Page 75 of Scarred King
“You’ll watch until I decide it’s enough!” his voice makes my blood run cold and I wonder once more how I got involved with a man like that.
“Here, I’m watching.” I close my eyes tight.
“I know you’re closing your eyes. I can see your reflection.” His voice is still icy. “And if you don’t open them, I won’t let you go.”
I open my right eye and struggle to open the left one as well. “Why aren’t you helping her?” I ask in a trembling voice.
“She has a panic button,” his voice is softer.
“Then why the hell doesn’t she press it?” I shout and my body turns to stone. For a minute I think she's about to press the button I see now on the side of the bed. But then the creature standing opposite her throws some money on it and she lowers her head again.
“It’s inhuman,” I whimper painfully.
“If you’re looking for humanity, you’re in the wrong place,” he says, not letting go of my head.
“Liam, please. I’ve seen enough.” I feel my stomach turning and I choke.
He forces me to watch for a little longer and then he lets me go. My body sways and the contents of my stomach start rising. I quickly draw the black curtain and turn to the room on the left, looking for another door. When I find it, I burst inside, lean over the toilet and vomit. When the scenes appear in my head again, I lean over and vomit again. When there’s nothing left, I stand up dizzily and go to the sink. I wash my face slowly, but the water can’t remove the filth. I feel exhausted and dirty. I go out to the office in measured steps. Liam is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, and my fury erupts.
“You’re sick!” I scream and shake myself, trying to break free of the horrific things I've seen, but without success.
He walks over to the large safe, taps in a code, takes out several stacks of dollar bills and puts them in a blue cloth bag.
“What are you doing?” I’m still screaming.
“Here,” he throws the bag at my feet. “There’s exactly thirty thousand dollars in here. You’ll go into one of the rooms with a customer for just one hour.” I look at the money and then at him in horror. “You might get a nice customer, like you saw in the first rooms. Or you might get a really extra nice one, like you saw in the last room.” I put my hand over my mouth as I feel sick again. “Unfortunately, you can’t choose who goes into your room, and bear in mind that if you press the panic button, you won’t get the money.” He comes closer and smiles at me. “So, what do you say, we have a deal?” I want to answer him, but I have to run to the bathroom again. I throw up yellow liquid that burns my throat and then go back to the sink and splash water over my face and the back of my neck. Nothing is helping me freshen up, but I feel my brain is taking charge.
I return to the office, stumble towards the bag, embrace it, and smile at him. The expression on his face changes. “You. Are. Mentally. Sick.” I stress each word and then raise the bag and hurl it at him. The bills scatter all over the floor and he sighs in relief and smiles.
“I knew you wouldn’t take the money.” He takes a step towards me and his calmness drives me crazy. I sprawl on the carpet, take a bill in my hands and rip it.
“You’re fucked up!” I yell as I rip another bill, he doesn’t even blink. “This whole place is fucked!” I yell as I rip up bill after bill. “Who does something like that?”
“Someone who realized just how much he cares about you.” He pulls me up from the carpet and grabs my chin with a tortured look on his face. “You gave yourself a price tag tonight without understanding what it means. Now you understand the meaning.”
“But I was kidding.” I break down and burst into tears.
“Elena, in our world, in your new world, everything you say has a meaning. We don’t kid here.” He hugs me and brings my head to his chest. “Everyone in the world has a price.” He strokes my head. “Today you understood that a price is not just about money.” He kisses my head and I listen to him as I sob. “Now we can only hope that you never have to find out what your price is.” He drapes his arm around my shoulder and leads me out of the office. “I better take you home now.” He walks down the stairs with me, not letting go.
“I better not come back here anymore,” I murmur tiredly.
“You’re right,” he answers, and leaves the bar with me, without saying goodbye to Ralph.
29
I’m sitting in the lecture hall, watching the doors and praying to see Johanna’s slight figure slip through them. The professor approaches the stage and I sigh sadly, my head being crammed up with thoughts. Only after Liam dropped me off at campus, have I been able to breath regularly again.
I recall the horrific sights from last night, as well as Liam’s comforting caresses, until I finally managed to relax my tortured body and fall asleep.
The professor starts talking, and in a flash my brain locks away the horror and makes room for all the new information. I take notes on my laptop, and when I see that Johanna hasn’t made it to our second class, I spend my break writing her paper that’s due today.
Johanna enters the hall during fifth period and takes a seat in the back row. She looks refreshed and happy as she starts copying from the whiteboard. I'm somewhat relieved.
At the end of class, she leaves first, and I run after her. She goes into the restroom and I wait outside for her impatiently. When she finally comes out, she smiles at me and opens her eyes in surprise.
“Your hair is still not in a braid.” She walks around and inspects me.
“I decided that it was time to deal with demons from my past.” I put my arm through hers and we walk to the grass. “Actually, the decision was made for me.” I put my bag down and sit down on the soft grass. She is still standing, peeking at her watch and moves impatiently from side to side.