He didn’t leave
.
I hesitate before I walk over to him, trying to prepare myself for the conversation.
Langston wants me to lie. He wants me to give him another reason to hate me, to eventually kill me.
I’ll lie alright. But it will be closer to the truth than he’ll ever know.
I slide the door open and step outside. Wordlessly, I take the seat next to him.
When I glance over, I see he’s shirtless with only the towel wrapped around his waist.
Jesus.
How does he think I’m going to be able to focus on anything?
“So tell me, how does a girl who grew up with a whore for a mother decide the only way to make money is to whore herself out now?”
I slap him again.
He’s made comments like this before, but I’m not tolerating it.
“I am not a whore.”
He smirks. “Why did you enter this game, then? You’ve been here before. You’ve played before, won before. Why?”
I drag my eyes from him to the ocean. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to lie so I can fuel your sick rage to eventually kill me?”
He shrugs. “Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you tell the truth or lie.”
“Lie it is then,” I say.
His jaw ticks, but otherwise, he remains stone-faced.
“I’ve been living in hell since I was eighteen years old.” The year that Langston left me. That was the year my world changed. Since then, nothing has been the same.
“Liar. You thrived after I left you,” Langston says.
He has no idea what happened after I left, the deal I made. And he never will.
“Be quiet and let me tell the story. Otherwise, I’ll stop talking right now.”
He rolls his eyes but doesn’t speak again.
“As I was saying, I’d already been living in hell for years. My entire life has been dealing with the flames of the devil. Some years were harder than others, but then I met Duncan.”
“Who is he?”
“So impatient.”
“Duncan is the man who brought me here.”
Langston frowns. “Against your will?”
I laugh. “I don’t do anything against my will, not anymore. I wanted money—knowing it was the only way I could ensure that I never had to do anything against my will again.”
“So you whored yourself out?” he asks.