“What was that?” Silver frowns.
I clear my throat. “Umm, I’m a diabetic—”
“Fuck,” Luna curses. “How are you feeling?”
I swallow as I lift my trembling hand. A nervous chuckle tumbles past my lips as that sense of dread begins to build in my gut. I’m in the first stage of my sugar dropping, and I have no way of fixing it. “Not too good…”
“There’s juice downstairs,” Bridget says as she pushes to the front of the crowd. “I’ll grab it and get some food.”
Luna shoves a hand into the woman’s chest, stopping her. “They’re awake. They’re bound to stop you.”
Bridget doesn’t seem phased as she brushes the blonde’s hand aside. “And most of us haven’t eaten in two days. Someone has to go.”
She shoulders past Luna, taking the steps two at a time before disappearing onto the first floor. Everyone waits with bated breath, and it feels like hours pass before Bridget trudges back up the stairs with a bottle of dark juice in one hand and a few packets of raw oatmeal in the other. She tosses the juice to me, and I uncap it before guzzling half and saving the rest. She disperses the oatmeal between the other women, and they tear into the packages before taking handfuls of the powder and eating it with twisted faces.
“Was anyone downstairs?” Luna asks quietly.
Bridget nods. “They were all in the living room. I heard Jeff say that Cara won’t be back until this afternoon…”
The blonde runs a hand through her hair messily. “I hate this. Not knowing where they brought her…”
Bridget gets a distant look in her eyes. “Yeah. Let’s try to focus on not drawing attention today. We can have the first aid kit ready when Cara gets back.”
Luna nods, and a few women choose to stay in our room as we wait for the time to tick by. It’s agony to have every sense of dignity stripped from you. None of us has cellphones, and a few can’t even recount how long they’ve been away from home. As they share their stories, my chest could cave beneath the pressure forming. Charlotte was coerced by her ex-boyfriend, a man she trusted with her life, and he turnedagainst her. Bridget was in the middle of reporting a stalker, someone she grew up with who couldn’t seem to let her go. She was snatched off the sidewalk on her way back to her apartment after work. Silver grew up around addicts and was forced into sex work at a young age. She was sixteen the first time she took a client. Her own mother sold her off on her twenty-first birthday, and she’s been here ever since.
Each story is horrid and gut-wrenching in its own way. My eyes sting with unshed tears as I try to hold it together. They’ve been through so much…
As the afternoon light begins to filter through the window, the group's nerves grow. Everyone is on edge as we await Cara’s arrival. Luna is the most rattled, picking at her lip as her eyes continue to flicker to the empty hall. When we hear footsteps up the stairs, the blonde rises. She waits for the person to near the room, relief circling her features until Sal saunters in.
“What do you want?” Luna sneers.
The man’s brows raise as he peers around at us. “Having a slumber party? Don’t you think you’re too old for that?”
“Where’s Cara?”
Sal tilts his head condescendingly. “She isn’t any of your concern. What you should be worried about is whether I’m going to punish you here, for all of your whore friends to see, or if I’m going to drag you up to my room and keep you busy for a while.”
Apprehension filters through the blonde’s irises. “Not here…”
“Oh?” Sal taunts before snatching her hair harshly. “That would be horrible, wouldn’t it? For me to take you right in front of them. They can listen to your screams as you fucking beg like the pathetic bitch you are.”
Luna’s hands fly to his wrist as her teeth grit. “Please. Not here.”
He hums before sucking his teeth. “I’ll let you off easy this time, but only because you’re so pretty when you beg. Tellthem bye.” He picks up her limp wrist, shaking it in a waving motion before dragging her out of the room by her hair. Luna doesn’t make a sound as she shuffles after him, resignation weighing her down as she gives us one last somber look.
I’m stuck—staring at the ajar door as if I expect the blonde to fight and run back in. But as I hear the footsteps upstairs, I know that won’t happen. He could hurt her. These men wield all the power, and we’re puppets to them.Disposable.
They don’t see us as humans.
“Fuck!” Bridget shouts, drawing every eye in the room to her as she tucks her head and holds her hands over her ears. “I can’t listen. I can’t…”
Silver rises, ushering everyone up. “Grab your pillows—”
“I’M NOT GRABBING A FUCKING PILLOW!” Bridget stands quickly, her chest rising and falling as tears fill her eyes. “I can’t stand this another second!”
“Someone grab her!” Silver shouts as Bridget heads to the bathroom. Charlotte tries to stop the woman, but she pushes her so hard that she flies back and tumbles to the ground.
“What’s she doing?” I ask, oblivious to what’s happening.
