Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 91840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“I could have done the press release stuff. But I didn’t want to hide behind a piece of paper pulled together for me by my publicist. I wanted to talk to you all directly.
“I know what you’ve all read about me in the media over the last day. And I’m not here to deny any of that. It’s true. My parents are in prison. They’re serving time for racketeering, drug trafficking, and murder. But I think the piece of news that has probably shocked and intrigued everyone is that I used to sleep with women for money. That is also true.
“But the truth you’ve been given by the so-called journalist who released this story is a vague representation of what actually happened. There are reasons behind people’s actions, and there were reasons behind my actions. It’s easy to judge based on the initial outlined facts, but when you dig a bit deeper, color in the actual picture with details, those actions begin to make more sense. The story that you first thought you were getting suddenly seems a hell of a lot clearer. A lot more understandable.
“I hope, by telling you the details of my story, you’ll see that, sometimes, when you read something in the media, even though the facts stated are the ‘truth’”—I air-quote the word—“they’re not the whole truth. So, here it is.” I clasp my hands together in front of me and blow out a breath.
“But, before I get started on the details, I firstly want to apologize to my girlfriend, Ava, who is currently standing behind the camera, filming me for you guys.” I look directly at her, our eyes meeting.
“I was led to believe that Ava had betrayed me. That she had recorded a private conversation between us and sold the rights to the story to a vulture of a man who I won’t even give the dignity of naming, but I think you all know who I’m talking about. I blamed her. Yelled at her. And told her to leave our apartment—yeah, I did that. But, in my defense, the evidence against her was strong. The people behind this went to great lengths to make it look like it was Ava who had done this. But it wasn’t Ava.
“She is a victim in this, as much as I am. Our privacy was invaded, and a private conversation between us in our home, detailing events from my past, was recorded without our knowledge, and then Ava was tricked into signing a release form disguised as something else. This might sound far-fetched, but sometimes, the truth is just that—far-fetched. Because we good people would never do something like that, we find it hard to believe that someone would go so far. Believe me when I say, they would. The lengths these people went to, to get this story is fucking scary. And something needs to be done about that, but that’s for my legal team to deal with.
“My past is mine. But, as it’s been made public knowledge, I want to clear some things up. Yes, my parents are in prison. The crimes they committed are in no way a reflection on my brother and me. You can’t choose the family you’re born into. And my brother and I definitely didn’t choose our parents. But having him as my brother is the best thing to come out of it.” I take a breath.
“When our parents were arrested, I was seventeen, months from my eighteenth birthday. My brother was twelve. He was, without a doubt, going to be taken away from me and placed with a family. We were all each other had left. So, we ran. Using what little money I had in my savings, I got us a place, and I landed a job. But the money wasn’t enough. Before I knew it, I was working three jobs and still barely scraping by. I was just paying the bills and feeding us both.
“Then, the chance to get into escorting was presented to me. It was more money, not tons, but it meant I could work one job during the day and escort on nights. Then, after a while, things changed. I was offered money to have sex with a client. A lot of money. I was young. Getting paid to have sex with a hot older woman, more money than I would have made in a month, was a dream come true. So, I did it. And I carried on doing it. The money gave us a better life, and even though it was—is illegal, I don’t regret what I did because it meant that I could give my brother a better life.
“Then, I was lucky, and things changed for me. I got the opportunity to get into acting, and my life got better from that point on.