There was nothing on my mind but crashing on my bed to sleep and rest. I took a moment to peer outside the window. When I saw Preston hadn’t followed me, I felt a little easier and took a long, hot shower to really calm my nerves down.

When I was done and dressed in a cute little pink nightgown Mikaela bought for my birthday, I took my purse and looked for my wallet. I lied to Preston – I did have my wallet with me. I just didn’t want him to know I was broke. As I rummaged through my purse, I found something stuffed inside.

“Damn it, Mikaela,” I whispered when I saw she had inserted that auction brochure. I took it and gave it one more read through.

Girls could auction themselves to the richest men in the city. Virgins would get a higher starting bid and would get other benefits as well, including a bonus just for joining and a one-month VIP entrance for some of the best gentleman’s clubs around.

All of that sounded appealing but I was still disgusted and disappointed. In the end, it still meant selling my virginity and my body to some random stranger.

“This is fucking ridiculous,” I told myself, resolving not to fall for something like this. I wasn’t a slut. I wasn’t a whore.

Still unsure on what to do, I turned off the lights, threw the brochure to the floor and went to bed.

The next morning I couldn’t even afford a proper breakfast. One cup of coffee and a peanut butter sandwich was all I could eat. Fuck, this was getting depressing and I needed to get a job somewhere.

I looked at my phone one last time. There was still one more person I could approach.

“Dad, I’m coming over real quick,” I texted. “I’ll take a while. I’ve got to take the bus. My car broke down.”

There was no time to wait and I quickly got dressed, settling for a pair of jeans and a pink shirt, and headed out of the house. Fortunately for me, there was a bus stop just a block away and a ride did come by just a few minutes in.

As I sat in the bus, my mind blanked out. Maybe I was just too tired or desperate for cash. For the longest while I just stared out the window and watched the houses and trees blur by.

When I got off and walked over to my dad’s house, I found him in the living room packing things in a box. I was genuinely shocked to see him clearing out his home – our home. I grew up in this house and it was disheartening to see so much of it packed away.

“H-hey, what are you doing?” I asked him.

He looked up at me and gave a weak smile. “Oh, just putting all this away. How about you? What brought you here?”

I felt my heart sink. Clearly he had some issue that he wasn’t telling me. My next words stumbled out but I swallowed my pride and pushed forward, “Dad… I’m broke. I’m weeks behind my bills and my debt is just growing. I also… uh… had my car towed last night. It broke down in the middle of the road.”

My father looked at me long and hard. I could see the gears of his mind rotating in action as he tried to think of a solution. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, “I’d love to help you, baby, but to be honest I’m not doing so well either. They sent me an eviction notice.”

“Oh shit,” I exclaimed. “What are you going to do?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I only have a month to get the cash or I’ll have to move out. I think I can move into the mobile park.”

I shook my head and put a hand on his shoulder, “Dad, don’t you worry. I promise, we’ll get by somehow. We’ll find a way to solve all these problems.”

“I love you,” he told me. He then pointed to the back, to the kitchen. “You hungry? I got some apples in the back and leftover pizza.”

“No need to tell me twice, I’m starving!” I answered and headed to the kitchen. However, as I opened the fridge I realized there was a stack of papers on the counter. I took a moment to read them and quickly learned they were the bills my father had to pay. He wasn’t just late with paying the mortgage. He was also behind utility bills, credit cards and a loan.

Quickly I checked if he was looking my way. When I was sure he wasn’t, I took his bills and stuffed them into my purse.

“Don’t worry, dad,” I whispered. “I’ll find a way.”