Summon All The Courage You Require(DISCONTINUED)

...But Damn, It's Gettin' Dark

Shorter intros and outros are in order!

Happy Easter!

Happy April Fools!

And sorry if it wasn't clear, but Maria moved in with the Madisons.

Now an extra long chapter in the Easter spirit!

M. Lewis' POV 

Stuck in the bathroom, again. My hands were balled up in a fist, tight over my stomach. I'd just thrown up, so my cheeks didn't feel very good either. For some reason, my body woke me up extremely early and sent me straight to the bathroom. My original plan was to just wait in my room for James to leave, since we usually go early to hang out and talk. But that was a bust.

I'd been in the bathroom for almost two hours. I'd showered, brushed my hair, done may makeup, and even put on a convenient red dress left on the towel rack. It had long sleeves, flared out at my hip and reached my ankles. Also on the rack was a pair of my underwear and a bra. The bra was a gift(from Mrs. Madison, the woman treated me like an impoverished daughter), and thus too small, but I managed. Now, I was sitting on the floor, barefoot and hungry. 

The doorknob shook. "Really is stuck," grumbled a strong southern and roaring voice that most likely belonged to Mr. Madison. "I'll unlock it for y—"

"No need!" Mrs. Madison piped in with a voice that sounded weary and panicked. "James doesn't need to go in, and you need to hurry off to work! I'll be home all day, I'll take care of it!" Behind the door, the two went back and forth in low, inaudible voices. After a minute, I heard a loud clap followed by shuffling down the stairs. The door opened and shut, but I didn't budge. Instead, I waited for it to open a second time, then shut again. I wasn't sure the tension between the two not who left first, but I did know that they never went anywhere together.

Unlocking and opening the door, I stepped out. The carpeted floor was a nice contrast to the wooden ones in the bathroom, so I let my feet sink in for a moment. 

"Gotcha." I blinked and caught sight of Mrs. Madison looking at me with a heavy  smile. "Can we have a talk?" Without waiting for me to respond, she went down the hall and into her office. It was filled with books and paper since she was an author and worked from home. "Have a seat." She motioned towards her desk with two seats facing each other. I sat in the smaller one and tried to ignore the look she gave me as she sat in the other one. "Maria, I love you dearly, really. But—"

"Are you kicking me out?" I blurted. Despite how obsessed with proper manners Mrs. Madison was, I ignored that and rambled off. "I'll do anything, Mrs. Madison! House maid, cook, cleaner, laundry person, sex slave, waitress, anything!" At this point, my head was on the table with my hands clasped above it, begging her to keep me. As much as I wanted to avoid James, his mother had treated me with such care, that I wasn't ready to let go.

Her hand patted my head, "Now why would I ever want you to do any of that? Especially a, pardon my language, sex slave?" I looked at her, confused. 

Sex, or better yet, my sex appeal, had determined my value as a human since I was a little girl. Somewhere from the age of three to five—again, I'm not sure of my age—my parents tested me and decided I'd grow to be very physically gifted, both in front and behind. Not so much mentally. I was classified as a good for nothing idiot and a possible slut who they knew would be a waste of recourses to raise. A man named James Reynolds promised to take me off their shoulders, relieve me of the burden. And even though he practically kidnapped me from them, they couldn't care less. I was too young for many people to be associate me with the family, so I just disappeared. And Reynolds wasn't looking for a daughter. He went ahead and tested my sexual abilities and limits, then pushed them as far as they could go. He rented me off to any one willing to pay, man or woman. He entered me in programs for "little sluts" and changed my age based on the age limit and preferences. If I ever got tired of shaking my ass in front of I stage, I'd sometimes lash out, only to be locked in a dungeon-like room for days on end. If I was lucky, there'd be a pageant coming up and I'd be out in a week. If not, I'd sit there, chained up for who knows how long, starving on the little food he agreed to give me only if I promised to lick, swallow, lie, then moan. I didn't actually promise to do those specific tasks, the little list just helped me get through it without fully being there. From an early age, I was surrounded by either James, other girls like me, or grown men wanting to be inside me. I got used to poles and stages and heels and bikinis and orders. Time meshed together until I couldn't tell if it was day or night, spring or fall. We moved around so much, I couldn't tell where we even were. Soon, I started high school. I got to be outside. Usually whenever we left the house, I was tied up, blindfolded, and tossed in the car until we got inside the building I'd be performing in. Now, I got to see outside. It was a whole different world. Finally, I could make friends outside of an illegal nightclub. I could find how they coped and led such normal lives.