Arina

Chapter Sixteen

Waking up with a smile on her face, Arina sat up straight, and then remembered she shouldn't feel so happy; she was sharing a room with a young woman who was losing her unborn baby.

Despite this, Arina still felt a sense of joy. She felt revitalized. There was this new sense of hope that kept overcoming her at the thought of Haden's words yesterday. Would he really get her out of that place? But even if he did, where would she go? She most certainly wouldn't allow herself to go back to live with her Baba.

Natalie groaned under her duvet, obviously still upset- she had good reason to be. Even so, she still had to undergo the usual activities that went on in the brothel. She was not exempt from anything, even going on rounds. That was partly Natalie's fault though. If she didn't have too much pride to let Mustafa and D know what was happening to her, there might have been the slight chance that they would have allowed her to not take part in some things.

After Kos's customary knock on the door, waking everyone up, and Arina had got ready for the typically dreaded day, she entered the kitchen for her usual bowl of porridge. Zoe was also sitting at the table, but luckily for Arina, she was just leaving. Zoe left with a scowl plastered on her face, but Arina didn't care. She just had a glimmer of hope flickering inside her. Her days at brothel may be coming to an end, she thought with every move.

With her bowl of porridge, she took a seat at the tiny table that occupied the space in the centre of the room, still smiling to herself uncontrollably.

              “I guess we all know who's responsible for that smile on your face.” She heard, then looked up to see D standing there, rubbing his hand against his unshaven hairs that caused bristles all across his chin.

              “Huh? What? What smile? I don't have any smile...” There was obviously no point in denying it. Anybody with eyes could see Arina was unusually happy.

D sighed.

              “Come on, Arina. I'm not stupid. I saw you with that boy yesterday.” He spoke as he leaned against the kitchen counter, assessing Arina's face reactions to suss out whether she was being honest with him.

              “Oh,” she said, embarrassed at being caught out. “Don't tell Mustafa I wasn't doing my duty, please. It won't happen again, I promise, I'll do it next-”

              “Relax, Arina. I won't tell him.” He walked over and shut the kitchen door so as to not be overheard.

              “Good.” She smiled, but then quickly wiped that smile off her face when she remembered D had arranged for her step-father to come back for her before. She was still slightly mad at that. If D knew that he had sold her, then why would he have wanted him back in her life?

              “What?” D said when he noticed the sudden change in Arina's face.

              “Nothing.”

              “There's something. What?”

              “I still don't forgive you for bringing my step-father back.” She decided to not use to word 'Baba' purposefully, for she knew it'd make her sound like a child, and she didn't want that anymore.

              “Forgive me?!” D was surprised. “For what? I thought I was doing you a favour, trying to get you out of here...”

              “But you knew what he done.”

              “So? I also knew that you hated it here. I tried to give you a lifeline by getting you out. I don't understand what the problem is.”