Worth Saving(64)

I wipe away the blood that’s streaming from my nose, and then I take a deep breath and exhale. I look down at my right wrist and I see the bracelet Austin gave me last night. Faith. Strength. Hope. I knew I’d need them today when I came to work.

I was confused about everything, and I even started my shift, but when that guy touched me, I knew it was over. I’d become the butterfly Austin saw in me all along. So, I got up and went to go tell Damien I was quitting. That’s when I saw Austin. Even though I know Austin is pissed and may never talk to me again, I’m still that butterfly. I still have faith, strength, and hope. I still have light at the end of my tunnel, and that’s all I think about as I push myself off the floor and stand up.

Damien looks at me like he’s suddenly confused. He doesn’t know how to respond when someone doesn’t go along with his every wish, so he shakes his head and tries to force himself back into being angry.

“You got something else you want to f*cking say?” he bellows, furrowing his brow so hard I’m sure it’s giving him a headache.

“Yeah,” I reply as calmly as possible, because I’m not mad. I’m over it. I’m above all of this. “Does it make you feel good to have to prove yourself by hitting women? Make you feel like a real man? A real man would never lay his hands on a woman. A real man knows a woman’s worth. You’re a piece of shit, Damien, and I’m not scared of you anymore. You’ve hit me for the last time. I’m done, and no matter how much effort you put into wrinkling your ugly little forehead, there’s nothing you can do about it. So, f*ck you. I quit.”

“What the f*ck are you talking about? You can’t f*cking quit working here. Are you out of your mind? Hey!” I hear Damien yell as I walk right past him and head into the dressing room to grab the rest of my stuff.

I pass David on the way, but he doesn’t say anything to me, he just nods his head and lets me go.

Once I have my stuff, I walk back out into the club and speed walk right past Damien, who’s still intent on putting on a show.

“What the f*ck are you doing, Layla?” he says to me, but I don’t even look at him. “Get your ass back here. You don’t f*cking quit working for me. I f*cking own you and everybody else in here. You got that? Fine, get the f*ck out, bitch! You think I give a f*ck? Don’t even try to come back, either. Good luck finding something that’ll pay you better out there. You’re fired, bitch! Get the f*ck out!”

When I reach the stairs, I turn around one last time and make eye contact with Damien, who no longer looks scary. He just looks like a child throwing a temper tantrum because things aren’t going his way.

“You’re so f*cking pathetic,” I say, then I smile because I know in that moment, I’m above him. I’m bigger than him, and he no longer has any control over me, and he knows it.

I stomp up the stairs, and the pride I feel brings tears to my eyes. I make my way past the people upstairs, and signal to Marlene that I’ll call her, then I push through the exit.

The night air is cold, but it feels good on my face. Unfortunately, Austin is nowhere to be found, but for the first time in my life, I feel free. I’ve been working at Red Pony since I was seventeen, and now I’m finally free from its shackles. I’m free to grow up and move on, even though I have no idea what I’m moving on to. That scares me a little, but it excites me more.

I know I have a long road ahead of me. I have to find Austin and tell him everything. He needs to hear this from me, because I’m sure he’s pissed. I’m sure he wants nothing to do with me right now, but I just can’t let him go without being able to explain myself first.

The first step was to free myself from the chains of Red Pony, and now that I have, I’m ready for whatever life throws my way. I feel ready to take on the world. I’m full of faith, hope, and strength, and I just hope I can get Austin to listen to me so I can explain everything to him. So, I take a moment to breathe in the fresh air, and then I head towards my car, finally free to chase a life I never knew I wanted.





Layla

“Austin, I know you don’t want to talk to me, but please pick up the phone. Please give me a chance to explain. I’ve called you, like, five times since last night, and you haven’t answered once, so this is the fourth or fifth voicemail I’ve left you. Please call me back. I know how everything must’ve looked to you, and I can only imagine what’s going through your head, and I’m so sorry you had to find out like that. I should’ve told you what I did for a living. I should’ve been . . . look, I’ll explain everything when we talk. I hope I hear from you soon. Oh, and just so you know, I’m on my way to your house. Okay, bye.”

I hang up the phone and drop it into my cup holder, hoping Austin will call me back before I make it to his house. I know I shouldn’t be driving and talking on the phone—even though it was on speaker—but I feel like this situation requires breaking that law. Regardless of my persistence, Austin hasn’t answered any of my phone calls since he saw me at Red Pony last night.

All I could think of was the look on his face as he rushed towards the stairs. I could see it in his eyes that I’d broken his heart—I’d done the exact thing I knew I would do back when our relationship first started. It was right there in my gut the whole time, but I just couldn’t bring myself to stay away from him. I was falling for him and it felt too good to let go, but still, I knew it would come to this. I knew I’d do this to him.