All Chapters of Love Me Or Die Young: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I coughed. And coughed again. A third cough woke me from my sleep. I groggily opened my swollen eyes. My throat was scratchy and felt swollen. My breaths wheezed in as sweat broke out across my forehead. Why was it suddenly so stinking hot in this room?I sat up too quickly and the memory of what had occurred in this room slammed back into me with the shooting pain in my side and the dull throb of my cheek. I rubbed my eyes, realizing I must have fallen asleep on the foreign bed. I stood up, my movements much slower and cautious now. A burning heat continued to torch the room as I shuffled over to the door. I wiped the sweat from my brow as I grabbed the door handle. My hand flinched back, burned by the flaming heat. A sick feeling of dread slowly began to take hold within me. Why was the room hot? Why was the door handle burning? I took a deep breath through my nose and, for the first time, realized it stunk of smoke. The house was on fire!Panic

I walked into the apartment and glanced around silently. I didn't hear any noise inside so I gently closed the door behind me and locked it. I glanced around at the open floor plan apartment. To the right was a futon in front of a TV hanging on the wall. Beyond that were vertical blinds with a sliding glass door behind it leading out to the small, concrete patio.To the left was a small dining room with a circular table with two chairs. Behind that was a cozy, white and wood kitchen. I walked over to the table as my eyes studied the vase of red roses upon it. My fingers traced over the flowers before picking up the piece of paper on the table. It was a handwritten note in Scott's messy handwriting.Kendra-I'm sorry I blatantly failed you again. I have more remorse than I could ever write you about, baby. I know I hurt you, and the fact you were almost seriously injured killed me inside. I'm begging for your forgiveness.

I picked up a couple extra shifts at Kiki's the next week, trying to make up for the loss of money on Saturday night. Preston never text me any further and I had pushed him and his green eyes out of my mind.I rushed around, taking care of my tables in the middle of the week over the lunch hour when Scott came in. My smile at his appearance faded as I approached him and saw his dark shades on despite being indoors."Why do you have sunglasses on indoors?" I jokingly asked him as I reached over to take them off.He swatted my hand away. "I came here to eat, not for fashion advice."My stomach dropped as I took in the sight of him. His hair which he normally straightened and styled was curly and unkept. His jaw was set and his hands twitching slightly. He shifted on his feet as though he couldn't stand still. His clothes were baggy and he was far from the nicely dressed appearance he normally gave out.

I sat in our apartment alone on the futon the next day. Scott was who knows where. I had come home yesterday after my rendezvous with Preston to an empty apartment. Scott had never called or text me to tell me his whereabouts, which wasn't that unusual if he was high on drugs.I was worried about something much deeper than whether Scott was currently high on drugs or not.Had I cheated on him?I shook my head. The thought was ridiculous. I had a job which was a sexual position. I had sex with men for money. It was nothing more than a financial transaction, which was exactly what had happened between Preston and me. He had paid me for sex, like any other man did.Why did I have this guilt than? Why did I feel as though I had done something wrong? Was it because of how badly I had desired him? Or how about how I had consented to the sex before ever knowing he was a paying customer? I had wanted him before I knew he wa

I stood at the stove, cooking myself some scrambled eggs for lunch. I had rose early and Scott had driven me to get some much-needed groceries for our apartment. He had left to head to work as I put the food away and cooked for my rumbling stomach.A quick knock at the door drew my attention away from what I was doing. I walked over and opened the door to find no one there. Confused, I glanced around and noticed the note taped to our door from our landlord.I pulled it off and read the official notice our of impending eviction unless we paid our rent within the next two weeks.I angrily clutched the note in my hand as I stormed inside, throwing the door behind me, and charged toward my phone. I quickly dialed Scott’s number and he picked up within a couple rings.“Hey baby,” he said happily.“Why are we getting an eviction notice?” I shot out immediately.The line went silent for a