A FILTHY Enemy - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,10

little brat.

I woke up to breakfast on the coffee table.

Jess was in the shower as I ate.

I cleaned up everything in the kitchen as my way of saying thanks to her.

When she got out of the bathroom, I went in for my turn.

I showered and cleaned myself up.

The call from yesterday was already working its way out of my head.

It happened more times than I’d ever admit to anyone.

And they knew I didn’t have the money.

So what?

In their eyes, they could bother me, scare me, and that was enough for the moment.

And trust me, they were good at their job.

I packed up my bag and threw it over my shoulder like I was in my early twenties again, getting ready to hit the road, not knowing where I was working, singing, or sleeping that night.

“You can stay,” Jess said.

“I’m good,” I said. “We better get to work.”

“Want to warm up our singing voices?” Jess asked with a smirk.

“You’re a bitch,” I said.

I followed Jess to a little boutique in a quiet part of the city.

That’s where we always met.

Sasha’s best friend - Marianne - owned the place.

The back room was really big, which gave us all space to get dressed for the day.

It was another fun day of pinstripes and laughs ahead.

Rae was late.

Because Rae was always late.

We were all dressed when Rae came through the front door with the biggest pair of sunglasses on her face I’d ever seen.

“Hitting it hard last night?” Sasha yelled into her ear.

“Ew, fuck you,” Rae said.

“I’m going to have a cigarette,” Jess said.

“Spray yourself with perfume when you’re done,” Sasha said.

“Yes, Mom,” Jess said as she walked to the front door of the boutique.

“Hey,” Sasha said to me, grabbing my arm. “How much do you love me?”

“Why?”

“What are you doing later?”

“I don’t know.”

“We should hang out.”

“Hang out?”

“Yeah,” Sasha said.

“Your version of hanging out is whoring yourself to anyone who will listen to you sing.”

“Right,” Sasha said. “Buuuut… this time it’s really good.”

“Really good?”

“I got us a gig.”

“Us? The four of us?”

“Just you and me,” Sasha said.

“Hell no,” I said.

“What?”

“Are you kidding me? That’s a bad move. Really bad move. You can’t do that to the other two. It’ll ruin this. It’ll ruin our friendships.”

“You’re such a good person, Abby,” Sasha said.

“No. I’m not. I’ve just been through it before. Being left on the side of the road…”

Quite literally.

“Okay,” Sasha said. “You’re right. Forget about it.”

Sasha turned and I grabbed for her hand. “What was it for?”

“Studio time,” she said. “Real studio time. We were asked for specifically. You. Me. More you than me.”

“How…?”

“I whore myself out, remember?” Sasha asked. “And you have the best voice out of all of us. I know you were kind of popular at one time. I know you hate singing like this. But I don’t know why you don’t try to do more.”

“So you’re going to do it for me?” I asked.

“No,” Sasha said. “We have to go sing. Then they’re going to choose two or three singers.”

“Out of how many?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “You don’t want to do it, remember?”

“Do what?” Rae asked as she appeared from the back of the boutique, fully dressed.

“The singing gig,” Sasha said.

“Why wouldn’t you do it?” Rae asked.

“It’s stabbing you and Jess in the back.”

“What? No. Sasha already told us about it.”

“You did?” I asked Sasha.

“Yeah,” Sasha said with a laugh. “I’m not a bitch.”

I looked to the front of the boutique and watched Jess flick her cigarette away.

She came back inside.

“How long did you know?” I called out to her.

“You told her?” Jess asked.

“Yeah,” Sasha said. “She’s afraid she’s going to hurt your feelings.”

“Oh, fuck,” Jess said. “Be greedy, Abby. Sasha showed videos of us singing. Okay? Whoever is making this decision said you and Sasha had the voices of the group. So go with it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“You deserve it,” Rae said. “You’re a really good singer. You’re kind of the lead singer of our group.”

I looked at Sasha. She nodded. “I’m sure they’re bringing me in as a favor. I won’t get it. But you will.”

“What exactly am I singing? Or who am I singing with? For?” I asked.

“I guess we’re going to find out,” Sasha said.

“Right now?” I asked.

“No,” Sasha said. “We have to go sing for Mackenzie. She’s turning nine today.”

“Little bitch,” Rae muttered. “When I was nine, my father left to go live with his girlfriend.”

“Need a tissue?” Jess asked.

“Not funny,” Rae said.

“It kind of is,” I said with a wink.

“What did your