"This is going to go a lot better for you if you just cooperate," the woman says, slipping her gun into her waistband. She grabs the skirt and hauls it down my legs.
I shy away from her touch. "You don't have to do that. I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."
She rolls her eyes. "Well, you're not doing it, and I already told you, you're not going to want to be sedated when you're sold. If you even stand a chance at trying to fight back, you need to be alert."
I scoff, peeling off my shirt and stepping beneath the water. "So, you work for this shit, but you're still telling me that I should try and fight and get away?"
"World's not perfect. I have kids at home I have to feed, and this pays well." She crosses her arms and eyes me. "Make sure you clean yourself out. No man wants to be playing in another man's cum."
I wrinkle my nose, turning my back to her and pretending I have a small slip of my own privacy.
My hands shake as I start to clean up.
I shouldn't be here right now. I should be in one of my classes and working toward my career.
"Enough showering," the woman snaps as soon as all the suds are rinsed from my hair and body. "I'm going to get you to dry off, and then I'm going to do your makeup."
I swallow down the fear and snatch the towel from her, wrapping it around my body before turning to one of the women crying in the corner, my voice softening. "Everything is going to be fine. I'm Summer, what's your name?"
"Marissa."
"Well, Marissa, I lied." I smile and twist a curl of her hair, laying it against her collarbone. "Nothing is going to be fine. Nothing about this is going to be fine and everything is going to suck, and I think everyone in this room is scared out of their minds."
Marissa laughed and wiped some of her tears. "I'm not supposed to be here."
I give her a half smile as I'm shoved into a chair beside hers. "I don't think any of us are supposed to be here right now."
She leans closer to me, glancing around at the other people in the room. "We could fight back."
I take her hand and hold it tight. "It's not safe. Not in here. When you get out of here, start fighting, though. Don't let them kill you on their terms. Fight to get free."
The woman with the gun sighs. "Come on, we have to finish getting you ready. It's going to start soon, and if you're not ready to go when they call you name, then I'm fucked."
I sit back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, foot bouncing as I try to keep my emotions in check.
The woman dries my hair before taking a curling iron to it. "I know this seems like a lot, but some of the men aren't so bad. You just have to go out there and---"
"Do you know who I am?" I glance at her in the mirror, our eyes meeting as she finishes curling another section of my hair.
She gives a slight nod.
"Well, then you already know I'm dead."
She winces. "After you're bought, they're going to move you into a room on your own. They're going to tie you up after that. Then they leave you alone. One man stationed outside the door."
"Why are you telling me this?"
She picks up another section of hair and wraps it around the curling iron. "I heard about the fight you put up even being brought in here. If anyone is going to be able to get out of this shitshow, it's going to be you."
I press my lips together in a thin line, tears pricking the corners of my eyes.
It's starting to sink in now.
This should've worked out better than I thought. I should've been able to ditch Noah at some point.
But now I'm here, and I have to deal with the consequences of my failure.
I bite my bottom lip for a second, nibbling at some of the dry skin there before looking at her in the mirror again and nodding. "What else do I need to know?"
