No Such Thing as Love
Chapter Two: Blondie, Bon-Bon, and Berry
Consciousness slowly crept back through me. My mind was numb and my eyelids were too heavy to lift, so I kept them shut. I tried moving my limbs, but my whole body just hurt at the thought. I felt like I was just waking from a very long sleep, but I couldn't understand why I felt so sore.
I forced my eyes open slowly, fighting the pain. It was pitch black wherever I was, so there was no point opening them to begin with; I closed them again to cease the stinging.
My mind was working incredibly slowly, and it took me a few minutes to remember what had happened to me. Mike, telling me I no longer had a job. Jacob, cheating right before my eyes. The blond woman, Rosalie. Then I remembered that I hated her. She had gotten me kidnapped; it was because of her I was even in this unknown position. The stupid bitch offered to help me, tricked me into trusting her. Now I was probably going to be sold on the black market. I winced at the thought.
I was surprised to find that I wasn't hysterical the moment my memories came back to me. Had I gotten so numb to the point that I almost didn't care? It could be possible-I had nothing left to lose now, so what was the point in caring or hoping?
All I had left was my pride, and that wasn't saying much.
I took in a deep breath, smelling around. Wherever I was, it smelled like cigarette smoke and old people. It wasn't pleasant, but at least I wasn't dead…yet. As hard as I tried, I couldn't make out anything with the intense darkness. I tried moving my arms again, and it hurt like hell, but nothing seemed to be wrong with them. There was a sharp stinging on the skin above my collarbone, and when I touched it, I felt a dried substance there, as if something had been caked onto my skin. I realized it was probably blood.
Feeling around me, there was a wall on both sides of my body, each about a foot away. I started to move my left knee, and for some strange reason, my right leg moved with it without me forcing it to. It was like they were attached. Moving my hands to feel around my legs, I felt that my knees were indeed tied together by something strong. My ankles were bound, too. Putting both hands on either side of the walls, I pulled myself up and hopped around silently, trying to find a door in this little, enclosed space.
Where am I? I thought. Had those men abused me and left me somewhere to die? Was I locked in here from the outside? Or had they stashed me somewhere to use later? My collarbone was the only thing that really stung. If I had been sexually violated, I would have known just from moving, and I was pleased to notice that there was no pain in any of my girly regions. My legs felt numb from being bound so tight, and standing up made them feel better and made me weak all at once. My foot caught on something on the floor, and I fell hard, face forward. My head hit a door on the way down, and I yelped in pain, unable to contain it.
I heard voices coming from somewhere outside.
"About time she wakes up," I heard one man growl. Then footsteps grew louder near me, and before I could cower back, a door in front of me opened and bathed me in light.
The man named Royce from the night before—or days before, whatever—stood before me, towering over my trembling form. I was in too much of a shock to do anything, and he smiled devilishly and grabbed a large handful of my hair.
"James!" he called. He grabbed my arms next and pulled me out of the place I had been stocked. Looking back at it, I realized it was a closet. I could smell beer on Royce, and hoped he wasn't drunk enough to the point of killing me. Or perhaps he would still kill me while sober…
The blond man came next out of a hall to my right. We were in a living room—I could tell it was a living room because of the two mismatching sofas and the bright but silent television next to the wall.
"Hold her," Royce barked to James. James followed his commands, taking my arms and holding me tight. I was speechless and still in a state of shock, unable to move. James didn't hold me as roughly as Royce did, but I knew there was still no chance of getting away from him. I followed Royce's movements with my eyes as he walked over to a desk and dug inside one of the drawers. He emerged with a familiar object and held it on front of my face.
"Is this your wallet?" he asked, smiling. I didn't answer him, and then he withdrew my driver's license, the only thing I'd had in it when they took me. "Isabella Marie Swan," he read aloud, examining my only ID. "Is this you?" He then held the license in front of me. I stared back at my smiling face in the picture. My hair was shorter then, and my face had been fuller, but there was no mistaking that it was me. Royce cackled in delight at my silence. He walked into a room behind the wall; I guessed it was the kitchen. With a long, sharp scissor, he returned.
"I noticed that you signed your name 'Bella Swan' instead of 'Isabella'. Don't you like your name?" he asked. I had no clue what he was getting at. I glared at him, hating him more every second. I was sure my heartbeat was giving away how frightened I was, though, since it was pounding so hard. "Bella, Bella, Bella…" Royce mimicked, laughing. Then he cut my license in half with the scissor. I gasped in horror. "Bye bye, Bella Swan," he continued.
I felt new tears stream down my face, hot and wet. "What do you want?" I rasped, my voice hoarse from lack of use. I didn't have any money to offer them for my release. The fact that they were letting me see who they were really scared me—it was a sign that I wouldn't escaping. They wouldn't let me go now that I knew what they looked like. They wouldn't want me to describe them to the police. This meant that either A, they were going to kill me, or B, they were very stupid criminals.
Royce laughed. "Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, you will soon," he said.
I was so confused, and my brain was working on high speed, trying to determine why the hell I was here. Were they going to rape me? No one would even notice I was missing now. I was no one.
Royce shook his head and spoke to James. "Take her back. May as well face it now, Izzy." James gripped my arms tighter and pulled me to my feet, cutting the tie-wrap around my knees and ankles. I swayed slightly, but caught myself. The last thing I wanted was to be dragged. And perhaps, I thought, if I do what they ask me, I'll live.
James led me out of the living room and into the hall. Getting in front of me, he reached for the giant wooden door at the end of the hall. There were locks and bolts, at least five of them locking the door. James unlocked all of them and pulled it open. My heart shot up into my throat. Were they going to lock me in here?
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice shaking. James looked back at me. His features were calm, indifferent and uncaring. He simply started to push me into the room. I protested and tried to run again, afraid he would leave me in the room to die. Angered by my disobedience, James's expression turned to one of terrifying hatred. He roughly shoved me into the room and slammed the door. It was pitch black in the space, and I grew more anxious.
How long until one of them took me out? Would they even feed me? I had certainly lost my appetite, but I knew I would need to eat sometime. What if—
My thoughts were interrupted by a light that suddenly turned on. I whipped around and finally got to see what actually occupied the room. A girl was sitting up in bed next to the lamp, rubbing her eyes. She looked to be my age, if not a little younger. I looked around the room and saw three other girls sleeping.
"Hey," the awakened girl said. "You must be the new girl." She got up slowly and walked toward me, clad only in a red panty and bra set. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there silently. When she was just a foot away from me, she stopped and looked me up and down. "You're tall," she conceded. The girl was very short—about five feet tall.
"Who are you?" I spoke up. She smiled, and I noticed she had many rotten teeth. I fought the urge to flinch.
"Katie. And that is Carmen," she pointed towards the girls still in bed, "Angela, and Veronica. Your bed is next to mine, right there," she said, then pointing at an empty bed on the other side of the lamp.
My bed? I thought. "What do you mean, my bed?" I asked Katie. She talked like she knew I was coming.
She looked at me as if I were crazy. "Um, what all did Royce tell you?"
"Not much." I rubbed my head. Had this girl been kidnapped also? Was this some sort of…sex slave business? It made me think of the movie Taken. The possibility freaked me out. "They knocked me out last night—I think it was last night—and I woke up in a closet earlier. Were you kidnapped too?" I asked. Katie's eyes widened and shot over to the girl she'd called Angela before looking back at me.
"No. I've been with James and Royce almost a year now. And the others have been with them even longer."
"You're here voluntarily?" I nearly yelled. She shushed me, clamping a hand over my mouth. "What the hell is going on here? Why was I taken?" I mumbled through her fingers.
"Shut up! Believe me, you don't want to wake the other girls. They wouldn't hesitate to kick your ass!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the vacant bed. She pushed me down to sit, still holding my mouth.
"Look," Katie continued, "if you promise to stay quiet and fall asleep now, I'll promise to explain everything to you in the morning. Got it?" I nodded quickly just to get her hand off me.
Before she could walk away, I whispered, "How do I know no one's going to kill me in my sleep?"
She sighed. "The only way someone would kill you would be if you ratted them out to anyone. You'd be surprised if you knew how much James and Royce depend on us girls." I wasn't sure whether to believe her or not, especially since I had trusted Rosalie the night before and that had obviously been a huge mistake. But I didn't have much choice. Even if Katie was lying, there was still very little chance I was escaping from this room; there wasn't even a window.
"What do they do that could be ratted out?" I wondered out loud.
"Tomorrow," Katie hissed again. She went back to her own bed and turned out the light, leaving us in darkness once more.
My body was exhausted, but my mind was wide awake. I curled into a ball on my side and tried to sleep. However, all that would come was tears.
I eventually fell asleep sometime later, but it wasn't long—maybe two hours—before someone woke me.
"Hey. Wake up. It's time for breakfast." Katie was shaking me.
"Breakfast?" I mumbled. I opened my eyes quickly and scanned the room. The other girls were up, one eating in bed, the others just sitting and talking.
The girl named Angela was sitting in the floor next to Katie, looking up at me in wonder.
"Hi, Bella. I'm Angela," she said. I sat up slowly.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Two," Katie answered.
"Two?" I said incredulously.
"What are you? A recording machine?" Katie said. "Yes, it's two. And since breakfast is the first meal of the day, that is what we are having, and today it's cereal. Do you want Frosted Flake or Cheerios?" I looked over to Angela, who was staring down at the floor.
"You told me you would give me answers today," I said to Katie. I really wanted to know why I was here, and I wanted to know now. I wasn't even sure my stomach could handle food now.
"Cheerios it is, then," she said, getting up.
"I was kidnapped, too," I heard Angela murmur, still avoiding my gaze.
"You were?" I asked. She looked up at me finally and nodded her head slowly.
"Yeah. Six months ago." She stopped and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Everyone else here, though, they joined of their own free will." She looked around nervously and shut up when she saw Katie bringing me a bowl of cereal. She sat down next to me and handed me the bowl.
"You eat. I'll talk," Katie demanded, and even though my appetite was shot to shit, I took a bite. I noticed some of the other girls looking at me curiously. When Katie was satisfied that I listened to her, she started talking.
"It all started with Royce. He and James were best buds in school, and when they got older they opened a bar here in New Orleans. This was about four years ago, I think. Anyway…girls started hanging out in front of the bar, you know, trying to get a little cash since the place was hoppin—"
"You mean like prostitutes?" I interrupted. She looked at me as if I were stupid.
"Yeah, like hookers. Back to what I was saying—so Royce decides one night that since the girls were making money from his customers and they were selling on his property, he deserved some of the profit." I gasped, but I was so engrossed in the story now that I didn't interrupt her. She lowered her voice and continued.
"You remember Rosalie? I'm sure you met her," Katie asked me quietly. I nodded—she was the bitch who tricked me into this mess. "Yeah, well, she didn't always belong to Royce. She worked the corner on her own for a while. Royce wanted to try out buying a girl once before trying to get into the whole 'business'. She was the first one Royce paid for, and I think she's actually the only one."
"So…how did all this come to fruition?" I asked, gesturing to the other girls.
"Well, Royce had to pay Rosalie a pretty penny, and when he realized just how much money prostitutes can make every night, it only made him want this lifestyle more. Royce became Rose's first pimp, and he made sure every man he offered Rose to had the money and kept his word about returning her the next morning. He does the same with all of us. None of Royce's girls have ever been seriously hurt while with a customer, and we get fifty percent of the money we earn each night and a place to sleep during the day." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I know you probably think that we're crazy for willingly selling our bodies, but this was the best way for me and the rest of us. Royce and James have collected all of us over the years and managed to keep everything secret."
She was right; I thought they were all insane. I wanted to ask her why the hell she didn't just get a job like a normal person, but I didn't want to anger her or the others. If they thought I was going to go along with this and participate in their endeavors, then they were seriously mistaken.
"So where is Rosalie, anyway?" I asked trying to change the subject. "Doesn't she sleep here with you guys?" The girl named Carmen heard me and scoffed. She walked closer and sat down. She was prettier than the others with her square jawline and long blond hair. Her teeth were a lot cleaner than Katie's, even though they were crooked as hell. She wore a very revealing lime green nightgown. She had an upturned nose and looked at me with an icy glare.
"Rosalie is Royce's play thing. She never sleeps here because she's always in Royce's bed. I'm surprised she actually works with us. I bet Royce gives her more money than us," Carmen said. She walked to her bed and opened a drawer of the dresser beside it, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She lit up and started puffing.
The last girl to say anything to me was Veronica. "Katie said Royce and James took you by force. Is that true?" I looked up at her for the first time. She was very tall—about 5'10". Her hair was dark and curly, reaching to her waist. Her skin was tan and she wore a red pajama that was more modest than the other girls' current attire. She looked…normal—not beautiful, but not ugly, either. This wasn't what made me stare at her, however; it was the large bulge in her midsection that captured my attention.
I freaked out all over again. Oh, my God, I am so screwed. What is going to happen to me?
"Snap out of it. You act like you've never seen a pregnant woman before," Veronica sneered. "I asked you a question."
"Yes," I answered quickly, "I was just minding my own business when Rosalie tricked me into following her." Veronica laughed through her nose and walked away from us.
"It's been a while since we got someone new. The last one before you was Angela," Katie said.
"I wonder what they'll name you," Lauren said.
"Name?" I asked, confused.
"They're going to give you a new name," Katie explained. "A street name."
"My street name is Candy," Katie said. Oh, Candy, how original.
"Blondie," Lauren said, pointing at herself and shrugging. She knew it was stupid, but she didn't care. "Veronica's name is Bon-Bon, and Angela's is Berry."
"It's dumb," Katie said, "but it's better than having crazy, horny old men know your real name."
She was right, I guessed. It was best for them to keep their identities to themselves.
"So what about me?" I asked to no one and everyone. "Does Royce plan on making me…prostitute with you guys?" I knew the answer already, and my momentary calmness started to fade.
"Yes, dumbass. Weren't you listening?" Veronica sneered. I looked down at my knees, trying to think of something…anything.
"It's not that bad. I mean, it's just sex," Katie said.
Carmen laughed and said, "Tell that to Veronica!" I knew she was referring to Veronica's pregnancy.
"Hey, you shut the fuck up, bitch!" Veronica retorted. Carmen merely smiled, satisfied that she'd managed to ruffle the pregnant woman's feathers. I paid no attention to their spittle; I was too wrapped up in what Katie said.
Just sex? Just sex! Was she crazy? I'd always seen sex as something special, and in my opinion, each time you had sex with someone, you gave a piece of your soul to that person. Having sex with Jake wasn't as special as I had hoped it would be, but it was never just sex.
I kept my mouth shut, though, keeping my opinions to myself.
"Is there any way out of this? I didn't exactly sign up to sell my body on the street."
"You wanna know what happened when the last girl tried to run?" Veronica said.
"Don't," Carmen hissed. I wondered if Veronica was only pulling my leg or if someone really had tried to escape and been punished for it.
Veronica listened to her, finishing with, "But really, don't try it. The only way for you to get out of here is for Royce to let you go." I looked around at all of them. Angela was the only other girl here by force, and I wondered if she had ever tried to escape.
"There's just one thing I don't get," Carmen said. "Bella's the second girl Royce kidnaps. Why not just get another hooker, one who wants to be here?"
Katie leaned against the wall and answered her question. "He needs the money. And the prettier the girl, the more money per night. None of the bitches around here that are willing would make even half as much her." She nodded toward me and smirked, expecting me to be flattered, I guess. "And he needed to get someone now that…" she trailed off, never finishing her sentence.
I wanted to heave the few bites of cereal I'd had. This information was too much at once. There was still hope in my mind, however, and I had no intention of giving up. I looked over at Angela, still wondering if she had ever tried to escape. Had she tried and failed or was she too afraid to try at all? I looked at the other three, contemplating whether they would help me or not. I was leaning more towards the not because they wouldn't want Royce or James to find out they'd helped me and have to suffer the consequences.
Royce seemed like the alpha wolf, the one in charge around here. James was like his right hand man, the sidekick who does whatever the boss says. That meant he wouldn't likely be swayed, and if what the girls said was true, Royce wasn't letting me go anytime soon.
If Royce owned a whole bar, then why did he even want all of this? Surely he made lots of money! Katie said he needed money…for what? I wondered.
In the back of my head, a voice was screaming that they just couldn't do this, that it was illegal. But here I was, sitting on a cheap single bed with four prostitutes who were discussing how much they hated Rosalie.
"I know what you're thinking," Angela interrupted my inner monologue, "and it's not going to work."
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
She sighed and looked down at the filthy carpet before sitting next to me on the bed. "When I first got here, I thought I could escape…get away easily. My first chance came the first night Royce had me on the street…" she shuddered, remembering something I could not even begin to imagine. "A guy named Bill paid for me, and I had come back to the house to 'get ready'." Angela nodded toward Carmen. "Carmen caught me around midnight, trying to get out through the hall bathroom window. She called James, and I would have escaped had it not been for her. That night wasn't pretty, probably one of my worse."
My heart went out to her, and she had answered my unasked question—these girls were most certainly not going to help me.
"D-did you still…have to…" I trailed off, not sure whether I should ask such a horrible question.
Angela got what I meant and nodded, confirming my fear. "Yeah. I still had to have sex with Bill. He was old and smelled like cheese, and once he decided he was finished with me hours later, I had to sleep on the floor in his bathroom. He wouldn't let me come back here in case he woke up later and wanted more," she explained. I felt tears run down my face, partly because I felt bad for Angela and partly because I knew that would be me soon if I didn't manage to escape in time.
"That was my virginity he paid for," Angela said. "I held it in, though, and just cried all the next day." I shook my head in horror.
"How did Royce and James collect you?" I asked.
"Well, I'm from Shreveport, see? I grew up there with my parents. My dad is a minister, and for the last few years, we didn't see eye to eye. When I was a junior in high school, I told him a secret I'd been hiding for a long, long time. 'I'm atheist, Dad,' I'd said. I was sorry for not following him, but I just don't believe in God, and he was signing me up for Confirmation. He told me I was damned, and the next year was horrible living there. He even packed my bags for me on my eighteenth birthday, and I was off. I hadn't even finished school.
"I had a cousin who lived here; she offered to let me stay with her. She was no angel, though. All her money went to drugs, and eventually we were evicted and on the streets. We stayed in shelters for a few days, and then we got into a bad argument and separated. That was the night they took me."
"Oh, Angela," I said.
She shook her head. "They all think it's the greatest thing, having sex for money. And what do they spend the little money they make on? Drugs, that's what! They don't even try to get out of here!" she whisper yelled so that the others wouldn't hear. "Either they're brainwashed or just crazy. And they think Royce is so great and takes care of them! Ha! I wish Royce would get caught…or killed. Either would be welcomed right now."
I did eventually start throwing up my guts. Whether it was from dehydration or stress, I wasn't sure. Angela was the only one who helped me, sweeping back my hair and fetching a garbage can and bottle of water. There was a tiny television in the room that Veronica and Carmen watched. A mini fridge stood next to Veronica's bed, with a toaster oven above it. There was a door that led to a small bathroom, too.
The rest of the day was just as strange as when I woke in the closet. The girls watched a marathon of America's Next Top Model reruns while I lay in my bed and cried. I expected one of the men to come in and talk to the girls…or at least bring them something.
Time passed slowly, and I still hoped I would wake up and discover that this had all been a nightmare. I would wake up next to a happy, non-cheating Jacob who would rub my back and assure me it had all been a horrible, disastrous dream.
That thought only made me cry more. I fell asleep shortly after, my body shutting down. Angela woke me hours later.
"Hey, Bella. I just wanted to tell you we're leaving for the night. Royce said you won't have to start yet, so you have to stay here tonight. Are you feeling any better?"
In a way I was sort of thankful that I wasn't going to be "working" tonight, but I still hated Royce. I looked Angela up and down, noticing her skimpy corset and garter belt. More to the left I saw the digital clock on the microwave read 11:03. I had been asleep for four hours. To answer Angela's question, I merely gave her a look that said "as if". She looked back at me sadly and touched my shoulder.
"It's going to be okay," she said, knowing I didn't believe her. "Just get some rest. I don't think Royce is going to be as lenient tomorrow night."
My stomach dropped and my eyes threatened to tear up as she walked away. They all left out the door, and I briefly got a glimpse at James as he closed the door behind them. The loud click of him locking the door echoed in the room. I dropped back in bed and fell back into a fitful sleep.
When I woke again, it was three in the morning and there was only one other girl in the room. Veronica lay sleeping in her bed, snoring like a lawn mower. I wondered how far along she was in her pregnancy, and a small part of me pitied her. She was such a bitch, though, and that made it hard to feel one bit sorry for her.
I was totally and completely awake now that I'd slept so long. My stomach growled, and deciding I could probably hold something down now, I got up and searched the fridge. I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and ate silently, too scared of waking Veronica to turn on the television.
The other girls got back later; Katie came first at nine, then Angela at ten, and Carmen a few minutes after that. Carmen and Katie crashed in their beds and Angela stayed talk to me a while before going to bed herself.
The girls slept until almost four in the afternoon, all except Veronica, who woke up at twelve and completely ignored me for hours. I stayed lost in my thoughts, a very dangerous place at the moment.
That night was the same routine. Royce didn't make me do anything; I didn't even see him. I did see James, though, and he said to me, "Royce said you'll have to join them tomorrow night." That was it and nothing more. I felt my tears start to spring up, but I held them back. When the girls left I tried not to think about it. I put on the television and watched Law and Order reruns, not really seeing the screen. I stayed awake, anxious to see who returned first tonight.
It was Veronica who came back first again. James let her in before locking it back. She was cursing up a storm, extremely pissed off. Her belly took up most of her body and made her skimpy, cheap lingerie not-so-sexy. She gave me a look before sitting on her bed and grabbing an ashtray. I watched in mute horror as she lit a cigarette and took long drags. When it was all gone, she lit another one.
I couldn't stop staring, thinking of the innocent child in her body that she was putting in danger. Something told me she did this often because of the stale smoke smell that coated the air in the room all the time. She finally noticed me staring and started bitching.
"The fuck you lookin' at? You got a problem?"
"No," I said, looking back at the TV. "No problem."
A/N: Sorry this took a while…I've been pretty busy. VOODOO was awesome, especially Florence and the Machine. Also, isn't it crazy that Breaking Dawn is getting filmed in Baton Rouge? Robert Pattinson is only an hour away from me! I can almost feel his presence! I might go try to get a few glimpses once they start filming. They started doing makeup tests and stuff this month, I think.
Anyway, this chapter was a little slow. Things will start picking up next chapter. I just wanted everyone to get a feel for the other girls. Next chapter may contain rape. I don't know how detailed I will be, I'll see how it goes. Things like that don't bother me, so I'm leaning towards more detailed. Please review; tell me if this is any good. :D
