Chapter 2

Kindra held up a faded cotton t-shirt with two fingers. She wrinkled her nose.

Adelynn snatched the shirt from her hand.

"This cotton is a hundred times better than that glowing plastic dress you're wearing."

"If you wear this, the bouncers will think you're there to take out the trash."

Adelynn fell back onto her mattress. She closed her eyes.

"Good. I can sleep."

Kindra jumped onto the bed. She grabbed Adelynn's shoulders and shook her hard.

"Get up or I will smash your laptop."

Adelynn's eyes snapped open, and the look in them was no longer just angry, it was feral. She shot up into a sitting position. "Touch it," she whispered, her voice dangerously low, "and I will break both of your hands." Kindra froze, genuinely scared. She pulled her hands back slowly.

Kindra reached into a designer shopping bag on the floor. She pulled out a black velvet slip dress. The price tag still hung from the strap.

"I borrowed this for you. It will fix your terrible taste."

Adelynn looked at the numbers on the tag. Her stomach dropped. She pushed the dress away.

"I am not wearing that. It smells like rich people."

Kindra rolled her eyes. "Your weird hatred for anyone with money is going to ruin your life."

Adelynn felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. The word 'money' brought a flash of cold marble floors into her head. The Callahan estate. She rubbed her thumb over her knuckles, pressing hard enough to hurt.

"I am allergic to consumerism." Adelynn raised her voice to cover the shake in it.

Kindra didn't argue. She pulled the velvet dress over Adelynn's head.

Adelynn fought against the fabric. The material was tight. She let out a muffled curse as her head popped through the neck hole.

Kindra pushed her toward the water-stained mirror on the back of the door.

Adelynn looked at the glass. The black velvet hugged her ribs and hips. Her pale skin stood out against the dark fabric. The exhaustion in her posture was hidden by the expensive cut of the dress.

She hated it. She looked exactly like the girl she used to be. The girl forced to sit at long dining tables with people who despised her.

She reached behind her back to pull the zipper down.

Kindra grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them to her sides.

"If you take this off, you get no Wagyu beef. No champagne."

Wagyu beef. Adelynn's mouth watered. She stopped fighting. Her arms dropped to her sides.

Kindra kicked a pair of thin stilettos across the floor.

"Put them on."

Adelynn stared at the shoes. They looked like torture devices.

"I only wear Converse."

Kindra grabbed one of the heels and walked toward the window. She opened the glass.

"Fine. I'll throw them out."

Adelynn gritted her teeth. She grabbed the other shoe. She forced her feet into the tight leather.

She stood up. Her ankle wobbled. She grabbed the edge of the closet door to stop herself from falling.

Kindra grabbed her chin. She swiped a thick layer of mascara over Adelynn's lashes, covering the dark circles under her eyes.

Adelynn looked in the mirror again. A bitter smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.

Kindra checked her phone. "The Uber is downstairs."

Adelynn reached for her faded canvas tote bag. Kindra slapped her hand away.

Kindra shoved a tiny, hard clutch into Adelynn's hands. She grabbed Adelynn's arm and pulled her out of the apartment.