“Puppies are small,” Abbott offers.
“I want a puppy,” Ansel grumbles.
“We’ll go after ice cream,” I say without thinking. “Wait?—”
“Dammit, Shi,” Abbott sighs as Ansel orders a beer with a grin. “I’ll have some water, please. You have to be better than this before the kids are born, or they’re going to walk all over you.”
“I know,” I say, shrugging.
“So we’re getting a puppy?” Ansel asks, smirking.
“Yep,” Abbott grunts. “Who wants to tell Cass?”
“Me!” Ansel says, fist pumping the air. “She’s going to be excited.”
Cassidy’s parents never let her have a pet, and we’ve always been too busy to have a pet. That’s all changing now that we have Bellamy and Winter.
Guess we’re getting a fucking puppy then.
WINTER
“I went to a club,” a woman begins, her eyes on her hands as she picks at her nails.
There’s no rules against men or alphas being here. Every story has been difficult to hear, no matter what is said. Lack of consent of any kind leads to trauma, it’s just how it is. Cassidy and Bell hold my hands while we sit in the circle together, our eyes wet as we listen.
“It was my coworker’s birthday, and I never go out,” she adds, shaking her head. I can tell that she’s angry with herself, even though I doubt that she should be.
She introduced herself as Erika, and she has tangled pink and blonde hair with anxious green eyes. She’s here alone, and it’s obvious that she’s having a hard time with her story.
“It was fine at first, but my co-worker invited her brother, and he wanted to dance with me. I didn’t want to, I said no, and Carla told me not to be such a bitch,” Erika sighs. “I actually decided to leave. I shouldn’t be in that position, right?”
I find myself wide eyed as I nod, and Erika looks up at that moment to meet my gaze. Her lips twitch slightly before the would-be smile dies a silent death.
“No should mean no,” she whispers. “Instead, the bouncer refused to let me out the front door, and I was forced through the club to an emergency exit. Max and his friends were waiting there with their SUV in the alley, and I was forced into the truck while I kicked and screamed. No one came to help me, and the bouncer pulled zip ties out of his back pocket to helpthem. Who the fuck does that?”
Tears stream from her eyes, and we all sit silently as we cry with her. It’s unfathomable that this is the world we live in, yet here we are.
“I wasn’t drinking, I didn’t dress a certain way, I just wanted to get to know my co-workers,” she whispers. “I will take being boring and staying inside instead every time. They kept me in their apartment for the entire weekend, high out of my mind while they raped me. They forced me to swallow drugs and plugged my nose while massaging my throat a few times. I remember bits and pieces, and I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”
Erika falls silent for a moment before she sniffles, shaking her head.
“It gets worse,” she finally says. “By the time the drugs fully cleared my system, I was bound, gagged, and sold to Max’s cousin to clear one of his debts. He apparently owed Césarmoney for swallowing the MDMA he was supposed to sell, so he offered me up as collateral. I spent five years doing really fucked up things for César, until he was picked up for tax evasion, and the police eventually followed the rabbit hole down. I was lucky not to end up in prison myself. Now, I’m starting over in a new city. I don’t want to go back to New York City. There’s too many bad memories there.”
“Are you safe now?” Mabel, the leader of the group, finally asks. I can tell that she was affected too, because she’s dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever feel safe,” Erika says, shrugging. I can’t tell how old she is since her hair is in her face. I want to place her in her late twenties, but it’s hard to tell. “I haven’t been here long, and I’m trying to find a job.”
“Do you know about the Lobby Housing Authority?” Mabel asks. “They offer short term housing assistance for people. The rooms are small, and it works like a shelter, but it’ll give you a place to stay that’s safe.”
Erika flushes, and my eyes drop as I think about what Mabel isn’t saying. Erika is an omega. I’m fairly certain she’s on some type of blockers, however, she’s petite like an omega. They’re also the most likely to be trafficked.
Ask me how I know. Fuck, I hate the world.
Bellamy squeezes my hand, telling me he’s thinking the exact same thing.
“I don’t know about them, but I will go talk to them,” Erika promises. “Thank you.”
Group finishes soon after and I can tell Cassidy is feeling antsy.
