1

ARIA

The music was too loud, the kind that sank into your bones and refused to let you think. Glasses clinked, men laughed too hard, and the smell of alcohol clung to everything like it belonged there, and so did I.

I balanced a tray of drinks carefully. Nights like this were always the same, too many hands brushing where they shouldn’t, too many eyes lingering too long. But I smiled anyway, tips depended on it.

“Table six,” my manager barked from behind the counter, not even looking at me.

“I’m on it,” I muttered, already moving. This was my life. Late nights. Cheap pay. Endless exhaustion. But it was honest work, more honest than anything my father had ever done.

I pushed that thought away quickly. Thinking about him never ended well.

By the time my shift ended, my feet ached and my patience had run out hours ago. The cool night air hit my skin as I stepped outside, and for a moment, I just stood there, breathing.

The streetlights flickered like they were too tired to stay awake, they casted weak shadows across the narrow road. By the time I reached our building, I was far too weak. The building looked the same as always, old, tired, and barely standing. The walls were stained, the staircase creaked under the weight of every step, and somewhere in the distance, a pipe dripped steadily.

Home. If you could even call it that.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside our apartment, and darkness greeted me instantly.

“Dad?” I called out. No answer. That wasn’t unusual. He was either asleep, drunk, or pretending I didn’t exist.

I sighed and shut the door behind me, sliding off my jacket and hanging it on the hook by the wall. Everything felt normal. The same worn-out sofa sagged in the corner, the same chipped table sat where it always had, and the air smelled faintly of stale alcohol and something older.

I took a step further inside, and that’s when I saw him. Still and kneeling. My heart skipped.

“Dad…?” I frowned, moving closer. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer. Something wasn’t right. I rushed toward the wall, fumbling for the switch. “Why are you kneeling in the dark like this?” I muttered, flipping it. Nothing. I clicked it again. And again, still nothing. A chill crawled up my spine.

“Dad, this isn’t funny.” My voice wavered now as I turned back to him, closing the distance quickly. “Why are you kneeling like that? Did something happen?”

I dropped beside him, reaching for his arm. That’s when I saw his face. Tears was streaming down like he couldn’t stop them.

“Hey… hey, what’s wrong?” Panic hit me instantly. My hands hovered, unsure where to touch, what to fix. “Why are you crying?”

Then I saw the blood. A t line slipping from his nose, trailing down to his lips.

My breath caught. “Dad are you hurt? Who did this? What happened?” He didn’t answer. He just cried harder, his shoulders shook, and his head bowed, like he couldn’t even look at me.

Fear settled deep in my chest now, heavy and suffocating. “You’re scaring me,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Say something please—” Hands grabbed me. It was rough and sudden. They tore me away from my father before I could even process what was happening. My back slammed against a hard chest as I struggled, panic exploding through my veins.

“Let me go!” I screamed, thrashing, kicking, clawing at anything I could reach. “Get off me!” They didn’t budge. It was like fighting stone.

“Dad!” My voice broke as I twisted in their grip, desperate to reach him. “What’s going on?! Say something!”

He was still on his knees, still crying, still not looking at me. Fear clawed its way up my throat, thick and suffocating.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?!” I choked out, tears blurring my vision. “Dad, please!”

“Enough.”

The word wasn’t loud, but it was very sharp. Everything in me went still, I didn’t know why, and I didn’t understand it. But the moment that voice filled the air, something deep inside me went cold.

Slowly. painfully slowly, I lifted my head, and that’s when I saw him. He stepped out of the shadows like he belonged in it.

The dim light from outside barely touched his face, but it was enough to see the sharp lines of it, the unreadable expression, the eyes that felt like they were looking through me instead of at me.

My breath caught and my thoughts screamed 'run' in my head, but I couldn’t. Not with their hands locked around me. Not with him standing there.

I shrank back as fear gripped me, instinctively trying to make myself smaller, like maybe if I took up less space, he wouldn’t notice me as much. It didn’t work, his gaze was already on me.

“So…” His voice was calm. Too calm. “This is the daughter you want to trade to me.” The words didn’t make sense. Not at first. “…to settle your three thousand dollar debt.”

My heart stopped. What? I blinked, my mind scrambled, trying to piece it together. Trade. Debt. Daughter. Me? No, That couldn’t be.