BROKEN TRUST CHAPTER ONE
pRE-oRDER hERE Chapter 1EloraAfter a long day limping around campus, the last thing Elora Ashley wanted was to go home to roommate drama, but as she walked up the stairs to her apartment, the sounds of shouting ripped through the walls. By the time she reached the door, glass shattered behind it.
Elora took out her phone in case she needed to call the police, then opened the door to see Skye cowering across the room.
“Get out!” Skye screamed at the man looming over her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
It was Skye’s ex, Dawson, standing over her. One hand gripped his hair as if he was so stressed he could pull it out. The other was balled into a fist at his side as he threatened Skye.
“Just stop it and listen to me!” he shouted. “You always do this. You’re acting like a fucking child.”
“I’m not listening to you!” She put her hands over her ears and shook her head.
“Whoa!” Elora said, charging in to get between them. “You need to back the fuck off.” She held out her hand and kept the phone at the ready.
“She won’t listen to me, and she just started freaking out,” said Dawson, whose blue eyes suddenly looked much darker.
“I’m calling the cops,” Elora said. “You need to leave.”
But that didn’t deter him. “Fine, call them. I hope you do. That’s not going to help her any. But be my guest.”
“Don’t!” Skye jumped up from the floor. “Please, Elora, don’t call them. They’ll only make it worse.”
“They’ll take her ass in. Maybe that’s what she needs,” said Dawson. “Now, I want my shit back. You can’t just show up at my place and take shit that isn’t yours.”
“She did what?” asked Elora, wondering what Skye had taken.
Skye had been in recovery from drug addiction for two months, and ending her relationship with Dawson had been a big part of staying clean. The asshole had done his best to keep her hooked, and now, she was struggling again.
“Skye?” Elora hoped she would explain.
“Butt out!” said Skye, much to Elora’s surprise. “It’s not a big deal. I can handle him.” She started brushing herself off, but Elora noticed the way she rubbed her arms and scratched at them. It was the same way she had done it when she was using before.
“Yeah, it is a big deal,” said Dawson. “She broke into my fucking house earlier today. I got her ass on camera.”
“I didn’t break in. I still have a key.” Skye gave him a defiant look and her tone wasn’t any better.
He turned his attention to her and put his finger in her face as the other hand gripped her arm. “I want my fucking stash back now. I know you took it.” He gave her a shake.
“Your stash?” asked Elora, still trying to figure out what was going on. “What the hell, Skye? You’ve been clean for two months. You’re doing so well. You don’t need it. You don’t need him.”
She moved in closer and was about to intervene when Skye jerked away from Dawson’s grip.
Skye glared at her. “You don’t know what it’s like, Elora. So, spare me the lecture.” She turned back to Dawson. “I didn’t take your drugs. I only wanted my photos and my two vinyls back. I don’t even know where you keep it anymore.” She walked across the living room to the coffee table where she had placed the albums. “See? These are mine!”
“No, they’re mine,” he said. “I paid for them. You don’t get to just show up and take my shit. And you know it’s more than that. I have cameras everywhere, so don’t try that shit with me. I want it back!” He lunged for Skye again, pinning her against the wall.
“Hey!” Elora moved toward him, favoring the ankle she twisted weeks ago. “Just back off.”
Dawson pushed Elora out of the way, throwing her off balance. As she fell to the floor, she tried to catch herself, dropping her phone in the process.
Dawson grabbed hold of Skye’s hair and dragged her to her bedroom. Elora heard the first strike and knew that her friend was in trouble.
It left Elora no choice. She hurried for her phone and called the campus police. “I’m calling the cops,” she called out as she limped to the bedroom door, where she found Skye crying again.
Skye’s long blonde hair clung to her tear-stained face. “Take it!” she screamed, going for her bed. She unzipped the cover on her throw pillow and pulled out a bag of pills so big it made Elora’s eyes widen. “Here!” She shoved it at Dawson.
Elora ended the call. She didn’t want the cops coming with the amount of drugs Dawson was holding. It was enough to take all of them down, and she wasn’t going to ruin her life for Skye. Both she and Marlowe, their other roommate, had gone through hell trying to get Skye help in the past two years, and it was clear that all of their hard work and stress was for naught.
“Give me that!” Dawson snatched it from her hands. “There better not be one pill missing, you stupid bitch. Do you think this is some kind of fucking game? You’re going to get my ass in trouble. I have people who would come for me and not think twice about killing me over this shit. How many did you take?”
“I didn’t take any yet,” Skye said. “I just needed a couple. Please, Dawson. You can front me some. I’m good for them. We can work something out.” Skye put her hand through her messy hair and tried to force a smile in a flirty way as if she could still tempt him with the body he had already used up. “I could do that thing you like.”
Elora couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You’re pathetic,” Dawson said, stuffing his bag of pills down his pants. “I’m over your shit for good. You’re too much drama. It’s dangerous for me and anyone around you.”
“Whatever she is, you made her that way,” Elora said. “Just take your shit and leave.” There was no reason for the personal attacks.
But Dawson turned on her. “You shut your fucking mouth.” He pointed his finger in her face. “You never saw this.” He grabbed his crotch, where the drugs gave him a ridiculous bulge. “You feel me?”
“No thanks. Now go,” said Elora, showing him to the other room. “Please, just get out.” She was afraid that Skye might keep on until he lost it enough to hurt them both.
“Did you hear what I said?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he cornered her at the bedroom door.
Elora realized that he wanted an answer. “Yes, I didn’t see anything,” she said. “Now leave.”
“One word, and I’ll kill you both myself.”
Elora had never been threatened like that, and she didn’t like it. But she was not going to get into it deeper with Dawson Sonnier, who was the biggest dealer in town.
Dawson walked to the door, and Elora followed to lock it behind him. He pointed back at Skye. “You’re trouble. You stay out of my way and stay away from my fucking place. If I find you there again, next time I won’t be as nice to you.”
He opened the door to leave and ran right into Marlowe, who stumbled back as he exited the door.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked with a gruff tone.
Dawson glared at her. “Fuck off, Marlowe. Keep your bestie under control, or I will.” He stormed past her and left without looking back.
Marlowe walked in and slammed the door. “What the hell was he doing here?”
She looked at Skye for answers, but Skye was too busy crying. So, she looked at Elora. “What the hell just happened?” Marlowe’s brown eyes narrowed. “Will one of you tell me?”
“He came to get his drugs,” Elora said. “Skye broke into his house.”
“I didn’t break in. I have a key.” She wiped her eyes and straightened her hair.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re not welcome, and you know it.” Elora didn’t know what Skye was thinking pulling a stunt like that, but it was clear, the worst wasn’t behind her yet.
“He had my stuff. I just wanted my stuff.” She walked over and showed Marlowe the albums and photos. “They’re mine. I wanted them.”
Elora glared at her. “And?”
“What a dick,” said Marlowe, as if she wasn’t even paying attention. “He came all the way over here and made a big deal out of that? What a loser. He probably just wanted to see you. You cannot get back with him. No way, no how.”
“You know he’s obsessed with me,” said Skye, shrugging it off. “Anyway, I’m glad he’s gone. I hope I never see him again.”
Elora wasn’t going to let it go. “You know that’s not what happened. Tell her or I will.”
Marlowe glared at Elora. “What the hell are you talking about?” She turned her attention back to Skye. “Did he put his hands on you?” She looked at her arms where she had been scratching.
Skye pulled her arms away. “Don’t freak out. It’s done. He’s gone. Let’s just order some pizza before you go to work.” Skye seemed to want to bury the whole thing with pepperoni and smiles, but Elora couldn’t let that go.
“Skye, I’m serious,” she said. “Tell her about the drugs.”
“You’re a bitch, Elora,” Skye snapped, and her lip turned up in a snarl.
Elora couldn’t believe her nerve. “You had your ex, the dealer, come here and push us both around because you stole his stash of pills, and I’m the bitch? I don’t think so. I’m not putting up with this again. You have a problem.”
“He put his hands on you?” asked Marlowe, whose mouth dropped open with outrage. “You should have told me. I would have put him in his place.” Marlowe looked at the door as if contemplating if she could catch him.
“You would have only made things worse,” said Skye, giving her a pleading look. “So, don’t. Let’s just drop it. Please?”
“She was asking him for pills. She stole his stash, and when he came to get it, she begged him to front her some.” Elora wanted it all out in the open. She was done with Skye’s lies and she wasn’t letting her divide them again with her problems. She had nearly torn their friendship apart.
“Have you been taking pills again?” Marlowe looked at her with disappointment in her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid. You’ve been doing so good, Skye. You know you’re just about over the hump.”
Skye slumped her shoulders like she wanted to disappear. “I haven’t done anything.”
“Then why did you go to the house and take his stash?” Marlowe gave her a sideward look. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I just wanted to. I felt like I needed it.” She tried to play it down, but that was what she always did when she messed up. Elora could see her old pattern coming back. The old Skye would lie, cheat, and steal for drugs. She didn’t care who she hurt along the way to getting what she wanted. And since she was only two months removed from that mindset, Elora still remembered what it was like.
“It’s just hard,” said Skye with her hands on her head. “I’ve had a rough day, okay?” She scrubbed her eyes and began to sob again.
“We all have,” said Elora, sick of the girl’s pity party. “I’ve been hobbling to class daily with this stupid ankle injury, and Marlowe is working two jobs and going to school. Things are tough for everyone. But you have responsibilities, or we’ll all end up on the street.”
“Well, then you’re not going to like what I have to tell you next,” Skye said. “My parents told me if I fucked up again, they were going to cut me off.”
“But you’ve been doing so good, Skye. They just said how proud they were of you.” Marlowe sighed. Elora could see the disappointment in her eyes but also the love. The two were just closer.
“That’s before.” Skye closed her eyes and raked her fingers through her stringy blonde hair.
“Before what?” asked Elora, wondering what she had done.
“Before they got the credit card bill.”
“Your credit card bill?” Marlowe narrowed her eyes. “Why would they care? They pay it every month, and you don’t go over your limit.”
“My parents pay it off every month, yes. It’s like an allowance that my father set up for me. I spend what I need, and he pays the bills. I’m not supposed to go nuts with it. Not like I used to.”
“You haven’t exactly been spending crazy money,” said Marlowe. “I don’t notice any new clothes. No new bags or makeup. So what is he upset about?”
It didn’t make sense, and that made Elora wonder what she had spent the money on.
“I didn’t spend the money. I let someone else use it,” she said.
“What?” Elora looked at Marlowe and sighed. She didn’t know what else to say.
Marlowe sat down. “Who did you let use it?”
“I gave it to Theo.”
“Theo? As in Theo Larson, our old pot dealer?” Marlowe looked outraged. “What?”
“Yes, okay. I traded the use of the card for some pot. He said he wasn’t going to run it up, and I gave him a limit. He said he needed groceries, and I didn’t think they’d notice or care. But he went on an online spending spree with his new girlfriend.”
“Can’t you just say it was stolen?” Marlowe shrugged like that was the easier thing to do.
“I tried. But that wasn’t the worst part. Since I broke their trust, he made me take a drug test. He knows I’m not clean because I smoked one little joint with Theo. He’s said I’m cut off. I’m on my own.”
“What about the rent?” asked Elora, knowing that it was probably more than one joint she had smoked, seeing the way she had begged Dawson for pills. “What are you going to do about that? You should be getting another job, not getting high.”
“I’ll get my part. I will.” Skye seemed sure about it. But her part-time job at the movie theater didn’t pay enough to cover her part of the bills.
“How?” Elora asked. She had heard all of the excuses before. The only reason she hadn’t kicked Skye to the curb and found someone who could pay her part was because of Marlowe. They had been besties for years, and they always teamed up together and had each other’s backs.
“Well, I can’t pay extra,” said Elora. “I spent all of my extra money on medical bills and medicine that makes me sick when I take it.” She never realized that narcotic pain meds could make her feel so miserable. Now, she was stuck taking over-the-counter pills that were only half as effective.
Marlowe gave her friend a helpless look. “And I’m already working two jobs, Skye. I guess I could pull another shift on the days I don’t have class.” Marlowe was always trying to figure out a way to help her friend. In Elora’s opinion, she would be much better off if she let Skye go.
Elora shook her head. “You can’t keep doing that. You could ask Jim if I could come back.”
“You know he’s not going to take you back. You stole from him, Skye. It almost cost me my job. I’m sorry, I can’t ask him.”
Elora shook her head. “So you work your ass off to cover her this time, and what happens next month? She has to learn. Maybe she should move home.”
“No, that’s not an option,” said Marlowe. “We worry about that when the time comes. You sound like our parents, for shit’s sake. It’s Skye we’re talking about.”
“It’s always Skye.” Elora was sick of the same problems.
“I have some money,” said Skye, giving Elora a scathing look. “I took out some cash before my parents shut off the card.”
“Great. How much?” asked Marlowe.
“Forty-five dollars,” she mumbled.
“Forty-five? That’s it?” asked Elora. “That’s not going to help with groceries.”
“Why didn’t you take more?” asked Marlowe. “You should have grabbed enough for rent, at least.”
“The card was at its limit, I guess. It’s all I could get.”
“Jesus,” said Elora. “You were doing so good. Now what?”
“Lay off of me,” said Skye. “You know what, fuck this. I have to pee.” She turned and stormed away to the bathroom, leaving Marlowe and Elora annoyed.
“Just take it easy on her, would you?” Marlowe didn’t like anyone fussing at Skye. “She’s going through something you can’t understand.”
Elora didn’t want to make excuses. “I think you’re too easy on her. I can’t pay her way, Marlowe. I’m dealing with a lot, and this doesn’t make it better. I don’t have a family to fall back on if I fail.”
“You have a grandmother who would give you anything.”
“And I can’t depend on her forever. She’s not well. It’s time Skye grows up like we all have to.”
All of a sudden, something crashed in the bathroom.
Marlowe’s eyes widened. “What now?” She ran to the bathroom door with Elora behind her.
The door was locked, and Marlowe began beating on it. But when Skye didn’t respond, Elora went to the kitchen for a butter knife that she had used before.
“Get out of the way,” Elora told her. “I’ve got this.”
“That’s not going to work!” Marlowe banged on the door again.
“It will. Now back up.” Elora put the knife in a little slit on the doorknob and turned it like a screwdriver. “There,” she said as the doorknob turned. “Done.”
She threw the door open and found Skye standing at the bathroom window, which was open. Skye stood on the side of the tub looking out. She had knocked over a small plant that Elora put on the windowsill. And she hadn’t bothered to try and clean it up.
“Don’t come in,” said Skye. “I don’t want to talk to you!”
“It’s me,” said Marlowe. “You know you can talk to us.”
“I don’t care. I just want to be left alone. My life is over.” Skye broke after that, crying so hard she had tears and snot rolling down her face.
“Your life isn’t over.” Marlowe walked over to get some toilet paper for her to wipe her nose.
“It is. Everything is messed up. I messed up. Again.”
“What are you doing with the window open?” asked Elora.
“Nothing. What does it fucking matter? Can’t I get some air?” She put something down at her side.
“Do you have drugs in here?” asked Elora. “Were you going to smoke something?” She didn’t want drugs, even pot, in her house. They weren’t allowed in their apartment and still illegal where they lived.
“No, I’m not smoking anything.” She shoved her hand in her pocket.
“Were you going to leave through the window?” Elora asked, making a point. Whatever she was hiding, she wasn’t going to tell.
“From the second floor? No, I’d kill myself. Although that might not be such a bad idea.” She wiped her nose.
“Don’t say that,” said Marlowe. “Don’t ever say that. You’re my best friend, and I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You would be better off. Elora knows it, too. She knows that I hold you back with my drama. And now I’ve messed up again. I just keep messing up. It’s never going to get any better.”
“That’s not the answer,” said Elora. “We’ll figure out the whole rent issue. The important part is that you stay clean. No more drugs. Pot or otherwise.” She had a feeling that she had used more than just weed. “It’s not too late to get back on track.”
She wanted to give her hope, but she also knew that Skye had to want to be clean.
Marlowe looked at Elora. “Can you give us a minute? I have to get to my shift at the club, and I want to talk to her before I leave.”
“Sure,” said Elora. She left and went to wait in the living room, where she cleaned up the broken lamp that must have gotten knocked off the counter in the struggle with Dawson.
The lamp was one she had bought herself, and it wasn’t cheap. But losing material things had become the norm with Skye around, and Elora had really hoped that they had gotten over that hump two months prior. But apparently not.
Elora had considered getting her own place many times before, but with rent up across Bellwick, especially in the university area, she wasn’t sure that was her best option. She liked her apartment and was settled in to finish college living there. She didn’t want to lose what she had worked hard for just because of someone else.
Elora wanted to heal and get through her third year without issue. But things were looking grim where her roommates were concerned.
Marlowe and Skye came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, and Elora walked over to check on them. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Skye didn’t say a word. Instead, she walked like a zombie to her bedroom and shut the door.
“She’s fine,” said Marlowe. “But you really need to keep an eye on her. She’s really down, and I don’t know if she’s going to get through the night without some support.”
“I’m sure if she goes to sleep, she’ll be fine. I’ll stay up with her until she does. We’ll watch some videos and play a game or something.”
“Just keep her mind off of it. I’m going to work. I know I get off late, but I’ll try and hurry home. Maybe Jim won’t make me stick around and clean up.”
“If he pays extra, you may need to.” Elora knew things were going to be tight.
“He doesn’t pay extra, and it’s going to be okay. I have some money saved. I’ll swing her rent. So, don’t worry about it.”
Elora sighed. “Okay, thanks. I’m really running low as it is. It’s just a bad time all around. That late class is really kicking my ass.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Working late isn’t always fun, either. I feel like I work so much that I don’t have time for my friends. But it is what it is.”
Elora hugged her. “Let’s just stay strong.”
“Yeah, we have no choice. Well, I should get going.” Marlowe grabbed her bag and headed out.
Elora walked to Skye’s door and knocked. “Do you want me to order that pizza?” Elora figured Skye was as hungry as she was.
“Sure,” she heard a quiet voice say from behind the door. “Can you get some breadsticks too?”
“Absolutely. I’ll call them.” She went to the kitchen and found the latest coupon on the fridge. With any luck, the drama was over, and the two could settle in for a restful night.
