Page 54 (1/2)

Prologue

My mother was a whore

Her name was Leah Isabelle Anderson—“Leah Belle” for short, and she was one of New Jersey’s ht after escorts

With deep green eyes that could take any man’s breath away, and skin so porcelain and smooth that it looked too perfect to touch, she was breathtakingly beautiful Often compared to a supermodel, her raven black hair fell past her shoulders, and her naturally long eyelashes were always coifed to perfection

Growing up, I had no idea what she did with the men who picked her up in their shiny and expensive cars—the men ore thousand dollar suits and pattedspecial”

In a way, these strangers beca I had to a faulars, Christian and Williaht e a tire, and her ner clothes once a month

Leah Belle—she never ever let me call her “mom,” wasn’t exactly a mother to me; she was more like an older friend An older ‘I’ll-be-there-when-it’s-convenient’ friend

She missed every ele corades At first, the involuntary loneliness bothered me, but after I created an army of invisible friends and easily accessible fantasies, I calect and happily accepted any attention she illing to give me

When I beca aroundthat she would make sure that “from here on out, [we’d] be best friends” Since she’d run away fro me at sixteen, she made a point to never lecture or discipline me She did however, teach me three very important lessons:

1) “Always put tons of effort into the way you look You need to be beautiful on the outside, no matter how fucked up you are on the inside If you ever feel sad or depressed, suck that shit up and add more mascara”

2) “Don’tout of someone or use them for a specific purpose, kick that person out of your life ASAP”

3) “Beauty wins over brains every time Your body will always be your most important asset Remember that”

For my fourteenth birthday, she poured , “Welcome to life, Em!”

I shook my head at the coke—I’d read about the effects, but I happily took the red shot glass from her hand

“To the best fuckin’ daughter in the world!” She lifted her glass in the air, waiting for me to do the same, and then she ordered me to toss it back