Chapter 6 : Get In
Chapter 6: Get In
Mia
I pressed my lips together as I applied a touch of dark purple eyeliner. It was a rare but completely welcome occurrence to have the dressing room of the club all to myself. I was especially grateful since I was taking special care with my makeup tonight.
Friday and Saturday nights were my favorite nights to work. I was probably alone in that since they were our busiest nights and oftentimes attracted the rowdiest crowds. I usually collapsed right after these sorts of shifts, but they were also the closest thing I had to a creative outlet.
I could technically earn more if I didn’t refuse to use the pole and only did private room sessions when I was feeling particularly desperate for money. I was trying hard not to lose sight of the fact that I was a dancer above all else.
Somehow, I was able to sweet-talk the manager into allowing me to incorporate ballet into these weekend sets. He warned me that if people didn’t respond well, I would have to agree to do more private rooms. Thankfully, my ballet-inspired sets were a big hit.
I nearly messed up my lipstick when the door to the dressing room burst open and my friend Jasmine sauntered in. I grinned at her through the mirror and quickly finished my lipstick before turning lazily in the spinning vanity chair.
“How’d the set go, Diamond?” I winked at her as I used her stage name.
Jasmine grinned at me, holding out an armful of bills. She shoved some of her long black curls off her shoulder before dropping the load onto a nearby folding table. “I’d say it’s a pretty good night, Sapphire,” she teased back, plopping into the chair next to me so she could rip her heels off, sighing with relief as she wiggled her toes.
I listened as she began to describe how well her sets went. I grinned a little wistfully. Jasmine was pretty much my only friend at the club. The other girls didn’t like me all that much, a couple of them claimed that I acted as if I was better than them.
Jasmine helped assure me that it was just likely they were jealous of how talented I was. It was obvious that I had been a professional dancer.
Jasmine was so different from Abigail, but the way my fellow club dancer supported and comforted me reminded me so much of my late best friend.
I had forced myself to stop thinking about Abbie up until Jack’s visit. Now, I couldn’t get her or the handsome detective out of my mind.
All of my free time over the last few days had been spent slowly picking apart my brain, trying to think of any instance or moment that felt amiss or suspicious during the days leading up to Abbie’s death. I came up empty every time, even going so far as to write down everything I could remember in a bunch of journal entries.
“Mia? Is something wrong?”
I felt my eyes refocus and I gave Jasmine an apologetic grimace. “Yeah, sorry! I’ve been a little distracted lately. A detective came by my house to talk to me a few days ago.”
Jasmine frowned, bringing emphasis to the slight smudging of her deep red lipstick. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I laughed lightly, waving a hand carelessly. “No, don’t worry about me, Jazz. I’m really fine.”
I appreciated the gesture though. Jasmine was the only one who knew about my whole fall from grace. I hadn’t meant to tell her everything, but I slipped up and it all came rushing out when we decided to have a couple of drinks on one of our rare nights off.
Something must have been off about my expression because Jasmine looked even more concerned and scooted her chair even closer to mine. She looked me dead in the eye, the sparkling blue eyeshadow bringing out the golden flecks in her brown eyes.
“You know you can talk to me,” she said firmly. Then she bumped her shoulder against mine. “It’s really the least I could do. When I was having issues with my husband, you were the shoulder I cried on.”
It was impossible not to relent after that. Jasmine was such a warm person. It was difficult not to pour my heart out to her. “None of it adds up,” I found myself muttering. “Everything seemed so normal leading up to Abbie’s death.”
Jasmine just nodded sadly, looking as if she was waiting for me to start crying.
“We were just getting ready for a new production to start. Abbie and I spent hours practicing, hoping to get bigger roles than our last ones. Abbie claimed that she didn’t even want to try out for Odette, that that role belonged to me.”
I smiled wistfully, remembering how badly Abbie wanted me to get the lead role. I had been so excited to tell her. I looked down at the thin pink carpeting beneath my feet.
Jasmine wrapped an arm around me and I leaned into her comforting embrace. “She sounded like a great friend,” she murmured into my hair.
“The best,” I agreed. “Abbie was so funny at the end of the day when we would practice until night time. She almost acted drunk when she was tired.”
My head snapped up then, a specific memory stirring.
One night, Abbie and I were on the subway after a full day at the studio. We were both exhausted, Abbie’s wavy blonde hair was loose and messy around her face as she leaned against my shoulder.
I was just about to nod off when Abbie squeezed my hand urgently. I looked at her questioningly, but her eyes were down, her cheek pressing into my shoulder firmly.
“What’s up?” I asked.
She looked up at me with wide blue eyes, before leaning her chin against my shoulder so she could whisper in my ear. “That person over there, in the black hoodie. They followed us when we switched trains.”
I narrowed my eyes and shifted in my seat, pretending to stretch so I could discreetly glance in the direction Abbie indicated.
I noticed the person instantly, on the opposite side of the train we were in. There were quite a few others in the car with us, but it wasn’t difficult to pick out the person that Abbie described. The hooded person was wearing glasses and had a mask covering their mouth and nose. Right as I stole a quick glance at them, they lifted their phone up, as if they were taking a picture.
A picture of us.
I turned my head to face Abbie and scowled. “Another creep,” I said in a low voice, shaking my head. “I swear they’re multiplying nowadays.” I pulled my friend to her feet and we got off at the next stop, relieved when the creeper didn’t follow us.
Jasmine gave me a squeeze, snapping me back to the present. “You okay?”
“Yes, sorry,” I muttered, standing up. I grinned widely, not wanting to worry Jasmine more than I already had. “Thanks for listening, Jazz. I better get out there. I’m on!”
Jasmine smiled and wished me luck and I hurried out of the room, frowning as soon as I shut the door behind me.
Maybe I should tell Jack about our little encounter with the hooded person. As soon as the thought occurred, however, I dismissed it just as quickly. It definitely wasn’t unheard of for Abbie and me to gain a stalker that followed us from the ballet studio. This was likely just another one of those instances.
I shook the unpleasant memory away and strode onto the stage. I had a show to do.
I strode across the parking just outside the club, giddy at the money I had just made. I sighed, if I could do those kinds of shows every night, I would have enough to move back to the city in no time at all.
I pulled my thin sweater tighter around my body as a light breeze tickled my neck. It sure didn’t feel like summer was right around the corner. I should have brought a bigger jacket. It wasn’t like I didn’t walk home from work every single night.
I felt my eyebrows rise as I noticed a car parked in the middle of the lot. This was the back lot so it was usually completely empty since it was late when I got off work and everyone else parked around the front of the building.
I decided to give the dark car a wide berth, just in case. Right when I passed by it, the window rolled down, smoke spilling out like thin, white waves.
I began to speed up as a dark-haired man leaned his head out of the window.
“Hey there,” he called. “Where’re you walking off to at this time of night? Would you like a ride, pretty lady?”
My feet stopped on their own, but I was able to shake my head and force them forward again, this time at a much quicker pace. My stomach sank as I heard the unmistakable sound of a car door opening and slamming shut.
The guy wasn’t ugly, he would probably be considered hot by many other people’s standards with his dark hair and square-shaped face, but I felt nothing but dread as he sauntered up next to me, standing way too close.
“Hey, don’t be like that,” he said in a low, teasing voice, leaning down so he could see my face. “It isn’t safe for someone like you to be walking around this late at night. Let me take you home, maybe I’ll even buy you a drink on the way back.”
I swallowed thickly, my stomach twisting. “No, thank you,” I told him, continuing across the lot and toward the sidewalk. When we reached the edge of the lot, I stopped.
“Look, I really don’t want a ride, but thank you for offering.” I turned to go and gritted my teeth when the guy snatched my wrist.
“Hey, don’t go yet. I wasn’t done talking to you.”
We both looked up at the sound of a vehicle approaching. The black car pulled into the lot and parked just a few spaces away from us. My eyes widened when Jack stepped out, his dark eyes moving quickly between us.
Jack’s expression was murderous, but it softened when it settled on my face for just a moment. He stepped between us, his arm going around me.
“Sorry I kept you waiting,” he said to me, but his eyes didn’t leave the guy. He narrowed his gaze at him. “May I ask what business you have with my girlfriend?”
The guy just smirked, not looking the least bit bothered that Jack was essentially threatening him. He glanced briefly at me before casually returning to his car, slipping inside of it.
My heart was beating wildly before, but it was hammering against my ribs as I was pressed into Jack’s side.
“Thank you for helping me,” I managed to squeak, sneaking a peek up at him.
Jack wasn’t looking at me though, his dark eyes were fixed on the guy’s car, smoke still spilling out of the windows. He stepped away from me after a second, his eyes so dark they almost looked black as he looked down at me.
He put an arm behind my shoulders, leading me quickly but gently toward his car. “Get in,” he ordered between his teeth.