The Three CEOs

pt3. Belts and Welts

"Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality." - Emily Dickinson

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Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Harassment

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Caden's POV

10 hours ago

After crying for about ten minutes on the dirty concrete ground, I finally manage to haul myself up. My steps falter as I think of the days following: being kicked out of our apartment, sleeping on the streets or in a homeless shelter, begging for money.

With that thought, tears prick my eyes. I try to calm myself as much as possible but a lone tear manages to escape, slowly gliding down my cheek.

My mind goes to Cole. What is he going to think?

He punished me severely when I refused to sleep with our landlord. What's he going to think when I tell him that we're going to be homeless in a couple of days?

I mindlessly walk my way to our apartment, which on a bus is only ten minutes, but thirty minutes when you're walking.

My feet ache by the time I make it to my apartment complex. The nude flats that I decided to wear today are now a mix of brown and grey. Dang it! These were my favorite pair of shoes.

Mom gave me these shoes right before...

I hold back tears as I open the door.

Cole is in our small living room, drowning himself in more beer. Where did he get more?

"Hello," I say, which jerks him out of his trance.

He looks at me with heavy eyes and I can smell the scent of alcohol wafting towards me.

"Where did you get more?" I ask politely, gesturing to the beer in his hands as well as the three empty bottles on the coffee table.

"I saved some from last night, " he says simply, his every word slurred. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" he continues on.

My heart stops. He actually listens when I speak?

Cole is the scariest when he's drunk, and I was hoping to tell him when he was more sober.

"Um yeah, I-" He cuts me off. "You didn't get the job," he states.

I look at him, my heart hammering in my chest. "We won't be able to live here much longer," I whisper, fear crawling its way to my heart.

He simply shrugs, barely giving me a second glance. "I figured."

I look at him, shocked. How did he know?

"I'm not stupid," he says, noticing my shocked expression. "You're not very subtle when you try to hide the eviction notices."

I slump a little and make my way to my room. I peel out of my clothes and change into a sweatshirt that belonged to my dad. It is very large and nearly swallows me whole, meeting just over my knees. I also nab some shorts from my drawer and put that on too.

"I have a job for you," Cole says from the kitchen.

I perk up. He has a job for me?

Cole spends all of his days on our old, small couch. I'm sure there's a Cole-sized shape imprinted on the cushions.

"What do you mean?" I ask, stepping out of my room.

"There's a new strip joint downtown. They are looking for women to hire. I signed you up," he explains bluntly.