A Year and 365 Days

Chapter 14

Ouch" I had yelped when Amber had touched the side of my ribs while she tended to my injuries

I sat in front of the mirror on a stool in the bathroom. Amber stood behind me looking at us in the mirror. I sat in front of the mirror with a towel draped over my chest and legs. She put a cold towel on my ribs. After I had gotten out of the shower, I had slept a bit slipping in and out of consciousness. It was late morning and nobody had knocked on the door.

"Olivia?" She had been asking repeatedly

I was staring at the floor looking into oblivion. My mind was running at full speed. She squeezed me on the shoulder, causing me to loose my current thoughts and I glanced up at her behind me. Through the mirror, I looked like hell having taken off all the makeup, (or cried it all off at least), and had taken out my contacts. My hair was up in a bun to prevent it from falling on my neck and shoulders while Amber covered up the visible marks.

"Take these, it will prevent pregnancy" Amber said taking out a bottle of levonorgestrel, or emergency contraception as Amber had mentioned
"Thanks..." I said looking down a bit and remembered the night before that Alex had been unprotected

I took the proper dosage while Amber used her skills to hide the bruises on my neck from what Alex had left behind after last night

"How did you get these?" I asked shaking a bit while giving her back the bottle
"I've used a bit of the money for my own needs, once you gain their trust...you get privileges, but they'll watch you just as sharply as they did before."

I hesitated to say something but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I stared at Amber fixing me up in front of the mirror. She moved in front of my vision to prevent me from looking at myself.

"Stop thinking about it." Amber said in a harsh voice

She knew I was thinking about Alex and what he had done

"I...can't..." I whispered looking down

Amber stopped making touch ups on my neck and stared me straight in the eye. She lifted my chin up to make contact with me. I stayed in position as I looked her in the eyes. Both her hands rested on my shoulders now as she told me to look at her.

"Olivia. Look at me."
"It is NOT your fault. You should know that Olivia."
"I'm aware of all of that, I just can't-"
"Believe that it happened? Yes I know all about that too Olivia, we all grow to think that these types of things won't happen to use and then it becomes a reality. You just have to stay strong to survive. I'm here for you to lean on."

I tried hard to stay strong in front of this young woman who clearly had stayed strong enough to be here for two years. She had grown accustomed to this life and had been used to the physical and emotional abuse she was enduring everyday.

"Now let me get you fixed up" she said as she wiped the tears away with a hand towel

I didn't want to get ready as I was going to be out for the first time, where I would be forced to have sex, again... I dreaded every second here, I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be somewhere safe, somewhere where I know I wouldn't be beaten, raped, or afraid to be killed.

Amber fixed my hair and makeup, as well as my contacts. I started to trust this girl a lot more. She was very kind and caring, even though she had endured the torture longer.

I'd remained in my sweats all day until the sun had come down. Amber had stayed with me inside our room even when there were options for food. We hadn't heard a word from Alex nor Damien all day. It was 9:30 when we started hearing rustling down stairs. I looked at Amber for an answer as to what was happening.

"We have to start going downstairs, get ready, then we wait." Amber said softly

She knew I didn't want to do this and she regretted having to say it.

"Here, take this dress, it'll fit you." She said handing me a dress from out of the closet

I took the pastel yellow cloth dress and looked at her.

"It used to fit me well when I first came and since I've lost all the weight, it doesn't fit me anymore. It'll fit you, but soon we'll be sharing wardrobes and it won't matter."

I assumed it was the weight all these girls had lost because of the malnourishment. They didn't want to eat the food that was served, they were mostly on their jobs, and I knew I wouldn't be healthy enough to stay awake soon.

"After you change, the girls go downstairs and wait."
"Are these outcalls or incalls?" I asked
"Both, but it depends" Amber answered as I got out of the bathroom

Placing nude pumps on my feet, we walked out of the room and down the stairs where the other girls were sitting separately among the living room. They were all quiet among each other. I sat down in a black leather chair. Damien came into the room.

"Ladies, some of the callers are your regular's and some are new. Behave yourselves tonight." Damien said looking at us as a tapped his finger tips against each other

Alex stood near the front door as men came in and out from outside. Girls went with them, including Amber. Damien had guided Amber to the front door where I had seen an older man around forty five or so in the doorway. She hooked her arm with the caller. Valentina, the girl from Russia and Meryl from Germany were the two girls left with me in the living room. Damien finally approached me and he grabbed my under arm forcefully lifting me up. He walked me to the front door where Alex leaned on the front door.

"Have fun Olivia." He said winking at me

Alex opened the door where I saw a man in front of me. The man had fair light skin and bright blonde hair. His eyes were brown and he had slight stubble on his face. He was around his mid thirties or so around my age. Damien walked over to the doorway where he briefed the man in a different language. I had assumed it was German by recognizing some words but not being able to fully translate the phrases. The man walked down the stairs as Alex told me to follow him. He slapped my backside before he closed the door.

Walking down the stairs, I looked back at the porch light being turned off at the house I had just exited. The man that I was with opened a back door to a Lincoln town car where we sat in the back next to each other. I moved as close as possible to the window to avoid the man. The driver of the car put the tinted divider window up that separated the front seat and the back seat. In the back seat, the man had put his arm around my waist and dragged me towards him.

"I'm paying good money for you, behave and enjoy it." He whispered in my ear
The car started moving forward and entered the street lane.