Sitting alone in the dingy room has gave me a lot of time to think. I've accepted that my life is most likely over at this point in regards to my freedom. Even if I do survive, I have a feeling that they'll sell me or something like that. No one comes to see me, which I'm grateful for to an extent. I don't have to be manhandled by two guys who take me to another room so I can get screamed at. But at the same time Jill has been nothing but kind to me, which is weird considering my circumstances. She makes me feel a little safer when she's around, but that feeling disappears if she leaves. It makes me feel so vulnerable.
Being alone also means being stuck with my dark thoughts. What if my family is here? What will they do after not seeing me for five years? They may not have been here physically but they've disrupted my sleep almost every night I've been away from them. I don't think I could handle seeing them again. I'd rather die than be tortured for not doing the smallest things. I can't do that again. I won't do that again.
Hours pass and I'm getting tired. I don't know what time it is, but I don't want to fall asleep and get yelled at for doing so. Instead, I make my eyes as wide as they can and I start to stare at the wall, hoping to find a distraction from my thoughts. At this rate anything will do. Like imagining a life outside of this prison. Maybe I'd finally get a suitable job and I'd be able to move out of the bad part of town. At my new job I'd meet a guy and he'd be perfect for me. We'd go out on dates and have fun, but we'd be like any normal couple and have fights. But it'll all be worth it because we'd get married. We'd start a family. We'd grow old together in a beautiful home, maybe have a couple pets. But that's all fantasy. My life will never be like that, my life will never be good in any sense.
The minutes of me staring at the wall feels like hours. No one comes. I don't move. I don't think I've ever stayed in one spot for this long in my life. I haven't even gone to the bathroom yet, but I'm also holding back on that for as long as I can. I don't want to be using it and then two men barge in here in the middle. That will be even more embarrassing than anything yet.
I'm not sure the time still, but I'm starting to get really hungry. My stomach keeps making noises and it's hard to ignore when I've got nothing else to do. So now all my attention has gone to my loud stomach and it's making me hungrier. I should've saved some of the food. I was stupid to eat it all at once.
For the first time in hours I hear voices outside my room. I sit up straighter and realize it's just some of the men that stand in the hall. I slowly get out of my cot, hoping I don't make too much noise as I walk towards the door. I lean my head against the thick piece of metal in an attempt to hear the men outside.
"Switch.... boss.... girl.... food."
I only hear a few words, but I only pay attention to the last word he says. Food. I smile slightly just at the thought that I may get more food. So I hurry back to my cot and just sit there. A few minutes pass and nothing comes, which dampens my mood that was hopeful for the first time since I got here.
So I decide to quickly use the toilet. I manage to get done with everything, including scrubbing my hands in the small water bucket, without anyone walking in. If this is what my life has come to I'm going to go insane. They might as well send me to an asylum or clinic something like that. It's be one less thing for them to worry about anyway. I feel me being here is a waste of space. I can't give them anything they want, and I just sit in a room all day.
More hours pass and this time, I begin to fall asleep. I can't keep my eyes open any longer and my body is ready to collapse. So I curl into a ball on the cot and begin to go to sleep.
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I'm finishing cleaning the bathroom when I hear the front door open. I cringe knowing that it's my parents coming home after their night out. I tuck away any cleaning supplies that could get in their way before I meet them downstairs.
They are both wasted. My dad has buttons missing from his shirt and mom looks likes a zombie. They both are giggling at each other and whispering things. If they weren't drunk and the people I know them to be they'd look like a cute couple.
"Oh, here's the bitch," mom snickers when they notice I'm in the same room. "Now that you're here, why don't you grab up some beers. Take them out to the back patio."
I nod my head and go to the kitchen, grabbing two beers and popping the caps off. I hurry to the back patio and set the two beers on the table before I go back inside. My parents are both sitting on the couch glaring at me.
"Where's the beer?" Dad snaps.
"I was told to-"
"You were told to bring them to us," mom cuts me off. "Get. Them. Now."
I hurry back outside and grab their beers and take it back to them. They both snatch the bottles out of my hands and mom takes a long sip. Dad takes a large drink before he jerks the bottle away from his mouth and spits the liquid out.
"What kind of shit is this? It's not even cold!" He slurs and clutches the neck of the bottle. In one swift motion he hurls the bottle at me and it hits me square in the arm, a few shards of glass getting stuck in my skin. I hold back my tears by biting my lip and my parents just laugh. "Clean this shit up. Get me a new beer too. Make sure it's cold!"
I just nod and go to the kitchen grabbing everything I need before I go back out to the living room. My dad gladly takes the bottle and him and my mom drink their beers happily while I clean his mess, all while having glass stuck in my arm. They don't care about me. They never have. And it shouldn't hurt anymore, but it does because my whole life I've craved their love and affection. Yet all I get is beer bottles thrown at me.
"You're getting blood on the floor!" Mom yells and I turn my attention to my arm. Sure enough blood is dripping down and hitting the part of the floor I have yet to clean. "God how worthless can one girl be! I mean can she do anything right! Ugh, such a mistake!" Then you should've gotten rid of me when you had the chance, not after I've been living for sixteen years.
I ignore her yelling and begin to clean the floor, and the blood that drips down my arm. I curl my arm up in an attempt to prevent the blood from hitting the floor, but one little drop seems to get away. I feel my parents staring at me but I'm too scared to look up at them.
"You're to be cleaning the floor! Not making a bigger mess!" I hear my dad's voice boom. I cower down when I hear him get up from the couch. Before I realize it he pushed me and
has kicked my injured arm. I cry out in pain and then I notice my mom has come to join. They both start kicking me while laughing. My body starts to shake from fear and pain. I close my eyes in an attempt to get the torture to stop.==========================
I sit up so quickly after waking from my nightmare that my head starts to hurt. Luckily I don't break off in one of my trances and I just sit in my cot, waiting for my headache to subside. I can't do anything about the nightmares and memories of my past. So I try my best to relax and ignore the memories that begin to form in my head.
As I'm staring at the wall I hear the door open. I can't bring myself to see who walked in. Being alone is my new life now. I don't want my hopes up when someone comes to drag me out of the room, only to be left alone in the end. The door closes with a loud click and feet make their way towards me. I close my eyes in an attempt to stop the temptation of looking to see who's here. Please just leave me alone. "Ashlynn, darling, here's some food," a soft voice says and I know it's Jill. I just nod my head and wait for her to leave. "I have to clean your bandage before I go." I don't give her any form on a response and she begins to clean the bandage. I keep my eyes closed as she goes through the process. After a few minutes Jill leaves the room and I open my eyes. It's the same meal as yesterday. But I got smart after yesterday, so I eat half the slice of bread. I take a few sips of my water before I put my meal under the cot. I glance over at the tub that's sitting in the center of
Ashlynn's POV: "This is where the maids stay. We each have our own little room with a community area. Mr. Cutler always makes sure that we are well taken care of," Tori says as she shows me around where I'll be living until I die. "Umm, who's Mr. Cutler?" I ask. Right now I only know Jill and Tori's names. No one else's names have come up, well besides Iris's. Still confused about that but I ignore my own thoughts. "Mr. Cutler? He's the boss," she says as though it's obvious, "the man who orders everyone around. We only address him as sir and speak when he asks questions. He's a very private man and doesn't like to be disturbed." I just nod, glad to know this information. I only got a little glimpse at the torture he caused me, I don't want to see anymore of it. She leads me to the bathroom so I can finally clean myself. It felt so nice to have the warm water running down my skin. I can feel all the grime coming off my body and my hair is already starting to soften. I was a
Gage's POV: Friday comes and I'm beyond pissed. We discovered that she left the country through a private plane company. We were able to get the pilot of her plane and he's currently down in the basement for questioning. I've changed from my suit to a black t-shirt and sweatpants. Alex told me that everything was set and that I could go down whenever. So I'm going down now before I have to go finish work for the night. I head downstairs and I notice a few of the maids scurry out of my way as I'm walking downstairs. The entire house has known how pissed off I've been the last few weeks and they've all done their best to appease me. Which gets annoying to a point because I don't need to be smothered by the men. "Here's his file," Alex says, handing me a folder for the pilot waiting in the room. I glance over, getting general information that can be used as a way to get him to talk. When I'm done looking at it I turn back to Alex and hand him the folder. "Let the game begin,"
"Make sure Alex gets record of all the files," I tell Felicity as I pull on my pants. She nods as she fixes her make up. "I'll be back in a few weeks for another report. Call me if anything happens." "Got it boss," she smiles at me. "See ya later sir." I just nod my head at her before I leave the office and head back to the main room. Alex is still sitting at our table, engrossed in his phone. He recently got engaged and hates coming to our brothels and what not. But his fiancé knows it for his job and she trusts him. "When we get back to the house I'll need you to sort the files," I tell Alex as I sit down. "Always so bossy Gage," Alex chuckles and I roll my eyes at him. "Next time you say that I'll shoot you," I retort. "More lies tonight. Keep 'Em coming!" He continues to mess with me. "You're such a dick," I say and sit down. I glance up on the stage and Ashlynn is still in the same spot. My eyes just gravitate towards her and I can't stop them. I can't contro
Ashlynn's POV: Dancing on stage tonight felt like things were going back to normal. Sure it was a job that I didn't like because of the audience, but it was fun to dance. Being on that stage helped me forget everything for a little while. All I had to listen to was the music and my body did the rest. As weird as it sounds, and as much as I want a different job, dancing was relaxing to me. It cleared my mind, which allowed for my internal demons to go away. What happened tonight wasn't a first, and it probably wasn't going to be the last. If men find something that they want, they'll get it by doing whatever they can. Their pride and pleasure is worth more than anything. Men love to be in control. I've had similar experiences at Divine. Where a drunk customer comes to the back and tries to have his way with me. No matter how many times I refuse they just think it's a game. I mean, if I'm a stripper I have to be a slut right? The job comes
I told Jill I would try to eat more, but it's hard to eat when you're scared or nervous. And right now I'm feeling both. Why do I have to meet up with Mr. Cutler? I told him everything was fine if we kept it down low. If he wants me to go back to work I will, I just don't see why we have to meet in his office. Privately. That's the part that scares me the most. I can't just ignore the time before I was released from the room downstairs. He hurt me. I'll have a scar on my cheek for the rest of my life because he had the wrong girl. So, I'm scared to be alone with him again. Last night was different, he saved me from the man and didn't try to do anything afterwards. But today is a new day. I break away from my train of thought when I hear the sound of a chair being pushed back. I look up and see that Mr. Cutler has already finished and is now leaving the room. I glance down at my plate and realize I've barely eaten half, but I don't want to keep him waiting. So I stand u
"Are you ready?" Felicity asks me as she fixes my hair. "Yep!" I say with a smile. There's a part of me that's scared of what happened, but the other part of me is telling me that I'm strong and can do this. So I'm getting ready to go out on stage and dance. Just like how I used to at Divine. "Perfect, you'll enter stage right tonight," she tells me. "I'll meet you backstage right as you end your dance." "Thank you," I tell her and she nods. "Now go out there and shake your ass!" She grins and I can't help but let out a small giggle before I turn myself to go out on stage. I hear the bass of the music start and I walk out on stage in my five inch heels. The outfit tonight is a vibrant blue, I think it brings out my eyes. Not that anyone is looking at my eyes while I dance. I don't care what they think and look at, I only care about what I think. And I think this outfit goes great with my eyes. I go to the very end of the stage to begin my dance. I drop slowly into a s
Gage's POV: "Why are you still at the club young man? You have a flight that leaves at seven in the morning!" Jill yells at me over the phone. "I'm just double checking security," I reply. "I'll be back soon." "You better," she says and I can't help but chuckle. "Mother will be home tomorrow with Vince. You can complain about me with her," I say and Jill only lets out a groan. "Goodnight Jill." "Get home Gage," she says before she hangs up. I smile before I tuck my phone back in my pocket. The girls have brought me a fresh drink and I swirl it around in the glass. The dancers are about to come back out on stage again. I have no idea why I feel the need to stay here. Why I feel the need to see Ashlynn. This need wasn't there when I first saw Ashlynn when my men kidnapped her. But after last night and hearing what she's said to me, I want to see her. Loud music begins to play and my eyes avert to the stage. Dancers come out and I scan the stage to find Ashlynn. She's