Page 11 of Love Me Not

I wouldn’t act on it… Or at least that was what I promised myself.

I just wanted to find out who she was.That was all.

Maybe where she worked.

Maybe when she went to the club.

Anything.

I took out my phone.

Maybe if I pay her extra, she can get my angel’s phone number?—

Another crash brought me back to reality and I quickly shoved my phone back into my pocket before I got any more ideas.

Chapter3

Juliette

Istepped out of the bathroom to boisterous laughter.Cursing, I tried to step back in.

Maybe they haven’t seen me.Maybe I still have time to go back and pretend I’m still taking a very, very long?—

But of course, dreams were just that.Dreams.

“Julie?You’re home?Come eat with us!”

Shit.I quickly took the towel off my wet hair and hung the damp fabric before shutting the door with a soft click.I really didn't feel like talking to anyone.

You would think that getting someone to bid one million on me and spending the night getting railed into oblivion would make me feel super carefree and just wash all my worries away.

But actually, the additional money only added to my stress.Instead of making all my problems vanish, it tripled them instead.

The shared bathroom was adjacent to the living room and right in the line of sight of the dining room.Not an ideal living situation, but the only thing I could afford.I was offered one of the rooms with a private bathroom, but that was an additional two hundred I was not willing to spend.

I mean, I would much rather have dinner at least three nights a week than a bathroom inside my room.

I headed back to my room to change before meeting my roommates.I hadn’t heard them over the water and the mental math in my head.They often congregated in the living-dining room, and while I normally would have loved to hang out with them, the pressure of the money in my bank account was too much.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” I said with a smile as I joined them at the dining room table.

Harmony was at the head, her black hair pulled into a messy bun, wearing a hoodie from her college.Erin had her nose in a book but lifted her head to give me a smile, and April was the closest to me and gave me a shy smile as she brought her bowl closer to scoop some of the slop into her mouth.

Harmony was the loud one, but she was also the most caring.She mothered us to death and often cooked when she had time, though it usually was some questionable mush of ingredients.Luckily, it had never tasted bad.

She passed me a small bowl of rice and motioned for me to pour a heaping pile of sauce and meat onto it.

My stomach gave me away, growling at the smell.

“Beef and tomatoes,” April whispered.April was the shyer one.She wasn't one to typically initiate a conversation, but if we were all together, she'd usually join.

She worked at a small boutique on one of the walking streets at the park.This was quite far away from where she worked, but, like me, she couldn't afford much.

She didn't talk much about herself or her family—or anything really—so all I knew about her was that she worked at a small boutique that sold handmade soap she would sometimes bring back for me.

“Not half bad this time,” Erin muttered.

Erin was a student, and I believed she was getting her master’s, though I wasn't completely sure.When we hung out and talked, we didn't really get too personal.She was also the most sarcastic of the group, so it was hard to actually tell when she was telling the truth.

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