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“You knew that Emma and Mark were sleeping together?” I whisper, my body cold.
“Of course we knew,” Suzanne bites out. “Mark has needs and Emma was willing to satisfy him, since you weren’t. But this works out nicely, actually.”
My brain is screaming at me to run, but my entire body feels like Jell-O and I can’t move.
Mark nods, a twisted smile playing on his lips. “It really does, Suzanne.”
“What are you talking about?” I whisper, my heart beating a staccato in my chest. My stomach churns as something inside me is telling me I’m about to hear something horrible.
Emma looks at her nails, bored. “We’re going to sell you, stupid.”
My brain seemingly short circuits and I find it hard to breathe.
“The Brotherhood will pay a lot of money for you, Alexis,” Suzanne says soothingly, as if that’ll make me feel better. “Just think of how much you’ll be helping us.”
“B–but I cook and clean?—”
Dennis shakes his head. “That’s not enough, Alexis. We have debts—lots of them. And The Brotherhood will pay a pretty penny for your virginity.”
I suddenly lunge for the door, desperate to get out of here. The Carters and Mark have lost their minds. There’s no way they can be serious, but I don’t want to find out if they are.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Mark grabs me around my middle and backhands me as I fall to the ground. I cry out as my back collides painfully with the edge of the wall. Mark crouches down and grabs me by my hair so I’m forced to look into his eyes.
“You listen to me well, Alexis Hartley,” he says venomously. “You have no choice in this matter. You will be sold to The Brotherhood, where they can do God knows what.” He pulls on my hair harder, and I gasp, my eyes smarting.
“It’s a good thing you’ve been such a frigid bitch,” he taunts me. “Your virginity will fetch us a very, very high price.” He glances at Dennis and Suzanne, who watch the situation with no emotion. “Where should I put her?”
“In the basement,” Suzanne states. “And lock the door. We don’t want her to get out before The Brotherhood gets here.”
As Mark carries me, kicking and screaming, to the basement, I barely hear the lock click over the echo of my sobs.
“Let me out!” I scream as I bang on the door as hard as I can.
But it’s no use. No one is going to come for me.
I’m all alone.
I curl up on the stairs, hiccupping. My face is throbbing from the force of my cries and from Mark’s abuse.
But I don’t know what hurts worse. The physical pain or the pain of knowing the Carters and Mark have never cared about me.
Have they been waiting until I turned twenty-one in order to implement their plan? Is that why Mark has been dating me for so long?
Was I just a means to an end?
But I have to get out of here. I can’t wait for The Brotherhood—whoever they are—to come and get me.
The Carters wouldn’t care if The Brotherhood then sold me to someone evil.
I look around the basement carefully. Even though this has been my room for the last three years, I’ve never really taken a close look at my surroundings. There has to be another means of escape.
There! How have I never seen it before? A grimy, small window is tucked in the upper right corner of the basement. Now, if I could somehow get up there and open it.
My dresser.
I nearly slip down the stairs as I run to seize my dresser and push it against the wall. With a grunt of exertion, I hoist myself up. I’m now at eye level with the window.
To my relief, the window has a rusty latch. Quickly sliding it open, I gasp as cold air slaps me in the face.
