Page 39 of Lexi, Property of Rhyder

He smiles. “We’ve done our homework. We don’t just kidnap any girl. Clemente has a particular taste when it comes to his…girls.”

Clemente, there’s that name again.

“Who is Clemente?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” He lifts a strand of my hair between his fingers, his face taking on a somewhat annoyed expression. “This won’t do. Go! Dry your hair.” His hand comes out, and I flinch back. “Don’t worry, Lexi, I’m not going to hurt you.” My teeth chatter with fear as he runs his fingers softly down my cheek. “There’s makeup in the bathroom, make sure you use it. You have horrible marks under your eyes.” His strong cologne envelops me before he leaves to go into the bathroom. When he returns, he hands me a lipstick. “This is the color you will wear tonight. I’ll wait right here to make sure you look perfect before we head downstairs.” Christopher turns and takes a seat on the bed, folding his legs then shoos me away, saying, “We don’t have much time. Go! Do it now. Mr. Clemente doesn’t like his girls to keep him waiting.”

“Girls? What girls?” I ask, stepping closer.

“Tsk tsk… no more talking. Head into the bathroom and dry that hair of yours. And don’t forget to use the makeup.”

I listen and walk back into the bathroom. My hair has begun to dry and become fizzy. I open the drawers and find a hairdryer. Plugging it in, I quickly dry it and brush it to the point that it falls in waves down my back.

The makeup kit is on the bench, so open it and apply some concealer to cover the blackness under my eyes with shaking hands as I dab the cream into my skin. I have no idea what I’m being prepared for, and the thought alone scares me to death.

Grabbing the eyeshadow, I decide on a natural color and lightly cover my eyelids followed by some mascara. Looking in the mirror, I still look quite pale. Knowing that Christopher will send me back in here if I walk out there like this, I decide to place some color to my cheeks by applying some pink bronzer. Lastly, I remove the lid from the bright red lipstick. I’ve never worn anything but gloss on my lips, and usually, I would pass on this color. However, I’ve been told that I need to wear this, so with shaky hands, I start to apply it to my bottom lip. I stop, take in a few short breaths trying to get my nerves under control. Then when I’ve calmed a little, I attempt to cover my top lip without shaking.

Once I’m done, I wipe away the excess lipstick that’s gotten out of line. If this were another time, another place, I would admire my appearance, but right now, I have no idea what’s in store.

I sense we have been sold to this Mr. Clemente but have no idea what that means.

Will he keep us here as slaves?

Are we going to be sold again?

Will they rape me?

Fear grips me, and I struggle to breathe through a panic attack.

No, this can’t be happening!

I feel slightly faint and try to sit on the edge of the nearby spa, but before I can step close, I must blackout because when I wake, I’m lying in bed.

“Where am I?” My voice sounds croaky, and I try to sit up.

Christopher is there beside me with an amber liquid in his hands.

“What happened?” I ask, confused.

He takes a seat on the bed beside me and replies, “You fainted. Understandable, considering you haven’t eaten or drunk much in the past few days. Here drink some of this, it will make you feel better and bring some pinkness to your cheeks. I accept his amber liquid, and when I bring it to my lips, the strong scent of alcohol causes my nose to tingle.

“I don’t want this.” I hand it back to him.

Christopher lifts the glass by the bottom and tilts it to my mouth. “Drink it! This is not a choice but a demand.”

Not wanting to anger him, I take the glass to my lips and take a large gulp of the contents. The liquor burns all the way down my chest, and I begin to cough.

Christopher laughs, then pushes the glass to my mouth again. “All of it.”

I want to throw it in his stupid face and tell him I don’t have to do fucking anything, but I know that’s not possible. So, obeying his demands, I bring the glass to my lips and swallow the contents until the glass is empty.

“There you go. Good girl.” Christopher removes the glass from my hand and places it on the bedside table, then looks back at me. “How do you feel? Do you think you can walk?”

I feel a little better, but the last thing I want to do is walk anywhere because I don’t know where I’m going. But before I can reply that I’m not ready, I think about Paige, who will probably be going wherever they’re sending me, and I don’t want to leave her on her own, so I reply, “Yes, I think I can.”

Christopher stands, then holds his hand out to me to support my wobbly legs. I accept it, but when I stand, I sway a little on my feet, and for some reason I giggle. Not sure what that alcohol was, but it’s making me feel giddy.

“Whoa… be careful.” He steps in front of me and holds both of my hands. “Lexi, are you okay?”

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