waiting

ALESSIA’S POINT OF VIEW

“Please… just let me go home.” I said immediately she said that sentence,my voice cracked badly by the time the words left my mouth.

The elderly woman standing near the door didn’t react.Neither did the two younger women beside her.All three of them simply stared at me in silence.Cold and expressionless.Like they had heard those exact same words too many times before.

Fear crawled slowly up my spine.

“Who are you people?” I whispered, backing away from them instinctively.

“Where am I? Where’s my father?”Nothing.

Not even a blink.The silence inside the room felt wrong. Heavy and Suffocating.I swallowed hard and glanced toward the door behind them.Still locked.

Panic began clawing violently at my chest again.

“I need to go home,” I said louder this time.

“My brother is alone please”

“Take off your clothes.”The words cut through the room again that my entire body froze.I stared at the elderly woman in disbelief.

“What?”Her expression remained calm. Detached.

“We are here to bathe you.”She said again For a second, I genuinely thought I had heard her wrong.My heartbeat slammed painfully against my ribs.

“No.”The answer left my mouth instantly.Sharp and errified.

“No.”The older woman sighed softly, almost tiredly, before glancing toward the other two women.

“Please cooperate,” she said quietly.

“It will be easier for everyone.”

“Easier?” I repeated shakily.

“You kidnapped me!”Still nothing,no sympathy,No emotion and somehow that terrified me even more.I backed away quickly until the back of my back hit the wall.

“I’m not taking anything off,” I whispered.

One of the younger women finally moved.

Just one step forward and fear exploded inside me instantly.

“Don’t touch me!”I spun around frantically, searching the room for something—anything—and my eyes landed on the heavy lamp sitting beside the bed.Without thinking, I grabbed it immediately and held it up with trembling hands.

“Don’t come closer!” I yelled and the women stopped.My breathing came out uneven and sharp as I tightened my grip around the lamp.

“I swear to God, if any of you touch me, I’ll smash this on your head!”The younger women exchanged brief glances but the older woman only looked exhausted.Not frightened,not angry,just… exhausted.

“Look, honey,” she said softly,

“I’m advising you for your own good. Let us do this quietly.”

“I don’t even know where I am!” I cried.

“I don’t know what you people want from me!”No response.

“My brother is alone,” I continued desperately.

“He’s in the hospital. Please… please just let me leave.”For the first time, something flickered across one of the younger women’s faces.....Pity but it vanished almost immediately.The older woman’s eyes hardened slightly.

“The bosses are already waiting, please don't make me get punished” she said quietly.The room fell silent.Something about the way she said it made ice slide down my spine.Waiting for me??, Punished??

“No…” I whispered.The woman looked at me carefully before speaking again.

“You truly should not make this difficult.”

“I’m not staying here!” I shouted.Then I lifted the lamp higher from the bedside table.

“Stay away from me!”The older woman sighed again and then.....She gave a tiny nod.

Everything happened too fast after that.The two younger women lunged at me immediately and I screamed.The lamp slipped from my hands and crashed violently against the floor as panic consumed me whole.

“LET ME GO!”One of them grabbed my wrists while the other held my body down as I kicked and fought wildly beneath them.

“Stop!” I screamed hysterically.

“Please! Please!”But they didn’t stop and the horrifying part?None of them looked angry while doing it,Only afraid.Like they were terrified of what would happen if they failed.That realization shattered something inside me.

“Please…” My voice broke completely.

“Please don’t do this…”The older woman avoided looking directly at me.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured quietly.Then they dragged me toward the bathroom.Fear swallowed me whole,I fought harder,I cried harder but it changed absolutely nothing.

The bathroom itself was enormous,White marble,Gold fixtures....it was Luxurious.The kind of bathroom rich people posted online.

And somehow that made everything feel even more disturbing.I was shaking violently by the time they forced me beneath the hot water.

Tears streamed endlessly down my face while they washed my skin like I was some object being prepared for display.I hated it,Hated every second,Hated how powerless I felt,Hated how silent they remained.No matter how much I begged,No matter how many questions I asked.

“What do they want from me?, please let me go”Nothing.

“Please just let me go home…”The younger woman washing my hair suddenly paused for a split second.Then quietly whispered....

“Don’t make them angry.”My breath caught instantly.Before I could ask anything else, she immediately continued washing my hair like she hadn’t spoken at all.The rest of the bath passed in horrifying silence.When they finally dragged me back into the bedroom, my entire body felt numb.

That was when I saw the dress laid neatly across the bed.Black,Short and Beautiful.

My stomach twisted painfully.

“No.”One of the younger women picked it up and held it toward me.

“I’m not wearing that,” I whispered immediately.The older woman’s expression remained cold.

“Would you rather meet them naked?”The words hit me like a slap and My breathing stopped.Instantly, flashes from last night crashed violently through my head.....Blood.

The terrifying calmness in those men’s eyes.

My knees weakened.Without another word, I slowly took the dress from her trembling hands.The older woman gave a small nod.

“Good girl.” Humiliation burned through me.

I quickly pulled the dress over my body after wearing my undies while trying desperately not to cry again but the nightmare wasn’t over.....Not even close.

One of the women sat me down in front of the large mirror while another began drying my hair carefully.The third rubbed expensive lotion against my arms and legs with mechanical movements.Like this was normal,Like girls were brought here every day.

The thought made me feel sick.I stared at my reflection silently and barely recognized the girl staring back at me.The black dress hugged my body tightly.My damp curls rested against my shoulders.

My pale face looked frightened,Broken,Small.....I looked less like myself and more like something being prepared.The realization made nausea rise in my throat.What were they doing to me?

Why was going to happen?

What did those men want?

“The bosses will send for you soon,” the older woman finally said.My eyes lifted toward her reflection in the mirror immediately.Fear tightened painfully inside my chest.

“Please…” I whispered again.

“Please just tell me what’s happening.”She stared at me for a long moment.Then slowly looked away.That terrified me more than any answer could have.

The women began gathering their things quietly before moving toward the door.

And just before leaving, the older woman paused slightly.

“You should pray they like you,” she said softly.Then they walked out.The lock clicked loudly behind them and silence swallowed the room again.I stood there frozen beside the mirror, my breathing uneven as panic slowly consumed me piece by piece.

The black dress suddenly felt too tight,Too suffocating.I wrapped my arms around myself shakily.

After some minutes three slow knocks echoed against the door.My blood turned cold instantly.A deep male voice sounded from the other side.

“Come out......The bosses are waiting.”