She perked up each time the door opened in what looked like a basement she was sitting in. But it had been designed to look like a vast playroom arcade-style room. Each time the door opened, a new set of men entered, and each of them spread out around the room, making her grow nervous, especially this time when one of them sat near her, lying across the end of the couch where she sat his face brushing against her arm.
She stiffened as he chuckled, reassuring her, "Aint nothing gonna happen." His lips brushing her skin as he spoke, slowly sitting up, becoming shoulder-to-shoulder with her. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulder blades, crying into his neck. He held her close, rubbing her upper back, saddened.
This caused the others in the room to crowd around them, worried.
"How long have you been doing this?" Kentrell didn't know the correct wording, so he spoke carefully.
She faced them, her face damp, "Tonight." The boys were relieved but still uncomfortable.
"How much do you need to bring back to be....okay?" Again, he chose his words carefully, and also, he was scared of the idea of her returning and hoping she didn't. She didn't have to, and he would ensure she knew that.
"I'm not sure." Her face tinting as she cried harder. Kentrell emotions were so flipped around he didn't know what to feel, but he knew he needed to help.
"Here, make a list." he left a notepad near her, and one by one, each boy followed him out of the room.
~
"She's not going back. I know that!"
Joe screamed as the group entered the kitchen, the farthest room from earshot of her.
