My jaw clenches and I keep my gaze steady as I walk into the room.
Maybe there will be a little period in which I can relax before I’m forced to...
"You are not allowed to leave this room unless instructed to," the guard interrupts my thoughts, repeating the same lecture that Giovanni gave me. "The only people with permission to tell you to leave is Giovanni and I, otherwise you are to remain where you are." His face scrunches for a moment. "You are not allowed to try to sneak out with one of the maids when they bring you food and if you try, not only will you be punished, but so will they." Finally, his eyes meet mine. They’re vacant. "And you don't seem like a girl who wants the cruel treatment to your actions to be placed on another, Ms. Chastine."
I don't reply to him and after a moment he nods his head before turning and pulling the door closed. The click of the lock turning rings through the room.
I'm left alone with nothing but silence.
Staring around the room, I first check for any sign of cameras. I check every little nook and cranny, but I come up empty. Not a single one in sight.
That's when I let myself break down.
The tears come hot and heavy. My throat closes up, and as my breath hiccups in my chest, I drag myself to the big bed. The soft comforter touches my skin and if anything, it only makes things worse as I begin to sob harder. My head throbs but I ignore it as the tears continue to come.
What in the hell did Richard get me into?
Or better yet, what did I get myself into? I knew that signing that contract meant signing everything over, including my body.
Yet again.
And still, Giovanni’s words seem to have really pointed out what I've really signed up for.
When I want to fuck you, you will let me.
The words ring around my skull in a way that's hard to process and yet, I know exactly what's going to happen. He means it. He's going to take every inch of my body and it won't matter whether I want it or not.
It doesn’t matter if I cry, if I plead, if I try to negotiate.
My body is his now and there's nothing that I can do to get it back.
I should have closed the door on Richard the day that he showed up on my doorstep.
I should have slammed the damn door and finished getting ready for my job at the gas station. It wasn't a glamorous employment, or life, but it was better than what I was meant for, what the other guys and girls in my predicament did with their lives. I stayed away from drugs, parties, and gangs.
I stayed away from them all and yet here I still am, in trouble yet again.
This should have all been done the day that Richard Chastine Sr. died.
But instead he'd left Junior with all his bad habits. And as per usual, Winter is going to pay for them.
I place my hands over my eyes, wiping at the tears until my skin is completely dry. Hours pass as I wait on edge, waiting for something to happen.
Time begins to drag on by without anything happening. My heart slows in my chest, the throbbing in my head lessens. Just as my eyes start to fall close, the lock on the door clicks. I shoot up in the bed, reaching around for anything to defend myself, but only coming up with a pillow. I hug the soft, useless weapon to my chest as I wait.
Slowly, the door creaks open and an unfamiliar man moves into the room. He’s tall, his figure seeming to just barely miss the frame of the door. His dark eyes instantly land on me before a smile curves his lips. He steps further into the room. "Well, well, well, look at what the cat drug in. Who are you, Little Mouse, and when do I get to play with you?"