Prologue
I left Court two years ago today. The sad thing is how it happened to be. The worse part is my remembering the damn day. I might as well outlined the date on a calendar in red sharpie and put gold stars all around it. Then again, I didn't need a neon sign to remind me of my past.
My best friend hated me and told me to leave after I was told by my former boyfriend that, "love fades, mine has". Let's just say, it threw my life into a mixer and spit it back out really screwed up. After Dimitri told me that he didn't love me, I ran off to my best friend Lissa's house to vent. I was instantly yelled at for talking to him after she told me not to and other things that she'd kept bottled up after he turned from Strigoi to dhampir. In the end, she told me to leave her alone. So I left Court never to return.
I hitched a ride to L.A. to start a new life on my own. I don't know why I ran cross country to California but when I arrived, I ran into the Burlesque Lounge. I met my new boyfriend, Cam, who was the head bartender there and he got me the job as a waitress. I caught the eye of the Club's owner, Tess, and she gave me a spot on the stage dancing in skimpy outfits, doing rather risqué dance moves, and dancing to older songs that matched the moves and drew the crowd. I sang one day when I thought I was alone and when Tess heard, she made the show around me. Cam wrote new songs and the band learned the music while I learned the lyrics. Soon, I was the head spotlight occupant and everything was going fantastic.
Cam, my boyfriend, met me at the lounge. He had shaggy blonde hair and deep hazel eyes. His skin, like most people in California, was tan but not rough like mine was from training. He was in shape and looked pretty damn hot when I first caught sight of him. He was from Kentucky and moved to L.A. to pursue a career in writing music. That's how he ended up here. Tess needed someone to write sheet music for the band so she hired Cam on the spot.
The other dancers love me and I love them like sisters. Sean, the head guy backstage, is like a dad/brother to all of us. Tess is our mother and the bar boys are the big brothers to us. Together, we were inseparable. Every night after a show, we went out to eat and get drinks. Sometimes after rehearsal, we went out shopping or to a movie. Georgia and Coco are my best friends at the club. I stayed with them up until Cam asked me to move in about a year ago. Everything was perfect.
As a family, we look out for each other. The boys always watch the crowd to make sure that no one tries to harass us girls, and we watch and scare off the cheap hookers and skanks that try to hit on the boys. Georgia took a karate class when she got the job here three years ago and with my dhampir training, we can kick anyone's ass that gives us or anyone hell. We didn't have to use our powers too often. Only when a guy from the crowd stays after the show and tries to grab one of the girls do we ever have to lay the smack down.
No one here knows about my past as a dhampir. They don't even know that I am one. When I came here, I told Georgia, Coco, and Cam that I left Pennsylvania because my boyfriend and best friend abandoned me and there was nothing left for me there. They took it well minus the fact that Cam got pissed that someone, especially a guy that supposedly loved me, would abandon me. Georgia and Coco promised to stick with me, and Cam swore up and down that he would never make the same mistake that Dimitri did. For them, I am truly grateful.
So tonight, I remember everything that happened that led up to where I am today. I let myself remember my old best friend and how we were like twins. I remember all the stupid things we did at the academy, at Court, and when we ran off for two years in high school. I let myself remember the Russian god that I fell in love with. While remembering, I take a shot of Russian vodka, something that I have grown used to over the years, and start putting on my make-up for the show in twenty minutes.
The paragraphs are a little lengthy, but i hoped that you enjoyed it :) -SagWarrior