Page 9 of Little Psycho

Next, she pulls out a loaded syringe and holds it up to the light, flicking the top to make the bubbles in the liquid disappear.And then she sticks the needle into the meaty part of my thigh, the liquid burning my insides as she pushes the plunger down.She pulls off my dress as I stand here, motionless, almost like a zombie.Thanks to whatever she gave me, my entire body is numb, but unfortunately, not numb enough.

“Don’t,” I beg her, but my pleas fall on deaf ears.

“You’re going to be a good girl, Calista, because if you’re not, you’renotgoing to like what happens,” she spits out one last threat before holding my hand with a smile on her face, parading me back in front of the crowd of hungry, perverted me—and Ash, Dominic, and Killian.

“Who’s ready for Calista to dance?”she asks the crowd, and of course, all of them holler and clap.“When it’s time, I’ll be choosing one of you to come up for your dance, but until then, enjoy the show.”She walks off stage, and I stand here, wearing nothing but heels and a pearl necklace that hangs just above my collarbone.

As the music starts and all eyes turn to me, I take a deep breath and grab the pole, my body trembling with a mixture of fear and determination.And as I do, I make a silent promise to myself that this will be the last “special night” my mother ever makes me endure.

I close my eyes and let the music take me away to a different place, one where I’m not naked and dancing for fifty men.I spin around effortlessly, my hair weeping against the stage as I bend back.Holding the pole with two hands, I rise up and drop, winding my body as I climb up it.I hook my leg around it and spin, gripping it with one hand and stretching my body for the crowd to see.

My hands run up the front and sides of my body, cupping my breasts to put on a show.When I turn, I spread my legs and grip the pole, slowly bending down toward my toes with my ass on full display.

I feel disgusting.But I know what’ll happen if I stop.

I’m not sure how long I end up dancing for, but by the time I hear my mother’s voice in the microphone, I can’t feel any lower.

“I can see how many of you enjoyed that.Let’s see…” She looks around the room, an evil smile on her red-painted lips.“Dominic Gray, you’re our lucky lap dance winner.”She claps, and the crowd roars.

I thought I couldn’t feel any lower.I was fucking wrong.

She did this shit on purpose.It makes me wonder what else she’s got up her sleeve.

I can hear Dominic refusing, but a threat from his father has his ass up on stage faster than I can blink.He won’t even look at me, but I don’t want him to anyway.

My mother forces him into the seat, snatching my hand and dragging me over to him.“Dance for Dominic, Calista.Be a good girl for your guests.”She winks, and I want to fucking punch her.

She walks away as the spotlight shines on me and Dom, suffocating tension floating between us.I straddle his lap, putting my hands on his shoulders, my naked body pressing against his.For the first time in years, I can feel tears falling from my eyes and my heart breaking into a million pieces.

“I’m so sorry,”I whisper as I slowly start rolling my hips to the beat of Take You Down, a Chris Brown classic.

And then the strangest thing happens.I hear Dominic’s voice, and it almost breaks me the rest of the way.“I’m so fucking sorry, Cali.I don’t want this.”I hear a sob escape from his lips, even over the music.But I keep dancing, grinding on his lap, until he finally reaches out and holds onto my hips.

I shatter completely once I feel his touch.There’s so much that I want to say—so much that I want to ask—but I can’t.I can see the torment in his eyes and the desperation, and it almost makes me feel sorry for him.But then I remember that he’s a part of everything wrong in my life—that he’s one of the reasons I’m here tonight.So I push the feelings of confusion and hurt to the back of my mind, where they once again blend in with anger, resentment, and hatred.

* * *

When the dance ends,I’m pushed to center stage and told to pose.Each member of the audience gets to request that I do one thing for them before the actual bidding starts.My eyes focus on the red lights on the cameras around the room, knowing each one of these shows has been recorded.It’s not like I can do anything with them, though.

As I nonchalantly pose as instructed, my eyes catch my parents in the back of the room, talking to three very familiar men.

I blink just to make sure and see Adam, David, and Jackson—the boys’ fathers.

I swallow hard, wondering what’s going to come of it.Whatever it is, I know it can’t be good.

“When does the bidding start, Elaine?”One of the men from the crowd yells, growing increasingly impatient.

She emerges from the back corner, waking up on stage with the widest grin plastered on her face that I’ve ever seen.My heart plummets to the stage my feet are on, and I know this isn’t a normal part of the show.But nothing about tonight has been normal.

“It seems we’re going to be doing things a little differently tonight,” she says with malice in her tone.The crowd groans, but still, I bet I’m more pissed than they are.

“Alright, enough.Three lucky men have won Calista tonight,” she explains, walking back and forth across the front of the stage, the sound of her heels clicking in my ears.

“I bet I can offer more,” one man yells from the crowd, and all my mother does is laugh.

“Stewart, if you can give me three million dollars—in cash—right now, then she’s all yours.”

He curses and sits down, the crowd gasping in shock.My mother looks at me and winks before turning back to the men.

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