Willow

"Come on, Low, you need a night out. When was the last time you got laid?" my co-worker, from the small supermarket we worked at together, questioned as she stood at her empty register. Thank God I was also free of customers in the run-down, rarely busy supermarket because Lucia went on. "You need a good shag, woman. Everyone can see how tense your arse is."

I giggled and shook my head at her. "Babe, why are you so worried about my arse? I'm fine with not getting any, so you shouldn't worry about it, either." I sent her an eye roll before picking up a new magazine to read.

"You work too hard, always asking for extra shifts. You have no fun, and a no-fun Willow is a dull bitch. I want, just one day, to come in to work and you tell me about a good pounding you got the night before."

"Pfft! Aren't your own adventures enough to keep you occupied?" I asked, thumbing through the 'Who's Wearing What' section.

"I don't have enough going on in my life since being with Alex. I need to live through you now, girl, unless I cheat on my man. You wouldn't want that, would you? It'd be your fault if I cheated."

Snorting, I said, "You are so full of it. As if you would cheat on Alex. He dotes on you like you're a queen. Why would you want to ruin that? Plus, like you said, he's magical in bed. Now that's something I've never experienced." Sighing, I put the magazine back and grabbed another. My sex life was, and always had been, non-existent. I was a twenty-two-year-old, born-again virgin. 'Born again' because I'd only had one lover, which lasted long enough for him to take my V-card and leave, never to be seen again. Not that Lucia knew that. I shuddered at the thought if she found out my snatch hadn't any visitors for the last six years. She'd probably organise a 'losing your V-card second time around’ party, lining up several men to knock out that pesky grown-over-again hymen.

I glanced up at her and then back down before continuing. "And you know why I have to work my arse off. I need out of my cousin's house. I need to make a life for myself."

Living with a cousin I hardly knew, despite being there for two years, was something I never thought I'd do. There were so many contributing factors to why I was still there.

Like two years ago, the first time I tried to leave my high-on-ice parents' house only to find I couldn't because they'd stolen from me. After saving my arse off, I'd decided it was NL day, as in New Life day. I went to the bank to collect the hard-earned money, only to discover my account was dry. My parents had stolen my money so they could get high and invest in their own little pharmacy. An ignorant error on my behalf, having them added to my account in case they needed extra money for food and such. I'd left school at the age of sixteen so I could work and get out of my parents' house. It took me until I was twenty to have enough cash to make the escape. I didn't hate them for it, though.

I couldn't. They were my parents.

I was annoyed. No, that wasn’t right. I was pissed. I wanted to string them up by their toes on the clothesline and beat them senseless, but I didn’t.

They were neglectful parents, but they weren’t so bad. They didn't beat me. They weren't mean to me nor did they abuse me. They simply didn't care enough about their child.

Ever since my younger sister drowned when I was six, ice became more important than anything to my parents. I cooked, cleaned, and did my own homework without any help. I raised myself. So even though I didn't hate them, I'd felt nothing when they died two months after I'd turned twenty. Unsurprisingly, they'd OD'd from an experimental batch gone wrong. I'd lost both my parents in one night, yet I spilled no tears to grieve for them.

I felt nothing.

My apathy wasn't because they'd left me with nothing; I had no money and no place to stay, so I was evicted. I was sure my lack of concern was because they didn't care enough about their only living daughter which caused me, in turn, to not care about them.

I still wasn't sure if that made me a bad person. The only saving grace at the time was the fact that my cousin, Colton, had turned up the day after their deaths and offered me some help. Not having many friends I could rely on, or any other family, I had no choice but to take him up on his offer. I didn't want to live on the streets and fend for myself. So even though Colton was practically a stranger, I had limited options but to trust him.

At least it worked out. Colton kept to himself. We shared the house, but honestly, we hardly saw each other. I was always busy working and he was busy...doing whatever he did. I’d asked questions about him, but it seemed he wasn’t willing to share too much. I prayed every night I hadn’t moved in with a serial killer. He never gave off the vibe he’d like to hack me up into tiny pieces, thankfully. He was my cousin, after all, and he was kind enough to look out for me. Still, I bought a lock for my bedroom door. However, what helped was that over the two years, he was more like a weird reclusive housemate than a family member. He’d moved me into the house he inherited from his father. My uncle had been rich, very rich, and left everything to Colton. I never really knew my uncle. He disowned my family, his drugged-up brother. I couldn't blame him, really; I'd been ashamed, as well.

Despite a pretty peaceful two years, I was ready to move out and stand on my own two feet. Excitement thrummed through me every time I thought about having a place of my own, followed by a giddy feeling in my stomach. Even though Fate had thrown me a crappy deck by bringing me into a world where the people who were my family didn't care an ounce about me, I was proud of the person I'd become. I strived to be better each day, to be nothing like my parents, where through the struggles of life, I didn’t turn to alcohol or drugs and things were looking up. Finally, I was escaping the deep doo-doo that'd been thrown my way.

It was a new beginning for me, and I couldn't wait.

Shrugging the thoughts away, I continued talking to Lucia and flipping through the pages. "You never know, when I'm finally on my own two feet and in my own place, maybe I could find my own Alex. Or even start to have some fun by getting down and dirty with some stranger who would cause my girly parts to sing a hymn..." I stopped because I got the eerie feeling Lucia and I weren't alone. I looked up from the magazine to find a fine specimen of man standing in the doorway of the supermarket. Gorgeous, blondish-brown messy hair, ocean-blue eyes, and a large frame, which I guessed was popping with toned muscles, he wore dark jeans that hugged his firm thighs. I found myself wishing he would turn around to give us a show of his butt while shaking it. Combining that with a tight black tee and leather jacket, I was losing grip on reality and wondered if I'd somehow knocked myself out.

Then it all came back to me, the last words said from my mouth. I blushed and prayed that the sinful man hadn't heard. Yet his smirk and wink as he walked past told me he had. I wanted to curl into a ball under my counter and pretend I wasn't there.

"Willow," Lucia said.

"Yes?" I sighed.

"Can you get me a mop?"

Dragging my reluctant eyes away from a sweet tush, I looked to her to see she was still watching the walking sin. "Why?" I asked.

She grinned wickedly before saying, "Because I just creamed my panties and made a puddle on the floor while watching that damn fine man walk in here."

"Lucia." I gasped and quickly looked down the aisle where my fantasy man had walked. He was no longer in sight. "You can't say that stuff out loud."

"Oh, girl, I can and I will." Then she laughed. "At least it wasn't me who said I was gonna get down and dirty and have my girly parts sing as he walked in."

"Snap, he heard?"

"Sure did." She grinned.

Standing up straight, I looked to the clock. It was past seven at night which meant... "At least I don't have to embarrass myself more. It's time for me to go." I smiled, grabbed my bag from under the counter and walked over to Lucia for a quick hug goodbye.

"Sure you don't want to stay? He may offer himself up for your dirty ride."

Snorting, I said, "No. I think I'll keep him in my fantasy drawer."

"Have smoking dreams tonight, girl."

Waving over my shoulder, I said, "Oh, I will." I turned to wink, but didn't get there. Instead, I squeaked when I spotted Mr Sin himself standing at her counter. Lucia burst out laughing as I practically ran from the shop.

The bus ride home seemed to take longer than any other day. It didn't help that I was sweltering and the man next to me was enjoying being in my personal space, making me hot and uncomfortable. I contemplated if the air-conditioning on the bus was even working. I felt the beast of a man beside me look down at me once again. I didn’t want to meet his gaze in case he wanted to start up a conversation.

Oh. Snap. He shifted and a whiff of BO caught my nose, nearly making me gag.

Gripping my bag closer to my chest, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the window. Come on, stop, come on. The whole ride threatened to put a dampener on my good mood. Yet, I still couldn't wait to get home and tell my cousin I was moving out. I'd even found a small apartment in the paper that morning. I rang the realtor on my break and I would head there the next day to take a look. Everything appeared promising, though. A couple of weeks and I'd be on my own.

A smile lit my face. Yes, even with the scent of BO in my nose, I could still smile. It was as though nothing could take away my happiness.

Finally, my stop came. I squeezed past Stinky and felt a pinch on my arse.

Turning quickly, I pointed in his pudgy face and snapped, “Would you like to have babies one day?”

His eyes widened, but he nodded.

“Then don’t ever do that again to any female or one day, your balls will be sliced off by some pissed-off woman. You’re just lucky I’m in a good mood or it would be me.”

I made my way down the aisle and off the bus. Heck, the small breeze in the humid air was better than that rubbish bus trip.

Around the corner of the bus stop was Colton's house. Walking up the path, I reached the house and unlocked the door. Thick heat greeted me, letting me know my cousin wasn't home. Once I turned the air-conditioner on, I made my way down to my room and dropped my bag. After a quick shower in the bathroom at the end of the hall, I dressed in a sleeveless tee and denim shorts. Feeling more comfortable out of my work gear, I walked into Colton's study munching on an apple.

I needed access to his computer to transfer some money from my chequing account to my savings account.

His laptop was already open on his desk and with a quick wiggle of the mouse, it came to life. I logged in and smiled to myself. After today's wages, there would be exactly what I needed to make the move.

My apple slipped from my hand to the floor.

No.

Not again.

It was empty, except for fifty cents.

Where was my money?

My heart tightened in my chest. Tears formed in my eyes, but I wiped them away.

I searched through the transfer information and discovered Colton's name as recipient. There had to be an explanation. There had to be. He wouldn't do it to me, not after knowing what my parents did. He wouldn't. He couldn't be that heartless.

The one person I had left in my life I couldn't trust, either.

No. Hold out hope. Something could have happened. There had to be a good explanation on why my goddamn money was gone. There had to be.

He wouldn't need my measly savings. He had an inheritance worth hundreds of thousands.

I searched through the help information, trying to see if there was a way to stop the transfer. Confused by the small print swimming before my eyes, I took the time to frantically search through his document files. I lucked out when I found his own bank sign-in details in a Word document.

A moment later, I stared at the screen and his bank balance. His account sat at zero.

God. I really, really was stupid.

It was then I heard the front door open. I pushed the chair back and strode from the office, down the hall and into the living room where Colton was shouldering his bag off.

"Where is it?" I asked, ashamed my voice quivered.

"What?" he asked with a smile.

"My money. Your money."

His face darkened. "You been in my study, woman, my account? What the fuck you think you doing in there? In my fucking business?" He stalked towards me.

For a second, fear clawed its way through me. "Colton, my account is empty, transferred to you. Your account is fucking empty." I kept my voice strong. "My money, where has it gone?"

Abruptly, just before he got to me, he stopped and smiled. "Don't you worry about a thing now. I have it all figured out. Everything will be fine, cuz." The gleam in his eyes told me everything would not be fine.

"I-I need my money, Colton. I'm moving out." My hands restlessly played with the bottom of my shorts to keep from picking the bastard up and throwing him out the window.

He laughed, shaking his head like I had said the funniest thing. "Sorry, cuz."

That didn’t sound good. "About what?"

His head cocked to the side and he smirked over at me. I watched as his hand went behind him and he pulled a gun free, pointing it at me.

"What? No!" I took a step back. My hands out and up in front of me, my heart beat erratically in my chest. I didn’t even know he owned a gun, or if he was smart enough to use it. "Colton, what's this about?"

Even when my heart was going haywire with panic, I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him. Better yet, I wanted to take that gun from him and shoot him in the balls. However, I did nothing but freeze.

"You see, I lost a bit of money. I like to gamble, and I gambled with the wrong people. I had to do something to save myself."

My stomach dropped. "What?" I whispered.

"I gave them all the money we had."

My arms went around my stomach. I gripped my sides as the hurt and betrayal bombarded me.

The only family member left on Earth turned on me for his own benefit.

Like my parents had.

I'd trusted him when he said he would support me.

He'd lied.

Like all my family seemed to do.

My money was gone. Colton's money was gone, and his fear was what brought my own fear on. Even though he looked smug, I could see the terror in his wide, twitching eyes. The people he'd played with were bad people.

"S-so, I'll, um, I'll just work harder and get some money back in." Like hell I would. I was out of there as soon as I could.

He sighed and shook his head. "My money and yours wasn't enough. I had to give them something else."

God. I closed my eyes and my head dipped forward. I was too scared to ask.

It seemed I didn't need to though because Colton supplied it. "You."

I was going to be sick. I was going to throw up all over the carpet. My body shook with shock. Had I heard him right?

Lifting my head, opening my eyes, I asked in a quiet voice, "Me?"

"Yeah, cuz. Found a good buyer through some mates. They deal in slavery themselves, but when I showed them a picture of you, the biker wanted you for himself. Said he needed a good black bitch in his house taking care of shit." The sick shine in Colton’s eyes when he explained he'd sold me was enough to know my owner would bring new, darker times with him. "He'll be coming by in a couple of hours. You just have to be a good girl 'til then."

He gestured with the gun for me to walk down the hall. I started and he followed, still talking, "There ain't no use running and going to the cops. He's in with them. Pays them off. I didn’t want to do it. I was happy to help you out after your ‘rents died, but I have to look out for myself over anything. You just happened to be staying here when things went down for me."

He reached out, grabbed the back of my hair and yanked it. I screamed in surprise and stumbled back before he shoved me sideways into his bedroom. I gripped his wrist, digging my fingernails in as he kept pushing me forward with force. I then stumbled into his en suite. He slammed the door behind me. A lock was snapped into place before I heard Colton say through the door, "Don't worry, cuz, it'll all work out." He laughed. "Though, even if it don't, I'll be a happy rich guy once again. I’d do fucking anything to have money under my belt, always."

I banged and kicked the door, screaming, “Let me out, Colton!”

"Now, stay quiet and I'll keep you breathin' until he gets here. Oh, and in case you get a hair-brained idea, there's no escaping through that window. Your fat arse wouldn't fit." I listened as he walked off chuckling.

My life, my pitiful life, would no longer be my own.

I refused to let that happen. I just didn't know how to make it possible.

I wanted to live, to be free and be who I was inside and out. No one had the right to own me.

For a little while, I sat on the cold floor and cried. Never once had I cried when my parents passed or when my uncle died. Never until then. Sobs racked my body. They came hard and I shook from the force. My head thumped painfully at my temples.

My life seemed doomed and I let myself wallow in self-pity, let the turmoil in my stomach take over and fill me with dread. How could it happen? How could my cousin be involved with people who sold women? Had I been a trusting fool from the start? Regardless, I never saw the signs. How could I when we hardly kept each other’s company.

I wasn't sure how long I sat on the cold floor, but it was long enough to shake my stupid self and do something about my life once again.

I had to take the control back.

I had to try something, anything.

Fighting for my life was worth it. I’d done it many times. It was time to do it again.

With renewed energy, I stood from the floor and looked around and through cabinets but found nothing; he’d cleared everything out except for towels. I wasn't strong enough to take my cousin down forcibly when he would come for me, and no doubt, my owner would be there to back him up.

Instead, I looked to the small window again, and decided I had to try it at least. Turning on the shower to cover some noise, I quickly picked up the bath towel, wrapped it around my fist and punched the window. At first, I thought Colton would rush back in once he'd heard the glass shatter. However, my cousin, being the stupid fool he was, was probably sitting in front of the TV, drinking a beer with the surround sound up loud.

Moving quickly, so I could get as far away as I could before he noticed, I first placed my arms through the small window and wiggled my body against each corner, grazing it against the sides and shards that remained. Still, I didn't care. I needed out.

Standing on the toilet, I forced my body forward until my top half was out. Panic seized me as my hips got stuck. I prayed Colton wasn't right, that my arse wasn’t too big.

I couldn't give up, though. Shifting around, slicing more grooves into my skin, I managed to wiggle free. My body sank quickly to the rocky garden below the window, and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out. I didn't have the time to take in the pain. I sprung up with determination and ran.