Page 9 of Acceptance
Hailey doesn’t fight him when he cuts them, and he doesn’t say another word after cutting Lindsey free before leaving them alone in the room with no doors to shut.
“What the hell did he have those for?” Lindsey asks and rubs her wrists.
“Intimidation.”
“Care if I use the bathroom first? I thought I was going to pee myself.”
She nods and waits until Lindsey’s inside the doorless bathroom and out of sight before sliding the phone from her pants and placing it underneath the mattress.
“Hey,” a woman’s voice says as someone walks into the room. “Don’t bother looking for anything to help you get out of here. They don’t even give us sheets for the bed. I’m Amanda.”
Amanda looks gaunt, her large eyes sunken into her face, and she’s so pale that Hailey can see every vein beneath her exposed skin. Her hair could be dark blonde or brown, but it’s hard to tell with all the grease slicking it back.
Do they feed us here? Because Amanda looks like she could fall over if I sneeze too hard. Skin and bones has never had more relevance than right now.
The pale purple lingerie she wears hangs off her, and the cups slip down enough to show the tops of her nipples. At one point, the garment may have fit, but being over-worn mixed with excessive weight loss likely created this effect.
“Hey. Hailey. Lindsey’s peeing.”
“How are you holding up?”
Is that a serious question?“Oh, just peachy, actually. I was just thinking to myself yesterday that I needed a vacation, so imagine my luck to be brought to this luxury resort.”
“Don’t sass off to them,” Amanda warns, her eyebrows lifting high enough that they nearly disappear along her hairline. “You’ll pay for it. They’ll make sure you never do it again.”
“What will they do?” Lindsey asks as she comes out and sits on her pathetic make-shift bed.
She sits cross-legged, and Hailey wants to remind her that she’s not wearing any panties. If they don’t get out of here, Hailey suspects she’ll get a full-on view of everything Lindsey has to offer, so it doesn’t really matter.
“They’ll beat you. If that doesn’t fix it, they’ll force themselves on you, two or three at a time, until you can’t walk for days.”
Lindsey gasps, and Hailey puts it together. Amanda’s their den mother from hell. She’s the one who can provide the information Hailey needs, though.
“How long have you been here?”
“Three years, I think. You kind of lose track of time after a while. I’ve gotten older, so I don’t get bought as often. They keep me around to show the new girls the ropes, help with the transition and all.”
“They trust you?” Hailey asks, eyeing what looks like a key hanging around her neck.
Her hand grips the key. “Don’t get any wild ideas. It’ll get me killed.”
“Your family hasn’t come looking for you?” Lindsey asks, her bottom lip quivering as large drops gather on her eyelashes.
Shaking her hand, Amanda sniffles. “I don’t have any. I was couch-surfing while doing whatever I needed to earn money for food. That’s when they lured me in, and now I’m doing things to earn them money.”
“Any idea where we are?” Hailey asks.
“I have no idea. The buildings around here are taller than the top floor, but I think we’re in Riverview. Or on the outskirts.”
“What should we expect? How long do we have until they sell us?”
The sob from Lindsey doesn’t deter Hailey. She needs as much information as she can get, either to pass to Colt, to understand, or to set expectations. Maybe all three.
“You two will be safe for at least a couple of days. If they try and sell you too soon, it usually backfires and creates an issue for them. Their clients like to believe you’re here willingly and playing a part. If you want to know what you’ll be doing, you can go to the floor below. Just… maybe do it when you have an empty stomach.”
“What?” Lindsey gasps. “They’re… They’re really going to sell us? To men?”
“Only for a few hours. They’ll move you to the fourth floor when you’re ready to be bought.”
