Present Day

The sudden jolt of pain in my elbow was enough to make me leap to attention and Tony knew it. He must have studied hard at “finding painful pressure points on the human body,” when the rest of us were learning our ABC’s. Having been silently reprimanded, I made sure I was standing closer to him and my abhorrent “uncle.” I couldn’t take any more pain today. I was vaguely aware of where we were, but the constant drugged state they kept me in, made it impossible for me to separate what was real from what wasn’t. To be quite honest, I no longer wanted to know. I felt sure that I was losing my grip on reality. My life now, was just made up of one nightmare after another. I seemed to only be held together by the pain they inflicted on me and the rare humanity they bestowed on me.

Inside me they had planted a tiny seed, which was beginning to sprout and flourish from their occasional acts of benevolence towards me. I knew what they were doing, I wasn’t an unintelligent woman. Torture and pain followed by acts of such bittersweet kindness, were causing me to crave each morsel of affection I was being shown. I had seen how they had used it to “train” the other girls. Slowly, against my will I could feel it beginning to take a hold of me, too. Where before I had always hated Tony’s clammy hands on me, now if he touched me without causing me pain, I craved more.

I hated myself for my weakness.

I lifted my head a little from my ever-present acquiescent stance, as muted cheers and clapping replaced the previous shouts and echoes of encouragement. They filtered slowly into my cotton-wool-like head from the crowd around us. I presumed what we had been brought here to take part in was finally over.

‘You have got to be fucking joking!’ I heard Tony force out an irate voice from between gritted teeth. ‘What the fuck are we going to do now?’ I thought I could detect anguish in his voice as he aimed the question at his father, my “uncle.” But as the only feeling I could correctly interpret anymore was pain, I wondered if my grasp on the situation was correct? I knew that if I was right, then without a doubt I would be in trouble. I seemed to be his human punching bag and he took great delight in causing me as much pain as possible, making sure of course that no bruises could be seen when they needed to parade me around, such as now.

Suddenly, we were moving quickly back to the vehicles that had driven us here. Tony dragged me along by his side. I wasn’t to be trusted, unlike the other girls with us, who he had already broken in. I stumbled and heard Tony swear once again. I couldn’t walk in the heels that he and his father always insisted I wear. Finally, my ankle turned over and I collapsed to the hard floor.

‘Get up, bitch, you’re causing a scene,’ he hissed.

‘Sort her out, Tony, and do it fast,’ came the voice that I had so loved to listen to when I was a child, but now I hated the intonation of, and with good reason.

Even in my haze I recognised the tone of voice he was using and my stomach somersaulted in panic. But try as I might, in my drugged stupor, it was almost impossible to find my balance enough to stand.

I heard other voices approaching. Strangers were coming towards us and I knew that was going to make my situation even worse. Hopefully, in their anger, my “family” might kill me tonight and put me out of my misery.

‘Going somewhere, Nicolae?’ a man with a Cockney accent asked.

‘Of course, not… What are you trying to insinuate? We were just escorting my niece back to the car as she doesn’t feel very well.’

‘Well, once you’ve done that, make sure you and Tony come back to the bookmaker to pay your debts, won’t you?’

‘I don’t need reminding!’

My arm was grabbed roughly and I was pulled up to balance precariously on the foot that could weight bear..

‘You’re a fucking liability, Lily, and it will be my pleasure to remind you just who owns you later.’ As Tony spoke into my ear, I felt some of his spittle connect with the skin on my jaw bone and I shuddered in disgust. Forcibly he let go of my arm, pushing me towards one of his henchman and made his way back his father’s side.

Not for the first time, I wished I had died with my parents in the car crash that took their lives. I was unceremoniously picked up and carried by Sorin, who placed me onto the back seat of the car. The door was slammed shut and as soon as I heard the lock click into place, I rolled down onto the floor. Once in the foot well, I curled up into the smallest ball I could and waited. I could no longer cry; all my tears had been spent previously.

So, with my eyes open wide, I waited for the men who owned me to return.

Present day

My body was a fucked-up mess, the pain coming from my kidneys meant I would be pissing blood for a few days. I moved my jaw around checking for damage and was relieved to find nothing. The pleasure and relief of winning was releasing endorphins that I knew were keeping the pain in check, but later when they subsided I knew I’d be in fucking agony.

Charlie was concentrating on the damage done to my hands, cleaning the abrasions and checking each finger in turn for breakages. I winced every time he twisted and turned the joints.

‘Seriously, mate, that trapped wrist strike was inspired.’ I noted that every word with an “S” in caused air to whistle through the recently acquired gap in his teeth. I stored it away for piss-taking fodder, to be used later. ‘When his wrist broke under the pressure I heard the snap from where I was.’

‘I’m just fucking pleased it’s over.’

‘I’m happy to say your hands are good.’ He lifted his gaze up from my hands to my face. ‘Trouble is, you’re fucking ugly now, gobshite, but at least your money-making hands are ok.’ He smiled, revealing the gap in his teeth, obviously comfortable now with the fact I looked worse than him.

‘Piss off.’

‘What was that? I can’t quite hear you… your swollen, ugly mug is affecting the way you talk… Mmmm, you remind me of someone.’ He scratched his crew-cut head pretending to think. ‘Oh yes, I know who.’ He propelled himself away from me laughing at his own thoughts, and hunching himself over he started talking again. ‘The bells. Esmerelda. The bells.’

‘Fuck off, Quasimodo.’

Charlie stopped arsing around and stood up as he watched the bookmaker making his way over to us.

‘Congratulations, Jack.’ He didn’t offer me his hand as he knew just how painful my hands would be after the fight. ‘Jack, Charlie, I’m sorry to say we have a problem.’ I watched as Charlie crossed his arms over his chest at those words.

‘We do?’ I questioned the bookmaker.

‘I have most of the money you’ve won in this holdall, but unfortunately one of the bets is unable to be fulfilled in full. Nicolae Vasile and his son Tony are one hundred thousand pounds short of their joint obligation.’

‘I assume their wager wasn’t checked like ours was when we arrived… I mean, how the hell does that even happen?’ Charlie wasn’t asking a question he was just making his opinion heard.

‘They have something to put to you, I’m not sure you’re going to like it as I know you have your own limits, but I’m obliged to make you the offer anyway.’ I looked over the top of his shoulder, cars were dispersing quickly from the garage in a bid to make sure the police didn’t get wind of the illegal, bare-knuckle fight that had taken place. The only people not moving were the Vasiles, they stood flanked by the security guards employed by the bookmaker. One way or another they always made sure debts were paid.

‘Go on.’

‘Nicolae has several young ladies with him.’ The bookmaker cleared his throat as he watched my eyebrows furrow together in question. ‘He wants you to choose one of them as collateral against the debt. He has advised me that it will take him ninety days to liquidate some stocks and assets. Then he can make good on the one hundred thousand he owes you.’

‘Fuck, no. We don’t deal in human beings,’ Charlie answered.

I put one hand up, silently asking my best mate to wait. My mind went back to the blonde girl I had seen Tony hurt earlier. I had no idea why, but I wanted to help her if I could. I ran the figures around in my head. I still had enough cash to get on with my project.

‘I get my choice?’

‘No, Jack!’ I heard Charlie expel.

I turned my head once again towards him, shaking it slightly.

‘It’s my decision, ain’t it?’ Once again, I questioned the bookmaker.

‘Yes, Charlie’s money, is paid in full. It’s yours that they can’t honour.’

‘I can choose any girl?’

‘That’s what they said.’ The bookmaker started to relax at the thought that we might be satisfied with what was being offered, knowing it would make his job much easier.

‘Lead the way.’ I pushed myself away from the concrete pillar I had been leaning on. I felt the cold air immediately connect with the cooling sweat on my bare torso, I was still only wearing the sweat shorts I had fought in. I walked lethargically, with a great deal of effort, as exhaustion began to set in and my endorphins retreated, leaving only agony behind.

‘You accept our offer then, Carpenter?’ Nicolae looked questioningly at me.

I nodded, not wanting to get into conversation with him. I recognised a piece of scum when I saw it.

‘Show him the girls, Tony.’

I watched as five girls were paraded in front of my eyes, but not one of them was the girl I had seen earlier.

‘My choice, I believe?’

‘Yes. You can choose any one of the girls that I have brought with us today, in exchange for us having the ninety days we need to pay off our debt.’

I looked at the scum again, his wig was slightly lopsided as he began to sweat under the lights and my interrogating stare. Stupidly, he pulled the camel coat that was placed around his shoulders tighter together at the front of his body.

‘Then I’ll have the blonde girl I saw your son with earlier.’

‘Tata?’ I watched Tony balk and question his father. ‘Lily is mine, Father. You promised her to me, Tata.’

‘Get her,’ I heard Nicolae demand without even looking at his son.

Lily? I ran the name around my head, determined not to let my emotions and thoughts show on my face.

There were many girls with that name.

There was no way!

It couldn’t be my Lily?

I watched as Tony made his way to the car and pulled a small figure up by her bottle-blonde hair from what appeared to be the floor of the car.

I watched, frozen to the spot, as he literally dragged the girl nearer to where we all stood.

I still said nothing as I heard Charlie whisper in my ear.

‘I don’t believe it. It can’t be, can it?’

I still didn’t say anything as she was shoved down to the unforgiving concrete floor in front of my feet.

‘There you go, she’s all yours. As she can’t even give a decent BJ, you’re welcome to her. Just don’t damage her too much. I look forward to seeing you again in ninety days, Lily.’ I watched him bend his head down to her, pull her face to him by a handful of her hair and kiss her full on the mouth. Finally, he released the hold he had on her, pushing her head forward. The force of the movement propelled her to fall forward onto her hands. The bastard swaggered back to his daddy’s car, laughing.

But when the recognisable green eyes finally looked up into mine, I spoke.

‘Charlie, get my ropes from the car and tie her up. We wouldn’t want her disappearing off the face of the earth, would we?’

I watched as one solitary tear left her eye and fell down her pale cheek. I clenched my painful fists to my sides and turned away to walk back to my car.