Page 4 of All Your Hate

Evie’s such a hard worker and she’s so nice. I’m going to have to be extra careful about turning up late if Jackson’s ready to fire us over crap like that.

“Yeah, but no one else has heard from her. The same happened with that new girl that was barely here for two days,” Stef says, quieter this time.

“You honestly believe something’s happened to them?”

“Babe, you have seriously got to stop watching true crime documentaries,” Kara chimes in. “Not only do they keep us both up all night, but now you’re coming up with unhinged theories about missing people. I’m sure that girl just decided she didn’t like it here and Evie is probably at home too sick with the flu to pick up the phone. Now can wepleasefocus on getting this crowd down.”

I shrug Stef’s wild theory off. Kara’s probably right and there’s no point worrying about shit like that.

“Are these for the assholes in VIP?” I point to the tray in front of Kara as she finishes pouring a shot of vodka.

“Yes, and yes you can take them over there. I don’t want my ass felt up again tonight. At least they’ll be scared of you.”

I snort out a laugh as I take the tray from her. It’s one of the downsides of being so tall, a lot of guys find me intimidating. It works in my favor here though. The guys with a fetish for tall women end up tipping me extra.

Men are so weird with what gets them off.

As I carry the drinks around the outskirts of the crowd, one of the dancers almost falls into me.

I lift the tray just in time so she doesn't knock it out of my hands. She manages to right herself and I place my hand on her elbow to help steady her.

“Cassidy, are you alright?” I shout over the music. When I look behind her I see the culprits that caused her to stumble.

Two guys sit at a circular table, smirking and laughing at each other like a pair of assholes as they cast glances towards Cassidy. Their eyes linger too long on her curves in her little pink bikini top and shorts. Her uniform for working the floor and the poles here.

Both men are good-looking and they clearly know it. One is admittedly a little scarier than the other. He’s wearing a black, short-sleeved t-shirt that shows off his toned physique and his scar-riddled arms. Just looking at them makes me wince. I can’t begin to imagine how he got that many.

The other guy catches me off guard. His long hair and sharp cheekbones make him stand out. Or maybe I noticed because he’s definitely my type? I dated plenty of guys like him in high school. The tall, broody, pot-smoking bad boys, and I already know that he’s bad news.

As if they can sense me watching, both men look up at the same time.

The scarred guy looks at me without a hint of expression on his face before turning away.

However, the long-haired guy looks me up and down smugly. His eyes hover far too long on my chest. Not that there’s much there to look at, but he doesn’t seem to care.

Even from this far away I can tell he’s high. There’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead and his eyes are pitch black under the neon lights where his pupils have blown out.

Signs I know all too well from my dad. He was in recovery for most of my life, but when he lost his job he slipped back into his old ways.

Mom was never the same after he overdosed. She did everything she could to get him to stop using, but it wasn’t enough. In the end, she became so lost in her grief that she started fading away.

Most days she forgot Summer and I existed.

When it all became too much for her she left us. If she had only let someone in she might have gotten through it. If I had been a better daughter and helped out more at home rather than focusing on college, then maybe she would have stayed.

I was the one that found her.

My lecture ended late and I came home to Summer screaming her lungs out in her cot. It was already too late when I found Mom in the bathtub. When I close my eyes I can still see the blood-tinged water so eerily motionless as she lay there staring at the ceiling.

If only I got home earlier. If I hadn’t hung about talking to my classmates then I could have been there in time to save her.

I’m just grateful Summer can’t remember any of the bad times. Since then, I’ve made sure she smiles and laughs every single day.

“Like what you see, darling?” The man’s voice draws me out of my thoughts. It’s like silk caressing my mind. A voice I could easily get lost in.

I quickly look away as my cheeks burn.

Why do assholes like him have to be my type?

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