“Yes, sir,” she spoke, refusing to make eye contact with the man, her hands clasped in front of her and head slightly bowed. Was she giving him her corporation? Why?
“You have an hour,” he barked before leaving the room.
“Come,” she said. “Shower. Then hair and dress,” her voice was softer as she addressed me.
I couldn’t help but look at her better, taking in how skinny and unhealthy she looked. Dark, sunken in eyes and her bones almost poked out in spots. She looked as though she was starving herself to death. She probably was, with being forced to be here.
A shower did sound wonderful, though. I had no idea how long I had been here, and I wasn’t willing to know just yet, if at all. Did it even matter?
There wasn’t much room inside the three shower stalls that were blocked off by pieces of plastic that acted like shower curtains. They went from the ceiling to about a foot from the floor.
Turning on the shower, I found that there was at least warm water. I dropped my gown and then stepped in, letting the water clean my chilled body. My skin still felt as though bugs were crawling over it, making me itchy inside and out. How long was this feeling going to last? What was going to happen to me?
I knew there was no point in fighting as I was completely at the mercy of the hands that brought me here. There had to be a reason why, hadn’t there? I would find a time to fight, and I’d fight till I was no longer breathing.
After finishing with the quick shower and using the world’s most horrible shampoo and body wash, knowing that there was a time limit and I didn’t want to get the other girl in trouble, I wrapped a stained scratchy towel around my body. I was quickly motioned to sit in the chair that was sat beside a small off white card table. Vanessa began to brush my light blond hair out. It was so blonde that it looked white in the sunlight sometimes. It was the one thing everyone always commented on, besides my bright blue eyes.
I wasn’t like my friends, nor my parents in that department. Father had dark skin, while mother had lighter skin like me, I was still like a fish out of water when compared to anyone else. My skin was so much lighter than my friends, and I was just . . . . it didn’t seem like I was the sametypeof person all around as anyone else in the community that I grew up in. Even against Venessa’s sun-kissed skin, I was like a pale light left out in the open.
“Once your hair is done,” she spoke, her voice quiet as to not travel much farther than where we were at. “There is a pile of clothing for you that Sir brought in.”
I simply nodded. What was I to say to that? There wasn’t really anything I could say. I didn’t want to meet this man that I would have no say in meeting within a few minutes.
“A word of advice,” she spoke as she gently, but quickly, brushed my hair out, catching every tangle there was. “To be able to live without too much pain, just do whatever is commanded of you. Unless you wish a painful death.”
“Whatwillhappen to me?” I asked fearfully as she moved in front of me to do my makeup, no doubt covering up the bruise that surely covered part of my face. What did I look like? Was any part of me still intact from who I once was?
“What all of us girls are here for,” she answered with a small smile. “But it doesn’t matter in the end. Some of us are put to work in the club upstairs, some are sold off to wealthy men that want their bed warmed. Some are here to show the other girls what will happen if we fight against the men that have us.”
“How long have you been here?” I asked out, not sure I truly wanted to know that answer.
“I really don’t know,” she replied with a sad shrug. “There is no escaping, so don’t even try. Most of us are thankful that we have a place to sleep, as it is better than living on the streets. We had nothing before now, so being here is at least a dry place to sleep.”
“But I can’t,nottry,” I said, blinking back tears. I would try.
She simply shook her head, finishing with dolling me up. She acted as though she knew. Knew that I would try and knew what would become of me in a matter of hours. Would I be kissing death in the face, or would I get away?
Once she was done, she pointed to the pile of clothes that sat on the table that I was to wear. She didn’t seem shocked by what was there as I took ahold of the dark dress. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t a gown like this.
The dark dress was simple with a round neckline and thin straps across my shoulders. Once I slipped it on, I found it be surprisingly comfortable as it covered my feet. It flowed in soft waves around my legs in a silky manner. Considering what Vanessa wore, this dress was like a blanket. Her clothes, if you could call them that, covered what was necessary and that was it.
“You must be a gift,” she mused, fixing my hair so it fell over my shoulders and around my breasts. “Lucky. Or maybe not so lucky.”
She seemed as surprised as I was with all of this, whateverthiswas. Was it not a normal thing to be dragged here for this purpose?
There was no mirror in this room and probably for a good reason. Even so, I felt almost pretty in this black dress. It was not something I would normally wear, but I found the dress to my liking.
“You’ll be okay,” Vanessa spoke right before the man that had dragged me in here came back. She instantly looked down to the cement floor, as if he would burn her alive for just seeing his face.
“You did wonderful work,” he praised, looking me over. “Impressive. I almost want to keep you myself, ?????????.” (Treasure)
I couldn’t help but shiver in disgust. Was he for real?
With an evil smirk, he marched towards me and took my hands, tying them together tightly with brown rope. It cut into my skin. When I attempted to pull them back, he used his thumb, putting pressure on a point that instantly made me stop fighting as pain shot up my arm. His amused laugh echoed around the room.
“Now, since you can’t be fighting me,” he spoke darkly, withdrawing a needle filled with liquid from his back pocket of his jeans.
“No,” I pleaded, having no idea what that was. I slowly took a step backward, my feet taking me on their own account, as my eyes widened as big as saucers.
