“Just let me leave, okay? You and my mom can do whatever you want. Just leave me out of it.”
“No, no, no, sweetheart,” Rico purrs, tutting slightly. He brushes the book against my cheek, and I startle away, but he still has that grip on my wrist.
“You see, sweetheart, your mother owes me a lot of money. I mean a lot. She will do anything to pay me back. Give me anything.”
The way he’s growling sends shivers down my spine. His lips are shiny with spit, and though he’s no longer acting drunk, his breath is heavy with whiskey. Every possible warning bell is going off in my head as I realize I’m in serious trouble. My stomach twists into knots, and my pulse begins to race in my ears.
“Okay, sure, great, please, let go of me,” I whimper. I want to gather up all my inner strength, but I’m just scared. There’s no strength to pull from. The past twenty-four hours have been such a rollercoaster, and I’m too exhausted to feel anything but fear. But I am shaking in my fuzzy socks, trying to get away from this man.
“I’m afraid you don’t understand,” he says in an almost jovial tone, tilting his head forward to glare at me from beneath his brow. He’s not much taller than me but significantly stronger. He’s older, maybe in his mid-forties. The wrinkles on his face hint at heavy drug use. Or a hard life. Either way, I need to get away from him right now. But he doesn’t let go and continues lecturing me while my mom putters around in the kitchen.
“You see, cara mia, I have a rather large appetite. So your mom made a deal with me. Once she and I have finished, I am going to make my way to you, and if you want to keep your home, you will satisfy me.”
My blood runs cold when I realize what’s happening. My mom, possibly intentionally, has whored me out.
“If you lock your door, princesa, I will ruin your mother’s life. And yours. I am very well connected. Understand?”
“Yoohoo, Rico!” my mother calls from the kitchen. He does not let go or stop staring at me.
“Be right there, cara mia!” he calls back, bringing the drunken tone back into his voice. At long last, he releases his grip on my wrist, and I run instinctively to the stairs. It was fight or flight, and I had chosen flight. Hot tears stream down my face as I take the stairs two at a time, only wanting to get away from that bloated creep.
Once in my room, I slam the door behind me and sink to the ground, back against the door. Could he be bluffing? Maybe he only wanted to scare me, all bark and no bite.
But as much as I tried to convince myself, I knew that wasn’t true. When I looked into his eyes, there was no empathy. No humanity. He had the blank, soulless stare of a shark. In my soul, I knew he wasn’t bluffing.
A full-on sob racks my body as I realize just how awful this situation is. My mother pimped me out to pay her debts. At best, she’s brought home somebody incredibly dangerous. If I don’t let this man take me like a piece of meat, we’ll lose everything. Everything! I’m crying into my hands, trying to stay quiet and unnoticed. I can hear my mom and Rico laughing drunkenly downstairs, and it chills me to the bone. How he’s fooled her. Or she sees through him and doesn’t care. What did I do to deserve such a loveless life?
But what do I do?
I feel trapped. I could leave the house while Rico is distracted with my mother. Run down the hall, out the door, drive far, far away. But where would I go? How would I pay my way? My only job experience was a semester of work-study in the dining hall.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” I mutter under my breath, feeling panic rise and take over. I’ve never been good with fear. I can’t keep my head. Thoughts race through my mind too fast for me to even understand, and the sound of Franco’s laughter downstairs.
Suddenly, I remember something. Something I have now.
A protector.
I pull out my phone and dial.