Little lady?What is this, 1890 Texas? “That watch was worth over ten K. That’s grand larceny in the third degree. And I’m guessin’ this isn’t your first offense. Looks like the odds are not in your favor.” Was that supposed to be some badHunger Gamesjoke?
“Thank you for the unwanted analysis of my situation,” I bite bitterly.
Grand larceny in the third degree. That sounds so bad.
The cop turns on the cruiser and throws it into drive. It doesn’t look like he’s from around here with his flannel shirt and wiry auburn mustache. He certainly doesn’t sound like he’s from New York.
“Just lettin’ you know what you’re looking at.” I catch him eyeing me in the rearview mirror. The way that guys do when I know they like what they see. Like they want to lick me from head to toe. It used to make me uncomfortable. It still sort of does, but I’ve learned to hide the thorny feeling it gives me. I turn my head and look out the window as the buildings pass by in a blur.
The handcuffs are too tight around my wrists, my butt is sore, and my cheek is throbbing. This has to be the worst night of my entire life.
“What’s runnin’ through that head of yours, darlin?” the cop asks.
“Does it really matter?” I answer vacantly.
“Maybe.”
What’s running through my head? Let’s see. I want to tell you that man isn’t the only victim in all this. That he hit me and stole from me, too. But who is going to believe a homeless thief like me? Who’s going to care? I’m the criminal. It will be his word against mine. I know that much, and money always wins an argument.
I just keep staring out the window. Desolate tears cloud my vision.
“I hate seeing someone as pretty as you in such distress.”
“Uncuff me and let me go, and all my distress will be gone.”
He stops at a red light and gazes at me through the rearview mirror. “Now you know I can’t do that.” The light turns green, and he steps on the gas. A little heavier than I expect as I’m thrust back against the seat.
A few silent moments pass before he surprisingly continues, “I can’t do that without somethin’ in exchange.” His muddy brown eyes now flickering with something dark and corrupt. I stare at him coolly. I know exactly what he wants. It’s what most men want from me. It’s not like I would be compromising my virtues. That ship sailed when I was eleven and I traded my virginity for a warm bed and a cold bologna sandwich. I don’t make a habit of whoring myself out. That’s why I steal. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now, I’m fucking desperate. Spreading my legs for this douchebag for a few sickening minutes sounds way better than suffering for years in juvie.
“Are you saying if I give you what you want, you’ll give me what I want?”
The cop licks his lips like a salivating animal. “You bet.”
“Fine,” I agree on the spot. I’d agree to almost anything if it means getting me out of these handcuffs.
The crooked cop makes a hard right, and my anxiety spikes. God knows where he’s going to take me. I try to breathe steadily. I try to talk myself off the ledge. I’ll just close my eyes and think of something else while he does it. Pretend I’m somewhere else. The mind is more powerful than the body.The mind is more powerful than the body.
As he navigates down a maze of backstreets, the surroundings become shittier by the second and thinly populated. I can’t stop my heart from hammering. This is going to suck.
He finally stops at what looks like a loading dock. Tons of stacked pallets hide the car, and the strong smell of gasoline burns my nose. When he opens his door, I swear I hear the sound of a gong. Dread pools in the pit of my stomach.The mind is stronger than the body. The mind is stronger than the body,I chant silently as he drags me out of the back seat.
It’s absolutely freezing out, the December air pricking the small amounts of my exposed skin like a thousand little needles. I visibly shiver, and the cop takes notice.
“Don’t worry, little lady, I’ll be warming you up real soon.” He grips my jacket, and I almost throw up in my mouth when he calls me little lady.
He inhales the scent of my hair as he presses his pelvis against mine.Ugh. There’s a bulge already poking me in the thigh. I just stand still, more rigid than a statue as he begins to touch me, opening my jacket and groping my breasts. The tiny things that they are. There’s barely even a handful. Humiliating does not begin to describe it. My nipples tighten through the thin material of my shirt from the cold, not from his touch, and he groans disgustingly when he runs his palms over the points.
“Hot for me.” He sounds pleased as he squeezes both my breasts way too hard. I whimper from the pain. Hot for him? Yeah, right. Repulsed is more like it. This, right here, is the reason I trust no adult. This man is a police officer. He’s supposed to protect me from people like him, yet here he is, taking advantage of a young girl in a vulnerable position. Story of my life.
“I am going to make this little body sing.” He bites my neck and shoves both his hands under my shirt. I’m not wearing a bra. I don’t even own one, and when he discovers this, it’s like a jackal comes out. He laughs crazily as he molests me, mauling me against the cruiser.
“So soft. So soft and sweet and innocent.” He sounds like a madman. His tone is hushed but to me it’s laced with dread. My pulse pounds faster than a frightened rabbit’s as he pushes my coat off my shoulders, drags up my thin t-shirt, and pulls down my pants. I’m awkwardly naked and completely humiliated.
Can we please just get this over with?He steps back and admires me. I can barely look at him.
“God, you’re pretty,” he heaves as he scans his eyes over my helpless form. He hasn’t even uncuffed me. “I gave you a compliment.” He grabs my face in a fit of anger and forces me to acknowledge him. “Say thank you.”
It takes me a few heated seconds, but the dangerous flickering in his eyes tells me not to cross him.
