Soothe Me

I realized from an early age that the only person I could truly rely on was myself. When your father is a drunk and your mother ignores you, who else are you really supposed to count on? After a tragedy occurs resulting in my dad going to prison, my mom and I move. Not too long after, she meets and marries a rich man who brings us to live in his mansion.

Things with my new stepfamily aren’t as great as they appear. With a stepbrother who doesn’t understand the word ‘no’ and a stepfather who gives me the creeps, not to mention a mother who forgets I exist—I’m counting down the days until my eighteenth birthday; however, like most everything in my life, my plans change when I witness something straight out of a nightmare. Terrified, I flee across the country to a small town outside of Las Vegas.

After meeting some very helpful waitresses-turned-friends, I am able to procure a job picking up empty glasses at a strip club. Not the most conventional job for an almost eighteen year old, but I can’t afford to be choosy. Besides it led me to him, Cross Beckley my grumpy new boss and current crush.

Everything is finally looking up for me. I have a new self-made family and even though I haven’t confided in them about why I ran away, I really trust them. But when someone from my past shows up, I quickly realize that I’m not the only one keeping secrets.