Colin laughs. “On her knees for me.” I bristle at his words, but I’m used to their crude remarks, so I keep cleaning. Because I know how this goes if I don’t.
Survival has rules. My mum taught me well. Don’t talk back. Don’t look him in the eye. Don’t cry too loud. Don’t move too slow.
My fingers shake as they drag broken noodles into a pile. They cut tiny lines into my palms. Colin crouches beside me, and I can’t help but flinch.
His fingers wrap around my jaw and yank my face up. “There she is,” he murmurs. “My compliant little whore.” His thumb digs into my cheek, right over yesterday’s bruise. The pain explodes behind my eye, sharp and instant.
One of the men laughs under his breath.
“I asked you to do one thing,” Colin says softly, too softly, “and you take all fuckin’ day to do it.” His smile widens, drunk and mean. “What were you really doing?”
“I just went to the food bank. I had to go to the one across town, it was the only one open.” My voice cracks. “That’s all. It was busy.”
He tilts his head, studying me the way someone does when they’re deciding whether to hit or not. “Is that why you only got three things?” I nod. “You look like shit,” he says eventually. I nod, because there is no right answer. “Maybe you need reminding what respect looks like.”
My stomach drops. A cold, hollow kind of fear spreads through my ribs. I brace, but he doesn’t hit. Not yet. It's a warning of what’s to come.
He stands and looks around the room. “Food,” he says to the others. “I’m hungry.”
Colin gestures towards the kitchen like it’s a joke. “Go on, Remi. Make us dinner.”
There isnothingto eat. We all know it. I stare past him, my eyes lingering on the kitchen worktops that are full of dishes. Mouldy food sticks to each one like glue, and although I’ve begun working my way through the pile, it’s not obvious.
“Problem?” he asks, tilting his head slightly.
“What . . . what should I cook?”
A smirk pulls at his cruel lips. “What do you suggest?”
It’s a game. Everything is a game. I’ll tell him there’s nothing, and he will ask me to be creative. I’ll suggest going to the shop to grab something, and he’ll say I need to earn the money for it. And there’s only one way to earn money in his eyes.
I swallow the panic clawing up my throat. “I . . . there’s nothing here.”
“You saying’ no?” comes Colin’s voice from behind me.
That tone . . . that quiet, rope-thin tone sends shivers down my spine. “I just . . . I can . . .” A weak sound leaves my throat as I stumble for the right words, and as I turn slowly to look at him, I see his hand is already raising. The slap snaps my vision white. I hit the floor hard, sending the noodles scattering farther. My cheek burns. My ears ring.
The men laugh again.
“We have no food because you didn’t bring any back," he spits somewhere close to my face. I daren’t look up. “I want steak,” he adds, and I feel him stand. “Who else wants steak?”
“I could eat a steak,” someone chirps up.
“Me too,” adds another.
“Well, steak costs money,” says Colin. “So, how you gonna afford it, whore?”
My mind races for the answer as he crouches beside me. He moves my hair from my face, and I flinch, making him laugh again. He holds a bunch of bank notes scrunched together in his hand.
“You want steak?” he asks me, his voice dangerously low. I stare at the money. “I can give you steak, baby girl. All you gotta do is say yes.” My stomach growls, and another round of laughing floats around me. He moves closer, his mouth inches from my ear. “Kneel,” he murmurs.
I clumsily scramble to my knees, and he rises to his feet. “Remove your top," he instructs. I start to shake my head in protest. “You wanna eat, you gotta earn,” he cuts in, smirking as he stands over me. “Do you expect me to feed you, keep a roof over your head, pay all the bills? Even after I cleared all your debt.” I hear the sound of his belt loosening. “Your mother was a lazy bitch too, thought she could live for free. Well, newsflash, you gotta work for it. Nothing comes for free.”
Shadow
I jump off my bike the second I see my brothers arriving. They park up behind one another, joining me on the pavement. Axel pulls off his helmet. “Didn’t think it’d be long,” he tells me, smirking.
“Anyone wanna tell me what’s going on?” asks Grizz.
