I nodded and she came into the room, showing me the amenities with brisk efficiency. There was a huge attached bathroom with a bathtub big enough to swim a few laps and everything gleamed in the light. She pointed to the folded silken nightgown and robe awaiting on the counter. “You will bathe and dress for bed. Tomorrow will be a long day of preparation.” Then she reached out, saying, “I’ll take your bag. We will provide everything you’ll need.”
I hesitated. My cell phone and ID were in the bag. Olivia’s expression told me there was no compromising. “Will I get it back when I leave?” I asked.
Her short smile gave me chills as she answered, “Of course.”
The last thing I wanted to do was relinquish all control but it was clear I didn’t have a choice. I handed over my bag and she smiled at my obedience.
Without another word, Olivia left, the sound of the lock sliding into place driving home the knowledge that there was no turning back. I was in the boat and the current was sending me downstream.
A long day of preparation…this was really happening.
I was being prepared for…my cheeks heated. Someone was going to pay to…I couldn’t even say it out loud even though I’d never considered myself a prude or overly sensitive about sex. This was it.
And what kind of preparation was going to happen? What did that mean? I was almost afraid to know. Maybe ignorance was best. I returned to the bathroom and picked up the nightgown. The filmy satin whispered through my fingers. This probably cost more than I made in a year.
But God, it was fucking beautiful. Extreme wealth was another world and I was momentarily lost in wonder at the extravagance.
Usually I slept in an old ratty tee-shirt. I glanced down at myself, feeling grubby in my new surroundings. I worried my bottom lip as I surveyed the room. There were four beds in total. Olivia said more guests were coming. It wasn’t a hard line to draw that guests meant girls.
Olivia said to bathe. I guess that meant I was supposed to take a lap around the tub before bed. That part I didn’t mind. After a quick check on all the windows and doors and finding them locked tight as a prison ward, I closed the bathroom door and started the water. Essential oils awaited on a silver platter beside the tub. After sniffing a few, I added drops to the water, undressed and slid into the heated water.
I couldn’t remember the last time I took a real bath. We only had a shower at home and the water pressure wasn’t shit. If someone flushed the toilet, the water would scald your skin off. And it was filthy. No amount of scrubbing could ever get that thing clean. I finally gave up and spent as little time as possible in it. I liked showering at Lora’s place. Her shower was always sparkling clean, smelled of lavender, and had the fluffiest towels I’d ever felt across my ass.
As nice as Lora’s parents were, I couldn’t sneak off to use their shower every day before school. I had to make do with what I had.
But this place? It was next level glamorous. I’m talking Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous level of wealth. It was awe-inspiring but it also made me feel small and out of place.
Under different circumstances…this might be nice. At least for a visit. I wasn’t sure about living in a place like this. For all its beauty, there was no warmth, no sense of home. Not that my house felt like a home either. Maybe it was all the marble and stone that made the place seem hard and cold. I sank a little deeper in the water, shivering in spite of the heat lapping at my bare skin.
How many girls had Madame Moirai auctioned off? The secretive nature of the operation prevented questions but that didn’t stop my mind from going there. Gran had always said my brain was too busy for my own good. Couldn’t say she was wrong, either.
Thanks to the nondisclosure clause, good luck finding anyone willing to talk. The subject matter lent itself to secrecy. Who wanted to tell people what they’d done to get their money? Most people didn’t shout to the rooftops all the sordid and dirty things they’d done in their life. Better to slink away, clutching your cash, all too eager to forget how you’d earned that payday.
That would be me. As soon as I left this place, I’d shove it so far from my mind it would take a crowbar to wrench open that locked door.
Five days of my life to pay for my future.
I had to keep that reminder front and center otherwise, I started to cry and the tears irritated me. I wasn’t that girl who wept in the face of bad things. I stared them down and came out the victor, no matter how hard I’d been hit.
This situation was no different than anything I’d been through. If I was going to come away with scars, at least I’d leave knowing my suffering had been worth something.
I must’ve dozed off because I awoke with a start when I realized someone else had entered the bedroom. I heard Olivia’s same instructions to the new girl and then heard the door lock again behind her. I quickly climbed from the tub and toweled off, then after dressing in the silken pajamas and robe, I ventured from the bathroom to get a look at my roommate.
I don’t know what I expected but I didn’t expect her.
4
I didn’t mean to startle her but she nearly jumped out of her skin when I said hello.
“Sweet Jesus, don’t do that. My nerves are already a mess and I about had a heart attack just now,” the girl said, her hand going to her chest as if she were indeed, trying to prevent her heart from jumping out. She collected herself, then said, a little shyly, “My name’s Tana…what’s yours?”
Tana reminded me a tender rabbit venturing out into the world for the first time only to wander into a fox den. She didn’t belong in a place like this. I’d assumed Madame Moirai’s picks would be more like me — hardened by life, cynics down to their marrow — but Tana was soft and sweet, reminding me of Lora.
I was seized by panic. Tana seemed like a nice kid. She shouldn’t be here.
“Cat got your tongue?” Tana teased when I hadn’t answered.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, trying to quell my concern for a girl I’d just met. Everyone had their own lives to live. I couldn’t waste my energy worrying about a stranger who’d made her bed with the same sheets as me. “My name’s Nicole.”
Tana rolled my name around on her tongue, determining, “Nicole. Such a pretty name” before holding her hand out with a sunny smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Polite niceties seemed ridiculous given our situation but I wasn’t about to snap at the girl for no reason. Our situation was shitty enough without me adding to the mess.
Tana’s expression faltered as she gazed around the opulent room, clasping her hands together. “This place is real nice. Like the nicest place I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like a palace or something.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” I agreed, peering at her in question, unable to stop myself even after I’d reasoned that I shouldn’t poke my nose into the business of others. “So, I guess you’re here for the same reason as me?”
Tana blushed so red, it nearly rivaled the flaming curls on her head. “Good God, can you believe it? I’m still in shock over the whole thing. I think I was a different person signing those papers. I’ve never done anything so…well, like this, you know?”