3. Catalina

                        "I can wash myself"

"I didn't ask" Susana snaps and then continues scrubbing my skin with more force than necessary. Just when I thought Julio was going to slit my throat, the boss told him to have Susana wash me and put me in clean clothes. At the mention of a woman's name, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking she might be able to help me but I was wrong. Not only is she mean but she's also ugly. Mama told me that women should always help each other and never put each other down but I guess she was also wrong. Because if she had helped me, I wouldn't be standing in this fancy bathroom getting scrubbed by a fat, mean, ugly lady.

When I tried to ask her for help, she slapped me and threatened to lock me in a room with a few men. She also called me a prostitute and has been mumbling about how no one respects her or they wouldn't make her do such things. But every time I ask her to stop, she scrubs harder. If my skin doesn't have bruises after this, I'll be lucky. Remembering what Julio said, I murmur,

"You can't leave bruises"

Susana straightens so fast making me stumble back "What did you say?"

She scares me. I bet she was a bully when she was in school. I know her type. The kind that cowers in front of strong people and bullies the weak. If I don't stand up to her, she will think I'm an easy target. So even though I am scared of her, I still say, "If you leave bruises, the boss will be angry with you"

Her eyes flash with annoyance "Is that so?"

"He's already seen me naked and he knows I don't have any bruises. You can't lie to him" If looks could kill, I'd already be dead. But I guess she fears the boss as much as I do because she stops and turns on the water. I jump back screaming.

"Rinse yourself and get out," Susana says smirking. So much for women helping each other. Gritting my teeth, I stand under the cold water and quickly rinse myself. Since I don't know how to turn the shower off, I walk out leaving the water running. There are two more women in the room "Drop the towel" Susana tells me then looks back at the other two and snaps "You have an hour" before leaving. The moment the door closes behind her, the two women collapse on the bed. One of them mutters,

"Fucking bitch"

"I hope the boss accidentally kills her so we don't ever have to see her ugly ass face again," the other one says. I stand there, wondering what I'm supposed to do. They might dislike Susana but that doesn't mean they'll like me "I'm Ines and this is Alma. We're going to do your hair and makeup. Get dressed" she points toward a door.

I move towards it and push the door open. It's a walk-in closet. My jaw drops at the number of clothes and shoes I see inside. Again, I wonder what it feels like to have so much money. I sure wouldn't be here if that was the case. A sharp pain goes through my chest at my family's betrayal. Why didn't Papa tell me about the debt? I could have gotten two jobs and helped him pay it off instead of resorting to handing me over to the cartel. How many hours do I have left? I could be dead before the end of the night. Or tomorrow morning.

"Hurry up!" Someone yells prompting me to move. I grab the first dress I can reach and hold it out. It's a white layered skater dress with thin straps. The tag is still on and my mouth drops open at the price. Could Papa's debt be paid off if I sold two or three of these? "Why are you taking so long?" Alma asks walking in.

"I was looking for underwear" The lie rolls off my tongue easily. Both Alma and Ines look younger than Susana so they don't scare me as much.

"You won't find any. Put that on and come out"

"What do you mean?" She doesn't answer. Pulling the dress over my head, I walk out. It's just us girls so I'm fine but I'm not sure I can leave this room without wearing underwear. I regret not listening to Julio. At least my clothes would still be intact.

"She looks so innocent and angelic in that dress. The boss is going to love that. Great choice... What is your name?" Ines asks approaching me.

"Catalina"

She takes my shoulder and leads me to the vanity table sitting in one corner "You're pretty. If you get lucky, the boss will get tired of you and send you to the club"

"And if I don't?"

"They open you up and take your organs" That's from Alma who's holding a curling iron. She catches the look in my eyes and sighs "Trust me, you'd rather be dead than go through the third option"

"What is that?"

"Trafficking. You don't know where you'll end up or with whom. There are horrible men out there, Catalina. I'd rather they take my organs than sell me to those rich fuckers"

"What about sending me home? I can get a job and pay off..."

"Not happening. Once you set foot in this house, there's no going back"

"Even after I've given them my organs?" I ask on the verge of tears. They can't be serious.

"No one has ever made it out of the operation room"

The tears I've been holding back start to fall. I was hoping once they took what they needed, they'd take me back home but I was wrong. They will eventually kill me. And according to Alma and Ines, I'm better off dead. But who in their right mind wants to die? I just turned eighteen three months ago. I was looking forward to seeing the world and being an adult. There's so much I haven't done yet. I can't die. Why did Mama stand there and watch them take me? Did she know she was sending me to my death? How could they do that to their own child?

"Stop crying. I have to do your makeup" Ines says wiping my tears but they keep falling. To my surprise, they stand aside and wait for me to finish crying before they start. They're halfway through when Alma gasps "What?"

"There's a fourth option" I jerk my head back to look up at her.

"What is it?"

"The boss's nephew, Kahlo"

"I heard someone say he's around" Ines adds swiping lipstick over my lips "This one time he took one of the new girls and left with her. Rumor has it that he paid her college fees and she's now some hotshot lawyer who works for him"

"This might be your lucky day Catalina. You're young and you have a great body. If you meet him, do whatever he wants you to do. You never know. He could be your ticket out of here"

Hope blossoms in my chest. I might be able to leave. I pray to God that this Kahlo gets me out of here before I die. I'll do anything he wants. Anything.

"We're done here" Alma fluffs my hair one last time "I wish you luck and if you make it, don't forget us. We'll be your makeup team"

I stare at the woman in the mirror. She doesn't look anything like the Catalina I know. Is this me?

"Pretty. Right?" Ines asks leaning close "If you know how to use your beauty, it'll take you places you never even dreamt of" She smiles and then starts collecting her stuff just as the door bursts open. Susana walks in. She takes one look at me and her nostrils flare.

"Move it you ugly bitch. The boss is asking for you"

I get up and follow her. Murmuring a thank you to Alma and Ines before I leave. Depending on how things go, this might be the first and last time I see them. Out of everyone I met today, they're the only ones who've been kind. We're halfway down the stairs when I remember I don't have any panties on. Despite having a few layers, the dress only reaches mid-thigh. I feel naked walking around like this but I'm not about to ask Susana for anything. We stop in front of one of the doors in the living. She opens it and steps aside. There's a large table with chairs on either side. The boss is sitting at the head of the table.

"Sit" he orders without looking up. Since he didn't specify where, I pick the chair closest to the door. Just as I'm pulling it out, he looks up and adds "Next to me" I want to run. There's no one else in the room and I don't know what he'll do to me. But when I turn my head to the door, Susana is standing there with an evil smile on her face. She looks victorious as she closes the door, locking me in here with this man "I don't like repeating myself" he snaps. My feet move on their own accord and then I'm sliding to the seat on his left "What is your name?"

"C... Catalina"

"It suits you," he says lifting his hand. I move back, trying to get away from him but there's nowhere for me to go. His palm frames my cheek and then he swipes his thumb over my lips. Smearing the lipstick Ines applied "I can't wait to have these wrapped around my cock"

Fear crawls through me. I thought dying was the worst that could happen but it seems I was wrong.

"What are you planning to do?" I ask hoping someone will walk through that door and save me. Preferably Kahlo. Where is he? God, please let him save me from this man. Please, please, please...

"Tame this mouth. You do not speak unless I ask you to. Understand?" Before I can answer, his phone rings. It's on the table so he answers the call and puts it on loudspeaker.

"Boss, Kahlo just boarded the plane. I'm watching it leave as I speak"

The pit of my stomach falls. He's gone. My savior is gone before I even met him. What am I supposed to do now?

*******************************************