I stormed out of the office and crossed my arms over my chest. My breasts were just big enough that they bounced uncomfortably when I walked without a bra on. Most woman would be thrilled to have the size that I did, but I knew that I needed more. That doctor was a jerk, but he was the best there was. I had to find a way to get that money. There were only two people in my family still alive and it would be a cold day in hell before I called my mother .

I sighed and dialed my younger sister’s number, hoping she wasn’t in class. “Hey .”

“Hey!” Selena said cheerfully. “You know I was just thinking about you! Do you know that we haven’t seen each other in almost two weeks? That’s like a lifetime for sisters you know .”

I laughed, she always put me at ease. “Well what a coincidence. I was just thinking about coming to visit you, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t too busy for little old me .”

“I am never too busy for my favorite older sister .”

“I am your only older sister,” I told her before adding, “wait, I’m your only sibling all together! So, are you free ?”

She laughed, “You better believe it. I just had my first and last class of the day. Want me to come to you ?”

“No,” I said quickly .

I didn’t want her to know that I had moved from my old apartment. Six months ago, I ran out of money and had to sell most of what I’d owned. Our father had been a frugal man, but he couldn’t have anticipated that I wouldn’t have a job for so long. The place that I was at now was a hole and even now I was behind on rent. Every day I wondered if I would come home to having power or not .

“I will come to you. I’m out walking around anyways .”

“Sounds good, see you in a few hours then ?”

“Yep,” I told her before hanging up .

If she could get me the money, then I knew I would be able to get a job and pay her back. I just had to make her understand how important this was for me. And get her to agree not to tell our mother. I couldn’t stand Opal and I sure as hell didn’t want her help .

* * *

S he screamed and jumped into my arms as soon as I opened the dorm room door. I was ready for the greeting and laughed as I folded her into a hug. Selena was very much a smaller version of myself. She had paler skin and lighter colored hair, but the similarities stopped at the physical ones. Her body was petite, a size zero since, well forever. She was bubbly and warm toward everyone. Outgoing and ready to help everyone. I looked up to her in many ways, though I was the older sister .

“Hey, kiddo,” I told her .

“Hey! I’m so happy you are here. We were just getting ready to go out! How long has it been since we’ve hit the nightclubs together ?”

I thought about my bank balance, it was negative. “I don’t know about all that. I have an early morning tomorrow .”

“Come on,” she begged. “It’s all going to be on me. You won’t have to pay for anything .”

“It’s not that,” I lied .

Selena pouted. “Please ?”

I groaned, “I’ll think about it, but I wanted to talk to you about something first okay ?”

“Okay,” she said in a chipper tone. “Come back to my bedroom with me and we can talk .”

I did as she asked and flopped down on the bed. “So, have you talked to Mom at all ?”

She looked at me funny. “Of course I have. She calls all the freaking time even though I don’t ever answer. She drives me insane. Boy, she was pissed that you weren’t at the wedding .”

“Last time I checked, I wasn’t invited to the party .”

“Oh, you know that she wanted you to come! You just needed to go talk to her .”

“You mean go apologize to her for doing nothing wrong? The woman is insane. And she’s a gold digger. Her latest husband won’t last either. None of them ever do .”

“Dad lasted,” Selena muttered .

“I know,” I whispered. “Let’s not talk about her anymore. How have you been? How are your classes going ?”

She groaned. “You never want to talk about Mom, but I’m the one who is stuck dealing with her on my own. Don’t you think you could at least give her a call? It’s been like two months since you’ve talked to her .”

“How do you know that ?”

“Because it gives her one more thing to bitch to me about. She wants to show off her new house, why can’t you just indulge her ?”

“Well,” I muttered. “Sorry that you got stuck with that, but she also spoils the shit out of you. I don’t exactly get a monthly stipend to help out around my house .”

“I bet if you talked to her, she would be more than happy to help out .”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her just how wrong she was. She only saw the loving side of my mother, not a side that I’d ever seen before. She didn’t have my father’s features, there was no reason for my mother to hate her. Opal couldn’t stand looking at me. She’d told me so many times before. Never when Selena was around though. It was always a big deal to protect Selena from the true ugliness that was our mother. Even now, at twenty years old, I felt the need to protect her from the truth .

“I will think about it okay? That’s the best you are going to get tonight .”

“Fair enough, I’m just happy you are here. So, what’s on your mind?” she asked .

I cleared my throat. It was now or never. Before I could even speak she was off talking again. “So don’t you want to know what we are celebrating ?”

“Uh,” I stammered. “A Tuesday night ?”

“No silly!” She laughed. “We all aced our secondary finals! A few more months and I will be set with a degree .”

“Good luck, they don’t really do you any good anymore,” I told her honestly .

She frowned. “Still having a hard time finding a job ?”

“No,” I said with a grin. “I have a great job. I work once or twice a week at a seedy bar downtown. Its every college graduates dream job .”

“Why don’t you let me help you out? I hate seeing you like this .”

“Will you be helping me with Mom’s new money ?”

Selena rolled her eyes and nodded. “Does it really matter where the money comes from? The part that matters is you are being taken care of .”

“But I don’t want to have someone take care of me!” I insisted. “I want to be given the chance to take care of myself. In this town though, there is only one way to make that happen. Trust me, getting your foot in the door isn’t as easy as it used to be .”

“I know that you and Mom don’t agree on everything,” she started .

“That’s sugar coating it,” I muttered .

“But,” she said with a smile, “she does have the financial means now to help you out if you needed it .”

“Do you honestly think that she would help me ?”

Selena frowned. I knew what she was thinking. The answer would be a hard ‘no’. My mother had no motivation whatsoever to help the daughter who reminded her so much of the only man she’d really loved. His death left her hollow and cold inside. There was an emptiness there that she tried to fill with the money of others. It was simple, my mother was a common gold digger .

“She would help me if I asked her,” said Selena. “Then I could use the money and help you .”

“I don’t want her money, even if she gives it to you first. I thought that I would take the help if it was offered, but I just can’t. That woman is pure evil. The way she goes through men and their bank accounts is just sickening .”

“She is just living her own life. We shouldn’t judge that. You know I’m going out to dinner with them this weekend. Maybe you should come with me, it would help your cause .”

“I don’t have a cause,” I reminded her .

“Come on, I know that you are here for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing you, but I also know that you’ve been struggling. You are so stubborn,” she said. “I would have helped you months ago if you’d just asked .”

“How did you know?” I asked with a frown .

She shrugged. “We are sisters. More than that, we are friends. I know when you are down in the dumps. Why don’t you tell me what I can do to help ?”

I smiled at her. “You are already doing it. Just being here for me is the best thing for me right now .”

“Well good then, we are going to have a wonderful time tonight,” she said with a chirp .

How could I not love spending time with my sister? She was the most cheerful person in the world. It was virtually impossible to stay angry or depressed around her. She loved to make people happy. Still, I had put myself into a bind. The more I thought about taking money from her, the stronger the case to turn it down became. My mother’s new husband would be the one ultimately paying for the boob job and that wasn’t okay. That made me no better than Anabelle and Ariana .

One thing was certain, I didn’t want to be like them. There was nothing I could do about it tonight. Tomorrow I would line up more interviews and keep dodging my landlord. One of Selina’s roommate knocked on the door .

“Are we ready in here ?”

“You better believe it!” Selena said with a bounce in her step .

She took my hand and dragged me out the door. There was no more time to talk as I was pulled into a waiting taxi. The first club that we went to was loud and overbearing. Selena set up a tab for us and all her friends at once. I knew that the stepfather I’d never met would be paying for the drinks. It was free alcohol though and I wasn’t about to turn it down .

I watched my sister dance around the floor with half a dozen men. For the first time I realized just how much of my mother’s personality was inside of her. It worried me as she singled out one of the men and started to grind on him. They were so deep into each other she wouldn’t have noticed if a man decided to abduct me. I took a second shot of tequila, hoping the fiery liquid would take away some of the self-pity and depression as it started to set in .

Things couldn’t get any worse for me. I’d gone through another week without a good job and I had zero prospects. The one tiny ray of hope had been slashed away when I realized I couldn’t take anything from my sister. She meant well, but the implications behind the tainted money weren’t worth the headache. If my mother ever found out I took money from Selena for new breasts, she would tell me I was just like her. I never wanted to be like her and I never would be .

As long as I had a fighting chance, I would find a way to make things work. I could pick up more hours at the bar or look for a job that was below my college degree. At least then I would be paying my bills. The depression that had started to ebb came flooding back when I saw him from across the dance floor. Fate had brought the good doctor Earl to the same club that we were at .

Karma was rubbing my life in my face and I was done trying to hide. The only thing left to do was drink away my problems. As he made his way over to me, I took one more shot of liquid courage .