Warning: This chapter contains adult themes that may be disturbing to some readers. If you have read up to now, you probably have a good idea of what is coming.
Mr. Santorelli woke me early the next morning, stroking my arm. "Good morning, Katie," he said. "Come, let us get some breakfast and then I'm off to work, eh? I will meet your Spot and speak with him. I will be back around dinner time," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. Santorelli," I mumbled as I nodded glumly. This was lonely. I felt out of sorts in a strange apartment, on a strange bed, and with this sense of foreboding hanging over my head. A few hours outside with my friends at work would have helped. I kept the curtains drawn in the kitchen as I spent the day puttering around the apartment, and I did spend a good deal of time cleaning. Maybe I could open the window this evening to help air the place out. I tried to read, but I needed to stay physically busy. It seemed like an eternity before Antonio, as he'd insisted I call him, returned, carrying another book with him. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I'd seen Spot reading it and knew it was becoming a favorite of his; he'd intended to loan it to me when he finished. There was also a bag containing a nightgown and a change of my clothes.
"Your Spot and I agreed that you should stay inside here until things settle down a bit. He has people who know the streets, and he will let us know when it is safe for you to return to work. For now, though, let us make some dinner," Antonio said as I fingered my novel.
I stood to help him. It was the least I could do. I remembered what Papa had said about doing as I was told, and it was awfully nice of him to let me stay here. We made some pasta, something his mother had taught him how to cook, and he even brought out a bottle of wine to share. It seemed extravagant to me, but I enjoyed it. Antonio was being incredibly friendly and talkative, and that helped after the long, lonely day. I was feeling a bit better, but my head was a bit woozy and my face a bit flushed.
I stood shakily to clear the dishes, and I was surprised to find Antonio right behind me as I set them down. He turned me around, and led me over to my bed.
"Come, Katie. We can do those another time. For now let us just enjoy each other's company," he said as he sat beside me, his hand stroking my back while his other came up to stroke my cheek. I felt a bit uncomfortable at this, but I just kept telling myself that I needed to do as I was told and make my boss proud. I nodded and looked down at my lap, where my hands were fidgeting nervously.
"It's alright," Antonio said, pulling me close into him. He kissed my forehead again, and then tipped my face up and kissed me. I was too surprised and my brain was too sluggish to really process what was happening as he kissed me, and his hands began to wander over my body. I moved to push him away, but somehow my body was uncooperative and uncoordinated. Still, he pulled back for a moment.
"Katie, it's okay. Of course you are upset, but you must understand that since you cannot work and cannot pay me the money your father owed me, it puts me in a precarious position. However, there is something you can do for me. Just be a good girl for Antonio," he urged.
My head was spinning as he pushed me to lie back on the bed.
"Now, you go on and make your new boss proud. Do as you're told and finish everything."
"Katja, sex is just that. Sex. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone does it. These girls just do it for a living. Everyone else hides it. Just relax."
"It really isn't a big deal once you've done it a time or two."
I tried listening to the voices in my head, but it was so hard when I so disliked what Antonio was doing to me. I didn't like his hands on me or the way he pulled my clothes off. I didn't like his scent or the way he kissed me. It hurt. It hurt, but I just kept telling myself that it was just sex and that I needed to be a good girl. I cried the whole time.