Cherry

Tre

Breanna POV

My phone dinged on the nightstand for the fourth time, I took in a deep breath as I leaned over to grabbed, my covers slipping down my naked body. I quickly squinted my eyes, struggling to turn the brightness down, the time read one nineteen in the morning, which issued me off because no one should be texting anyone this late. I was in the short process of putting my phone on DO NOT DISTURB when an unknown number caught my attention, along with a familiar one. I cursed inside my head, wondering how he got my new number.

He wasn't an ex, but more like a stalker. We started from as friends, going to school together and he worked as a bar tender at the club I worked at, but then he started to get weird. He'd ask me questions about myself, my body, then say he didn't believe me and demand me to send him a picture as proof. Of course I didn't do it, but either way, I quickly grew uncomfortable with him, I even told him but it seemed like that only made him want to get closer to me. He was crazy, always stalking me, making it seem like it was a simple coincidence, but I knew better.

Breanna, it's Jamie. The first text read. I know you're asleep. I miss you. I see you got a new number again. Can we talk? I had four missed calls from him, he had no boundaries.

I felt disgusted and my skin crawled. I ignored the texts and blocked his number immediately. I didn't know what to do anymore, I've moved so he didn't know where I lived, I've had my number changed twice already this year. Security knows not to let him into this building IF he ever found out I was here. I didn't take classes with him, we no longer worked together, in fact, he was fired and banned from the club. Our boss is a money man, naturally, I brought in more money than Jamie, so they let him go when our little problem started to become more public.

The other number I got a text from was a private number, the text simply said 'I've texted you. Are you happy?' I furrowed my eyebrows, my freshly awoken brain lagged as I thought about who it was. A few seconds later it clicked to me that it was the man from the restaurant, and the one who showed up at the boutique. I texted him back a sarcastic 'Very.' Then turned my phone off again, flipping myself over and the covers over my body, going back to sleep.

....

Carmen and I walked hand-in-hand into the club, both of us were laughing at something the other said, small duffle bags hung off our shoulders and our free hands had our heels hooked on them. I always got nervous walking into this building, the men here scared me, but I needed the extra money, it kept me from using my savings and from living paycheck to paycheck.

I greeted the other girls in the dressing room with a smile on my face, it was odd seeing there was a significantly smaller amount of girls in the room, I'd only been gone two days and it felt like half the girls quit.

"Where is everyone?" I asked while looking around and getting my clothes out.

"Fired. Like you're about to be." Kendall, one of the club favorites smirked towards me. I frowned and gave Carmen a confused look, who returned it. I thought about all the bad things I'd done in the last few months that could've led up to me being fired. The worst I've done was take the change from the bartenders, they only like the cash, they would just hand over the change at the end of the night, but sometimes I'd just take it without asking. I didn't think that bothered them too much especially because I would tell them I was taking it and they never said 'no.'

"For what?" I questioned. The other girls looked around as if they weren't hearing this, which was another life lesson to me. They're here for their money, not to make friends, not to stand up or to help people that have done the same for them.

There was a heavy knock on the door and the district manager of the club, who we rarely see, was standing there, looking dead at me.

"Breanna, please get you things and meet me in my office." He spoke very professionally, not a hint of a joke in his eyes or on his face, hell he didn't even use my stage name. I slowly packed up the few things I already had out, sharing worried glances with Carmen, who watched me intensely.