I stared at him coldly.
“Well thank you, Glen,” I said sarcastically. “Thank you for getting my mom to bring me out here… just so Prince could kill her. The only person I had left in this world.”
Slow clapping echoed from the dark doorway. My stomach dropped as Prince stepped out of the shadows, that same handsome face that contorted into an evil snarl.
“I always enjoy a good reunion,” he said smoothly. “Sorry to interrupt.”
He took a slow drag from his cigarette; smoke curled from his lips as his cold eyes settled on me. He smiled at me tauntingly before licking his lips to pester.
“Today’s your lucky day, young lady. The smell of you is starting to reach the main room… and one thing I don’t like is a funky bitch.” He fanned his hand over his nose.
My jaw clenched so tight a cramp shot through the side of my face. Two men walked in carrying a large box. When they set it down, I noticed the picture on it. A kid’s pool.
They placed it in the middle of the room and left.
“Thanks to Glen here, he hired a couple of women to clean you up,” Prince continued casually. “Bathe you. Dress you. Change your bedding.” He flicked ash from his cigarette.
“A doctor will look at you too. Don’t worry… he ain’t fixing nothing. Just making sure you ain’t bleeding internally. I’m trying to keep you alive until King shows face.” He gritted.
“That’ll be all,” Prince flicked his ciggarete towards my cot then nodded his head at Glen.
Glen offered me a quick apologetic look before he turned and followed Prince out the door.
Tears slid down my face as the door shut. My eyes dropped down to the half burning cigarette. The cot creaked soon as I reached down to pick it up. I had never smoked one before, never even thought about it. But in the moment, sitting here with my heart feeling like it had been stomped into the ground, that little burning thing looked like relief.
I wiped away my tears then lifted it to my lips the way I saw Prince do. For a moment, I just stared at the glowing tip then finally inhaled, instantly regretting it.
Smoke slammed into the back of my throat like fire. My lungs seized, and I doubled over coughing so hard it felt like my chestwas going to split open. The cigarette nearly slipped from my fingers as I hacked and wheezed with fresh tears spilling down my face all over again.
“Dammit.” I croaked out.
“I don’t see how people smoke this shit.” I dropped it back down to the ground just as two women walked through the door with bucket full of supplies.
The third woman that walked in nearly took my breath away. The second our eyes met, my breath caught.
“Shadonna…”
She stood there frozen, bruises on her arms and scars across her face. Tears filled her eyes as she shut the door and locked it. She rushed over to me and dropped to her knees.
“Layloni… I’m so fucking sorry,” she whispered, sobbing.
Her hands trembled as she grabbed mine.
“I’m getting you out of here… even if it kills me.” She promised.
We hugged each other tightly, when she pulled away, I shook my head.
“I don’t want to escape,” I said quietly.
“I just want to die.” I sobbed softly.
“No,” she said firmly. “You deserve to live.”
She lowered her voice.
“King made me reach out to G. Him and some girl named Rellianah are planning to save you. They needed me close to you… They told me that I had better put on a good fucking show in order for G to trust me with doing this.”
She swallowed hard as worry lines creased her face.
