New York City;

She was woken up by the bright lights from the morning sun beaming into her studio apartment. Next to her was a man that she had met a while ago who was her boss. He was a photographer.

As he snored loudly, Jessica turned to her night table and lit a cigarette in bed. At first she hesitated to grab the bottle of pills, but surely enough she did. She popped two in her mouth and took it down with her glass of wine that was left out from her crazy night.

The man turns to her and takes a hit from her cigarette.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" He says

She rolls her eyes then huffs "yes, many times." She says with irritation

"I mean, that was a dumb question. You're a model an actress, I bet people tell you all day." He says

"If I was an actress, I'd have an acting job." She sighs

"But you're one of the most beautiful models. That's why I love photographing you."

The man, Mario, was one of Jessica's bosses. She knew this was probably something he said to all of the girls, but she didn't care. She promised herself to make no emotional ties with any man or woman.

"Mario, listen.... It was great... it's been great, but you should go." Jessica moans as she gets out of bed.

She throws on her silk nightgown and looks at the bed. There was Mario, gazing into her eyes.

"Why don't we go on a real date sometime?" He says as he puts on his clothes.

"Mario...." She begins

"Have you seen my boxers?" He says interrupting her

Jessica looks around then throws them at him.

As he talks and she ignores...then she gets a text from her phone. Panic sets in when she read that it was her parents and they arrived in New York City to surprise Jessica.

"I can get you more of those pills, if they help?"

"Mhm... they do. Wait one second." She says checking her phone

"Everything okay?" He asks

"No! You have to leave like right now! My parents are coming, have you seen my place? There are drugs and alcohol everywhere!" She says as she runs around her apartment trying to clean up

"Well last nights party was literally sex drugs and music." He laughs

"But here's the thing. My parents think I'm doing so well out here with a regular office job!" She panics

"They don't know that you model?" He says

"Or want to be an actress? No. They would be horrified. Especially my dad. They want me to be like the rest of my doctor and lawyer siblings." She says with anger

"So I'm guessing they don't know that you take pills and do drugs?" He says

"JUST GET OUT!" She shouts

//-//

Within the next hour Jessica threw away all of the trash and hid everything bad that she could. She wanted her studio to look as clean and neat as possible.

She took out her piercings and put on two gold hoops. She removed the dark eyeliner from her eyes and replaced it with a light amount of mascara and blush. Her parents were always strict. Even now as they pay her apartment bills, they expect more from her.

Yet, Jessica always got what she needed and more from her parents. They try to compensate by giving her this great life in New York City because they have never really understood Jessica.

During school Jessica was bullied and an outcast for not having the Minnesota mindset. She always knew that she wanted more for herself.

Jessica was always different from her siblings. She was the hot head, the rule breaker, the one who slept during Sunday mass.

Jessica always had a lot of demons to fight. That's what else made her different from her siblings. She struggled with her mental health all her life while her siblings have never experienced the feeling of having anxiety or being depressed.

Her mother always coddled her, Jessica was her "baby", but Jessica was never close with her mother or her father. She felt like the black sheep all her life.

While the rest of her family lived a big, happy, close life she ran away to New York to finally be herself.

The last thing she wanted her parents to know is that she dropped out of law school and was now a struggling model and actress who had a drug and alcohol problem.

Granted she was twenty three and not ready to get married and have kids like her siblings, she still had a lot she wanted to accomplish. She was just stuck at the moment.

Now that they were popping in to surprise her, though she likes to call it an ambush, she was worried that maybe her parents found something out. She was scared to death that they'd take everything from her if they found out what her real life was.

After an hour of cleaning Jessica got a buzz.

She pressed the button to let up her parents then waited until they knocked on her door.

Then, there was the knock. She swings the door open and smiles.

She put on a summer dress her mom bought her for Christmas and a cross that her dad gifted her when she was a baby.

"There's my girl!" Albert says as he goes in for a hug

"Hi dad!" Jessica smiles

"You're too thin, Jessie! I'm going to have to fatten you up this week!" Dorthy says giving her a hug

"A week?" She says

"Yeah! Your mom and I haven't seen you in so long. We thought a week was plenty of time for us to get the grand old tour of NYC!" Albert says as he walks in

"The place looks great, Jessie!" Dorothy says looking around

"Ahh, thanks mom."

"How's work? Are you liking the firm?" Albert asks as he paces around the apartment, looking.

Jessica's eyes followed her parents while she stood in the middle of the room.

"Good, good."

"Learning a lot?" He asks

"Yea! I mean yes, so much."

"Oh honey, you need to come home soon to see your siblings, nieces and nephews! They all miss you." Dorothy says hugging Jessica again

"Well you know, kids aren't really my scene." She says

"Dorothy, I bet she's busy with work and school!" Albert says sternly

Then the room grows quite. "Yeah..." Jessica says softly

"How is school.... And what firm again?" He asks

Before Jessica could open her mouth Albert stopped her.

"We have some talking to do." He says as he throws magazines and hundreds of pictures of Jessica onto her coffee table.