Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) by V. F. Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

annoyed as she raised an eyebrow and winced while covering her nose from the smell. The room wasn’t cleaned up for some reason, and I wasn’t sure what kind of services this Nathaniel guy offered, but if my experience was anything to go by, it sucked big time.
    “ I want to take a shower, and can someone be sent in to clean up my room?” Feeling like shit already, I wanted at least to have nice smelling environment.
    “ You’ll have to do it yourself.” She must be fucking kidding me!
    I was hardly staying here out of charity, so for the service they could damn well clean the whole mess. I had no idea—was it a service or a one-time thing? But since he had all those people working for him, it must mean he had done it before, right?
    This whole rehabilitation center seemed like such shit. I never went outside the room—or made it off the bed, for that matter—but sometimes at night I heard horses neighing or owls hooting.
    “ Why? You must have people who clean here.” Her expression gave nothing away, but she licked her lips, which were covered in red lipstick.
    “ We do. But Mr. Jackson told us you had to do it on your own.” Her voice was distant.
    “ Like everything else, apparently.” This guy was a serious pain in the ass, and this woman seemed too cocky for her own good. The only reason she probably had the position was that she was most likely screwing the damned boss.
    I was trash for taking drugs, but it was okay for him to fuck his employee?
    Those double-standard fuckers. Sometimes I wished I was into girls.
    I kid you not.
    “ Fine,” I replied, moved to the shower and noticed there were things I liked to use, like chamomile soap and various products for my face. Even some makeup. And I knew for a fact it wasn’t there in the very beginning.
    I’d had to pee during the past month, so it wasn’t like I’d never been to the bathroom before.
    “ What’s this?” She came closer and looked in the direction I was pointing.
    “ Your friends left it here.” My heart stopped for a second.
    “ My friends?” Didn’t Nathaniel say I wasn’t allowed to meet anyone?
    “ Yeah, the rest of your band. The redhead and the weird one. They came while you slept and left those and some clothes in the closet for you.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat because I knew what that gesture meant.
    They hadn’t given up on me; they’d come here.
    Well, not Sam. I knew she would never forgive me. But I took some comfort in knowing there were people on my side.
    Even if I didn’t deserve it.
    “ For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your brother.” That stopped my movements, and I looked at her while she tried to ignore me. Why was she being kind? She’d been a total bitch just a minute ago, and to say I was confused was an understatement.
    “ Thanks.” The moment was awkward for me, but it was something I had to do.
    I took off my clothes, and since I wasn’t able to lock the door because she had to be able to enter at any time, I didn’t feel exactly modest. I looked in the mirror and winced.
    I was a sorry version of myself and couldn’t handle it, but I had to see it. I studied the changes my body had undergone. I didn’t even recognize myself. My fingers softly touched the tattoo above my heart, which had mine and Nick’s initials entwined together in a Celtic knot. I covered it with my hand and for a second, closed my eyes. It looked like some bright spot on my body now and didn’t fit with the rest of me.
    The consequences of my decisions, the ones I had made and still didn’t regret. . . I think I had reached an extraordinary level of fuck-up.
    I put my filthy clothes in the basket near the bath and turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up.
    Finally, I was able to go inside, groaning when the hot water touched my body. I had forgotten how much I loved it. In all those months, I’d rarely taken a shower, and when I did, it was fast, something I wanted to be done with. I