34 Whipped (1/2)

Blue stopped short, knocking on one of the doors. There was movement inside, I could hear rustling and the sound of someone walking around. My heart was beating in my throat and my chest was swelling like a hot air balloon.

The door opened slowly, exposing a sweaty and flushed Virgo. Buttoning up his shirt, he glanced between Blue and myself. ”Is it time?” he asked, running his fingers through his hair to fix it.

”You said he would be here at eleven, it's ten of.”

”Mm,” Virgo grunted, checking his watch. ”Well, perfect timing then. I'm done here anyway.” Looking over his shoulder, he spoke to someone else. ”Now you're ready.” His eyes moved back to me, his smile bold and sinister. ”Give the new girl a nice smile, Jessie, she's just been inducted as one of our own.”

Virgo turned sideways, allowing me to see inside. There was a young girl curled up in a ball on the bed, her tears fresh and streaming down her cheeks like roaring rapids. Her gaze was wide and full of sadness as our eyes connected.

Another one. Another poor girl who will have to suffer until she is bought or worse.

This was his ritual, it was how he showed his power and authority, letting you know he was in charge. Virgo always had the first turn with a new girl. He got her before anyone else, and he liked to joke at times about the men in club getting his sloppy seconds.

It made me sick, it filled me with so much disgust, and my experience was no different than hers. Except I fought. I fought and I didn't stop fighting until everything went black.

And I was thankful for that.

But the memory of what happened before everything shut down, burned me from the inside out. I felt so disgusting after, so violated and ruined.

Shadowed fingers traced my shoulder, causing me to look at my arm. Flashes of that night began to pop into my head, taking me back in time, to that single moment where a monster stole my innocence.

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'You know what day it is, my sweet child?' Virgo asked, gently closing the basement door. 'It's your birthday, the day I took you in, the day I decided you belonged to me.'

'It's not my birthday, my birthday—'