Chocolate Filing: The Life of a Whore

Chapter Thirteen

My eyes fluttered open as I struggled to move. I stopped counting the days, but I'd been here a little over a month, if I could guess. So many men, and even women, came in and out of here I had to tap into a numb mindset. It got bad to the point of me looking forward to when one of Nova's workers came in here to shoot me up. I itched for it. They would get me high, and I would drift off to another dimension as niggas did whatever they wanted to me. I was nothing but a shell.

I hummed to myself as yet another John climbed from on top of me, wiping his sweat and leaving the traces of his secretions on the dingy linen I was lying on. I stared at the sunlight coming in from the very small window of whatever room I was in. That's all I could do. I would think about Shatia and how much I missed her. Singing songs that she and I used to sing together growing up would always put me in a state of calmness after these men were done running through me. The drugs were starting to wear off, and usually, I would start to feel antsy, wanting the next hit. I felt unusually still. Maybe this was finally the end of everything for me. The thought alone made my eyes drift close, wanting to give in to the possible serenity of my death.

"Never thought I'd be seeing you like this."

I opened my eyes again and saw a woman hovering over me. She stepped closer into the light, and I realized it was Veena. I licked my lips, which were so dry they were cracked and bleeding. I couldn't form any words to speak to her. She grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it next to the bed. The chair was used by a couple of men to beat their dicks while looking at my naked yet malnutrition body, but again, I was unable to form any words. So, my warning was never given. Not that I would have even if I could speak. For the first time in a while, I almost cracked a smile.

"When I first met you, you were wearing all this fancy ass shit. Neck was dripping in diamonds that I'm sure Novarion got for you. Being his trophy side bitch ran out of perks, didn't it?"

I took a couple of deep breaths to build the strength to talk.

"What ... do you want?" I struggled to say.

"I want answers."

"For?"

Veena stared into my eyes. For a brief moment, I thought I could see sadness. Maybe she was just as broken by Nova as I was.

"Novarion and I were high school sweethearts. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him."

"Spare me ... the backstory ... please."

The sadness in her eyes evaporated. She looked at me with just as much venom as Nova did.

"Seeing as you're cuffed by one hand to this piece of shit bed and only given a slice of bread and a glass of water once a day, you don't have much of an option but to lay there and listen."

"How do you know so much about me for a bitch who couldn't give a fuck if I lived or died?"

"I wouldn't say I didn't give a fuck."

"Could've fooled me."

"As I was saying," she said, continuing her story. "Novarion used to follow my ass around like a sad puppy. See, my parents raised me right. And they told me the value of myself. So, when niggas like Novarion started sniffing around, I made sure they knew I wasn't playin' any games. The majority of them I turned down. All except Novarion. Once I gave in, you couldn't keep us apart. I was head over heels for his dumb ass and would do anything for him. I did everything for him. When he got down with that street shit before we graduated, I was skeptical at first. You and I both know how he is with words, though, so it wasn't long before I was making drops and bagging cocaine for him. He quickly rose to the top. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the money and attention."