Blackmailed.

Exhausted.

Cleo's POV.

I jiggled the keys in my run down apartment door again. God damn it. When I first rented this place I knew it had problems but a bitch was broke. I hated having to fight my way into the busted lock on my door every single day. My landlord was a piece of shit. My boyfriend lived with me even though we borderline hated each other and were more or less roommates. I mean his ass wouldn't even get up to open the door for me. I think my work life was actually more relaxing than my home life at this point.

"Hey," Jeremy, my somewhat boyfriend, greeted me with a head nod. He had his legs propped up on my grandmother's antique table that I asked him not to put his legs on every. single. day. and he was drinking beer, watching football. God I was sick of him.

I picked his legs up and dropped them on the floor promptly,

"Oh hey, have half the rent money yet?"

He rolled his eyes and pulled cash out of his wallet,

"Here Cleo, that's all I'm good for anymore, huh?"

Well technically, yes. But I wasn't about to tell him that. If I could afford this shitty apartment without him I would have kicked him out a long time ago.

I grabbed the cash and headed for the bathroom to shower and get into my t shirt to sleep in. Being Miranda's slave then Jeremy's bitch everyday was rather exhausting work.

I walked out of the shower still in my towel and Jeremy whistled, it literally made me nauseous. The thought of having sex with him again made me want to rip my clit off. I dissociated every single time I did it.

"Yo, are we ever gonna fuck again? You've been holding out on me!" He grabbed at the waistband of his shorts and rearranged his junk. I rolled my eyes,

"I'm tired tonight!"

I shut the bedroom door and pulled my laptop out to FaceTime my brother.

He answered on the first ring,

"What's good?"

He was high as fuck, I could tell by his eyes. My brother was a kid genius. He had a full ride scholarship for computer science and went to a prestigious university, but damn he loved weed. I giggled at his eye color,

"I see you're relaxed, huh?"

He cracked a smile and nodded.

I updated him on my life and how I felt like I needed to find a way to make myself known in journalism. He nodded slowly,

"You know that Billie girl? The singer?"

"Billie Eilish?" Of course I knew her. Everyone knew her now. Her voice was gorgeous. Her style was unique, she's this year's "it" girl.

"Well.....my friend went to a party with a girl she used to be in the L.A. chorus with and he said she's gay but doesn't want to come out."

"What about it?"

"Well maybe if you had proof of that....I mean that would be a big ass story."

He wasn't wrong.