As Chloe walked into the house, she noticed that the lights were dimmed and the TV is turned off. The house was quiet, with no signs of life. She saw Aaliyah on the couch, her face pale and tear-stained. Chloe's heart sank as she realized that something terrible had happened. She walked over to Aaliyah and gently shook her awake. Aaliyah's eyes fluttered open, red and puffy from crying. Aaliyah stretched and let out a muffled yawn. "What happened?" Chloe asked. Aaliyah took a deep breath and said "Grandma's gone." Chloe's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
The little pouch in Chloe's hand fell to the floor. She was gobsmacked. Although Chloe and Oma didn't get along quite well, this incident shattered her. Oma didn't like the fact that Chloe had chosen that lifestyle. Yes, they weren't rich but at least Oma could afford the meal of the day so she felt it was inappropriate for her granddaughter to live that kind of lifestyle as an excuse. Before the sudden sickness of Oma, she was able to connect with an old friend who employed Aaliyah in her little grocery shop. Aaliyah was in her final year in high school and wanted to save up for college. Although the earnings from that job weren't much, she was still determined to make her college dreams come true. Oma had promised to sell the little gold bracelet her mother had given her to support her granddaughter but when the unfortunate happened, they had no choice but to sell it, hoping that Oma would come back stronger.
Chloe had then joined her friend in the world of stripping—not against her will though. She had always fancied the extravagant lifestyle her friend, Rose lived. In her few months of stripping, she was able to make a name for herself at The Buss Club. Not only was Chloe pretty and flexible, but she was sexually enchanting and appealing too. She whined and danced around the pole like a pro.
For the past two months before Oma's passing, Chloe could singlehandedly cater to the three of them—Oma, Aaliyah, and herself. She was able to afford quite a number of the drugs needed for Oma's recovery. Oma still had no idea of the lifestyle her granddaughter was living, not until her neighbor who came to visit her at the hospital revealed. The lousy neighbor had told everything to Oma at the hospital, in the presence of the surprised Aaliyah.
Oma tried all she could to talk to her granddaughter but all proved futile. This made her forbid Chloe from visiting her at the hospital.
It was indeed a rollercoaster of shock, grief, and confusion for her. She was just trying to process it all. She sighed heavily, hugged her sister, and comforted her. She needed to be strong for Aaliyah even though she was shattered too. It pained her that she couldn't spend Oma's last days on earth with her. The mere thought of that broke her entirely. Chloe disengaged from the hug and wiped the tears of her sister. She walked into the kitchen, and brewed coffee for herself and her sister.
"You look so much like hell right now, Liya." She shouted from the kitchen . "Go upstairs, change, and come back for your coffee." She continued. Forgetting herself, Aaliyah tried to stand up, ready to go upstairs when she yelled in severe pain. Chloe rushed out to the living room—only to see her sister on the floor.
"I twisted my ankle." She yelped. Chloe helped her stand up and ushered her to the couch in their small living room."
Chloe shook her head, frustratedly and marched to the kitchen again. She brought the hot coffee to her sister and urged her to take a sip.
"You're already running out of temperature, Liya." She exclaimed after placing her right finger on Aaliyah's forehead. She proceeded to take the coffee from her sister after that realization and gave her enough water. Big sister Chloe gave Aaliyah a towel bath with lukewarm water and urged her to rest.
She'd call Doctor Newman tomorrow—her client at her workplace. She kissed her sister good night and walked herself into her bedroom. This whole development was driving her insane. She didn't expect her day to be ruined at the last minute. Her night at the Buzz club went quite well. She really enjoyed herself tonight, only for her to come home to hear this godforsaken news.
It was a week. Exactly a week when Aaliyah's pillar fell. Her fever was gone. Her ankle had healed quite well—courtesy of Chloe's friend, Doctor Newman.
Aaliyah was waiting for Chloe in their living room. She was very nervous and anxious. She was dressed in a black floral dress and was seen pacing anxiously around their living room.
"Chloe, really? Are you going to take forever?" She half yelled from the living room.
"Already there." She yelled back. Aaliyah rolled her eyes upon seeing her sister. She was dressed in a black floral print maxi dress. She descended the stairs in haste and rushed out of the door with Aaliyah. They were heading to the crematorium to get Oma's cremated body. The urn holding their grandmother's ashes was handed to them by a crematory staff. They both shed a little tears and got ready for Grandma's memorial service at the chapel.
During the service, the officiant offered words of comfort to the bereaved family and friends. The officiant further shared prayers and scripture readings, and delivered a eulogy to honor and remember the deceased, Petra Kate Winfrey. After the service, many people came to comfort Chloe and Aaliyah, most especially who was shedding uncontrollable tears. A family figure suddenly walked past her. It was him! The guy who took her home, Bryan! She turned around to take a proper look at the person but he was out of sight! Was she hallucinating? "Has it gotten to this?" She laughed sadly at herself, wondering if she was going crazy.
The chitchat with the sympathizers was over and they both left the chapel premises to the house.
"Phew, what a day it had been." Chloe exhaled tiredly. They had taken Oma's urn to her room, to keep her memories alive. Chloe had made sure Aaliyah was taking her nap, she seemed drained and sickness-prone. She was looking out for her sister. She's her only family now and she loved her to death but it scared the hell out of her that she's now responsible for her. I mean she's only twenty-two and deserved to live her youthful days. Chloe suddenly thought about the future of Aaliyah. Aaliyah was done with high school and is expected to further. Unlike her, her sister was somehow brilliant. She feared she might end up like her—something she didn't wish for. Still in thought, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take over.
The sound of Chloe's ringtone woke her up from her sleep. It was a call from Rose, her friend. She had some news and oh boy, was she scared. She heaved a sigh of relief after the information was relayed to her. She feared Rose was calling to ask for the 5000 bucks she borrowed from her. She yawned tiredly and checked her phone. It was 8am already and Aaliyah was still sleeping. She rushed to her sister's room to wake her up for her work, of course.
"Wake up, lazy bones." She tapped her continuously.
"It's past 7 and you're still sleeping? Your boss would be mad girl." She nagged. Aaliyah woke up sleepily and walked to the bathroom, took her bath, and got ready for work. She bade Chloe goodbye and left without even having her breakfast.
A knock from the door jolted Chloe from her nap. She went outside to check the door. It was Aaliyah.
"Why is she back so early?" She thought. Her face was pale and her eyes looked a little red.
"Had she been crying?"
"Liya, why are you back so soon?" She asked.
It was then Aaliyah revealed that the shop had been put up for sale and hence her service was no longer needed.
Chloe scoffed. Aaliyah climbed the stairs to her room and banged the door shut. She walked over to her drawer and opened her piggy box. She opened it and counted her savings. She had saved 500 bucks. "This can't even pay half of my tuition should in case I get admitted." She thought.
It was 9pm, and Chloe could be seen walking around the house, which was quite unusual. Aaliyah ran excitedly at her and dropped the good news.
"Guess what, Clo." she cooed.
"You know I'm not good at guesses." She rolled her eyes, already annoyed.
"I've gotten admission into Silverville!" She yipped.
Both sisters yelled excitedly. Silverville University was the best in Morton. The acceptance rate of the school was relatively lower than any other in the entire city so you can imagine how much that meant to her.
Aaliyah suddenly paused.
"But the tuition is quite outrageous, sis."
"8000 for a semester." " It was stated in my acceptance letter that I'm only eligible for a scholarship if I get good grades in my first semester." She added.
"I can't afford to lose this opportunity, Clo." She cried.
Confused Chloe assured her not to worry and asked her to go to her room. She received a call from Bertha, the club owner who informed her of a "juicy offer." Bertha had called Chloe to inform her of an honorable person that would come to the club the next two nights. Chloe was her favorite among the girls.
"Thank you so much, Bertha." She said and hung up the call. She smiled happily to herself.
She walked over to her sister's room and told her to accept the offer from Silverville University.
"Are you serious, Clo?" Aaliyah asked unbelievably.
She embraced her sister and mouthed an I love you to her.
The D-day was here and Chloe had just returned from a thrift store across their street. She had gotten herself a pair of high-heeled shoes with straps, lingerie, stockings, and some other things. It was already 6pm and Rose would be there soon to give her a ride. Chloe had already sent Aaliyah to get her groceries for the house. As Chloe was returning from the bathroom when she suddenly tripped and fell on the tiled floor.
She screamed in horror and disbelief.
"No! This can't happen!" She whispered.
She laid on the tiled floor in pain as she felt severe pain in both ankles.
Luckily for her, Rose arrived and helped her from the floor. Still in shock, Chloe asked her friend what she had to do. She couldn't afford to lose the once- in -a-blue-moon opportunity. This was William Harold we were talking about! A fucking billionaire's son! Chloe knew better than to lose this opportunity.
Rose could only watch her friend in absolute silence. A thought she has always had crossed her mind.
"Clo, see..." she began.
"How about I take Aaliyah with me today?"
Chloe shot her a deadly stare but she continued anyway.
" I know you always get mad when I bring this topic up but listen, this is a golden opportunity. I mean Aaliyah would be 19 soon, pretty, and has a charming body too. Who knows if...."
Rose couldn't land her statement as Chloe rudely interrupted her.
"Are you crazy? Rose! Aaliyah is only 18 and you expect me to do some crazy shit you just suggested? Grandma would never forgive me if I allowed such a thing to happen!"
"Chloe, remember your sister's life is at stake here. The deadline for her tuition deposit is tomorrow and it's not as if you can afford it. You're already owning the government a huge sum of money so don't even think of another debt. The pros of allowing her to do this outweigh the cons so girl, loosen up. Take a look at Amber Rose!"
"It's only for tonight too." She insisted.
"It's not as if she'd be having sex with him anyways and it's not as if she hasn't started exploring, we can never tell." Rose smirked.
Chloe's mind was made up, there was no way she'd allow Aaliyah to do that. Unbeknownst to them, Aaliyah had returned from her errand and was eavesdropping their conversation. Rose was somehow right, she thought. Aaliyah found herself at a crossroads. She was in a dilemma—either losing her morals for a better future or gaining nothing at all. The decision weighed heavily on her heart as she grappled with the stigma and uncertainty that came with it. The path ahead seemed daunting, but deep down, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.
"I'm sorry Oma." She teared up a little and appeared from behind the door, surprising her sister and Rose, and said "I'd do it."