Under Construction

Sage

Stepping into a house that means nothing but pain will never be easy. Every night I spend a few minutes standing outside the door, willing it to bring me somewhere new when I stepped through it. It never worked. So I suck it up and step over the threshold into the entryway of the house I've been forced to call home for the last four years. When I finally make it into the living room I start to hear slightly raised voices and I know that's a sign that I should stay as quiet as possible. I go into the kitchen hoping that there's some kind of food in there. I haven't eaten in almost two days and its beginning to take a toll on my mind and body. When I open the fridge I see a small bowl of plain noodles sitting on the middle shelf and my stomach aches at the sight of the food. I grab the bowl and turn to bring it to the counter but right before I make it there I hear a large crash from Ryker's office. The noise is so loud and unexpected that I'm startled into dropping the glass bowl onto the yellowing tile of the kitchen floor causing a crash of its own. My heart jumps into my throat when I realize that its gone deadly quiet throughout the house save for the faint sound of my own panicked breathing. After a moment of silence that felt like a year I hear Ryker call me from his office. "Sage! Get in here, now!" His rasping voice grated on my eardrums as I cringed at his volume and the knowledge of what was to come. While I shuffled my way to his office my brain ran through every other time I had entered that same room. It was one place that never meant anything good was to come for me. The house in and of itself was like a black shadow cast over my small form but Ryker's office always brought on the worst of it. Even walking as slowly as I could it didn't take more than twenty seconds to get down the hall and I found myself, for the second time tonight, standing in front of a door that I never wanted to open again. With my head hanging low I raised a fist to knock softly on the deep brown wood of the door. Of course Ryker immediately swung it open and pulled me inside only to slam the door decisively behind me. I flinch again at the noise. When Ryker moves in front of me and grabs my chin roughly forcing my head up to look at him I noticed two other men standing near the large oak desk on the other side of the room.

"Sage. Tell me what you broke." He was still holding my chin tightly and I had no choice but to look him in the eyes when I said, "I dropped a bowl in the kitchen, Ryker. I'm sor-" My apology is interrupted by a hard slap to the face that shocks me so badly I fall to my knees holding my reddening cheek.

Ryker looks down at me with the corners of his mouth turned towards the ground and his eyebrows drawn deeply together. "What the fuck was you doing in the kitchen, you bitch?"

"I was just trying to get something to eat!," I cried out earnestly, "It's been almost two days since I've eaten anything." Ryker just continues to glare down at my trembling body, looking angrier by the second before he reaches down to grab me by the wrist and pulls me to my feet. I'm suddenly being pushed violently towards his desk and I know what he's planning as soon as he begins to speak. "Didn't I fucking tell you that you weren't allowed to eat until I said so? How dare you try to disobey me! How much money did you make for me tonight, Sage?" I twist my arm in his hold trying to get loose, "Three thousand!"I rush out frantically trying to please him and maybe lighten the punishment I know is coming. When Ryker stiffens behind me and pauses in his pushing I know I've just made things worse for myself. When he speaks again he sounds twice as close and much more upset. "Three thousand!? That's half what you usually bring back! I told you that you were gonna lose me money looking like that you fat whore!" He harshly pulls me behind his desk and pushes my hips into it while he stays standing solidly behind me. "You know how this goes you slut. I'm gonna punish you in front of these men right now. Now bend over the desk." When I hesitate for a moment Ryker slams his hand into the middle of my back forcing me to lower my chest onto the desk. "Please, Ryker I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring back so little I swear I'll never disobey you again! Please just don't do this to me again!" My sobs seem to fall on deaf ears as I feel him start to loosen my pants and the disgusting weight of him leaning on my back as he starts to pull them off a little at a time. I start crying harder when he grabs me by my hair and lifts my head to meet the eyes of one of the men still standing in the room looking slightly shocked at the events that had led to this moment. I close my eyes at the same moment that it seems hell breaks loose. Right as I feel Ryker remove enough of my clothes to do what he wants I hear two sets of heavy feet moving across the floor towards me. I open my tear-filled eyes just in time to see the darker haired man pull Ryker away from me and push him into one of the walls while the younger man rushes to catch me as my limp legs give out and black swirls in my vision.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" A new voice growls out and I immediately knows its the man who pulled Ryker off of me. Even as I drift on the edge of consciousness I can tell that he's angry but I don't know why or even who the man is. I notice that the one holding me is pulling my pants and underwear back to where they're supposed to be on my hips. A few tears still stream down my face but as i calm down slightly they begin to stop falling. Without even realizing it I'm starting to relax into the arms of the new man and tune out the argument that the older man and Ryker are having. That is until Ryker suddenly drops to the ground and the older man turns and walk towards me slowly the same way you might approach a bunny in the wild if you were trying to get close without scaring it into running away. Not that was really in any condition to run away from much of anything right now. I'm still in the young mans arms and I think they can both tell that I wont be getting up on my own anytime soon so they both help me to my feet and lead me over to one of the old faded leather chairs that have been sitting in this office since before Ryker brought me here. I'm set down gently and the two men move backwards briskly like they're worried I may suddenly lash out now that I have the room to move. We all hear a deep groan as Ryker stands up from where he fell after the dark haired man punched him. He stands holding his jaw and looking at the three of us before he says, "What the hell, Lucchese? Why the fuck did you do all that?" The dark haired man doesn't miss a beat. He looks directly into Ryker's eyes and says one thing with a startling amount of conviction. 

"I want to buy him."