A Daydream Away

The pounding in my head that I woke up to was nothing like a hangover headache. There was a clear, sharp pain sitting at the back of my head.

"Urgh," I groaned softly, turning my head and getting a whiff of a disgusting smell that was coming off the pillow under me. There were springs digging into my back from the lumpy mattress I was lying on. The uncomfortable bed I was on was doing nothing for the throbbing in my head.

"Jack, Jack I am so sorry, please open your eyes." I heard, the quiet mumbling coming from next to me.

I turned my head slightly to see Alex, kneeling next to the mattress. Despite the angle, I could see the nasty bruise forming on the right side of his face. The dull lighting, coming from the single bulb hanging from the ceiling, was causing light to lightly glare off the tears streaming down the bruise.

"'Lex?" I whispered, hand moving sluggishly to caress his cheek.

His face immediately shot up, eyes full of tears.

"Jack!" he yelled, jumping up from his sitting position and jumping on me, arms wrapping around my waist as he cried harder.

"Oh God I am so sorry for what happened, we need to get out now, I will explain later, but-" he rambled. I barely caught anything he said.

"Ow, Alex, my head, please," I groaned, pushing him slightly away.

A look of hurt crossed his facial features before he realized what I was talking about

"S-sorry," he whispered, slowly climbing off. He kept his hands on my waist, though. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"Y-ye-no, I hurt I- ow," I said, being cut off by the pain in my head.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I didn't want you getting involved. I-I thought-" he was cut off by a sob.

A worried feeling spread through me. My body instinctively leaned forward and I brought his body to mine, hugging him tight. I whispered comforting words into his ear as my hands stroked his hair. His sobbing increased into full out bawling

While my arms were wrapped around him, I took a moment to look over his shoulder and observe the room. It was hard to see anything due to the lack of illumination. I was able to see, though, how fucking grungy this place was. And not good Nirvana grunge. The walls were a disgustingly splotchy brown, there was a questionable pile of garbage in the opposite corner of where this mattress lay, and then there was a metal fold-out chair placed against the wall. It looked like we were in a cell.

Speaking of which, when the door suddenly swung opened, I thought the prison guard was about to come in and tell us our rights.

"Oh, my little whore, that was quite a chase you put us in. But don't you worry, we've already got some of your old regulars interested," a familiar voice spoke out. In front of me was the same man who I remembered asking me about Alex. His tattooed face wore a sleazy smile, greasy black hair slicked back so it wasn't hiding anything his face showed.

Alex turned his head a little, his body beginning to shake with what I assumed was fear, his voice showing it when he said, "N-no, I am not interested, Ronnie, I am not working for you anymore."

Regulars? Working? For him?

The man's face fell slightly, snapping his fingers and pointing at Alex. Suddenly, three men entered through the door and stormed over to wear the both of us were lying, hands grabbing at Alex and pushing me back against the wall. The men carelessly threw Alex at the Ronnie guy and he grabbed onto his forearm. An exclamation of pain left the small man's mouth.

"The hell you aren't, you bitch. We've spend way too much time and earned way too much money on you in the past that we are not going to let you go that easily," Ronnie hissed.

"'Lex... what is he talking about?" I asked, causing Ronnie's attention to snap to me. An evil smile split his face. His face went back to Alex's, a sinister look that showed devious intentions.

"Oh, little Alex, you didn't tell him? How you used to slut yourself out to our clientele for a quick buck? Tell him," Ronnie demanded, turning Alex to face me. I could tell he didn't want to look me in the eye, as he looked downward and bit his lip.

When Alex only whimpered in response, Ronnie shook his body and yelled, "Tell him now, dammit!"

"I-I-I" he stuttered, choking on a sob.

Ronnie shook Alex again, as if he were a ragdoll, causing another sob to tear through his throat.

I felt my fists clench, but I did not say anything. His helpers were big guys. I was not.

Ronnie sighed, seemingly knowing he wasn't going to get a clear answer from Alex. His glare went from him to where I was sitting on the mattress.

"You see, Jack," he said, easily using my name even though I never told him it, "This boy was our best "seller" I guess you could say. Old and young would pay top dollar for a chance at this ass. It really is irresistible, don't you agree?" he asked me, quickly turning Alex around and using his free hand to land a hard smack on Alex's bottom. Alex let out a cry of pain, adding to the heat of my already boiling blood.

"Nice sound that is, I missed it" Ronnie reminisced, pushing Alex away from him, causing him to fall and land on me. My immediate reaction was to wrap my arms around him and protect him.

How could he not tell me of this horrible life and this horrible man? I mean, I know he was homeless since after high school, but to know he had to deal with this for who knows how long? I felt upset with myself for not knowing. I felt upset with Alex for not telling me, but, then again, I guess I could see why he wouldn't tell me.

"Awe, now look at that boys," he said in a condescending voice, turning his head to his goons, "Our little slut has found himself a boyfriend."

My only response was a glare sent his way. My hand went to stroke the back of Alex's hair, attempting to calm him to stop his trembling.

"Defensive, too. You seem like a very dominant fellow. Well, sweetheart, sucks that you won't be exerting that dominance on little Alex any time soon, since he is going right back to work!" he exclaimed, a smile stretched across his gaunt facial features and his arms opened wide, almost as if he were announcing it to the world.

I heard Alex whimper from where his head was buried in my neck, causing my grip on him to tighten.

"Who the fuck gives you the right to force him into doing anything," I spoke up, feeling my protective instincts over Alex get the better of me, "He even said he is not interested. He is a human, not a fucking animal, and he most certainly is not your property" I all but yelled.

"Oh, but it was Alex who agreed to it all. I asked him, politely, if he wanted a job, and he said yes. It really was nothing. The poor thing, cute as he was, was weak and pathetic. It was too easy." He sighed, a look of remembrance crossing his face. The sight made me grit my teeth in anger.

"The moment he left should have told you that he didn't want to do this anymore, that the deal was off." I exclaimed.

"Well, you see, that's not quite how it works. We gave him food, water, and a roof over his head. Hell, we even gave him clothes. Racking all that up, he has quite the bill to pay." He said, as if it were that simple.

"A-a bill?!" I exclaimed, "What the fuck do you mean a bill? When you give someone a job, you don't bill them for using your services," I said.

I knew what he was doing, buying his "workers" clothes and feeding them, all the while tallying it up, then demanding they have to pay it back when they attempt to leave. He was digging a hole for them. Although the people he had here were probably making more than enough to settle their debt, he was never going to tell them. And how was he going to keep them quiet? Brute force.

"Yes, it is a business, legal, he agreed to what he was getting into," he said, adding, "You should know how, as you, too, are a business man."

I felt about to burst. How dare he compare himself to me. I run an actual business, and I am nowhere near involved in something so corrupted as sex trafficking.

"That's bullshit," I spat, "You are not a businessman, you are a filthy criminal."

"What do you mean, dear Jacky," that nickname made me shiver coming out of his mouth, "Am I not? But I sell a service, the service of pleasure. I've got workers who get paid, and I even give them rooms and anything necessary for living."

"Your views are corrupt," I said.

He just smiled at me. "I like you. You're a fighter."

Ronnie turned his head, giving his goons a look. I didn't think anything of it, until I heard a snap of the fingers. I knew what that meant. Before I could react, a hand was grabbing the front of my shirt and more hands were grabbing at my arms and chest.

"Jack!" I heard Alex cry, his arms trying their best to hold on to me as I was being torn away from him. Despite my struggling, I was suddenly face to face with Ronnie, multiple pairs of arms holding me from getting away.

I looked into his face, his large smile never reaching his lifeless eyes. His gaze flickered over my body, up and down, before he nodded to his minions holding me. Their hands begin moving, lifting my shirt up until it was off of my body.

"What a lovely tattoo, oh, you bad boy," Ronnie taunted, his ice cold fingers tracing the inked lines on my pectoral. He continued running his fingers along my chest and abdomen, and I couldn't do a thing about it with the bruising hands gripping my aching limbs.

"A very nice specimen Alex has found for us," he said to himself, "Not as petite as he is, but very nicely built. Tall, dark, and handsome," he continued, getting too low with his touching and causing me to jump at him. The guys holding me back made sure my attempt was in vain.

"Oh, so feisty, too, so much fun!" he clapped.

"I think we need to try him out-"

"No!" Alex shouted.

All eyes turned to be on him.

"Take me. I," he choked a bit, "I need to be taught a l-lesson, take me."

"No Alex, don't"- I was cut off.

"Sacrificing yourself, huh? How adorable," he said in a condescending voice, "I really do miss using you, but, you know what? I think this will teach you more of a lesson."

I felt a hand on my ass, squeezing roughly and making me yelp.

"I think, honestly, he may be more fun."

His brutes began pulling me back, dragging me out of the door. I didn't know what was going to happen to me at that moment. I felt as though my life was ending. If it was, I needed to tell Alex what I thought of him.

"Whatever you do, Jack, stay strong, fight back, please," Alex pleaded, tears spilling out of his eyes. Tears for me.

My mind was going into overdrive. I needed to leave him with a bit of a happy thought.

"I think I like you," I sputtered out, "Alex, I think I like you-" I wanted to tell him more, but then my collar was yanked backwards, momentarily cutting my airflow.

"Awe, how sweet, I can't wait to break you," that sick voice whispered in my ear, before I was pulled back through the doorway, the wood cutting off my view of a scared Alex.