Dangerous

Family

The nurse cleaned Mark up and treated the wounds on his face and the rest of his body. He was covered in what seemed to be belt marks, along with cuts and bruises.

I can't even imagine...

They put him in a clinic room with a couch to lay on. He asked if I could stay with him, so they brought in a chair for me to sit beside him. He at least looked a lot better now.

"Thank you, Lindsey..."

"I'm here for you. I'll always protect you."

"Likewise."

He smirked a little, which made me give him a small smile.

"You know...my mom gets out in about a year...and I'm terrified. What if they make me go home with her?"

"I won't let that happen, Mark. I'll make sure of it."

"I know. I'm just scared about what happens next...I just..."

I lightly squeezed his hand.

"It's okay. You can always talk to me."

"I just...I don't want her to be out. And if I go back to her..."

"If you don't mind me asking...what did she do?"

I saw tears start building up in his eyes, about to spill out.

"Did she hurt you?"

"In a different way...yes."

"You don't have to tell me. Only if you want to."

There was a brief silence before a tear slid down his face and he started speaking.

"I've never told anyone...I wasn't even the one who called the police for god's sake...it had been going on for years...and I was 12 when she got locked up...but she...she..."

More tears started coming and he took a deep breath to get his words out.

"She prostituted me."

~~~

"Baby, you're never gonna guess what?"

"What, mommy?"

"I found a new way to make money that might get us out of this damn apartment."

I looked around the grungy room.

"Can we buy a house, mommy?"

"Hopefully. But I need your help."

"Anything for you, mommy."

"Well, there's a nice man that's gonna help us. But you need to do everything that he says, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise, mommy."

I was 7

My mom walked back into the room smiling.

"You did so good, sweetie! Look!"

She showed me the giant wad of cash.

"$500!"

"Mommy, it hurts..."

"I know, but think about it...we'll get to be a happy family in a nice house. And you can go to school! Maybe even a private school if we can afford it!"

"I'd like that."

"Me too, honey."

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, my little marky."

And she hugged me tightly.

10 years old

I stood over the sink as I washed my mouth out with water. Mom said it's impolite to do it when one of the men or women is still in the house, although it's mostly men. Quite old too.

We hadn't moved. I hadn't started school, although a nice woman in the neighborhood named Mindy came over every other day to teach me. Mom said it's good for me to earn the money myself. She said I need to learn to work for everything I have and that it'll get me far in life. And I was determined to learn quickly so when I did finally go to school, I was just like everyone else, maybe even better! Mindy says I'm doing really well and that I'm really smart.

It's weird. Mom's started drinking a lot recently. And smoking so I'm always coughing in the apartment. It smells awful too. And she stays more often than she used to while I worked. Usually she just lays in bed though, and drinks more than usual. I wonder why...

12 years old

"Mom!"

I was fucking hysterical, screaming, crying, and kicking as the police woman held me back, while her partner dragged my mom and her new husband away.

"Let her go!"

"Please, calm down. You're safe now."

"No, I want my mom! Why are you taking her?!"

He woman froze a little as I started getting tired, eventually calming down and sitting on the bed and crying.

"Do you know what she did...?"

"N-No..."

"What did you guys do for money?"

"People would ask me to do things for them and they'd pay me and mom..."

"Did they ask you to touch them? Or to touch you?"

I nodded a little, my lip quivering.

"That's illegal. Your mom is not allowed to do that."

"Is my mom a bad person...?"

~~~

"Oh my god..."

"I-I know...and they let my step-dad go...he claimed he had no idea and he was in charge of me from then on...what the fuck is wrong with this world...?"

"I'm so sorry, Mark...I'm so sorry..."

"And when she gets out...what if she does it again...?"

"I would rather die then have you sent back to her, and I mean that."

"The weird part is...I thought she loved me. And I loved her. We had big dreams... And then they taught me about...sex and why what she did was wrong and...I guess it changed me. I told myself it was all just meaningless...b-because it's easier that way..."

He was sobbing again and I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"Nobody will ever hurt you again. I promise."