Symone choked on her beer.
Chase rushed forward and thumped her back a few times.
“Holy, shit, Chase,” Symone croaked.
“I didn’t know you’d forget you were a human and try to breathe through liquid.”
Symone snickered. “Most people would’ve asked about my scars.”
“You know me, I always have to be different.”
“I noticed.”
“So, no story?” Chase tilted her head.
“I’m shocked you didn’t already know the story.”
“Nope, Lefty’s been buttoned up tighter than the shirt of a preacher’s daughter in a whore house.”
“What?” Symone snickered.
“Yeah, no one knows shit other than the fact that you’re off limits.”
“I’m shocked he didn’t declare open season,” Symone retorted. “Every time we’re in the same room, it’s all he can do not to take my head off.”
“Um, I noticed. It’s not like Lefty to hold a grudge.”
Symone took a long draw off her bottle of beer. “We knew each other from before in Jamaica. We grew up together in a tiny town with no prospects for the future, few ways to make money, and desperate people everywhere.” She could still smell the urine soaked alleys, see the malnourished women and children and the awful things they’d do to make money. “It was a rough area. No one came out unscathed. What our parents did, they saw as a necessary sacrifice. A way to give us both a better life.”
“What did they do to you?” Chase whispered.
“They offered us up to a high brow Madame.” Symone peered up and met her gaze straight-on. “See, you were right when you said whore house.”
Chase’s eyes widened.
“We were fed, well-kept, and taught all the ways to pleasure a man.”
“Oh my God.”
“It sounds horrible, looking back on things now. I know it’s disgusting. But back then, I was too young to remember anything different. It was a career, the same as any other. When I remembered the children on the streets withering away or caught up with the low-end prostitution, I felt lucky even…”
“I sense a huge but coming.”
“No buts.” Symone smiled sadly. “It’s an until. With time came wisdom and the understanding that I’d never escape the highly decorated prison I’d been sold to. That I would be used up until nothing but an empty husk remained and they moved on to the next pretty young thing. One of us got out. The client fell for her, bought her out-right while Gia and I began to plot. We’d talked about it in whispers. What if we ran away and left the island far behind? What would we do? Where would we go and how would we be? We vowed to live life on our terms, never let anyone control us again. It was idealistic. But it got us through the rough time and helped us grow our courage. After a while, it became all we talked about. It took us a year, but we roughed out a plan with a girl who’d been purchased permanently by one of our clients. We’d run and they’d be waiting to get us from the island and to the US. It went off without a hitch. We were out of the house and running for our lives. We almost made it to the shoreline and then they showed up. The men who keep the johns in line and us locked up nice and tight.” She played with the label on the bottle, unable to meet Chase’s gaze as she told the story.
Chase sat very still, and not a word left her lips.
“I figured, worst case, they’d snatch us up and bring us back. I was wrong, so wrong.” She shook her head. “We were to be made an example of. The minute they saw us, they started shooting. I was hit in the back twice. I went down. I think I might’ve been in shock. She hung back, but I didn’t want to be the reason she got caught. I—I begged her to leave me and live our dream before I fell into the blackness. I crossed the threshold to death. I was almost free from this life and then they brought me back.” She snickered. “And the real hell began.” She glanced up at a stunned Chase. “I don’t need to explain to you how I got the scars now, huh?”
Chase shook her head. “I—I don’t even know what to say.”
“I don’t expect you to say anything, Chase. I just wanted to be upfront. I’m trying to leave my past behind me, but it’s hard. So when I fall short, know it’s not you and don’t take it personally. This is the most interaction I’ve had in years.”
“Hey, I’m honored you decided to let me in,” Chase said. “It’s not easy to lay your cards out like that. So, I’m going to do the same. I grew up on the outskirts of the club. My brother Creeper was a patched member and even though my mom was around, she was absent as hell. Other than paying the rent and mostly keeping food in the fridge, she was insanely absent. So, Creeper picked up the slack. He raised me. Until I made a poor judgment call on men and ended up with a husband who liked to knock my head through walls.”
Symone’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t even reconcile the woman standing before her with the imagery running in her mind.
“Yeah, there’s a reason I am the way I am. It was a long journey through darkness and I’m never going back.” Chase shook her head. “I don’t talk about this ever. But your story deserves one in turn, out of respect.”