When Lily's university financial scholarship is revoked she explores a new avenue for income.
A mutual friend introduces her to a darker underbelly line of work with a handsomely dangerous boss, mysteriously named Seven.
Lily's world, with the hel...
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I get to the house party, tugging at the ends of my red silky slips dress in apprehension. This is the first social outing I've attended since my grandmothers passing and I'm kind of nervous for some reason. I almost don't trust myself to not break down in random sobs if something happens to remind me of her but I'm hoping alcohol will distract me from those tendencies. This will also be the time I tell the friends I've made from university that I'm having to drop out. And that also puts me on edge.
"Lily!" I hear Tiffany shriek as soon as I walk into the party. She rushes over to me, wearing a black dress and purple tartan blazer. Her long dark hair is straightened to perfection and clipped back at the sides out of her face. The excited smile plastered on her face and wide eyes tell me she's already had a few drinks.
"Hey." I laugh at her as she flings herself into my arms.
"You look so hot babe oh my gosh." She complements me.
"Come! Everyone's over here." Tiffany grabs my hand and leads me through the crowded lounge and into the kitchen.
Our group of friends, well they're more Tiffany's friends but I know them all, are standing in a circle talking amongst themselves. Tom is the first to notice us approaching and I notice his cheeks flush when he looks at me. I guess he hasn't had enough drinks yet to go from shy and blushing to confident and forward. He's wearing his usual sweater and jeans and his blonde hair is swept to the side.
If he were to have a small child perched at his feet, Tom's style would make total sense. But as a straight, single twenty one year old it just doesn't make sense to me. I use to joke that he's like Benjamin Button only he forgets he doesn't have to dress like a grandad still when he's young.
"Hey Lily! We're really sorry to hear about your grandma." One of the girls offers.
"Yeah that's awful. Hope you're okay." Another adds. I give them a quiet thank you and awkward nod before finding a red cup to pour my bottle of Moscato into.
The group discuss many things, from politics to social problems then to celebrity news. I stay quiet mostly, not offering much to the conversations and instead focus on seeing how many times I can reach the bottom of my cup before someone purposely brings me into the conversation.
"So have you thought much about your classes for next semester?" Tom turns his blue eyes to focus on me.
Here we go.
"No actually...I'm actually dropping out." I admit and refill my drink ignoring the quiet gasps from a few of the others.
"What? Why?" Tiffany grabs my arm.
"I lost my scholarship from the time off I took." I shrug, thankful for the drinks I've downed already that stop me from being emotional about this.
"So you're just going to drop out? You've worked too hard to just stop." Tom frowns.
