Psychotic Love

Chapter:One

{Thank you storyofangels for this amazing story cover! I love it and appreciate it greatly!}

I'd started to count each shuddering breath I took between each stinging pain he would slap onto my cheek.
One. Two. Three. SMACK.
One. Two. Three. SMACK.
One. Two. SMACK.
One. SMACK.
And then he was done.
I was used to my father beating on me all the time. He'd done it ever since my mother over dosed and died when I was 13...6 years ago. He'd been emotionally damaged since then...and I guess he thought alcohol would put a bandaid on that damage. I struggled every day to support us. Dad didn't work. So I worked at a strip club called Little Ladies just around the corner. It wasn't far away so I didn't need a car. And I'd make pretty good money. Dad didn't approve of that job. But it was easy money. Easy money we needed.
I walked to my small room and slipped on only a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt. It was 10:00 pm.  I had to be at the club and start getting ready in 10 minutes. So I walked out of my room and to the front door.
"Slut!" I heard my dad shout as I shut the door behind me.
He was always calling me these things.
Slut. Bitch. Dumb whore.
The words all rang in my head very often. And they stung like the red mark he had just left on my cheek.
    As I walked into the club, I headed straight for my dressing room. There was about 15 minutes before the club opened, in this hour all of the girls would get ready for their shift. Most of these women were blondes and had more plastic in their body than they did bones. I had no plastic surgery, not only because I didn't necessarily want it but because I couldn't afford it. The owner of this place, Steve, always urged me to get calve implants, I would just shake my head and smile.
I didn't really have any friends here. Much of them didn't associate with me. They were nice to me, but I didn't make an effort to get to know them.
I started to apply my makeup. They had the most expensive makeup here. I loved that. After applying quite a bit of makeup, I walked to the manager. She was a pudgy women named Leslie that always had the most unamused look on her face. She wore glasses and was monotoned.
"What's my uniform today, Les?" I gave her a playful grin.
She rolled her eyes and gave me a uniform on a hanger. I skipped over to the changing room and slipped into it. As I walked out, I took a look at myself in my mirror. I was wearing a dark blue push-up bra that had a red bow in the middle. Under that was a small skirt with a dark blue base and red bows that were placed on either side of my waist. Also, I wore white fishnets and some red heels. To finish it off, I wore a sailor hat. I guess my theme today was slutty sailor. Nice. I parted my dark blonde hair into two parts and tied then into pigtails.
"Ok ladies!" It was Gary. Our costume designer. He hung around backstage with the girls a lot and we all loved him. Not because he was gay but because....ok it was probably because he was gay. "Showtime! Selina! Koko! Casey! Let's go girls!" He clapped his hands. "Jade!" I turn my head at my name. "Table 5 requested a lap dance from you."
Great. A lap dance. Weirdos always wanted lap dances.
"Ugh. Coming." I pouted and walked out into the main part of the club. Where everyone watched the girls and drank. Strutting as best I could, I spotted people from every table staring at me. At my hips. At my boobs. But mostly at my ass.  It was funny to catch people staring some times. But I felt a certain gaze from someone. I don't know, there was just this...feeling. Then I saw him. These royal blue eyes stared at me from across the room. He had a firm gaze. It looked as though he was putting so much focus, just into looking at me. I felt myself being locked into his gaze, just standing there, looking at him. He was handsome, there was no denying it. Suddenly, the booming music of the club could be heard again and the man's gaze was off of me. I looked around for table 5. I raise my eyebrows when I find that the man with the blue eyes is sitting at table 5. He smirks at me and waves. I grin and walk over.