Book of Souls & Siren Call: Two Prof Croft Prequel Novellas by Brad Magnarella

Author:Brad Magnarella [Magnarella, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Croftverse Press
Published: 2023-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

7

“Escape what?” I asked.

“This is going to sound stupid,” she said with a sigh. “I used to dance ballet. My mother trained me, and my father was my manager. They’d both grown up in the ballet world. That’s how they met. They started young with me. It was all ballet, all the time. My earliest memories were of doing straddle splits in our home studio. I competed, I won. But it was never enough for them. By the time I was a senior in high school, I felt like I was in a prison of their making. I had to get the hell out of there. They wanted me to go to this prestigious dance academy, but I applied to NYU in secret. I wanted to study visual anthropology. And damned if I didn’t get in. I think Admissions liked my ballet background.” She snorted dryly.

“When I finally summoned the courage that summer to tell my parents, they freaked out. Predictably. I’d get no support from them, they told me. In fact, if I was going to be so thankless, I could leave right then. So I did. I can still remember sitting in my packed car, preparing to back out of the driveway. I came so close to chickening out, Everson. That’s when my father said, ‘Let’s see how long you last.’ There was this malice in his voice I’ll never forget. I backed down the driveway and drove through the night until I got here.”

“What happened with school?”

“At first, everything fell into place. The school let me get a dorm room early and enroll in summer term. When I explained my situation, they set me up with a work-study program that would pay most of my tuition. Between that and a waitressing job, I’d have enough. It was like I was meant to be there.”

“And then the Crash happened,” I said.

“Yep, and there went both sources of income.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“I thought about going home, but I kept hearing my father’s voice. ‘Let’s see how long you last.’ I couldn’t let him win. So I sold my car, dropped out of school, and looked for a place to stay. I told myself it would be temporary. When the economy recovered, I’d just re-enroll. All I knew was that I couldn’t go home. I wasn’t even willing to leave the city. I didn’t want to cede anything to my parents. They’d controlled me long enough.”

My fingers left her hair and began stroking her arm.

“I ended up in an apartment with Jade and another girl. It was pretty obvious what they did, but the rent was cheap, and they didn’t bring their work home. I’d made enough from the car sale that I could afford three months’ rent, plus living expenses. But when three months came and went, and I still hadn’t found any work, I talked to Jade. Strictly exotic dancing. No contact, though the clients could contact themselves all they wanted.” She made a face. “Once again, I told myself it would be temporary.

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