I'd come here often enough to know that the hallway where the bathrooms were located didn't come to a dead end but rather a T. I'd never bothered to venture past the ladies' room, but I'd heard plenty of people talking about what went on in that corridor. I may have been into what some people would consider kinky sex, but I'd never been an exhibitionist...not by choice anyway. I had no problem going back to a college dorm where there was always a possibility of a roommate accidentally coming in, but I wasn't about to fuck someone in a hallway. If some people got their kicks doing it though, who was I to judge?

Tonight, however, I was going to head down to that hallway and find out if there was an exit on either end. It would most likely be an emergency exit and would probably sound an alarm, but on the off chance that I could use it, I was going to try. As much as I'd enjoyed the beginning of the night, I didn't want to go out there again. Not if it meant I'd possibly run into my recent dance partner or, worse, Rylan and his...friend.

The hallway was dark, shadowed, but I could make out figures, bodies moving together and for a moment, I was in the past again.

I didn't know who the other girl was. The man had brought her with him. Mom had told him he wouldn't get a discount just because he wasn't using me the whole time. That was fine, he'd said. He wanted me to watch first; watch so I'd know what he was going to do to me.

The girl was a bit older than me, maybe twelve or so, and it was clear she'd been with this man for a long time. He might've even been her father. There wasn't much of a resemblance, but I knew that didn't mean much of anything.

He made her undress and I could see the bruises on her pale skin. She was thin, her hair limp and straggly. If she was his daughter, he most likely wasn't sending her to school. Someone would've noticed something.

I didn't want to watch when he started touching her, but the first time I looked away, I saw my mother raise her hand in warning. I looked back, but tried not to see. I tried to find that place inside me where I went most of the time I was being hurt, but I couldn't get there, dragged back by the sounds the girl was making. She wasn't loud, and I thought that was most likely the problem. He seemed almost annoyed that she wasn't crying or screaming, merely grunting and groaning, almost involuntary noises. That, I thought, was why he wanted me. He thought what he was doing to her would hurt me because I was someone new. I wondered what lie my mother had told him since I'd been treated to far worse than what the girl was receiving.

I shook my head as the flashback faded. My palms were sweating, but I'd at least managed to stay on my feet and not attract any attention. I hadn't thought of that girl in years. By the time I'd gotten out, I'd forgotten all about her. Had she been rescued too? Or had she succumbed to the same fate so many others like us had and died?

I pushed thoughts of the girl aside. I could revisit her fate later. Right now, I needed to get out. There were other memories waiting to come forward. I could feel them at the back of my brain, pushing, trying to make themselves known.

I started to turn away from the two couples to my right when another flashback hit me.

I sat in the corner, knees pulled to my chest. I'd been wearing my Snow White dress for a week and it was stained and filthy. I hadn't eaten anything in a while and my stomach hurt. I was only six, but that wasn't anything new to me. Neither was the pain in other parts of my body. It was summer and that meant more movies. We'd made four this week and I'd lost count of how many men had hurt me.

When the last of those had left, other men had come, but they hadn't been interested in me. I rocked back and forth, wishing I could put my hands over my ears, but when I'd tried that, I'd missed something my mother had told me to do and she'd hit me. If my face hadn't already been swollen and bruised, I might've taken the chance of a blow or two, but I wasn't going to, and that meant I heard every moan and curse.

The three men who'd brought bags of stuff for Mom were taking turns with her just like the other men had done with me. She didn't seem to mind though. Her noises were happy and she kept asking them to do more. Sometimes, she told me to watch because I would be doing some of these things soon. When I saw her between two men, one below her and one above her, my stomach turned and I was glad I hadn't eaten. I didn't want to think about when I would have to do that.

I rested my head against the wall as I heard one of the men groan. I knew that sound. He was done. I hoped the other two would finish soon and leave. Mom wouldn't feed me, but she would use what the men had brought and I could go to the kitchen and try to find something to eat.

“Watch!” My mother snapped. “Learn something.”

Reluctantly, I looked back at the bodies on the bed and tried to think of something else. Anything but what was happening.

I came to with the wall against my back. I heard a low whimpering sound and realized it was me. I took a slow breath and pressed my hands flat against the wall. I didn't even want to think about what kind of shit I could be touching, focusing instead on the solid feel of the wall, the pounding music.

I was here. This was real. The rest was in the past. It couldn't hurt me anymore.

I pushed myself off the wall, forcing back the rest of the memories. I needed to go the other way and see if there was an exit down there. After a few steps, the world became more firm and some of my tension faded away. I still had plenty, but at least I could breathe without it feeling like my lungs were being squeezed.

The hallway appeared to be blissfully empty and, in the darkness, I could see a faint red glow high on the wall. High enough to be an exit sign. It seemed like it was around another corner, maybe a short alcove. I walked faster. As I turned, I processed several things at once.

One, there was indeed an exit and it didn't say emergency only. Two, I wasn't alone. And, three, the pair were totally involved in what they were doing and hadn't noticed me.

One man was facing the wall, his face turned away from me. His pants were around his knees and I caught a glimpse of a firm ass as the man behind him moved. The one in the back was my first dance partner. The one in the front was tall and muscular, with lighter hair, but I couldn't tell what shade.

The man being fucked moaned. “Harder, baby.”

My heart leaped into my throat and I took a step backward. I had to be hearing things. The music was little more than thumping white noise, but I tried telling myself that was why I thought I recognized the voice.

He let out a hiss as the man in the back slammed into him.

“Is that what you want?” My former dance partner asked.

I watched, unable to look away, as the man in back reached around and, I assumed, grabbed the other man's cock.

“Faster,” he gasped. “We gotta come soon. My friend's waiting.”

I clapped my hand over my mouth to stifle a noise. The man had turned his head slightly when he'd spoken and his profile confirmed my suspicions. I backed away slowly, praying he wouldn't see me. He already hated me. If he knew that I knew...

Fuck.

I hurried down the hallway and turned back towards the restrooms. I ducked into the women's restroom, thankful there wasn't the usual line. I locked myself in a stall and only then did I let myself think about what I'd seen.

Zeke. Rylan's best friend. Being fucked. By a man.

Oh shit.

I didn't care that he was gay and I doubted Rylan would, but Zeke obviously cared. Rylan had said that Zeke and Suzette had dated and hadn't mentioned anything about Zeke being gay.

I frowned. Actually, Rylan had said that he'd hated listening to the two of them having sex. Maybe Zeke was bisexual. Again, not that it mattered. I was pretty sure he was hiding it either way. I'd never heard Rylan talk about Zeke dating guys, and he had mentioned the two of them double-dating with women.

Was that what this whole thing was about? My eyes widened. Was that why Zeke hated me? Did Zeke treat me the way he did because he was jealous? Not that I'd been cutting into his time with Rylan, but that Rylan wanted me in a way he didn't want Zeke?

Pieces were starting to fall into place. It didn't make a difference in what had happened, of course, but things at least made sense. I rubbed my temples. I was getting a headache. While I finally understood things, I suddenly realized that I didn't want to know it. I didn't want to be a part of it anymore.

And I wasn't. The happiness of Rylan and his friends and family was no longer my concern.