AMELIA POV
[16 years old]
Under Eugene's request, I made my way through his various brothels, collecting payments owed and roughing up those who chose to test my patience.
Having just left the last brothel, the heavy weight of a check in my pocket, a scream resounds off the brick walls of a nearby alley. The terror in the screech, piercing my chest.
Running toward the pained scream, I find a brutalized young woman, no older than myself. Bruises and lashes of a - belt? - litter her malnourished body. She clutches mere ribbons and tatters, what was no doubt once her clothes, to her chest in an attempt to shield her nakedness.
Her sobs could be heard from miles away, the gut-wrenching sound making my own stomach clench.
I watch silently as a large, muscular man straightens his pants, spitting profanities at the girl for her 'overreaction' then walking away.
He passes me, throwing a lustful gaze my way before meeting my eyes and appearing to think otherwise. The slam of the brothel door resounds against the rock and pavement.
Surfacing from my stupor, I slowly approach the sobbing girl, as though approaching a wild animal. My arms come up in front of me, attempting to say 'its ok. I won't hurt you'.
The broken girl's eyes meet mine as I extend her a hand. Her pink and blonde dyed hair appearing shaggy and her dark skin almost grey in complexion. I spy the familiar brand of one of Eugene's brothels tattooed to the skin of her wrist and feel a form of kinship with the girl. Both of us knowing what it felt like to be forced into a world of evil without their choice or consent.
That night I swore a promise to the broken blonde. To teach her more than just comforting words. That night, and many nights after, I taught her to fight. To never allow those monsters to see her break.
And when I left that girl, a new life debt in hand, I hunted down that burly man. I slit his throat and watched the terror enter his eyes as he choked upon his own blood. Then I left him for dead in that same alley, watching as the rats devoured his skin.
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I know this chapter was really short, but I hope you enjoyed the flashback anyways :)
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Her Shadows
عاطفية~ A World Painted Grey: Book 1 ~ Already incapacitated, I drag his limp body toward the smoking car. Fastening him back into his seat, seatbelt back in place. Then I grip his skull with my glove-clad hands and ram his head into the steering wheel. O...
