from her instantly and she noticed.

"Wait! Wait a minute! Sacha! Are you still a virgin?"

"Psshh! Girl, are you crazy? Of course no. I lost my virginity since I was a teen. I did some things."

"Yeah Right! Your ass is still a virgin. Look me in my eyes and tell me you're not."

I couldn't. I couldn't look someone in their eyes and lie to them. That was my 'telling'.

"Okay, forget the stripping. I'm a part-time stripper and it ain't even all that fun but on Friday, we're hitting the club, and we're gonna find you a man to pop that Cherry."

I heaved a very loud sigh. My best friend was just too much.

Sacha's POV

"A man is the last thing on my mind!" I yelled over the music to my best friend who had very much insisted that I needed myself a man tonight and for very long time.

She had already managed to drag me to this club with her but I wasn't about to let her pin some random stranger on me as a task of hers.

She handed me a drink and as it hit my nostrils, I knew I'd be drunk before the night was over. I took one sip but she held the bottom of the glass to my mouth until I didn't have a choice but to drink its entire content. It burned the back of my throat as it made its way to my stomach.

"Good girl!" She yelled but I scolded her with my eyes.

"I'll call a cab." Remy said with a yawn and she retrieved her cell phone but let out a loud laugh when she saw the battery was dead.

"You didn't charge your phone before leaving?" I asked.

"No, why didn't you charge it?" She asked me.

"Because I'm not in charge of charging your phone, that's why!"

"Where's yours then?"

"I left it with Judy in case she had to call. I thought yours would be of function tonight."

"Well, it's not."

"Yeah, I can see that." I told her and she let out another crazy laughter. It was obvious she was wasted and I was myself but at least my common sense was still intact.

I held her up and we footed it out of the club to catch a cab before the hours got more late than it already was.

As we waited and waited, no cabs showed up and I was beginning to worry. I had a bottle of water and drenched Remy's face with it when she tried to fall asleep on the street.

That was why I hated the clubs and alcohol.

I steadied Remy onto a tiny board bench and looked at my wrist watch again.

3:10 A.M.

The cab drivers must all be sleeping or were just not coming into our direction at this time.

I jammed Remy on the bench when a black Lamborghini pulled up.

Out came the handsome stranger who caught me before I fell in the club.

"Need a ride?" He asked. I quickly got off my feet to enter his car but the excitement died when a question popped into my head.