🤍 Jessica's POV 🤍
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK63gGFnd6
"Thirteen hundred, fourteen hundred, fifteen hundred..." I count through the crumpled hundred-dollar bills in my hand, almost coming to tears.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCIIrhfnER
Twenty-one thousand dollars. I turn to my roommate and best friend, Rachel. "Rach... you don't have to do this."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNy5Nh1iyXk
"Here we go again. Save it, Jess. You need help, I gave it. End of story. You know I'm more than happy to help," she replies, not looking up from her phone.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwampFoxiFy
"You're the best. I don't know what I would have done without you. I promise to pay every dime back." I shoot her a grateful smile.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85jVDMrAOk
Finally, she meets my gaze. "It's a gift. You haven't gotten a job, and the strip club is doing really well. Why wouldn't I help? You'd do the same for me."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpibNfvF7jj
For a heartbeat, silence hangs between us—then I surge forward, wrapping her in a hug so fierce it knocks her phone to the floor.
She laughs, a warm, familiar sound, and squeezes back.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb9TvY4bTh
Rachel and I go way back. We trace our friendship to a cluttered library table, sophomore year at Berea College, bonded by chaos, cheap stationery, and mutual blackmail.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYsG8lDsDg
We mistakenly took each other's diaries in the library, and the rest is history.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6gvOaQIep
Hard to believe, right? I'll explain. Two sleep-deprived losers, hollow-eyed from cramming for midterms, hunched over identical five-dollar diaries from the campus bookstore.
Basically, we had the same cheap-ass diary, and for some reason, thought it was sensible to bring it out while studying that afternoon.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwBq01gSk6
Fucking knuckleheads.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOA9IbBhNl
We'd both scribbled our darkest secrets in those flimsy, faux-leather notebooks—hers in reckless cursive, mine in anxious print—too fried to notice we'd grabbed the wrong ones until we'd already dragged our big backs to our dorms.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm62FAtOqAu
Oh well. I got home and shamelessly read it all. I didn't want to, but dang! Its contents were better than porn.
No kidding. Rachel is the wildest girl I've ever met. And in my defense, she read mine as well. And no matter how boring it was, a reading still takes place. No?
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4s9f8YDbFt
Anyways, the next morning, we shamelessly met at that same library table, and I remember Rachel's first words—of course, she was the first to speak. "Don't even lie about not reading my diary! Your eyes tell it all."
I laughed genuinely for the first time that week and proposed a crazy idea.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZF8n5mI7e
Since we now literally know each other's secrets, we decide to be friends and swear to carry them to the grave.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fxDP2yei6
A pact sealed in cringe and convenience.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazbjdoG5pe
We've been inseparable since then, and years later, we're roommates, crammed into a mini shoebox apartment with my younger brother, Ken, trying to make ends meet.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrMomc40EM
Speaking of my brother, I give Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek and go to his little mancave to find him.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbAknRuA7s
Typical. He is blasting NBA YoungBoy on the stupid speakers.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWwPTO4OCi
I know it's NBA YoungBoy because that's all he blasts on those stupid speakers at skull-rattling decibels.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRbHHLpDHt
I fling his door open for the hundredth time that day, and as usual, I'm hit with the torrid smell of Black Axe body spray and 10-day-worn boxers.
And there the little rascal is, sprawled on the mattress like a squirt of ketchup on the table, singing off-tune.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFzVbTYU1A
I rub my temple, counting to three in a bid to calm myself.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXRtjRmWev
It doesn't fucking work.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3gYefn4Pl
"Turn that shit off before I smack your two front teeth down your throat!"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKmctNyeOP
Whoa. I can't believe my voice was louder than the music. Mariah Carey was found shaking in her Christmas fit.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfy2oL4O1rZ
Ken rolls his eyes at me before getting up and reaching for the remote.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjD4XVPsgzu
The silence hits like divine intervention, and my left eye visibly twitches at the bliss. All of a sudden, the world seems to be working fine again.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cBoxNNW6X
Rachel is worried, though.
"Um... Is Ken still breathing?" Her voice comes from the living room.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAFXm8eRne
"Sadly, yes," I reply with a dry tone.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOPg5MMfa5
"Can a guy get some privacy around here?" Ken asks, looking at me like I've cut off his air supply.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPEpS2iRcA
"Can we not have our eardrums perforated?" I shoot back.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3bfceIIng
"What do you want, Jess?"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEDYqxc486
I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Rent's due. Your turn to bleed cash."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrckNcj9cp
He flops onto his bed, sending a tsunami of dirty socks and energy drink cans to the floor. "Seriously? Now? I'm in the middle of a vibe."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOPzlbXiXI
"Your 'vibe' costs just $600 this month, thanks to Rach for covering half of yours" I fire back, gesturing to the house.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzdtZcHIyd
"Oh, she did?" He smiles, surprised. "Thanks, Rach!"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNo2F7uKNl
"Pay up."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD3aLE9sNS
He groans, dragging a hand down his face.
"Jeez. Calm down, Jess. I'm short, okay? Just take it from my bakery salary this month."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJl0MrEyKa
"Ah, yes," I snort. "Let's bankrupt the one business we've successfully been able to grow and manage. Brilliant plan, Einstein."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaySIiYeTg
"Then what do you want? My kidney? My soul?" He fakes a cry.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTJT8DEDKU
"Hmm... Tempting, but kidneys are harder to sell on Craigslist. Let's stick to tradition." I pull out my phone, already scrolling.
"Let's see, last month it was your vintage Xbox. Month before, your 'limited edition' skateboard—which, spoiler, wasn't limited. You need to sue. What will it be this time? The signed Kobe jersey? The guitar you still can't play?"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGl6KZV5sT
His mouth opens in astonishment, and his face twists like I've just found him guilty. "You're a tyrant!"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK42f08aGT
"And you're a parasite with a Spotify addiction. Choose before I choose for you."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqzpmxS6vp
With conflicting eyes, he glares at his closet, a shrine to impulse buys and buyer's remorse. "Dammit. Take the jersey."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhK255OICQ
"Good choice."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbH5i3HIzu
I'm halfway past the door when I think of something and smirk before turning back to him. "How much for the speakers?"
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcs2uFbg2BU
He whips around fast and looks at me with death in his eyes. Then up he gets, slamming the door in my face.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLOxN3Q2Rc
I burst out laughing before adding kerosene to the fire. "You know, with the rate at which you default on rent, you'll eventually have to forfeit them. I'm very patient."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsomGOuHqe
I continue on my journey out, but not before I hear a muffled thud on his door, likely from his already deflated pillow colliding with it.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xH3PHWlzr
Do I like taking away his stuff? Heck no. But someone's gotta teach him the universe won't coddle him like I did. I've babied him so much in the past because we lost our parents at such young ages, and I didn't want him to lack that love. But at some point, a man's gotta learn responsibility and know that there are consequences for every action.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoiiT1axZX
I walk back to my desk and reboot my laptop. It wheezes to life, its fan screeching like a tortured gerbil. I click into my inbox, bracing for the usual sermons of rejections.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSbHLfiv1c
'We've moved forward with other candidates...'
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBKtNb2asK
'Unfortunately, your experience doesn't align...'
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡck1EnBDdCz
'Thank you for your interest. Blah, blah, blah'
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyteS0TOUJ
Which, by the way, is corporate language for 'lol. Never, bitch.'
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ7XAb71L0
I sigh. Not in disappointment, because I'm used to it, and I've built an immunity to that particular sting. It's more... um...exhausted defiance with a sprinkle of impotent hurt.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jphefKDOu
Like each no is a brick I'll eventually hurl through the window of every HR motherfucker who underestimated me. Yeah.
ns18.117.8.41da2
and then Add to home screen.