Page 1 of Cage

Chapter 1

Katie

Katie was sweating.

It was the kind of hot and sticky sweat that just doesn’t feel good. Especially not when your aircon is broken. Katie didn’t have the money to get it fixed either.

As far as Katie was concerned, it was problem after problem after problem.

What made it worse was that she was due on air for a cam show any minute. The clock was against her as she tried to wipe the sweat from her brow and take on some much-needed water.

Urgh. I wish I didn’t have to do this.

This is definitely not why I moved to New York.

Katie let out a long sigh.

Katie was twenty-two and had dreams of acting on Broadway. Hustling for tips on online cam shows for dirty old men was about as far away from that dream as she could imagine.

It wasn’t a good situation, and that was putting it mildly.

Katie didn’t judge anyone who did cam shows. Some people possibly even enjoyed it, even if Katie didn’t herself. The truth was that each and every person probably had their own unique reason for doing it.

Katie was no different either.

But it was getting to a point where she was really hating it.

Katie took a moment to compose herself and looked around her little home in the city. The reality was that the apartment was looking a little grimy.

Well, that was an understatement.

Ever since she moved in, the apartment just didn’t look especially clean or fresh. It wasn’t through want of trying. Katie had attempted several deep cleans. But no matter what she tried, she just couldn’t get the place looking as fresh as she would have wanted.

It was a small, not especially comfortable corner apartment on the seventh floor of the building. It still had high ceilings, which was one positive thing. But other than that, it really wasn’t much to write home about.

Katie had attempted to make it a little more homely by putting up her paintings and favorite coloring book drawings. Her one sanctuary was her bedroom which she had painted light blue and pink and decorated with some cute fairy lights.

Her bedroom might have been one personal touch she was able to successfully apply, but it was something at least.

But still, Katie was never able to shake the feeling that the apartment was more a place she lived rather than a home.

Katie had tried to speak to her landlord but hadn’t got anywhere. The problem was that she could only just about afford to pay for this place. The kind of buildings that had airier, cleaner apartments were simply out of her financial reach.

Speaking of finances…

Katie’s problem had always been managing money.

She just wasn’t very good at matching her expenditure to her income.

Well, that was an understatement.

Katie was actuallyterriblewith money.

Like, seriously bad.

Even in high school she had managed to run up debts.

To this day, Katie was still paying off credit cards from years ago. Clothes, coffee, trips and enjoying the nightlife all cost money. Katie didn’t have the discipline to hold back on any of them.

---