Page 26 of Bound By Threads
My silence is all I had to survive.
Archer saved me. It was like a superhero swooping in to fix everything. He became my person, there when I needed someone to talk to when I was ready to give up, and the memories surfaced. He would sleep on the floor of my room, letting me clutch his hand in a grip that I’m sure cut off his blood supply, and whispered into the darkness that he was there and I was safe.
I never imagined that I would fall in love with him, but I know I can’t have him. The idea of ruining the family who have taken me in like I’m one of them is enough to drive me to the edge, and I can’t.
After I moved in with his parents, things changed.
I had a place to stay with food and people who wanted what was best for me—a safe space.
I enrolled at the college they owned and started studying Marine Biology, something I’d always been passionate about, as I sat by the water at the beach watching the waves. But I couldn’t be the girl who didn’t talk anymore.
The girl whose voice was stolen.
I needed to build my confidence, to feel in control of something in my life, and to reclaim something that was stolen from me when I was sixteen. That’s when I started working as a stripper.
I know it sounds crazy,but I’m doing it because I want to reclaim my body, my autonomy.
I needed to know I could take control of my life in ways I had never been able to before. Nobody knows what I do—well, apart from Oscar, Archer’s best friend. Oscar is deaf and works as a security guard for the girls who dance.
I trust him completely, and he understands me in a way no one else can. I may or may not have threatened him with blackmail, I have on him to ensure his silence.
Alongside dancing, I’ve started taking self-defense classes. It’s not just about the pole, the strength, or the fitness; it’s about empowerment. The way I can walk into a room, have every eye on me, and know that they’re not allowed to touch. I’m the one in control now, not anyone else. I refuse to be the girl who gets walked on anymore. I wasn’t going to be the girl who was beaten down anymore.
I also have Zara and Angel. Zara is a college friend who was there for me when Archer first went on deployment. I was lost without him. She’s got a quiet kind of darkness in her eyes, the kind that says she understands without needing words. We don’t talk about our pasts. We don’t need to. We just get each other.
Angel practically forced her friendship on me when I first started working at the strip club. She saw the nervous girl fumbling through her first night and didn’t let me quit. Instead, she took me under her wing, showing me the ropes and sticking by me as I learned the hard way. Over the last year, we’ve had each other’s backs—laughing off the bizarre, chaotic things that come with this world. And when her ex left her bleeding on the floor, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I was there, cleaning up the mess he made, just like she’d been there for me.
That’s what we do for each other—no questions asked.
Chapter15
Oscar
Iwatch Lottie move into the club as the door swings open. She’s like a storm — quiet but powerful, with a draw that makes my heart pause for a beat. She’s magnetic, an energy that’s drawn me in from the first moment I met her, even though she doesn’t know it.
I’m leaning against the podium at the entrance, pretending to sort through the crew’s rota for tonight, waiting for her to see me. When she does, she graces me with a soft smile, the one that is reserved for just me, like we share some unspoken bond that not even Archer gets.
No, this ismineand mine only.
She moves towards me, stretching her arms overhead, her body fluid, like she’s already in the zone for tonight. She catches me staring at her, winking as she drops her arms and stops in front of me.
Lottie grins at me, rolling her eyes as I open my arms for a hug. She steps into them willingly, and I draw her into my chest, loving the feel of her there.
“Got the place on lockdown already?”she signs as she steps back.
I smile back and nod.“Always. You know I take your safety seriously.”
She laughs, her hands moving fast as she signs,“I’m just here for a warm-up. Maybe a little dance. Nothing too crazy.”
I roll my eyes, pretending to be skeptical.“Sure,”I gesture back, raising one eyebrow.“You’re the one who always says you’re not going to do something crazy and then blows everyone away and gives me a heart attack.”
She laughs again, her shoulders shaking slightly.“I can’t help it. Sometimes, the music just takes over.”
“Well, you got this either way. I’ll be watching.”I wink at her as she shakes her head at me, then turns and makes her way to the empty stage.
I watchher as she climbs onto the stage, every movement graceful and deliberate. There’s something hypnotising about the way she moves, and the world around me fades away when she’s in her element, and I get to witness it.
Even in this dark, neon-lit club, she’s a beacon of light that is impossible not to be drawn to.
