Katie stayed at Otis's side, fussing over him.

"Otis...Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I...I'm fine...Really...I...It's not the first time..."

"Sweetheart..."

"It...It wasn't even really like...THAT...I don't know..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

She sighed. "Did you get hurt?"

"No..."

"Okay. That's good at least." She stroked his hair, moving with him as he flinched away from her. "Shhhh..."

Otis filled with hatred. How could he be acting like this? He had just had sex with a gorgeous woman, and here he was acting like a victim. But he hadn't wanted it. He wasn't aroused by her. He hadn't been interested. And yet it had happened anyway. Did that make it the same as his father? No, he was just weak. A battered little bitch who couldn't defend himself from anything. That's all he ever would be. Worthless. Pathetic. Used, damaged goods.

"Otis...What are you thinking about?"

"Hn?...Nothin'."

"You're upset. I can tell."

He looked up at her, questioning.

"When you're angry or upset about something, you frown and wrinkle your nose up a little bit."

Otis cocked his head. Someone had taken the time to observe him that closely that she could read his body language? He hadn't known he was that expressive, either.

"Sweetheart...Talk to me."

"I...I don't..." He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?"

"B...Because it's humiliating."

"Otis..." She sighed. "Alright...If I guess what happened, will you talk a little about it?"

He glanced at her, looking away then.

"Did someone abuse you like your father used to...?"

"S...See...That's...the thing...I...I should have wanted it...B...But...But I didn't..."

"Honey, then it's still wrong."

"But-"

"No. If you had any inclination that you didn't want it, that is still abuse."

Oof. If that was the logic she was working from, she was going to have a real problem with him whoring himself out.

That night, he went to dinner at her home. Her husband was a kind enough man, but intimidated Otis. The way he looked at the younger albino with such piercing eyes, Otis felt like he saw through him. He felt exposed, and he hated it.

"Katie sure talks about you a lot. She worries about you a lot too, young man."

"Nothin' to worry about with me. I'm gettin' better. I'm out of the woods, just gotta keep getting stronger."

"You're a little on the thin side, there, aren't you?"

Otis flushed. "Y...Yeah, I guess..."

"It's okay...You'll get better. Katie was like this when I first met her. She went through hell too, you know."

Otis cocked his head.

"Maybe she'll tell you. But I won't push her."

Otis nodded.

The second part of his life seemed like such a dichotomy to him. Admittedly, he enjoyed the power that he felt he had over these women. He had total control in this world. He was in control of the pleasure. He was in control of the experience. And he was getting paid. To do his favorite thing in the world: Have sex. But he wanted more from his life. It felt empty and hollow. He wanted a life like Katie and her husband had.

Otis wandered into the brothel that night, somewhat reluctantly. He wanted to believe the optimism Katie was trying to shed, but something kept gnawing at him. That he would never be worth anything.

"You! Come here." The owner of the brothel pointed to Otis, and gestured for him to follow. Otis was led into a back room, where four larger men were waiting. They were on him all at once, throwing him onto the small table in the room, and tying his hands and feet down. "We don't have enough to supply condoms for every woman that uses you, and we can't trust them to carry one with them. Men do. But men are also paying customers. You aren't. When you use them for clients, it's a waste. So we're going to fix that."

A piece of wood was shoved into Otis's mouth. He felt cold hands on his genitals, and struggled wildly.

"This will hurt a bit...But it will be over quickly."

Otis screamed as a needle was inserted, dosing some numbing medicine. The others waited a while, then began the operation.

Otis screamed again as the scalpel drug across his scrotum, making an incision. The pain was absolutely blinding. He panicked, hyperventilating until he blacked out.

When he came to, he was released from the restraints, but god he was sore. The owner stood over him, smirking.

"What did you do to me...?" Otis growled.

"I had you sterilized. No sense in having to pay for something we don't have to, is there? You'll be sore for a good while, but that won't stop you from making me money."

Otis glared, snarling at the man. One day, he would get his revenge.

Wobbling back to the shelter that night, he had to stop and lean against the cold brick walls of buildings as the pain surged through him and became too much. He vomited, dragging himself through the cold streets to safety. They had treated him like an object. Yet again. That's all he would ever be. Never valued. Never wanted. Just an object. Cattle to be used and then neutered.

His heart panged at what he had lost. The idea of having children had never crossed his mind, but now that it had been taken from him forever, he ached for it. The possibility of a child. With someone who loved him. Tossed into the flames.

The next day, when he awoke, his body ached. The pain in his groin was excruciating, and he didn't dare move. Katie noticed, feeling his forehead.

"Are you sick again sweetheart? You're so pale..."

"No...Just...hurt..."

"Hurt?"

Otis looked at her, silently pleading for her not to ask any further.

"Please...Please tell me..."

Sighing, he wrote it down in his notebook and passed it to her. Somehow, that was easier than voicing the words. The humiliation of how he was earning money. The tragedy of what had happened to him the night before.

As she read it, her face went pale. "O...Okay...L...Let me get you an ice pack..." She left, returning with the treasured relief. Otis took it, slipping his hand back under the blanket and laying it in place, sighing in relief. "I...I can't imagine...Otis...I..."

He shook his head. "Don't make me think about it."

Katie began to cry, her tears falling on his blanket. He watched her, bewildered. No one had ever cried over him. No one had ever been concerned enough. Why was she?

"Sweetheart...I'm so, so sorry..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. "I wish that...I wish so many things for you...But none of this."

Otis was awestruck.