Chapter 1

Lila's POV:

The food was burned, and it was totally not my fault…

Well, maybe it was? But not entirely. Mrs. Stella would be home any minute, and if she found out about this latest mishap, she would kill me.

"Lilaaa, mom's going to kill you when she finds out. You know that, right?" Tessa cooed beside me, grinning wickedly.

"Shut up, Tessa," I groaned as I washed the pot, desperate to get it all clean before her mom arrived. "It's your fault the food burned in the first place. You know that, right?"

"Oh, puleeeze…" Tessa drawled. "Don't drag me into this. If you hadn't gotten so lost dancing to the Sparks' latest single, you would have smelled the food burning," she shot back. Curse my love of dancing! Now I was in such trouble.

"Just shut up so I can finish washing this pot and start another one!" I yelled. That did it. Tessa kept quiet. I let out a huff and poured the burnt oats—or what was left of them—into the trash bin, then rinsed the pot, filled it with fresh water, and set it on the burner.

Oh great, now I smelled burnt too. I hurried over to my room and changed my clothes, repacking my hair, which had gotten all over the place, before I went back to kitchen. There, I measured out a new batch of rice and began cooking.

"I'm hungry…" Tessa whined.

"Well, if you can keep quiet for another fifteen minutes, food will be ready."

"I hate you," she muttered.

"Me too," I replied, chuckling. Today was Saturday, which was why we weren't having cereal for breakfast. Tessa's mom worked the night shift, and that was why she wasn't home yet. But she would be soon, and if I didn't hurry, I was going to get seriously punished for not only burning the food but for wasting it as well.

Well, I guess I should introduce myself to you. Hi, I'm Lila Walker, the adopted daughter of Stella Walker. Tessa here is her biological daughter. Her husband died a few years after Tessa was born, so it was just the three of us now. He had been the nicest, coolest man I'd ever known—and the main reason I was even adopted. He loved dancing, and so did I. Mrs. Stella didn't really fancy me, but they didn't have a child, so they thought they'd make do with me. Now that he was dead, her treatment of me had only worsened.

With Mrs. Stella being super mean and cold towards me, you'd think Tessa would follow in her footsteps and treat me like crap, but no, Tessa was the complete opposite. Only very few people knew this, but she was actually my best friend. She knew and kept all my secrets. She kind of reminded me of her dad, and like a big sister, I took care of her too. With the food all ready, I set about doing the rest of my chores. Just then, my phone rang. I picked it up. It was Lily, a friend of mine.

"Good morning, Ruby," I greeted. "What's up?"

"Good morning, Lila. Where are you?"

"Still at home…I might be a little late to work today."

"Seriously? Well, you better hurry. The boss is in a bad mood, and if you don't come soon, you might get fired."

"I said I'll come. I'm just waiting for Mrs. Stella to arrive."

"By the way…" Ruby chirped, "I have something to tell you!"

"You can tell me when I get to work. Gotta go now. See you later," I said and hung up, smiling while continuing with the rest of my chores. Tessa was in the living room watching TV.

Breakfast was soon ready, and I dished it out, pouring a glass of milk for each of us and settling down to eat.

"Took you long enough…" Tessa muttered, stirring her bowl.

"Can you just eat?"

"Whatever…" she mumbled, lifting a heaping spoonful to her mouth. I scoffed and hurriedly ate mine. Just as I was about to scarf down the last spoonful, there was a knock on the door. My heart missed a beat. Mrs. Stella had arrived. I took the plates to the kitchen and cleaned my hands before walking over to open the door.

"Good morning, Mrs. Stella," I greeted warmly. "How was work?" I opened the door wider for her to enter. She looked at me scornfully as she walked in, totally ignoring my greeting.

"Where's Tessa?" she asked instead.

"Mom!" Tessa called out and hurried over to hug her. I just stared at them.

"Hi, Mom. How was work?" Tessa asked.

"Fine, dear, I'm just tired," Mrs. Stella replied.

"Then you should get some rest. Here, Mom, Lila made oats for breakfast. Why don't you have some before you rest?" Tessa asked her.

"I think I'll pass—wait!" She stopped abruptly. I looked at her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Something smells…burnt," Mrs. Stella pointed out. The hair on my neck rose. Mrs. Stella was going to find me out! What should I do?

"Burnt?" I repeated.

"Yes…burnt. Don't you smell it?" she asked me. I gulped. I knew better than to lie, so I didn't reply. She looked at Tessa.

"Don't you, Tessa?" she asked. Tessa shrugged.

"I don't know."

Mrs. Stella glanced at the both of us before walking into the kitchen. I quickly picked up my bag and phone, ready to bolt out of the house if the need arose.

"I knew it!" Mrs. Stella's voice thundered from the kitchen. "Something did burn. Lila! Did you burn the food again?"

"It was an accident," I said back.

"An accident…" Mrs. Stella soon arrived in the living room with the burnt oats. "You burn my food and say it's an accident!?" she yelled again. Didn't she just say she was tired?

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, lowering my head while taking a step back.

"Come over here, you wench!" she said as she moved towards me. I turned and ran out of the house, hopping on my bicycle and speeding away.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Stella! I promise it won't happen again!" I yelled as I pedaled.

Phew…that was close.

***

Arriving at my workplace, I parked my bicycle and walked into the restaurant through the back door. Hurriedly changing into my work clothes, I wrapped my apron around my waist and went into the kitchen. Ruby saw me and scoffed. I rolled my eyes.

"Good morning," I greeted.

"Good morning," she answered reluctantly.

"Come on, don't tell me you're angry with me?" I said quietly.

"Why wouldn't I be? You're late. Again! I had to lie to Mr. Jones about your mom having an accident. I told him you needed to be in the hospital to take care of her."

I chuckled because I couldn't help it. "Seriously? My mom had an accident? Of all the lies to use!"

"What did you expect me to do? I had no choice!"

"Anyway, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."

"It better not…" she mumbled, taking a tray on her way to serve a customer. I waited until she came back and then looked at her keenly.

"So…what is it you wanted to tell me this morning that couldn't wait?"

Her eyes brightened at the question. "Oh, that…" she began. "It's nothing much. Have you listened to the new single the Sparks just released? It's amazing!"

"Of course I have!" I said excitedly. "It's the reason I got into trouble this morning."

"Let me guess…you were dancing to it?"

"Yeah…and the food burned," I said despondently. "Mrs. Stella is going to kill me when I get back. I barely escaped this morning," I added.

"Lila and trouble…" she said, crossing her fingers, "are best friends." I glared at her, hitting her playfully on the butt. She laughed out loud.

"Hey, you two! Start working and stop talking!" our boss barked at us. We froze and hurriedly grabbed trays as our boss glared at us.

***

My shift in the restaurant was over, and it was time to head to the strip club. I know this sounds weird, but up until now I hadn't told Ruby that I worked in a strip club. Mainly because she'd freak out and try to talk me out of it. But Mrs. Stella forced me into the work for extra money to take care of the family. I hated it so much, but I had no choice but to do it.

"Hey, Ruby. I'm leaving now," I announced as we finished cleaning the tables.

"Really? Want to come over to my place then?" she offered.

"No thanks. I've got more work to do today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Lila?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you hiding something from me?" she asked. I scoffed.

"Of course not," I lied. "It's just that Mrs. Stella found me a second job, and I need to be there. I tell you everything…" Well, almost everything, I added in my mind. She didn't put two and two together.

"Okay. Maybe tomorrow then."

"Yeah, bye." I gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before changing back into my own clothes and heading out. Since I'd ridden my bicycle here, I had to ride it all the way to the strip club, listening to songs on my playlist as I went.

It was late evening by the time I arrived, and of course, I had to use the back door. Sir Patrick, the owner of the strip club, was in the dressing room, instructing the strippers. I walked over and greeted him.

"Oh, Lila…you're here. I've been expecting you."

"I see…" I mumbled.

"You're dancing in the VIP section today. Remember to put on a great performance so you get those tips. Hurry and change. They're all waiting for you."

"Okay, sir," I replied, smiling brightly. He nodded and walked away. My fake smile dropped the second he left, and I heaved a sigh. Time to change. Picking out the most seductive outfit I had, I let my hair down and applied some makeup on my face. I immediately transformed from a sweet, naive girl into a super sexy diva capable of making thousands of men drool. As much as I hated this job, it was one of the few ways I could express my passion for dancing because Mrs. Stella literally banned me from dancing in her house. I ran my hands through my hair, puffing it out, and put on my mask. Then I threw on something that looked like a bathrobe and walked out of the dressing room.

Mr. Patrick was already waiting for me. The moment he saw me, his face lit up.

"The stage has already been set. Everything you'll need is there. So go out there and put on a great show.

"Okay, sir," I said, nodding. I took the stairs to the VIP section. A curtain hung across the stage, so no one could see me yet. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, calming myself. After a while, the curtain lifted and I cat-walked onto the stage, watching as men gawped at me. It was the bad kind of attention, but at this moment, I had no choice but to like it. The drumroll faded out, and Focus by Ariana Grande started streaming from the speakers. And, just like that, my feet began to move to each beat. Twisting and turning, I heard the cheers get louder. It felt like I was in a trance, and for that short while, I was home.

***

The show was over, and I could hear the screams and shouts as they accompanied me backstage. It was a great experience, but I was glad it was all over. I just had to wait a bit while Sir Patrick got my pay, most of which would go straight to Mrs. Stella. After a while, another worker called me into Sir Patrick's office, and I stood there, waiting for him.

He eventually finished what he was doing and handed me a parcel. It was heavy with what I hoped was a lot of cash.

"That's your pay for tonight. Congratulations, the men liked you, so I added a little extra."

"Thanks a lot, sir."

I nodded as I walked out of his office. Now that my job here was done, it was time to go home and face Mrs. Stella. My stomach churned just thinking about her. She'd been a lot meaner to me lately.

I changed out of my stripper dress and put on my regular clothes. After fixing my hair, I took the money out of the parcel Sir Patrick had given me and divided into thirds. Then I put two thirds back into the parcel and the remaining one third in another purse. It was my only way of saving some money, otherwise Mrs. Stella would just take everything. After securing everything in my bag, I walked out of the strip club. I mounted my bicycle and started riding home. As I neared the house, I slowed my pace and parked on the porch. The lights were still on, so I couldn't sneak in tonight. I gently knocked on the door.

After a while, it opened, and a frowning Mrs. Stella appeared.

"Good evening," I greeted cautiously, but I only got a glare and hiss in reply. I bent my head. Tessa was peeking out from behind her, and I gave her a tiny wave. She smiled at me. Immediately, Mrs. Stella stretched out her hand, and I gave her the parcel.

Almost as soon as the parcel touched her hand, she walked in and closed the door, locking me out. Stunned, I hit the door, hoping she'd let me in.

"You'll be sleeping out there tonight! That's your punishment for wasting my food," came her voice.

"But I already apologized. I promise it won't happen again."

"Doesn't matter. You'll be sleeping out there tonight." Then I heard her say to Tessa, "Go to your room and don't you dare let her in through the window!"

Tessa replied, "Not cool, Mom. Not cool."

After banging on the door a while longer, I leaned against it, dropping to the floor. My life sucked. And I couldn't even pay to stay in a hotel for the night; she'd ask where I'd gotten the money.

Blinking back tears, I brought out my phone, put in my earbuds, and let music flow through them. The night would soon get freezing cold. Hopefully, this music would distract me.

I slowly hummed the song until I fell asleep, right there on the porch.