The Fight Club Read Free Page B

They will tease me every day. I can't go back there."
    The breathlessness increased. I lay down on the ground, trying to take deep breaths.
    Am I dying?
    I wasn’t. But if I went back to the club, I would, for sure. I have to quit the club. There’s no way I'm going back there.
    I pulled my phone and typed a message to the club manager, telling her of my resignation. I hit send without giving it another thought. That wasn't an option anymore.
    I needed to speak with someone about all this, but there wasn't anyone in the world whom I could speak to about this. I had only one relative in the whole world, and that was my mother. But I couldn't tell this to her. She was in a cancer care center, and telling her about my broken life would worsen her health. She would die if she heard that I left Eddie and just quit my job.
    Wait. I have to pay for her treatment. My mother's insurance was no good, and couldn't pay completely for her bills. Even getting them to pay half of her monthly treatment cost turned out to be a pain in the ass. I paid for the other half of her treatment through my health club salary.
    Speaking of which I don't have any more.
    Another knot formed in my stomach. How was I going to pay for the medical bills? If I don't pay them even for a month, they will throw her out into a public care hospital. How am I going to save you, Mom? I could have called my boss and got my job back. But I wasn't going to.
    A fresh round of tears came out of my eyes. Everything was happening because of my stupidity. What was I thinking?  No one quits a well paying job when their mother is in expensive cancer care center.
    God, please save me from this mess. But God wasn't listening to my cries, if he would have, he wouldn't have turned Eddie gay.
    So where did I stand? My boyfriend was gay, my mother was in the hospital, and I just quit my job. I didn't know how could I be pay next month's bill for my mother's treatment.
    How could it get any worse?

Chapter 4
     
    Julie
     
    I had a thirteen-hundred-dollar ring in my pocket. I pulled it out and wondered how foolish I was. What had this all resulted in? I was jobless, scared for my mother, and I wanted to get away from this agony, eliminate this pain in my heart. But to do that, I needed a good paying job, and sitting in Central Park wasn't helping me.
    "I need to call someone." I flipped through my contacts. When I worked in the health club, I met dozens of people who offered me a job. Now was a good time to accept their offer. I called few of them, but none had a vacancy for a massage therapist.
    What the heck? I can't even get a job.
    "I can't give up now. I have to pay for Mom's treatment." So I dialed my next contact, John, who was working at the NY Health Club.
    "Hey! Wassup. I'm surprised that you called,” John answered.
    "John, I'm in need of job. Do you have a vacancy at the health club? It's quite urgent, actually. " I was so desperate that I directly got to the point.
    "What happened with your current job, sweetheart?"
    "I quit it. I’ll tell you the reason some other day." I didn't want to talk about Eddie right now.
    "Well, I don't have any opening in my club as of now." He paused for a moment. "But, there is one place I think you can try. Do you remember Tom?"
    "Tom who?"
    "Tom Ross. The Hollywood actor."
    "Yeah. I remember him now." Images of a handsome man floated in my mind.
    "Do you also remember he offered you a personal trainer job in L.A.?" John asked.
    "Yes. I remember that, too." It was a funny story, and we laughed at it afterwards.
    "Why don't you try calling him?" he asked.
    "No, I can't. He’s in L.A., John, and I'm looking for something in New York." L.A. was a like a faraway, fairy tale place for me.
    "But isn't your mother nearer to L.A.?" he asked.
    "Thanks, John. I need to call a few more people for a job in New York." I cut the call, because I didn't want to talk about subjects which would lead to my current situation.
    ***
    Half an hour later I