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Luke
Chapter 1
The day we met, it was cold out. Rainy. Dark even though the sun should’ve been up. The sun was hiding behind foreboding clouds, almost as if it were afraid to grace my skin with warmth. Still, I had an imagination, so I pretended the raindrops were drops of sunshine instead. I hadn’t seen the sun for days.
I’d indulged in this fantasy for only a few minutes before shivers claimed my body and convinced my mind that it was time to find shelter. Ducking into a convenience store, I pretended to browse the shelves as people discreetly stared at my dirty body and torn clothes. Surely they knew I couldn’t afford a single thing. Being in the store only made my already empty stomach growl further. I’d steal something, certainly, but not right now. I’d be sure to wait until I was somewhere that I wouldn’t attract attention.
Having been inside the store long enough to warm up a bit, I trudged back outside, grumbling to myself as I mistakenly stepped in a puddle, water instantly filling my worn shoes and soaking straight to my feet. This had been my luck for weeks, now.
I’d have to find somewhere to stay for the night, I knew that much. It was nothing new; I’d find some old, abandoned building with cracks in the walls and, if I was lucky, moth-eaten blankets. The floor would work, but maybe there’d be a dirty old couch, which would be even better.
This was a new town, so I wasn’t exactly familiar with it. In fact, if I wanted to have somewhere to stay tonight, I knew that I’d have to pass over getting any food. I’d eaten this morning, so I knew I wouldn’t starve to death.
The rain picked up as I walked, the droplets turning fatter, almost mocking my skeletal body. I almost laughed at the thought of the rain being fatter than I was. It was quite sad, but it didn’t seem unrealistic to me. I’d grown up healthy, with three meals a day. Now I was used to having maybe one, and my protruding ribs told me that this really wasn’t enough.
I paused to check my surroundings. My mind was constantly on other planets, so it wasn’t unusual for me to get lost, as I was now. I didn’t recognize this place at all, but the broken windows and graffiti-covered walls offered me some hope of shelter. Surely no one was occupying all these buildings.
I wandered from one building to another, briefly glancing in and feeling my hopes sink as alcohol-slurred voices spoke merrily inside. I waited a few extra seconds at the entrance of a building that appeared to be empty. The inside was dark, and all was quiet.
I heard voices coming toward me, so I backed away, hiding so I could see who was there. A woman with a top that left her stomach exposed and a skirt that could barely pass as clothing walked with a man who had shifty eyes. They headed inside the building, but I, curious, decided to follow. It wasn’t like I didn’t understand what I prostitute was, but I didn’t understand exactly what they did and my empty stomach told me that it was time I learned. I could sell my body to pay for my life.
I cautiously approached the front door and entered as quietly as I could manage before finding a discreet spot where I could learn. What I saw disgusted me, and only made me loathe myself as I realized that for money, I’d be willing to do it. When the man had finished, he handed the woman some money whilst she told him that it’d been ‘a pleasure doing business’.
I realized too late that the man was now heading my way.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, dragging me out of my hiding spot. My common sense had told me to run when I saw him coming toward me, but I’d been rooted to the spot. “You got a fucking kid?”
“She ain’t mine!” the woman protested indignantly.
I appreciated the irony that the woman who had just sold herself for a sex toy was disgusted by the prospect of having a child. After all, there was nothing better I could do because I knew I was trapped and at the same time, knew that there was no chance of me going free. Not yet.
“Maybe she just here for the taking,” he said, his eyes grazing over me hungrily.
I didn’t talk. I couldn’t talk my way out of this. The woman glanced at me. I remember her face more clearly than his. Her eyes were dark brown, but they looked distant and empty. I couldn’t convince myself to look at him. I only looked at her, while she watched him tear my clothes off, shove me to the ground, and violate me. She watched.
She said nothing.
Wasn’t Karma a bitch.
I’d indulged in this fantasy for only a few minutes before shivers claimed my body and convinced my mind that it was time to find shelter. Ducking into a convenience store, I pretended to browse the shelves as people discreetly stared at my dirty body and torn clothes. Surely they knew I couldn’t afford a single thing. Being in the store only made my already empty stomach growl further. I’d steal something, certainly, but not right now. I’d be sure to wait until I was somewhere that I wouldn’t attract attention.
Having been inside the store long enough to warm up a bit, I trudged back outside, grumbling to myself as I mistakenly stepped in a puddle, water instantly filling my worn shoes and soaking straight to my feet. This had been my luck for weeks, now.
I’d have to find somewhere to stay for the night, I knew that much. It was nothing new; I’d find some old, abandoned building with cracks in the walls and, if I was lucky, moth-eaten blankets. The floor would work, but maybe there’d be a dirty old couch, which would be even better.
This was a new town, so I wasn’t exactly familiar with it. In fact, if I wanted to have somewhere to stay tonight, I knew that I’d have to pass over getting any food. I’d eaten this morning, so I knew I wouldn’t starve to death.
The rain picked up as I walked, the droplets turning fatter, almost mocking my skeletal body. I almost laughed at the thought of the rain being fatter than I was. It was quite sad, but it didn’t seem unrealistic to me. I’d grown up healthy, with three meals a day. Now I was used to having maybe one, and my protruding ribs told me that this really wasn’t enough.
I paused to check my surroundings. My mind was constantly on other planets, so it wasn’t unusual for me to get lost, as I was now. I didn’t recognize this place at all, but the broken windows and graffiti-covered walls offered me some hope of shelter. Surely no one was occupying all these buildings.
I wandered from one building to another, briefly glancing in and feeling my hopes sink as alcohol-slurred voices spoke merrily inside. I waited a few extra seconds at the entrance of a building that appeared to be empty. The inside was dark, and all was quiet.
I heard voices coming toward me, so I backed away, hiding so I could see who was there. A woman with a top that left her stomach exposed and a skirt that could barely pass as clothing walked with a man who had shifty eyes. They headed inside the building, but I, curious, decided to follow. It wasn’t like I didn’t understand what I prostitute was, but I didn’t understand exactly what they did and my empty stomach told me that it was time I learned. I could sell my body to pay for my life.
I cautiously approached the front door and entered as quietly as I could manage before finding a discreet spot where I could learn. What I saw disgusted me, and only made me loathe myself as I realized that for money, I’d be willing to do it. When the man had finished, he handed the woman some money whilst she told him that it’d been ‘a pleasure doing business’.
I realized too late that the man was now heading my way.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, dragging me out of my hiding spot. My common sense had told me to run when I saw him coming toward me, but I’d been rooted to the spot. “You got a fucking kid?”
“She ain’t mine!” the woman protested indignantly.
I appreciated the irony that the woman who had just sold herself for a sex toy was disgusted by the prospect of having a child. After all, there was nothing better I could do because I knew I was trapped and at the same time, knew that there was no chance of me going free. Not yet.
“Maybe she just here for the taking,” he said, his eyes grazing over me hungrily.
I didn’t talk. I couldn’t talk my way out of this. The woman glanced at me. I remember her face more clearly than his. Her eyes were dark brown, but they looked distant and empty. I couldn’t convince myself to look at him. I only looked at her, while she watched him tear my clothes off, shove me to the ground, and violate me. She watched.
She said nothing.
Wasn’t Karma a bitch.