FORMERLY

Chapter 10

Laurielle had probably dug a hole in her bed with how long she had been laying there. Her room was dark, there were clothes scattered on the ground, and food wrappers and beer bottles covered the floors. Her appearance wasn't much better compared to her room. Her hair was in knots, and her eyes so swollen and hooded that she had to lift her chin to see clearly. She looked pathetic, like a loser who couldn't get over a breakup.

Except in her case, they were never together, and she was the one who pushed him away.

"I must hate myself," She whispered to herself. "I must really want to make myself suffer."

She knew what Asher offered her, and that with a simple 'yes', all that was his would be hers. But she wouldn't really have all that was his, because she didn't earn the money, and she didn't have any legal rights to it. She would be depending on him for her livelihood, and she hated dependence on anyone but herself. People's hearts and minds changed far too easily for her to be depending on someone else. So, she would rather suffer on her own in her shithole of an apartment than live like a parasite in a beautiful house.

"But Elle, you'll be fine. If you don't ever let anyone close, no one can hurt you." She whispered, knowing full well how ignorant she sounded. However, this was the only way that she knew how to live.

Left to her own thoughts, her eyes fluttered shut, and she drifted back to sleep.

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The piercing sound of Laurielle's ringtone bounced around the room and woke her up from her sleep.

She groaned and covered her head, wanting to ignore the phone call and the rest of the world. However, she had a job and commitments, so she reached over for her phone.

"Why does anyone need an alarm when there are people calling me at 5 in the morning. It's not like anyone needs to sleep" She snarled sarcastically.

She slid the button to answer the phone.

"Hello" She said angrily.

"Well, hello," A deep voice sounded through the phone. "it's quite a good morning don't you think?"

"Parker?" She asked, not amused by him mocking her mood.

"Who else could it possibly be?" he responded. She could hear his smile and it was contagious, because a small smile covered her lips too.

"There are a few number of people who could be calling me. I'm quite popular," she joked.

He let out a gasp. "Are you cheating on me Laure, with another man? Is that why you didn't recognize me?"

"Haha, you're so funny" she said sarcastically at his comment. She was an escort, and she was with so many men that it wasn't even called cheating anymore.

"I've been told" he replied genuinely and her smile widened; she couldn't help but agree. "But I'm not calling to make sure that you are staying loyal. I wanted to ask you out tonight. Will you come to The Dane at 7 tonight?"

Seeing as she had cancelled all her appointment for this week—she had told Leslie that her mood was so crap that anything she did would be shit—she was tempted to reject him. However, for some reason, probably because he had made her happy with a few words and because he made her feel like a normal 22-year-old, she responded with "Yes. I'll come."

"Great. Just tell the reception your name, and they'll let you up. Wear anything. I don't really care. I'll see you tonight Laure." He said.

Laurielle smiled at his nickname for her and said "I'll see you tonight. Bye."