Hidden in the Stars (Falling Stars #2) Read Online Free

them?" I laugh, thinking about the size of my small two bedroom apartment. I'm surprised Sid fits when she visits.
    "True," she giggles. "Your place is way too small."
    Blunt as always, but I still love her.
    "You need a new place." She looks at me with narrow eyes. "If you would've let me enter you, you could be on your way to fame and fortune right now."
    "Yeah, okay." Kicking my feet up on the second-hand coffee table, I take a look at the small open space doubling as the living room and my bedroom. "It's not that bad." I shrug.
    "Liza, why the hell don't you come back to Pittsburgh with me?" Sid turns on the couch, facing me. "Mom would help you out until we found you—”
    "Your mom has done enough," I argue, giving her a frown. "She's the only one who cared when I was pregnant. I'll never be able to repay her for everything she did."
    "Your poor excuse for parents should've been there for you," Sid grumbles. "But, anyhow, I hate seeing you struggle."
    "I'm not struggling." Sighing, I lay my head back on the cushion and roll it to face her. "My apartment may be small, I may not have a washer and dryer, and it may not be glamorous, but I don't struggle."
    "You know what I mean," Sid whines. "You have a voice that could open so many opportunities, but you work at a run-down burlesque club in East L.A. instead."
    "Hey, you like coming to Lux Hedonica."
    "Yes, but I still think you are better than the club," she huffs. "Besides the fact that Miss Jazzmin takes center stage, yet you could out sing her any day of the week."
    "She's been the lead for years." Turning my head, I look up at the ceiling. We have this discussion every time she visits.
    "And she'll stay that way now that she's married to your boss," Sid growls.
    The couch cushions shift as Sid stands up, walking toward the kitchen. Since the only thing separating the rooms is a breakfast bar with seating for two, I see her pull out the last of the cheap wine.
    "But you'll still be there tonight and you know it." I walk to the breakfast bar just in time for her to set a half-full glass of wine on the counter in front of me.
    "It's my last night here, obviously I'm going to come watch you." She rolls her eyes and sips at the blackberry merlot.
    "Then shut up, you hypocrite." Grinning, I take a sip of my own wine.
    "I never said I made sense, but I am always right." She gives me her largest smile.
    I shake my head and laugh.
    "I'm going to miss you," I admit, sobering at the thought of her leaving again.
    "Well, you will have to come visit me. You need to come see my new apartment once I move in," she says, forcing a smile. While I know she's excited about the new apartment she found, she, too, hates leaving.
    When I found out I was pregnant with Lucas at fifteen, it was her mother, my aunt, who took me in after being kicked out by my parents. A debt I could never, ever pay back, not that Aunt Charlene would expect it.
    Sid and I have always been close, but it was during my teenage pregnancy when we grew to be more like sisters more cousins. She was like a second mother to Lucas, giving up high school dances to babysit while I waitressed at a local restaurant.
    "I'll try." It's my standard response. I haven’t been back to Pennsylvania since I was eighteen and old enough to pack Lucas and me on a bus to California.
    Being a young mother made me grow up a lot, but I still held onto my youthful dreams of fame—making a name for myself as a singer and becoming a star. Then I'd be able to take care of Lucas and my aunt. Unfortunately, like most young girls in Hollywood, I learned too soon it wasn't like the movies.
    I was rejected at most auditions, only landing a couple to find they would cut me later. Having a toddler with me also cost some opportunities, but my son always comes first.
    At eighteen, I didn't have a lot of options. Not comfortable with stripping, I ended up waiting tables at a strip club. The hours were late and the crowd crude, but the tips were good.