Chapter Nineteen
Layla
“Layla? Layla, are you okay?”
There was a flurry of activity around me. A bunch of girls were talking all at once. I knew then that I was in the Room. The Room was what we called the small, bare room all five of us girls were forced to share. It was really only big enough for two to comfortably sleep, but we made it work.
It was devoid of furniture, save for a one-person vanity so we had a place to do our make-up. Devin liked his girls to look pretty whenever we went out. If I ever found a way to get the girls out, I would burn this house to the ground. I’d start it in this room. God, I hated it.
Opening my eyes was a monumental effort. Why did my chest hurt? It felt like someone had sucker-punched me in the stomach. And then hit me with a bus.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, slowly sitting up.
“You overdosed,” Kay said. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for the CPR.” I knew she’d been the one to do it because she’d done it for a lot of the girls before. Some didn’t make it. Kay took it hard when that happened. It made me all the more grateful I’d survived.
Kay smiled. “No problem.”
“Dammit, I promised Ryder…” I muttered. I suddenly felt extremely violated, worse than after rape. Rape, I was numb to. I was not used to being given drugs without my consent. I had wanted it. But I hadn’t said yes. “I need a bath. Boil some water.”
Her smile faded. “Layla…you’ve been gone for weeks. Where were you?”
“Yeah, bailin’ on us already?” Sarah joked. She glanced at the floor sadly. “Too bad you didn’t get away.”
“Devin had a contact spot me at a phone store. He got my number and threatened my…friend.”
“Oooh, a friend? What was he like?” Kay asked.
“A really nice guy kidnapped me. Seriously, he literally picked me up off the streets. He’s a really good guy. You and the other girls would love him. Mace wo-” Sarah and Kay looked down as soon as I said Macy’s name. A cold sense of dread washed over me. “Oh…what happened?”
Sarah’s right hand was clenched into a fist. “Devin thought she was stealing. She was coming home from runs high so he thought she was snorting what she didn’t sell… He took her outside and…shot her… She had a bag over her head and was dragged out, kicking and screaming.”
Macy was the youngest of the girls in the Room. She was nineteen. She’d been on her way to getting a bachelor’s degree in science. Devin used her to make some of the stuff we sold. Her first week running with us she’d scarred half of her face in an accident while mixing the drugs. She’d been such a pretty girl. After the accident, Devin had been meaner to her. He’d made her have sex with the more overweight clients, the ones he was less enthusiastic about having touch the ‘pretty’ girls. She’d only been with us for a few months, but I’d always liked her. She’d always tried to cheer everyone else up while she cried herself to sleep on the particularly bad nights.
“I’m sorry…” I said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“Nothing you could have done,” Sarah replied, unclenching her fist and wiping her eyes. “It was in the middle of the night last week. I just hate that we couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t even be present to bury her…Goddammit…I am so sick of this life!”
A chorus of ‘me too’ came from the other girls. I nodded, feeling guilty. I’d wanted to go to the police about everything. The girls had always been on my mind, but I wasn’t sure who to go to. Devin had contacts all over. Who’s to say the police force didn’t have one or two officers that worked for him? It was too risky.
“Why did Devin send me back here? I’d been in the basement last night. Is it still night?” I asked.
“It’s eight in the morning. I saw the clock in the kitchen when I came back.” Kristen said, speaking up for the first time. She looked like she wanted to say more.
“When did you leave?”
She sighed. “Devin sent me to Clark’s at six this morning. Early morning deal. I finally left and…I’m pretty tired.”
“Get some sleep. We’ll keep it down,” Sarah promised. I shuddered inwardly. Clark was one of Devin’s clients he’d known from high school. Clark always paid in cash for his fix, but Devin also allowed him free access to us when we were sent to his house. Clark was rough. His last girlfriend died from a beating. He’d gotten a year in jail. That had made me a lot meaner, angrier. Being sent to his house was a nightmare. Devin simply overlooked our broken bones and black eyes. After all, Clark was a friend, and a friend of the devil didn’t get punished.
Kristen smiled. She knew what I was thinking. “It’s all right, Lays. I’m fine. Glad you’re safe.”
“Good night,” I said. I was curious about what she had wanted to tell me but didn’t want to press her. Dealing with Clark was stressful. There would probably be time to ask her when she woke up.
She was snoring into a pillow seconds later, using one of the old thin, ratty blankets to cover up with. That blanket smelled so much like beer, we were ninety-five percent sure we could actually get drunk if we sniffed it long enough. But it was all we had.
“He took you to Solitary?” Kay asked. “Is that why your finger is broken?”
“Yup,” I said, glancing at my taped finger. A dull throb told me it was still attached. “He was angry. I stole some cash out of the safe. He told me the combo in a drunken stupor a few nights before I left. I assume he’ll change it, if he hasn’t already.”
Sarah nodded. “Probably when he got up to send Kris out. Or maybe before he went to bed. He threw you in here a couple hours ago. Breakfast should be ready right about-” She grinned when Devin knocked on the door. “Like fucking clockwork.”
Kristen didn’t even move, even though Devin’s knocking startled me. I wasn’t used to loud noises anymore. Ryder was a quiet guy when he wasn’t talking about music. Thinking about his rants made me smile. I dropped the smile as soon as the door opened. Devin would ask about it, and I was too out of it to come up with a good lie.
“Breakfast is ready. Eat up, girls. We all have a busy day. Lots of orders today,” Devin said. We stood up and went out the door single file. Sarah gave my hand a quick squeeze before she took her place in front of me. I was last in line this time. I was usually at the front. It was the girls’ way of protecting me. I was touched at their kindness.
I should have taken the risk.