It All Started With A Tampon

(35)

They escort me inside, and I'm met with grins and smirks from the gang. I swallow my distaste, glowing on the inside. Soon. We'll be safe soon. I head to the kitchen, and Charlie sighs in relief when she sees me. She rushes over to give me a hug, but is held back by Mark.

"Hurry it girls." He smirks. "I'm starving." We silently get to work, cooking for everybody. Charlie and I talk quietly, ignored by Mark and Caleb, who were at the table on their phones.

"This guy Aaron is coming tomorrow at eight am." Charlie whispers. "They made the girls go to bed."

"You're not going." I say as quietly as possible. "I have news." Charlie's eyes widen.

"What?" She asks, cautiously looking toward the boys.

"Lets just say..." I mutter, chopping up a carrot. "We're getting out of here. Really soon." Charlie quickly continues stirring the stew, covering up her gasp. "Let's just finish dinner." I say. "While their eating I'll fill you in." We both continue our ways. Apparently a lot more will be eating tonight. I start to set the table, and swallow a growl when Caleb slaps my ass. Only a few more hours. I can do this. I sigh, when I feel him squeeze. I quickly turn around and glare at him.

"What?" He asks innocently.

"Nothing." I grit. He laughs, and I keep setting out plates. Gang members start to dribble in, and they serve themselves, sitting down. Charlie and I go and wait on stools in the corner, out of the way. Everybody is eating, and I start to tell her the plan quietly.

"They're all waiting out in the courtyard." I finish. "Do you think you can get out there tonight?"

"Maybe." She whispers. "Josh is a pretty heavy sleeper." I nod, agreeing.

"We can't take all the girls." I say regretfully. "It will be practically impossible."

"It's not like we are leaving them forever." She says assuring me. "Liam and Ben will get them out as soon as they can. They'll shut this place down."

"Ok." I nod. "As soon as we all go to bed, meet in the hall." We wait quietly, not sure what to do.

"What's going to happen when we get out?" Charlie asks. I sigh. The same question has been circling my head for days. We can't go back home. They'll find us. I don't even have my parents anymore. Not that I ever really did. I don't know what's going to happen to me.

"You're going to go with your family." I say. "They're not involved with all this. You told me that you might have to go back to England soon. Go. Be safe."

"I'm not leaving you." Charlie says defiantly. "Or Ben. I won't."

"Ben wants you to be safe." I insist. "You know that Charlie. They won't follow you to England."

"What about you?" She asks seriously.

"I can look after myself." I say quietly.

"I'm scared for you." She tells me. "Josh won't leave you alone. What's going to happen to him?"

"I don't know." I finalise. "Let's focus on getting out."

"What are you two talking about?" Josh asks. We look over towards him, and shrug. "Come join us." He demands. We look at him in confusion, but do what he says. We walk towards the table, and Charlie is pulled into Marks lap, and I'm pushed in to a chair next to Caleb. The boys continue talking, like nothing just happened.

"Rebecca's a little spitfire isn't she?" Mark sniggers.

"That's an understatement." Josh groans. "I hope the beating she took knocked some sense into her."

"What did you do to her?" I butt in. I may not like Rebecca, but she doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. No one does.

"Oh, right, you missed that little episode." Josh smirks.

"She was a little tied up." Caleb sniggers, squeezing my side. I groan at the little joke, and ask again.

"Seriously, what did you do?"

"It's quite simple really." Josh explains. "She tried to escape, and she threw soup on my shirt. I loved that shirt."

"So you beat the shit out of her?" I spit angrily.

"I made a public demonstration in front of everybody to let them know what would happen if they tried to defy me." He says, like it's the most normal idea there ever is.

"And I really think it worked." Drew says, walking into the kitchen. "All of my girls are obediently in their beds, quivering in fear. Just the way I like them." He sits down, and serves up a plate of food.

"Even Rebecca?" Mark asks.

"Yep." He says. "I even tried her out a little bit. She's going to be a top seller." Charlie and I look at each other, trying not to lash out in anger. The last thing we need is to get locked in some room tonight.

"Eat." Josh says suddenly.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Eat girls." Josh repeats, grinning.

"Why?" I wonder.

"Things are about to get a little crazy for you." Josh laughs. "It's going to be fun, and I don't want you to faint on us." I open my mouth to argue, but Caleb sharply jabs me in the ribs.

"Just eat." He grins. Charlie and I slowly serve ourselves a plate of stew, and begin to eat. I moan, realising how hungry I am. I start to shove the food in, ignoring the remarks comparing me to a pig. I can see Charlie doing the same thing. Finally, there's nothing left. I think about going for seconds, but I don't want to push my luck. Caleb pulls me onto his lap, and grins.

"Good girls." Josh says happily.

"What's going on?" I ask warily. Something's going to happen. He's being way to nice.

"You'll see." Josh laughs. "I can't wait to see your reaction in..." His phone interrupts him, and he checks the screen. "In... five minutes." He finishes.

"What's happening in five minutes?" Charlie asks, finishing her plate of stew as well.

"This doesn't really concern you." Josh answers. "You're just kind of along for the ride."

"So who does it it involve?" She asks.

"When we give you to Aaron you're gonna have to learn to stop being so nosy." Josh reprimands. "But, if you must know, it's going to cause emotional pain for Gemma." He grins at me. "Fun." I hear the front doors crash open, and I hear footsteps coming down the hall. "And the fun begins." Josh finishes. The kitchen door opens, and I gasp, when I see who walks in.

"Mom?"