Her eyes lock with mine as she nods her head.
“Then trust that I am doing what is best for you.”
And with that she gives, following me out of the room without another question because when you have been stripped of everything except some manufactured love, you too easily give into things you shouldn’t. She will believe most anything I tell her.
Bubba is standing by the table when we step into the kitchen. Lucy’s grip on my hand tightens, and I give her a reassuring squeeze back. Because it will be okay. She will know no better, and really, her life, even though she will be a captive in some sense of the word, will be better than the life she led before she ever met me.
* * *
The truck pullsoff the dirt road, rolling to a stop behind a tiny white church. There’s just enough moonlight that you can tell the wood along the side is splintered, the steeple at an angle. It’s one of the oldest buildings in the town, and it looks as though it’s soon to fall in. A thick blanket of clouds cross the moon, and suddenly, it’s pitch black out. Bubba cuts the engine and climbs out. Lucy’s hand is still in mine, her palms sweaty. I turn to look at her. She’s terrified, shaking, gnawing at her bottom lip. “Lucy,” I say in a steady tone. “I promise this is what’s best for you.”
She swallows, fighting the tears building in her eyes.
I stroke over her cheek and offer a smile before stepping down from the truck to open her door. She climbs out and waits for direction. But instead of instructing her, I simply take her by the hand and lead her to the black BMW parked at the side of the church. A motion light hung on the corner of the church cuts on, and now I can clearly see the man dressed in a white button-up and black slacks as he steps out of the shiny car. He looks completely business when he smiles at Lucy, failing to acknowledge me. Regardless of his rudeness, my gaze remains locked on him as we approach. I’m angry that he thinks women are something to be trained and bought.
This is the hardest part to come to terms with.
I amsellinga person. This woman has a price. She was stolen, manipulated, and is now being sold to the highest bidder. Most of these men want a broken woman, one that has been taught not to question, that has been built to love someone they should hate. Some of these men think they can buy love, and that is fucked up. Love is a human emotion, and what I am giving him, well, this isn’t exactly human, now is it? I break these women, piece by piece as I misconstrue their idea of love and freedom and respect. I make them pliable so these men will want them. And that may make me a bastard, but I accepted that long ago.
Lucy stops walking and I glance over my shoulder at her. “Are you…” she whispers. “Am I going withhim?”
“Yes. I want you to go with him. He will take good care of you and give you so many things. Iwantyou tolovehim.” I squeeze her hand and offer a gentle smile. She falters with her next step. “Come on, Lucy. It’s going to be okay. You know I wouldn’t lie to you. You can love him.”
“But,” she whines. “I love you…”
Shaking my head, I place my finger over her lips. “And I’m not capable of love, but he is.”
Her gaze bounces from me to the man now standing but a few feet in front of us. I place my hand at the small of her back and give her a gentle nudge. “It’s okay,” I say.
The man holds his palm out and grins. “You are beautiful.” He takes her free hand, lifting it to his lips to kiss. “You will never want for anything again.”
Lucy glances nervously at me as I slowly release her hand. She takes a step toward him, and he grabs her by the waist, tugging her close to him. Sweeping her hair from her face, he takes her chin in his hand and tilts her face up, studying her. The way he looks at her makes my stomach turn. No sane person would do this. Normal people don’t buy others to do as they please.But it is a better life than what she had…
10
Ava
The hinges groanand my eyes pop wide open. Someone stumbles into the room, then slams the door and locks it. There’s a hacking cough and I know it’s Earl. I tightly shut my eyes. My heart sits in my throat, my skin slicked with sweat.
“Now, I know I ain’t done told you why you’s here,” Earl slurs. I open my eyes just as he swats at the frayed white cord dangling from the ceiling. He yanks on it and a darkness I once knew all too well falls over the room.
This isn’t just a visible darkness—it’s one I feel.
One that creeps into every piece of my soul.
The worn springs squeak, the mattress bouncing when Earl falls onto the end of it. “You wanna know why, youbitch?” I can smell bourbon on his lips. I feel his sticky breath blow across my face. I want to scream, but I don’t.
“Your brother—” He hiccups, and I hear liquid slosh in a bottle before the sound of him gulping back more alcohol breaks the silence. “He wanted me to kill ya.”
My pulse kicks up. He’s lying. He is—
“Brandon, that’s his name, right? He wanted me to slaughter you like a little piggy.” He grabs onto my leg. “Squee, squee, squee.” Another hiccup. “Paid me good money, but I just cudn’t do it. ’Cause you’re too purdy to kill, you see? I saved you.” His callous hand brushes against my thigh. “And I’s figures you owe me something for that.” Chuckling, his hand creeps higher until it’s at the waist of my pants. I scoot away from him. I should fight him—part of me tells me to, but the instinct I have to survive tells me it will only make it worse.
You hear stories of abduction. You think you know what you would do in this exact same situation—but you really don’t. There is no way for someone on the outside to know what this mentally does to you. You can’t possibly fathom how strong your will to survive can be. The things you once thought were terrible are in actualitymoreawful than you imagined.
But those things aren’t death.
Here I sit, back against a wall, with this man pawing at me, his bourbon-laced breath making bile rise in my throat—but it isnotdeath… In the reality of terrible, horrible things, you never react the way you wish you would. The truth of this right here is that yes, I can fight him, but I’m a sleep-deprived, terrified, one hundred and twenty-pound girl. I’m locked in a room. No one knows he has me and it would be easy enough for him to just kill me and dump my body in some river if I become too much to handle. This is a level of helplessness the human mind cannot possibly comprehend. You can onlyfeelthis void; this worthless and incapable if you are in this situation. And at the end of it, humans are wired to survive at all odds.
