“Your point?” She throws the dress at me and then a pair of black heels, causing a tightness to form in the pit of my stomach. I don’t see why I can’t wear my jeans and a T-shirt.
“I don’t—”
“I’m taking a nap before we get ready,” she interjects, yawning widely and ignoring my despair as she throws herself down on her bed. She falls asleep in minutes, soft snores filling the silence. And all I do is sit there, fear chilling my bones.
Because I don’t want to go, and I have no idea how to get out of it.
Nicole raps on a metal door three times. A peephole screeches across the center, and a pair of bloodshot eyes peer out, narrowing into slits when they land on us. The shutter closes, and the door opens with a guttural moan. “Get in.”
After stepping inside, the door slams behind us. The man who let us inside is tall and bald, yet has the bushiest beard that hides his mouth and neck. He’s terrifying, parts of his face covered in splotches of black ink—symbols of some sort. “You’re late,” he says through clenched, crooked teeth.
Nicole rolls her eyes. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
Suspicion crosses over his eyes when they come to me. “Who’s the bitch?”
“My sister.” The weight of her arm falls against my shoulder, and I can’t help noticing how cold she feels. Still, I cling to her, wary of the man in front of us and the way he’s ogling me. “Doesn’t she look like me, Deuce?”
“Nah,” this Deuce guy taunts. “She looks better.” My body recoils as he laughs huskily, sounding like Dad after smoking too many cigarettes. “You better get goin’. You don’t want to keep him waitin’.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Slipping her hand into mine, the back of my throat aches with dryness as she pulls me down a dark corridor.
“Nicole?” I tug on her hand, but I’m not sure she can hear me over the music blaring from beyond.
Having not felt warm all night, my teeth chatter, even since before Nicole woke up from her nap earlier. While she showered, I tried to think of a way I could get out of going. By the time she came back and started getting ready, chatting animatedly, and telling me it would be the best time of my life, I’d lost my nerve, not wanting to upset her.
She helped me get ready, putting makeup on my face and taming my blond curls. I looked pretty, which was strange for me to see, as I’d never dressed up or put makeup on before. I resemble Mom when she goes out on the town, which I often admire about her.
“What underwear are you wearing?” Nicole asked after putting on the dress she chose for me. It only came to mid-thigh, and I felt bare as I showed her the white cotton panties with a bow on the front that I was wearing. She slammed her palm against her forehead. “God’s sake. Take them off.”
Going over to her drawer, she pulled out a black thong and dropped it on my lap. “Um…I-I don’t—”
“Put it on, Heidi,” she snapped impatiently, and my bottom lip trembled, emotion bubbling inside of me. Sighing, she said softer, “Just put it on, okay?”
Not wanting her to be mad at me, I put it on, even though it was so uncomfortable. When it was nearing ten at night, we left, walking through the backstreets of Horn Hill, to a place I least expected to end up.
Parked out front of a dark building sat rows of motorcycles, even though it seemed lifeless outside. When Nicole said a party, I thought of a house full of teenagers her age. Not this.
The choking fumes of smoke and liquor parade under my nose as she pushes a door open. Keeping hold of my hand, we enter a large room where harsh music assaults my ears. It’s loud and obnoxious, and I want more than anything to cover my ears with my hands to block it out.
The place is teeming with men, all different shapes and sizes. Sitting around tables drinking and dressed in the same leather apparel as the man who answered the door, eyes hungrily follow the few women in this place supplying them the liquor they demand.
As fear fills every crevice inside my body, I squeeze Nicole’s hand in an attempt to get her attention again. She ignores me and continues guiding me through the smoke-hazed gathering. As we pass one table, a man suddenly whistles loudly. There’s a sharp sound of a slap, and Nicole winces. “Damn, girl, I’d love to be all over that.” That’s when I realize he smacked her ass.
Plastering a fake smile on her face, Nicole turns to him. “I’m taken.”
“Wouldn’t stop me.” He chuckles, his eyes following her as she continues taking me down a narrower corridor until we finally come to a door at the end.
“Heidi?” She hesitates before knocking. “Promise me something?”
“What?”
“Do everything he says. Please. For me?”
Before I can ask what she means, the door opens, and a guy not much older than her stands in the doorway. The gray in his eyes deepens to charcoal, sending a wave of unease down my spine.
He, too, wears black leather like the rest of the men from the other room. With ashy blond hair, I have a feeling his attractive face is all but a lie, hiding whatever truly resides inside. “Where have you been?” he demands, tone gruff and irritated.
Straightening her back defensively at his words, it’s like something unspoken passes between them. Something that isn’t nice. “I had to sneak out, but I don’t answer to you.”
Pushing past him despite the dangerous haze in his eyes, she drags me inside a different room. Sickness swirls in my stomach as I take in the medium-sized space, a long,
