Hypnotic

No Way Out

I was discharged from the hospital and have been home for three days now. I got another letter from my landlord reminding me that I need to be out of my apartment by the end of the month. Logan hasn't seen the letter because I hid it from him and he doesn't know why I've been gone for a week because Rodger hadn't told him anything the week Logan spent with him. I've spent three days panicking, going out of my mind whilst sitting on my computer, applying to many random jobs. I never registered in my Resume that I worked as a stripper because I wanted a fresh start, I listed down all my skills that helps me stand out and my one job experience when I worked as a waitress but for some odd reason I'm not getting hired.

I'm applying to work as a waitress, behind the bar because it's what I used to do and I was a pretty damn good waitress but I showed up late to work and got fired. Add insult to injury, my old boss almost raped me so I can keep my job. I never told anyone that apart from Kim, who was there, and Marshall, who found out from Kim. Me and Kim are friends again, I guess after almost killing myself it put everything into perspective as Kim put it. The beef we had seems insignificant now and I'm glad we squashed it. Marshall still hasn't returned home from LA, he must be having a blast down there now that his rap career is about to take off. I'm proud of him, honestly.

Logan is at school and I'm sitting at my computer, going through a few rejection emails and a few emails that says they'll call me to arrange an interview with me about my role as a waitress. I'm happy to get an email like this but at the same time, I'm not because after my interview is over, I never get a call back if I've got the job or not. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, perhaps it has something to do with the fact I worked as a stripper but how would they have found out? I hear a knock on my door as I'm reading an email to me about arranging an interview with my local coffee shop.

I get up from my desk and walk my way over to the door. I open the door and to my surprise, it's Rodger "What is it?" I ask him "We gotta talk" Rodger crosses his arms over his chest "And you couldn't have called saying we needed to talk" I glare at him "I'm on my lunch break from my office, can I please come in? I don't have much time" I nod and let him into my apartment. He goes over to the coffee table and picks up both of my eviction letters "Someone is eager to kick you out" He drops them on my coffee with a chuckle "What is it you wanted to talk about?" I sit on my couch and he sits on my coffee table, legs apart, leaning over after pushing away the two letters so he can sit

"I'm here to renegotiate my previous offer" Rodger cuts right to the chase "And I told you I wouldn't go through with it" I glare at him "You really don't have much of a choice, it's in your best interest to take my offer" Rodger doesn't react, he has a stone look on his face. I can't read him at all "You're asking me to give up my brother" I raise my voice "Not completely" Rodger shakes his head "I understand your brother is very important to you and I know you don't want him to go through poverty the way he did with your mother so my offer to you is, once you've completed college, you can regain contact with your brother" He flashes me a soft smile

"And if I say no?" I cross my arms over my chest, giving him an attitude "Prepare to suffer the consequences" Rodger smirks "I know about all the job interviews you've attended and I know about the rejections you've received the last four months" He sits up straight "How do you know? Did you Logan tell you?" I know Logan has told him some stuff but I didn't know he'd tell his dad about the rejections "He didn't tell me anything, I'm the reason why you're not getting a job" He smirks "Did you really think you can hide the fact that you were a disgusting stripper?" He asks me "There is something seriously fucked up with you to do this, don't you have any hobbies?" I can't believe what I'm hearing here, he is seriously the sickest man I've ever met "I do and one of them is to watch you crumble into pieces until you accept my offer" He keeps his smirk "I'll give you until the end of the week to make your decision, once you have made your decision and have told me, I'll come by with the custody papers and you will sign them" Rodger stands up "What happens after I sign the papers?" I ask him.

My voice is cracking and I'm on the verge of crying, he won, Rodger won "I'll pay your landlord your overdue bill so you can keep your apartment until college starts and pay for your college major once you've told me which college you are going to and what you are going to study, then I'll give you a couple grand to live off on until college is over but during your time in college, you are not to seek contact with Logan, do we have a deal?" Rodger asks me. I guess I have to accept his offer, I see no way out of this offer because things are only gonna get worse for me. Rodger hates me so much and I don't understand why because I've never done anything to anger him apart from the custody case and winning Logan

"We have a deal" I nod "Fantastic, I'll come by tomorrow afternoon with the custody papers, you can take this time to look up colleges and majors" Rodger smiles. I can't stand to look at his smile because he won and I lost "You better take real good care of Logan" I look up at him with tears filling my eyes "Oh I will" He nods and leaves my apartment. I've never felt more defeated in my life, I can't believe that everything I went through to gain full custody of Logan was all for nothing. Four years without Logan is gonna feel like death.