The end of the school day comes way too quickly, and I walk slowly to my car. I realize that I really have to text Ash now that I'm not coming in. I've been putting it off all day and I cannot wait any longer.
I'm not feeling well. I won't be in tonight. Sorry.
I lock my phone and turn my car on. The drive home passes in a blur as my mind buzzes with theories of what will happen when I get home. When I step inside Darren is sitting at the table with a man I've never seen before. They both turn their heads to look my way and Darren smiles widely.
"Lyssa," he says cheerily, "perfect timing. Come and take a seat next to me."
He pats the chair next to him and I warily slide into it.
"This is Lyssa," Darren says to the man across the table.
"Lyssa, say hello," he says touching my arm in my lap.
"Hi," I say emotionless.
"Now be a good girl and bring us two beers."
I walk into the kitchen and uncap two bottles of beer before setting them on the table in front of them.
"Sit," Darren says less kindly.
I do as I'm told and cross my arms over my chest. I notice the guy inspecting me and I hug my chest tighter.
"You say she's 17?" The guy asks looking from Darren to me.
"Yes, not 18 until next year," Darren states eagerly.
"Hmm."
I awkwardly sit on the chair as he continues to look me over.
"Okay, I'll need photos today."
"Okay, no problem," Darren says standing up to shake the man's hand.
The man takes an iPhone out of his pocket and tells Darren that I need to stand against the wall.
Darren grabs my arm and shoves me against the dining room wall. Darren steps out of the way and I blankly stare at the man who points his phone's camera at me.
He juts his chin in Darren direction and says he needs one without.
Darren nods and turns to me.
"Take off your clothes," he barks.
My heart starts pounding and I don't move a muscle. What? No way. I'm not getting undressed in front of this man. Why does he need photos of me?
"I said, take off your clothes," he says giving me a hard look.
I start to remove my clothes until I stand in my bra and underwear. I try to hide my body with my arms over my chest, but he tells me to leave my hands at my sides. My sweaty palms brush my thighs as the man takes more photos. He slips his phone in his pocket and tells Darren it'll be a couple weeks.
Darren glances at me and shows the man out. I quickly put my clothes back on and wait for Darren to come back. He closes the front door and turns to me with a menacing glare.
"Next time I tell you to do something, you do it right when I ask. Got it?"
He's standing over me now and I nod rapidly hoping to appease him.
"You make me look like a fool again and you're going to be punished," he huffs.
The alcohol from his breath burns my nose and I scrunch my nose in response. He stares at me breathing heavily. He turns to walk away but out of nowhere sends his fist flying into my face. I recoil onto the ground and he spits on me.
"Go clean yourself up," he says emotionless, "I want dinner in 30 minutes."
I stumble to my feet willing the tears to not overflow as I rush to the bathroom. I spit the blood out of my mouth and into the sink. My lip is busted and my gums are bleeding. I continue to rinse out my mouth until it stops bleeding. My lip is swollen and fat and looks really disgusting. I cringe at the sight and shut off the bathroom light to return back to the kitchen.
I cook some chicken from the fridge and boil some rice and broccoli to go with it. As I wait for things to cook I press a bag of frozen veggies to my mouth. When it's done I leave a serving for him on the table and bring a plate for myself to my room.
It's painful to eat, so I only manage to finish about half of my plate. I decide to work on some homework and when I'm done I spend the rest of my night listening to music. I ignore the texts from Becca about singing and focus on scrolling through Twitter.
I try to ignore all the questions rolling through my mind about who that man was and why he wanted pictures of me. What was going to happen in a few weeks?
YOU ARE READING
The Secrets We Keep (Formally WAIT)
Teen FictionI was terrified of small spaces and he knew that. I could feel the sweat pooling in the crease behind my knees. My arms were hugging my knees to my chest and my chin rested on my knee and I waited for Darren to unlock the closet. I couldn't reach m...
