Sold (Jay Park) (Bang Yongguk)

II

I walked out of the bathroom to find Robert sitting on the bed counting out a stack of cash. I just finished up with my last customer and it's almost time for me to go back to the house. Robert stops counting and turns to me.
     "This," he says throwing me a five dollar bill, "is for all of the hard work that you've done today."
     "Thank you sir," I say picking up the five.  For some reason, he finds this funny.
     "Isn't it amazing how things work out? Let me see if I get this straight, your ex boyfriend sold you to a human sex trafficker. Then through your sex trafficker owner, you meet another sex trafficker who you fall in love with and move in with, to then find out that he isnt the man you thought he was and is abusive. So then," he says putting his hand under his chin, as if he's deep in thought, "your abusive, sex trafficking boyfriend gets killed and what do you do?  You have freedom, and the first thing you do is crawl back to your mother's, and now, your here. " Robert starts laughing hard. "I'm sorry love, I want to feel sympathy for you, I really do, but you've done this to yourself. All of this, it's your fault. So you deserve every single thing that has happened and will happen to you." His words stung. They cut me deep because I know it's true. I had the opportunity to leave but I didn't. Nor because I didn't know where to go, not because I don't have anyone else but because no matter how much damage and how much hurt people cause me, I still find a reason to depend on them. So he is right, I'm back here and it's no one's fault but my own.
     Robert walks toward me and cups my face in his hands. He looks deep into my eyes. "You and I are gonna have so much fun together," he says caressing my cheek with his fingers. All of a sudden, he pulled my face closer to his. I felt his breath against my skin. "If you think you had it bad with Yongguk, I'm gonna make you wish you were back with him. Do you understand?" My body trembled in fear. He then smashed his lips into mine. His hands started roaming my body as he lays sloppy kisses on me. I stood there paralyzed, feeling the wetness of his lips and his hands clawing away at my body. All of a sudden, his phone started ringing. Robert took a step back, holding eye contact, and answered the call.
     "Hello," he says. "Yeah, she's here right I'm front of me," his grin grows wider. "Alright, we'll see you in a few," he says before hanging up. "Lucky for you darling, you get to go home."
After packing up my bag, Robert lead me to his car. We got in and drove off. The car ride was mostly quiet until Robert decided to tell one of his stories. I just tuned him out, after a while I learned it's better to just tune his voice out. I sat looking out the window, drowning in my own thoughts. I can't help but to think back to when Jaebum bought me back to my mom's house.
*****FLASHBACK*****
Jaebum and I stood parked outside of my mother's house.
     "Ashley why the hell are you even coming back here."
     "Because there's a few things I need to settle," by the look on his face, it's very obvious he doesn't believe me.
     "What do you have to settle?"
     "Jaebum you wouldn't understand." I said to him.
     "Okay, so then help me understand why you would want to come back to the same person who treats you like shit, and clearly shows that they don't care for you."
     "I want a fresh start," he looked back at me disaprovingly, "I know deep down my mother cares for me. She has to. She wasn't always the way that she is now. I want us to move away, no Jay, no Robert just us two. I genuinely think that we can have a fresh start." Jaebum looks at me without saying a single word. It's very obvious he doesn't agree with me. Why am I doing this? I don't know, there's just something in me that makes feel like we can go back to the old days.
     "Well, Ashley if things don't work out here promise me you'll give me a call. You know Jackson and I think of you as family. I don't like you being here, I think it's really fucking stupid that you want to go back to your mother, however I can't force you to do anything. So please if things get rough give me a call" Jaebum said genuinely. 
     "Okay," I was about to get out the car when I paused. "Ummm, Jaebum?"
     "Yeah Ashley?"
     "Don't let Jay know that I'm here." He hesitated before answering.
     "Okay."
     "I'm serious Jaebum, please don't let him know."
      "Okay, fine...Bye Ashley."
      "Bye Jaebum," I said stepping out of his car. I watched as Jaebum drove off into the distance. Walking up to the door, my heart begins to pound immensely. I don't know what to expect. My hand reached out and I twisted the door knob opening the door and walking in. It felt weird being back at the house.
     "What are you doing here?" I turned to the voice. It was my mother.
     "I came back home, I have nowhere else to go." She didn't say anything back, so I continued, "is Robert here?"
     "No, him and I are no longer together. He broke it off with me after the whole thing with Yongguk happened." Silence filled the room again. "Umm, and umm- about the whole Yongguk thing, I'm sorry, it was wrong of me. When Robert broke it off with me, I kept pitying myself. He told me about how I shouldn't feel bad for myself because I'm not an angel. He bought up the fact that I haven't been a good mother. At first I was in denial, but then I realized that he was right. And so I'm sorry, for not being a mother to you. " I don't know what to say. For years I have been wanting this. For years I had imagined how this moment would go, what she'd say and how I'd reply. But now that it's happened, I'm at a loss for words. My eyes start get teary. I look at her, she looks genuine. I then mutter words that I'd never thought I'd say to her.
     "I forgive you."
Things actually were going pretty well. My mother and I had been actually getting along. But our new found relationship only lasted a month, because Robert came back into the picture.
*****END FLASHBACK*****
Robert pulled up to the house. I waited for him to step out of the car before stepping out myself. We walked into the house immediately being greeted by my mother. She looks at me smiling.
     "She's done a great job today" Robert says handing my mother the stack of cash. She took it into her hand and ran her fingers through it.
     "Ashley go upstairs, you need to rest. Tomorrow you have a long line of customers."