Remix music was tuned so loudly. There was a DJ doing it on the stage. People were gathered and danced randomly in front of him. There were many people walked unsteadily everywhere. This place reeked heavily of chigarette. The lights were flickering as if the owner hasn't paid the electricity bill. My eyes glanced everywhere, like a child sightseeing to spot at any primates in a zoo. We kept on walking. I felt even more nervous and unconsciously grabbed Jane's hand.
We entered the elevator which took us to the second floor, a place for VIPs. He led us to one of the rooms there. There was a man sitting on the left end of sofa. In front of him is a round table on which is located a lot of alcoholic drinks of various brands that I don't know the name of. There were two other men sitting on other sofa in this room. In front of the small table a pole was installed. There was a beautiful woman wore a black masquerade mask that only covered her eyes part and was dressed in too revealing clothes dancing in front of that pole.
The guard with dark glasses who guided us approached a man sitting on the left end and whispered something to him. He was wearing a white shirt and trousers. That man nodded and whisper back to the bodyguard. Then, he raised his right hand which made the dancer stop dancing. She approached him.
She then sat on his lap, facing him. He stroked her cheek and landed his lips on her neck. After that he then tucked a roll of money which was tied in a rubber band into her bra. The woman immediately stood up and left us all. He slapped the woman's butt as she walked away with the bodyguard. The sound of his slap made my ears cringe.
He shifted his gaze to us and raised his hand as instruction for us to approach him. Jane and I did so. She then put the two bags on the table. He opened and checked the contents inside. After he was satisfied with what he saw, he closed them.
He gave us two large suitcases. I gaped at the contents which were piles of ten thousand dollar bills. What a dream to have this much money. I can definitely pay mama's debts with this.
"Please count it," he said.
Jane immediately counted the money. Her fingers skillfully counted the enormous amount of money quickly. While she was counting them, his eyes that never stop preying on me gave me extremely uneasy feeling. Since Jane was such a master at counting money, it didn't take long for her to count all of them. Finally. I want to get out of here fast.
"New guy?" he asked.
"You could say that," answered Jane as she closed the two suitcases. She gave one to me. "Come on, Lessa," she said as she walked out. I nodded and followed after her.
My footsteps stopped when a hand grabbed my right arm. "Wait a minute. You just got here, right? Why don't you join the fun?" he said with a disgusting grin. My eyes were wide open upon hearing it. Is he stupid or something? Didn't he see I'm still underage? Jane already left this room, unaware that I was still here. Shit.
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry. And you seem to be mistaken, I'm not even old enough to 'have fun' here," I growled. Maybe he thought I'm an adult woman the same age as Jane. Heck, even if I was old enough I wouldn't go to a place like this. But isn't it obvious from my height?
"I'm fully aware of it, relax. This club accepts people from various categories. And there's no need to worry, you won't get caught by anyone. Including, the cops," he spoke with a disgustingly seductive tone as he winked his eyes. It sent shiver down my spine. My heart is racing fast. My breath roared. He really lusted after minors. This man was definitely not normal.
His passionate expression was the exact opposite of my frightened face. "You are allowed to do all the things that are strictly forbidden by your parents here, sounds fun?" he licked his upper lip.
I yanked my hand right away. "I'm not interested. Go find someone else," I retorted with the sharpest tone possible and turned around to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Oh come on, deep down in your guts you definitely want it too right?" He turned me around harshly making me almost lose my balance. I wanted to break free but his left hand grabbed my nape. His cold right hand took off my mask and stroked my cheek. He stood up and opened the hood of the jacket that covered my hair. "Oh so you're actually a girl. Good, very good."
He spoke quietly right to my ear, "Have fun with me. I'll pay you twice the amount Stef gave you." His breath which was blown to my ear gave me goosebumps. "I like your scent," he added.
Pull yourself together, Lessa. I can't look scared in front of this man. I moved my hand slowly to take a bar glass which luckily was within arm reach. He was too busy sniffing my hair while closing his eyes so he didn't realize what I was doing. Meanwhile, his two friends were busy chatting without paying attention to us. Without wasting any time, I bashed the glass to his head and it broke to pieces. He spontaniously let go of me and holding his wounded head. Fresh blood was dripping from his head.
He wiped the blood off his head. "What an insolent bitch. This is the first time someone rejected me. Get her," he barked with a fierce gaze. They who had been sitting the entire time with him now already stood up and walked over to me. I immediately run but unfortunately, they caught me and stopped me dead in my track. They shoved me to the floor, like a cop who caught a thief and pinned my body which kept on struggling on the floor.
This reminded me of the kidnapping that I experienced and it made me panicked even more, tears began to build up in my eyes. My mind went blank, I can't even remember anything of self defense he taught me.
"Now, you're being scared aren't you?" he spoke while holding his head. He started walking slowly toward us and sat on my back.
"Let me go, please, let me go," I begged but to no avail. He moved his hand to roam my body, I felt creeped and disgusted by his touch.
"Come on, keep on begging. It's really pleasant to hear that," he responded as he sniffed my hair. I can only pray silently while crying.
Suddenly, I heard something fell violently to the floor. Not one, but two. I turned my head at the source of the sound. There was a pale face before my eyes, his empty eyes gave me dejavu. I screamed hysterically by the sight of a corpse lied right in front of my face.
"Let her go!" Jane snarled. She held Felix's head at gunpoint.
"And what if I refuse?!" he challenged. He pointed a gun to my forehead too. I felt sweat running down my forehead in this air-conditioned room. I can clearly see the gun he pressed against my forehead.
Is this my time?
"I'll shoot your fucking head then," Jean snapped at him.
"Jane, I'm sure your boss wouldn't like the way his employees served his customers today. You know that what you're doing is unprofessional, don't you?" she didn't answer his question at all.
"I don't have enough time for your nonsense, Felix. You're not our only customer and there are a lot of people waiting for their package as we speak. So it's best to let her go now," she uttered fearlessly.
"Why do I have to do as you said while you've killed both of my men? I don't think he would miss one or two presumptuous employees. Especially since I intend to purchase this kid. He would agree with the price I'll offer him. After I kill you, of course."
"Oh, but this one employee is no ordinary employee. If you still cherish your life, you better drop your gun," she dared him.
"You seriously think I'd fall for that nonsense?"
"You may check the object hanging around her neck if you don't believe me," she replied defiantly.
His cold hand roamed around my neck, it tickled me. He pulled my necklace out of my jacket collar. For a moment, he was silent.
"T-this girl is..." he stuttered.
"Yes she is," Jane finished his sentence that he didn't get to finish before. "So, if you still love your pathetic life, let this child go. I can assure you this incident will not reach to the ears of any of them."
He finally pulled a gun from my temple and stood up from me. My body finally felt lighter. Jane stretched out her hand and helped me up, her other hand held the suitcase. "Let's get out of here, Lessa." She hooked her arm onto my shoulder so I wouldn't be left behind.
I hugged my knees during the trip back. Tonight, I almost lost my honor. The only treasure I have. I can't imagine if it were taken away by someone else forcibly. My body doesn't stop shaking. My tears flowed incessantly.
Jane sped up as fast as she could. It doesn't take long for us to arrive. I immediately ran to the basement then to my room. I cried on the bed while hugging my pillow. Not long after, Jane opened the door. She laid facing me and took me into her arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left you," she muttered in a trembling voice. I didn't answer. I felt my mouth seemed unable to utter a word, only sobs came out. My mind was still messed by this incident. Even though I really wanted to say that it wasn't her fault. I can only shake my head in disapproval. I kept crying untill I fell asleep.
-
"How was your first day at work?" asked the person sitting across from me. He put a pile of paper in a drawer. I didn't catch any bit of worry in his voice. From someone who declared himself as my uncle whose words I quote: 'The only family I have'.
Under normal circumstances, this is the most common question asked to someone who has just been hired to work in your family. I would love to blabber at length about my first day working at the office, or talking about how I apply my hobby to make money. That's if, the condition supported it. Not when I'm forced to carry out an illegal job while I'm still a minor.
I stared at him with in anger. I know very well why he asked that with his faint smile.
"It was good. Everything went well," I replied shortly.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that, Alessandra." He smiled broadly. "I'm proud of you because you can make money when other kids your age are still whining to their parents." Is that supposed to be a compliment? I stared at his face perched on his two linked hands on the table.
"But why did I hear complaints from my customer? He said you were being rude yesterday."
Oh, so yesterday's incident had reached his ears. Supposedly, he called me because he was worried and ready to defend me. Did he not care of what happened to his own niece at all?
"Stef, what he did to me—"
"Don't cut me off, I'm not done talking yet," he scolded which made me shut my mouth tight. "Honestly, Alessandra. I'm disappointed with you. You hit my loyal customer. You know the loss that would be incurred if he stopped being my customer?"
"That person was harassing me, Stef. I have the right to defend myself like any other normal human being," I objected his unacceptable assertion.
He chuckled, eventhough there was nothing funny about this.
"And why should I care about such trifles?" he asked innocently. "After all, this is just another occupational risk. It's commonplace for a job to have risks, no?"
What did he just say? I stared at him in disbelief on what he just said. So, the safety of his own niece is insignificant, huh? not as important as the profit he made from the transaction?
"I don't want to have an uncle like you. Don't ever call me your family again, you fucking trash." My mouth open on its own, I have no idea why it blurted such words.
Big mistake.
His smile vanished at once, his bright brown iris darkened, almost as black as mine. His breath roared and his mouth closed tightly.
Seeing his reaction made panic start to spread in my body. I felt My stomach heatburned and my heart is beating fast. The anger that I felt earlier now gone somewhere.
He stood up. "What did you say?"
I didn't answer, just looked down.
He grabbed my hair and pulled me closer to his face. "Can you say it again?" he asked hoarsely. A tear escaped my eye. I shook my head.
He then tucked my head against the wooden table. I felt a throbbing pain in the forehead. Slowly, I lifted my head.
"It seemed that I was too soft to you," he said, "as your senior, I am responsible for educating you." He got up from his chair and approached me. He slapped me so hard I fell off the chair to the cold floor beneath.
He kicked me in the stomach with his right leg. I screamed in pain.
"You."
Kick.
"Ungrateful."
Kick.
"Kid."
Kick.
My scream became louder with every kick he gave. Even though my voice was very loud, but it seemed like he was enjoying every moan I let out. He glanced at one of the bodyguards behind me and said, "Give me my tool."
The bodyguard immediately obeyed his order by taking something out from the filing drawer and gave it to Stef. My eyes widened at it: a whip similar to the one that is often used to tame wild animals in a circus. My whole self was covered in fear. I still remembered vividly when mama came home with whip wounds.
I crawled closer to him. I grabbed his ankle tightly with both hands and pleaded with tears. "Stef, I beg you please don't do this, I promise I won't say it again. I beg you. I beg you not to do it."
"No, can't do. One way or another you must be disciplined. This is my duty as your guardian and also as a superior here," he said expressionless. "Leave the two of us alone," he told to all the guards. They immediately left us by their master's orders.
-
"I hope you remember your lesson today, forever," he spat as he cleaned his hands with a hand sanitizer. "This is what happens if you dare to argue with me, dare to raise your fist against me, dare to mess with me, or dare to say those cursed words to me."
I shivered, my body felt stiff. I am not even strong enough to pull my shirt down to cover my exposed back. I laid on my stomach, feeling my burning pain on the back. Fresh blood dropped from the open wound, and my stomach hurt so badly, my cheeks were also throbbing, and my head still felt dizzy from being tucked against the wooden table. My face was wet with sweat and tears that flowed down like a waterfall.
"Take her to her room."
I have no idea when did the guard entered this room. All I know is when I was thrown on this familiar floor like an object. I couldn't even moan in pain because my tongue was so dry and my throat ached from screaming too much.
I heard Jane's crying and I tried to turn my head to her. Her condition is not much different from me. There are bluish bruises on her cheeks and her lips are bleeding too. As it turned out, she was also disciplined. I tried to crawl closer to her until this body gave up. I stroked her leg because my hand can only reach this far before my consciousness disappear completely.
First day... gone wrong.