AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sit bolt upright when there’s a knock on the door, though, pulling the sheet up over my breasts to conceal as much of my body as I can.
“Y-yeah?” I call out. I don’t want to see Damien, or Giulio, or anyone else. I just want to be left alone in my misery.
The lock clicks and the door opens.
A young woman with short, dirty blonde hair enters the room, propping it open with a door stop. She’s carrying a food container, and a bag hangs from her arm. She manages them awkwardly, blinking as her eyes focus on me in the relative dimness of the room.
“Hi,” she says, not quite meeting my eyes. “I was told to, uh, bring you this stuff.”
I can smell the food in the container, something very eggy and bacon-y. Although my stomach pinches from hunger, there’s also a steady nausea in my throat. I shake my head. “I’m not hungry.”
The young woman grimaces. “I was told to make sure you eat.” She walks over and places both the bag and the container on the bed. “So, please eat?”
“I don’t think I could eat if I tried,” I admit. I reach out to take the bag, curious as to what’s inside, and I pull out a few pairs of lacy panties and a stack of huge shirts. It takes me a moment to realize they’re men’s button-down shirts.
But this is better than no clothes at all.
I pull the shirt over me, quickly buttoning it, and I wriggle into the panties beneath the blanket.
“I tried not eating at first,” the woman says, lowering her head. “It’s… it’s not a good idea to try to starve yourself.”
I frown, noting how skinny she is beneath her simple shift dress.
“Yeah, I’m not really starving myself…” I tell her. “I’m just nauseated. I don’t really want to end up throwing up.”
“Eat slow, drink lots of water,” she suggests. Then she sits down next to the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Um, Donny said you were going to be here a while.”
Her words make my stomach churn uncomfortably, and the food seems even less appealing. I take the bottle of water out of the bag, though, trying to take a few sips to see if it’ll help me settle down. “Yeah,” I say flatly. “I guess you could say that.” I hesitate, then realize I’m being rude. “I’m Vanessa. Thanks for bringing me this stuff.”
She gives me a strange, wide-eyed look. “Oh. You’re welcome. I’m Stef. Or… never mind. Stef is fine.” She picks at the hem of her dress. “Donny said that if you ate, I was allowed to show you around a bit.”
I pause, looking at the container, and I pop open the lid. As expected, it’s breakfast, with eggs, fruit, and two pieces of bacon. I start picking at the fruit, trying to at least get some of it down because I am curious about the place I’m being held. I still don’t know how much I can eat without getting sick, but I don’t want to be trapped in this room all day, either.
“How long have you been here?” I ask cautiously, picking up the plastic fork and tentatively poking at the scrambled eggs.
She lowers her head and taps the floor a few times. “About a month? Since my boyfriend… um, since he dumped me. How did you get here?”
I flinch at the question. “I…” I don’t want to talk about the wedding, about my sister, about being taken here and used bySlayer. “They kidnapped me,” I mumble.
Stef nods, like she expected that answer. I eat a little more, forcing myself to swallow even though the food sits heavy in my stomach. I have the overwhelming urge to head to the toilet and throw up, but I take a few breaths to steady myself.
Finally I decide I can’t eat any more. I push the container away. “I’m done.”
Stef turns her head to look at the container. “Can I have the rest?”
I blink at her, a little surprised. “Yeah, of course.” I hand her the container. “Do they… not give you enough to eat here?”
She shrugs and takes a bite. “Depends on the day. Night. Whatever. And who’s on duty. Donny’s all right. Paul’s worse, but he’s not around as much. But Damien says nobody wants half-starved girls.”
Of course Damien would say that. Of course he wouldn’t really care about the girls themselves, but only how they can bemarketed. My hatred for him only grows. I bite my lip to keep from saying what I’m thinking. I’m not sure what she’ll report back to Damien, and I don’t need to make things worse for myself.
Stef must’ve seen the look on my face, though, because she falters and lowers the fork. “Uh. Anyway. I guess I can give you the tour now. We don’t open until the evening, so it’s still quiet. The bar staff aren’t here yet.” She gets up and puts the nearly empty container into the bag.
I stand up and yank self-consciously at the shirt. It falls to my mid-thigh, almost like a dress.
I wonder whose shirt this is. Not that it matters.
I nod to her. “Okay,” I say, pretending my voice isn’t shaking.
