Chapter 24: Cocaine.
Walking into the club, I say hi to Stephanie as I walk past her. I see Barbie sitting on the stage and I walk up to her.
"Hey." I say, smiling at her.
"Jasmine? What are you doing here?" She asks me.
"Um, I work here." I joke.
"After what you went through last weekend you shouldn't be anywhere near this club." She tells me and I roll my eyes.
"I have to make money somehow." I tell her.
"I'm serious, Jaz. Being here will only trigger the trauma you've experienced." She says and I wave her off.
"I'm fine. Trust me." I assure her. "Stephanie told me I got my section back. Hope they didn't send you to section nine?" I ask her.
"No, they gave me my old section back too." She tells me and I nod.
"I'm gonna go get ready for tonight." I tell her
Barbie stops me from walking forward.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"Be careful out there tonight." She tells me.
"I will." I say before I walk to the locker room. I prep for the night applying makeup to my face. I brush my purple wig and put it on. I stare at the mirror and I smile as tears cascade down my face. I smile harder and eventually start sobbing.
Great.
Now, I've ruined my makeup.
Wiping my face with my palm, I adjust my wig and fake a smile. My poker face is ready. Sliding out of the chair beside the vanity table, I head back into the club. It's jam-packed with people. Several people are waiting to see me at my section. That makes me happy. These people came all this way to watch me shake my ass on a pole. That's gotta count for something. Right?
I mount the stage and get on the pole. People cheer me on as I spin on the pole. I lose my balance and almost fall over. Thank God I didn't. I don't think anyone noticed because they are making it rain right now.
Counting my money at the end of the night is therapeutic for me. I stuff the wads of cash in my backpack and I zip it.
"You did pretty good today." I hear Christopher say and I look up.
He has a band-aid on his nose and a bruise on his cheek.
"What happened to you?" I ask him, analyzing his face.
"Business." He says, shrugging.
"What kind of business?" I ask, touching his cheek. He hisses as I touch the bruise.
"The kind of business you shouldn't be involved in. I'm handling it." He says and I scoff.
"Yeah, by getting yourself beat up." I quip.
"I'm trying my best." He says, through gritted teeth.
Why is he getting so upset?
"What is going on?" I ask him.
"If I tell you, there's no way for you to unknow. It's best if I keep this to myself." He says and I roll my eyes.
"I want to help with whatever's going on. I can take a few punches." I tell him and he shakes his head.
"I will never put you in harm's way like that." He tells me.
"Well, you're not putting me in harm's way. I'm putting myself there. Now, come on. Tell me." I push.
"There was a time when business wasn't really moving like it should have been, so I took a loan from a couple guys in the mafia." He tells me.
"The mafia? What is this? A Wattpad novel?" I chuckle, folding my arms as I stare at him.
"I'm serious." He presses on.
"I thought mafias weren't real." I say, staring at him.
"I can bet this bruise on my eye that they are as real as you and me." He says and I scratch my head.
"Why would they do that to you? Haven't you paid back the loan?" I ask him.
"I have, but these guys play dirty. They want to move cocaine through the club." He says and my eyes widen.
"You can't let them do that." I object.
"I wasn't going to until they showed me a picture of my mother's house with a bomb in the attic. They are going to kill her if I don't move weight." He says, running a finger through his hair. "What makes this whole thing creepier is the fact that my mother lives on a private island and I don't have her listed on any of my records. I keep her out of the public eye and they still found her."
"This feels like a fever dream." I comment.
"Tell me about it." He retorts.
"What are you going to do?" I ask him.
"I'm going to sell drugs here at the club. But undercover though. We can't have the cops bursting in here and raiding shit." He tells me and I stare at him deciding if I want to be around any of that stuff.
But then again, I did say I wanted to help. And his mother's life is literally on the line here.
"I'll help you." I tell him.
"I don't want to drag you into this shit, especially after everything you've been through." He says and I shake my head.
"Forget what I've been through. I wouldn't be able to live with the fact that those douchebags killed your mom because I didn't help you." I say and he makes an uncomfortable face. "Sorry to be so crude."
"Thank you, Jasmine." He says, touching my arm. I flinch at his touch and he notices.
"I'm sorry I-"
"There's no need to apologize." He cut me off, putting his hand in his pocket.
"I better head out now." I tell him. "Call me so we can talk about this some more, okay?"
"Sure." He says, smiling at me.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder as I head to the back exit of the club. I'm meeting Aaron at his house. He said he needed to talk to me and that it was urgent. So, I told him that I'd see him after work. It's currently 4:30 am. He said he'll leave his back door open for me so I wouldn't have to knock.
The Uber ride to Aaron's house is short. I jump over the picket fence and run to the backyard. The backdoor is open like he said and I enter the house, trying my best to be silent. I creep up the staircase heading to his room. His door is slightly ajar, I open it a little bit wider and I stop in my tracks. Aaron and Aaliyah's naked bodies are on top of each other as they sleep peacefully.
So much, for him wanting me to come here.
I turn around and start heading down the stairs.
"Aaron is that you?" I hear his mother say and I walk faster. Rushing out of the house, I race towards the fence and climb over it.
***
"Hey." Chanel's face lights up as she sees me.
"Hi." I say, somberly.
"What's going on?" She asks staring at me.
"I barely got any sleep last night. I worked my ass off." I say before I yawn.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Where do you work?" She says and I stare at her.
"You do not want to know." I say, sipping on the coffee in my to-go cup.
"Oh come on." She says as I stare down the hall.
Aaliyah and Aaron walk into school hand in hand. They strut down the hall and I just stare at them in shock. They walk past me and my mouth hangs open.
"When did that happen?" Chanel asks beside me.
"I'm just as confused as you are." I tell her.
"It's a good thing. He's finally leaving you alone." She says and I nod, faking a smile.
Even though I've known that Aaron has been messing with Aaliyah for a while now, it's only at this moment that I truly feel betrayed. I was okay with just me knowing, but him walking in here with her definitely threw me off.
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful, it's just class after class, lunch with Chanel, and then some more classes. Aaron sent me a text to meet him in the gym after school. I agreed. I wanna hear him out, okay?
Stop judging.
Making my way down the dimly lit school hallway. The sound of my footsteps is all that is heard as I walk towards the gym. I see Aaron shooting hoops as I walk into the gym. He doesn't notice me, his back is turned to me after all.
"Hey." I say, standing in the middle of the gym.
Aaron rushes to me and picks me up. He twirls me around, kissing my neck.
"I've missed you." He says into my hair.
"Put me down." I order and he obeys.
"What's going on? Did I do something? You've been acting really weird and you didn't show yesterday." He says, staring at me.
I let out a loud laugh.
"From the looks of things, you were preoccupied. I saw you and Aaliyah in bed when I arrived. So, I just left." I say, folding my arms as I stare at him. His demeanor changes as he stares at me with a frown on his face.
"YOU DIDN'T SEE SHIT." He growls, squeezing my arm.
"Ouch. Let go of me." I tell him.
"YOU'RE ALWAYS ASSUMING SHIT, JAZ." He roars.
"Calm down. I didn't even say anything bad." I tell him.
"That mouth of yours might just get you killed." He whispers in my ear. Before I can decipher what he means, he throws me on the floor. I feel pressure in my ribs as they break my fall.
It's definitely gonna hurt to breathe now.
"I gave you, chance after chance, to act right. To be the perfect basketball wife. But your dumbass is too stubborn. I can't go to the NBA with a girl like you by my side." I hear him say as he walks closer to me. He pulls me by my hair and punches me in the face.
My ears ring from the massive blow and I fall back. I feel him yanking on me, but I can't really hear anything else he's saying. He drags me across the floor as I cry.
"P-please." I use all my energy left to say. I can taste blood. I think my nose is bleeding.
"I MADE YOU BITCH, YOU WERE NOBODY BEFORE YOU MET ME." He rants. "AND WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU GO AROUND SCHOOL HANGING OUT WITH WEIRDOS. MAKING ME LOOK STUPID." He continues.
"L-et me go, Aaron." I plea, holding on to my side.
He stops walking and grabs me by the neck before he tosses me. I feel my head hit the floor and everything goes dark.