Page 2 of Sin

“I, ah, I’ve got to go,” she mumbled.

Esther nodded as if she understood. “I know this is shocking, but you’ll see. It’s for the best. A marriage is strictly a business transaction and once you have a child, you’ll be glad Abel goes to another woman for his manly rights.”

Manly rights? What the hell did that mean?

“Do you have your keys?” Adira asked. “I don’t want to go in there to grab mine.”

“Sure.” Esther walked over to her purse and grabbed them, holding them out for Adira to take. “Listen, sweetheart, just forget what you heard. It won’t do you any good to dwell on it.”

Adira nodded, her stomach clenching painfully. She needed to get away. Needed a moment to collect her thoughts. She hurried away, practically running to her parents’ SUV. When she slid behind the wheel, she sat there for a moment, trying hard not to cry. Abel called her a cold fish. Because she wouldn’t sleep with him before the wedding? That had nothing to do with being a prude, and everything to do with respect. But he didn’t respect her, did he?

Adira started the vehicle and drove home, not bothering to go to the store. Why? There was no way she could sit at the table and act like she was still ignorant. God, she felt like the world’s biggest fool. Abel had seemed so sweet. Completely in tune with her beliefs. Her father had always preached she needed to be a good girl. No drinking. No drugs. No sex. What a hypocrite!

She couldn’t see him. Or Abel. Or even her mother.

What was the point about being virtuous, when none of them were?

Pulling into the driveway at the home she shared with them, only one thought was clear. She had to get away. She had no idea where to go, but that hardly mattered. There was no way she could stay here with them. And the thought of Abel touching her now made her skin crawl.

She marched into the house and ran upstairs to her room to quickly pack some clothes, along with toiletries, her laptop, and any other thing she wanted to keep. She’d never return to this house. Then she headed back downstairs to head into her father’s office. Crossing to where a painting hung on the wall, she took it down to reveal the safe set into the wall. Her father had always told her if something bad happened, all the important papers were there, along with some money. She never looked, being the good girl she was. However, as far as she was concerned, she deserved this money for the lies he spewed. Just before she went to close the safe, she saw a folder with her name on it. Pulling it out, she realized it was some sort of spreadsheet. She couldn’t make out the numbers or the obvious code on the side. Making a snap decision, she took the folder and placed it in her backpack. Then she closed the safe and returned the painting to the wall.

As she pulled off her engagement ring, intending to lay it on his desk, she suddenly remembered her childhood friend, Livia. Every summer she went to this camp where things like fishing and identifying scat was taught. She’d met Livia the first year she attended and for the next five the two girls had been inseparable. As they got older and eventually stopped attending camp, they made sure to keep in touch. Livia lived in Missouri, in a small town named Cardinal. Her parents would never think about Livia giving her the perfect hiding spot.

She booked an Uber, and it arrived ten minutes later. The last thing she did was place her phone on the credenza in the foyer. Then she closed the door behind her and got into the car. As they traveled to the bus stop, it wasn’t sadness she felt. It was anger and disappointment with a touch of revulsion.

Adira had no idea what she was going to do because she’d had her whole life planned out—white picket fence, a large family, teaching Sunday school like her mother.

Fuck that, she thought. She was going to cuss when she wanted, drink what she wanted, and she was going to find a man to take her V-card. If her parents could sin, so could she.

Chapter Two

Adira stepped off the bus and looked around. The bus depot was located on the edge of the town, in a section that looked a little old and rundown. Red brick storefronts lined the road, looking like they hadn’t been renovated in decades. A few were empty with broken windows, and those that were actual stores seemed very stereotypical. A thrift shop, cleaner’s, a coffee shop that wasn’t Starbucks, some odd-looking arts-and-crafts store, and various others that could only afford the less desirable area. For a moment, she wondered if she made a stupid mistake. She hadn’t seen Livia in a couple of years. What if she’d forgotten her? Or she’d moved on?

Then again, what did she have to lose? She couldn’t have stayed in that house of lies. Definitely couldn’t marry that weasel. No, staying would have been a mistake. Even this part of Cardinal was a thousand times better than her hometown right then. Lifting her chin, she decided she’d go store by store until she found someone who knew Livia.

And that’s exactly what she did. Unfortunately, she struck out with each one. When she got to the coffee shop, she decided to sit down and regroup. Inside, she parked her suitcase at a table before going to the counter to order an iced coffee. Then she sat down to look out the window and reevaluate everything.

“The job is still available.”

The words caught Adira’s attention.

“It’s a strip club,” said one of the women.

“So? It’s hella good money and the owner is drop-dead gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind climbing his tree.”

“You’re absolutely right. Maybe he’d want a threesome.” The women giggled that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Okay, when and where is the interview?”

“Thursday morning at The Pussy Willow. I’m going to make sure I’m dressed to slay.”

They rose and headed out of the coffee shop, leaving Adira to stare after them. A strip club was hiring. Dancers? Servers? Bartender? If there was ever a big “screw you” to her parents, it would be working in a strip club, but could she really work in such an environment? Despite the fact she was a virgin, she never thought of herself as a prude. How would she feel being where nudity and sex ran rampant? Then again, didn’t she vow to rid herself of the “good girl” shackle, to turn her virtuous thoughts into sinful memories? Might as well start with a job in a strip joint.

With renewed determination, she left the coffee shop. The plan now was to get the job and find a lover. Renewing her determination to figure out how to find Livia, noting it would’ve been easier if she’d kept her phone, she resumed her search.

Again and again, she struck out, leaving the area and walking further from the bus depot. The day started to fade, and she knew she had to find a hotel to crash in if she couldn’t find Livia. She needed rest and food. As she walked past a tattoo parlor, she heard her name called.

“Adira?”

She stopped and turned around. Livia stood in the doorway of the tattoo shop, an incredulous look on her face. Happiness engulfed Adira and she ran back to throw her arms around her childhood friend, who returned the embrace.

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