Chapter 1

The freezing wind pushed through the cracks in the window frame.

Adelynn pulled the pilled grey blanket tighter around her shoulders. Her fingers flew across the chipped keys of her laptop. The plastic keys clacked in the quiet room. She needed to finish this article. She needed the money.

A red notification popped up on the bottom right of her screen. Bank account balance: insufficient. Twelve dollars.

She closed her eyes. Her stomach cramped, a sharp twist of muscles that made her breath hitch.

A loud bang vibrated through the floorboards.

Stan, her landlord, was hitting the ceiling from the apartment below. His muffled shouts about the overdue rent crawled up the walls. Adelynn felt her heart slam against her ribs. She hit the mute button on her keyboard. She stopped breathing. She sat completely still in the freezing room, waiting for the shouting to stop.

Her phone lit up on the desk. Kindra.

Adelynn pressed the ignore button.

Three seconds later, someone pounded on her apartment door. The cheap wood rattled in its frame. Dust fell from the top hinge.

Adelynn grabbed the box cutter from her desk. She pushed her bare feet against the icy floor and moved toward the door. She pressed her eye to the peephole.

Kindra stood in the hallway. She wore a sequined slip dress and stomped her feet against the cold tiles.

Adelynn dropped her shoulders. She put the box cutter on the counter and unlocked the deadbolt.

Kindra pushed through the narrow opening before the door was fully open. The smell of cheap vanilla perfume filled the small space.

Kindra grabbed the grey blanket and ripped it off Adelynn.

"It feels like a morgue in here."

Adelynn snatched the blanket back. She wrapped it around her waist and pointed at the open door.

"Go back to wherever you came from."

Kindra ignored her. She walked straight to the desk and pressed the power button on the monitor. The screen went black.

"If you didn't save that, I will actually kill you." Adelynn rubbed her thumb hard over her knuckles.

Kindra shrugged. "It's New Year's Eve. You are not dying in this moldy apartment tonight."

"New Year's Eve is a scam invented by corporations to make poor people spend money they don't have."

"You look worse than the homeless guy on the corner, Adelynn. Your skin is grey."

Adelynn turned around and reached for the laptop. "I have to work."

Kindra grabbed her wrist. Her grip was tight. Adelynn winced. Her bones felt sharp under her skin from not eating enough.

"My new boyfriend is paying for everything tonight. Free drinks. Free food."

Adelynn stopped moving. The muscles in her stomach twisted again. Free food.

Kindra saw the hesitation. She pulled a tube of lipstick from her purse and shoved it toward Adelynn's face.

Adelynn jerked her head back. The red lipstick smeared across her cheek.

"Stop it." Adelynn pushed Kindra's shoulder.

They shoved each other in the tight space between the bed and the desk. Adelynn's hip hit the corner of the table. A violent spasm ripped through her empty stomach. She bent over and grabbed her waist.

Kindra dropped her hands. Her eyes widened.

Adelynn took a slow breath. She stood up straight and wiped the red smear off her cheek with the back of her hand.

"If the food is bad, I will shove your head in a toilet."

Kindra squealed. She turned and ran to Adelynn's tiny closet. She started throwing clothes onto the floor.

Adelynn looked at the mess. She looked at her black monitor. She let out a long breath.