Page 80 of Claiming Atlas

“Whatever. Just throw it away.” I grab the letter and toss it into the trash bag with all the junk I’ve discarded while packing. I’ve memorized each painful word anyway, and keeping it changes nothing. My dream of opening a school that teaches kids more than just testing skills—in a world where compassion and consciousness will soon be a thing of the past—will never come to fruition.

End of story.

“How much of the startup did you lose?”

Does it even matter?“Their investment was half.”

She chews on her thumb nail. “So your own money is half, then, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you just need half.”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, Scarlet, we’ve established that I lost half of the fucking amount I need to open my school.”

She begins to mutilate her pointer fingernail now, her eyes narrowed. “And you’re still going back to SoCal?”

I nod. There’s nothing left for me in Vegas. I may not have the money to start my school, but I can at least move back and start over.

Somehow.

“What if you just stay in Vegas for a while longer and work—?”

I groan and throw my head back. “Scar, aside from the fact that escrow closes on my new place next week, it took me five years to save this much money. Fiveyears. Of doing nothing. I had no life beyond the club, no experiences outside of work, save for the times I travelled to other clubs. Formorework. I haven’t had a boyfriend since...” I pause because I can’t even remember the last actual relationship I had. “I only had friends because we worked together—”

“Hey now—”

“You know what I mean. If you and I hadn’t lived together and worked together, you would have never seen me. What kind of friendship is that?”

“Kay, listen, there’s got to be something we can do.” She waves her hand in the air. “I’ll think on it. I’ll come up with something. Maybe Brandon can invest, or—”

“I don’t want your boyfriend’s money.”

“Why not? He’s an investor. You need an investor.” She clasps her hands together. “Easy peasy.”

“I don’t want a pity investor. I want someone who’s actually passionate about what I’m doing.”

Scarlet leans forward and brings her hand to my knee, squeezing gently. “Babe, sometimes you just have to take what the world will give you.”

“I did. It gave me heartbreak and disappointment,” I say with a shrug.

She narrows her eyes, searching my gaze for a long time before finally looking away and stepping up from the couch. “It’s late. I’m going out with Brandon tonight, so I need to get a few hours in at work first. Why don’t you go shower and get a good night’s sleep. I have some Xanax in my underwear drawer if you want to take half?”

I laugh, ignoring the curiosity about why she keeps her pills with her panties. “I’m fine. Really. Go to work. I’ll go to bed after I finish this last box of kitchen stuff.”

She laughs as she grabs her bag and steps toward the door. “If you steal my George Foreman, I’m coming to California to get it back.”

“Promise?”

“Of course.” She opens the door. “Now get some sleep. Doctor’s orders.” She winks as she closes the door behind her.

I lean my head back against the couch and sigh. Telling Scarlet the truth about what happened to me made this situation that much more real, but somehow, speaking the words out loud took some of the weight off my shoulders. I don’t feel quite so alone anymore.

My world is completely and forever changed, but maybe I’ll get through this after all.

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