Chapter song: Adore You by Miley Cyrus

(Val's pov)

-9am-

With no choice, I fucked 3 guys last light. Well, 4 guys, including Ben.

I feel repulsive and hopeless, but I still need money. I get off my new bed. It's really soft and comfortable. At least I've got a roof over my head.

I should get to work. I put my black tank top and blue jean shorts on with my painful black heels on; then I step out into the morning air.

There's a gas station, so I use $10 of Justin's money to buy a blueberry muffin, an apple, and a bottle of water. I also get a few bandages and a bottle of Advil. My whole body is sore, and I have a busted lip along with the past bruises on my face.

After I pay, I make my way to the strip club.

"Val, what happened to you?"

Nicole's to first to notice me.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Is all I say, but Nicole probably knows. She's in the prostitution business also, and she's knows that girls might end up with bruises. But I don't think she knows about my situation.

Shamefully, I go to the back and change into a black top with gold bottoms. I pull my hair back and gulp down a couple of pain pills to aid with the pain.

This place isn't packed yet, so I take a seat and nibble on my muffin. I don't make eye contact with anyone, because I don't feel like dancing. I just want to rest, but there's no way I can make money while I'm sleeping.

"You're fucking with me, right?"

Someone lifts my chin for me to make contact with a pair of chocolatey caramel eyes. Justin.

"I'm not fucking with anything."

Effortlessly, I push him away and nibble on another piece of my muffin.

"Who the hell did this to you, Val?"

Justin questions, like it really matters to him. It's really not a big deal. I mean, I'm not gonna die.

"Nobody you should be concerned about."

I mutter imprecisely and sip from my water.

"I want to know why you're hurt."

He scoots in closer, his essence engulfing me entirely.

"I'm not hurt."

Shaking my head, I mutter softly. It's obviously a deception.

"Bullshit. Val, what the hell is going on?"

Justin pulls me closer, hands on my bare shoulders. I'm able to perfectly sniff the cologne and the marshmallow scent on him.

"I don't want to talk about it."

I shake my head and lower my eyes to the silver chain tucked under his expensive shirt. Obviously displeased, Justin sighs then pulls me out of the club.

"Val, tell me."

He slowly pushes me against the wall, his hands on my waist, holding me like I'm gonna float away.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can't you respect that?"

I start to get pissed. I hate acting like this, but I can't help it.

"Valerie, I don't like this."

Justin looks sincere and concerned. He shouldn't be.

"I swear I'll be fine, Justin."

I mumble and narrow my eyes again.

"I need to tell you something."

He moves closer to me, his hands still on my waist.

"What?"

I look back at him in curiosity.

"I know I haven't given you a good impression of myself. I may fuck a lot of girls then leave them, but ever since I met you, I don't wanna do that to you. I don't wanna fuck anyone else, be with anyone else but you. I make tons of mistakes, but I'm not perfect. Just give me a chance, Val. Let me in, and I promise I'll give you everything I can to make you happy. Give me a chance to prove myself right to you."

Justin's forehead is pressed against mine as he speaks in a sincere manner. I don't know how to respond.

I mean, I don't know what love is. I can't be in love with someone if I don't even know how to.

"...I'll try."

I press my lips together, wondering if I made the right choice. Justin kisses me and squeezes me in a hug.

"Thank you so much, baby. C'mon let's go."

He pulls me towards his car.

"Wait, I need my stuff."

I stop him by holding his arm.

"Fuck that. You don't need it"

Justin pulls me into his car and drives off.

"Where are we going?"

I ignore my seatbelt as he zooms down the street.

"I wanna take you on a date, but we need to get you something to wear."

He parks at a mall then leads me inside. Stumbling hopelessly, I try to keep up with him in these high heels.

"You like this place?"

Justin points to a Gucci store.

"You're kidding me."

Eyes wide, I stand frozen, but he tugs me inside. The whole place looks priceless.

"You ok, babe?"

He grins then pulls me to the clothing area.

"Justin, you don't hav-"

"I think you look sexy in pink, baby."

Justin pulls out an expensive-looking bright pink shirt.

"I don't want-"

"Or maybe black."

Obviously ignoring my declines, Justin holds up another shirt that's a silky black.

"I'd rather go someplace less expensive."

I bite my lip in excitement.

"When you're with me? Hell, no. You've gotta get used to money. Everything you want has to be worth a lot."

He pulls me close, speaking like I don't have choice.

"Uhm..."

I feel like I'm being spoiled.

"Baby, pick anything you want. I can buy it. It won't harm me a bit, I promise."

Tenderly, he kisses my hand then turns me to the rack of clothes. I take a breath then scan through the blouses, unfocused.

I end up picking out a sleeveless light gray blouse and a black mini skirt, which Justin prefers to be really short and skin-tight. When Justin pays, the price is a total of $1830!

"Shit."

My hand over my mouth in shock, I think out loud. Justin chuckles in amusement then walks me out.

"Next."

He leads me into a Dior store. Oh fuck, this is expensive.

"Anything you want. It's yours."

His humid breath on my neck, Justin whispers into my ear as I gaze at the shoes. I bite my lip to keep myself from screaming in anticipation. This is so nerve wracking.

Trying to acknowledge everything, I find a pair of black heels. They look pretty normal to me, but it turns out they are another $950!

"Calm down, babe. You still need a final touch."

Justin leads me into the jewelry section. Oh no. This is the worst, most expensive part.

"I'll pick this out for you."

He points to a bracelet and hands his credit card to the sales lady. The price is another fucking $18,000! Oh shit!

"Give me your hand, beautiful."

Justin takes the precious bracelet out of it's box and gingerly takes my hand. He snaps the bracelet on as I stand dumbfounded, eyes glued to the piece of valuable jewelry.

"Perfect."

He admires the whole outfit with a sincere beam.

"I know a good place for lunch."

Then Justin takes my hand, his hands warm, and leads me out. A few unfamiliar girls look at me with death glares, like I'm a total monster. Justin obviously fucked them before. I get back in his white Maserati before he drives off.

"You look amazing, babe."

Out of his true self, he smiles at me and I smile back, the exact same way.

"I hope you like Italian food."

Justin parks at a restaurant titled Terrell's. I've never heard of it before, but apparently it's expensive, at least that's what it appears to be. We enter the restaurant then are seated at a table by a nearby waitress. The lighting is dim and romantic, and the air is welcomely engulfing me with silence and serenity. There's an essence of homemade bread and rich tiramisu. Oh, I'm in love with this place already.

"Water?"

Justin hands me a menu.

"Yea."

Impressed, I nod and scan the menu: Spaghetti, lasagna, fettuccine, chicken Parmesan, everything.

Finally, I choose the cheese ravioli, and Justin orders the chicken Alfredo.

"So tell me about how you became a stripper. You're amazing at it."

With his eyes full of wonder, he sits as close to me as possible.

"It's a long stor-"

"I've got all day, babygirl."

Justin smiles generously at me. Weird.

"No, it's stupid."

Cheeks slightly burning, I smile at the table.

"Maybe I won't think so. Just tell me."

Eyes eccentrically innocent, he grabs my hand and holds it with patience. I bite my lip then decide to go with it.

"I was 16 when I dropped out of school. My life was just so boring, so I wanted to get on with it. My parents kicked me out, and I had to live in my car. I was homeless, so I got a job. No one wanted me, because I didn't have a finished education or go to college. That's when I became a stripper. I could barely make enough money to feed myself and buy a place to live, so I became a prostitute."

I feel stupid and dumb for the first time, because my past was so bright, and now it's so pointless.

"Well...You're not the only one who didn't go to college."

Justin smiles warmly. Is he trying to make me feel better? If you ask me I'd say he's succeeding.

"It would've been nice."

I shrug it off like it's irrelevant.

"Nah, you don't need it. You're pretty smart to me."

He grins and kisses my hand. If I recall correctly, he called me "pretty smart for a stripper" the other day. So now I'm smart.

"Thanks."

I smile back and...blush, noticeably this time. Justin chuckles, reaches over, and kisses my cheek.

(A/N: 💕💕💕I wanna say thank you to everyone for reading my stories. All the hard work really pays off. I love reading comments and knowing you like my writing, so thank you 💕💕💕 Next post is on Monday)

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