Page 16 of Living Without

She shuddered. “That is something I will also hope for.”

“Good.” I nodded. “Before we sleep, ah, Kelsey, where do we go to the toilet?”

She snorted. “In the corner of the room, there’s a bucket.” She lifted my hand and pointed in the direction of it. “But, um, for number t-twos they take us to a bathroom. We get a shower once a week. Though I’m sure you’ll get one before they take your photo tomorrow.”

“And food, water?”

“You m-missed today’s. We get some at lunch every day.”

My jaw clenched, tears falling once more. “They’re animals,” I bit out.

“They are,” she whispered.

* * * *

My body jolted awake when a door crashed open. For a blissful moment, I forgot where I was, until Kelsey woke with a scream as two figures came towards us. The light from the hall was minimal so I couldn’t see who it was. Not that it mattered. They were all evil.

Sliding up quickly to a sitting position on the mattress, I pulled Kelsey with me. I’d made sure she was the closest to the wall and got all my body heat because her small frame wouldn’t stop shaking. I wasn’t sure when we’d both fallen asleep, but it seemed not that long ago.

“Shower, now,” a man barked from where he stood beside our mattress.

He started to reach down, until I yelled, “Wait, please. I’ll do anything you say. I won’t fight, but can you please give Kelsey something to eat with some pain meds?”

The man laughed and the other joined in. “Like you’re in a position to ask for things. Get the fuck up.”

He grabbed my arm, but I jerked it free. “All I’m asking for is a small amount of food and one Panadol. Please.”

His hand gripped my hair, pulling my head up. I climbed to my knees to try to stop the stabbing pain. Kelsey screamed, pleaded, and tried to grab his hand. I pushed her back into the corner, and I bit down on my tongue to stop from screaming. “It’s too bad I can’t bruise you before the photo, but it doesn’t mean I can’t after. Learn to keep your trap shut and don’t ask for things you’ll never get.” He abruptly let go, and I fell back. “You two lick each other out last night, and now you got a taste of her pussy, you want to protect her?” He laughed. “You can’t, bitch, remember it. Now get the fuck up and follow me out.”

“Go,” Kelsey whispered. “P-please, don’t worry about me.”

What I wanted to do was kick the man in front of me in the nuts, take the other one down, and grab Kelsey to run. My hand went to my hollowed stomach because I knew I couldn’t. There were more men out there, and we wouldn’t be able to get away from all of them on our own.

Instead, I patted Kelsey’s hand and stood. Both men turned and made their way out. As I got closer to the door, the light, even dim, hurt my eyes. I wasn’t used to staying in the dark for so long. My hand came up to shield my eyes, but it was tugged roughly down, and I was jerked out of the room to walk swiftly down the hall. The second man stayed and stood outside our door.

As my eyes adjusted, I realised Kelsey had been right. Men stood around everywhere. I counted about ten in the rooms we passed down the hall. Some were eating, talking, or watching TV. All dismissive of what was going on. How could so many men want to be involved with selling women? With treating us as if we were nothing? Insignificant.

The man, who seemed in his late forties, pushed the door at the end of the long hall open. My eyes went wide when he pulled me in to a communal bathroom. Showers were set up along one wall and toilets along the other. Though that wasn’t what had my eyes widening; it was the five men standing around. They all turned when we entered.

God, no.

What were they going to do?

My body shook and my shoulders slumped. I sucked in a breath through my nose and bit my bottom lip to try to stop the panic rising. Instead of crying like I wanted to, the dread brought bile to my mouth and turned my stomach.

With the hand around my wrist, I was jerked forward again. “Strip and shower,” the man ordered me.

Again, I looked around at the other men. One I recognised as Stan, the man who’d held me down, and there was the other who had been holding Kelsey. The other three I didn’t know, but all had a wicked glint in their eyes as they looked at me hungrily. Stan even licked his lips and palmed his dick behind his jeans.

More bile. I coughed, choking it back and whispered, “W-what’s going on?”

“Strip, woman. Now!” When I didn’t move fast enough, two men stepped up, and my tee was ripped from my body. Even as I tried to push them away, one of them undid my jeans and jerked them down my legs, leaving me naked.

Hands ran over my body, touching me everywhere.

“Stop,” I begged. “Please.”

“Shut up,” was snarled in my face, from who I didn’t know. I had my eyes closed. My bottom lip quivered and my hand went to my stomach, but I knew it wouldn’t settle. Not when I felt so sick, disgusted.

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