Chapter 3

"Mom, please react and help me!" I screamed.

"Woman, either your daughter becomes more submissive, or we’re breaking the deal."

Those words were like a command to her. Then I felt two slaps. I grabbed my hands and rubbed my face, and he took advantage of that moment to pull down my pants, leaving me completely naked. At that point, nothing else mattered anymore. The woman who was supposed to protect me was the one selling me as if I were a piece of merchandise.

"Stop crying like a child and behave like a woman. Now I’ll teach you how to please a man, and be careful not to touch him with your teeth because things will get worse for you."

Then she grabbed him and began forcing me into the situation. When she let go so that I would do it, I acted out of fear and disgust, and I bit him.

"Bitch, you bit me."

At that moment, my mother grabbed me by my hair and pulled me with all her strength.

"I told you things would go badly for you if you tried anything."

She dragged me onto the dining table and held me there.

"There she is. Come on, do it already. Don’t hold back. She has to pay for what she’s done. Just use protection. I don’t want her getting pregnant so soon, and I know you won’t take responsibility."

He quickly prepared himself and continued hurting me without any mercy. Afterwards, he checked the evidence of what had happened.

"You were right, she was a virgin."

He continued until he was finished. For me, that entire time was torture. I don’t know how much time actually passed, but it felt like endless hours.

He pulled away from me, and my mother stepped aside as he started pulling cash out of his pocket. I seized the moment and bolted to my room, locking the door behind me. I got straight into the shower. I felt dirty. No matter how much soap I scrubbed onto my skin, I still felt dirty. I stayed in the tub for a long time, until my mother walked in.

"Get out of here!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"I came to leave you this," she said. "From now on, this is your share. If you want to keep living in this house, you’ll have to pay rent, and you'll do it exactly how I say."

"I don't want your fucking money. Keep it. And every single dollar you spend, you’ll remember the day I was raped, how you did absolutely nothing to stop it, and you'll remember it as the day you lost your daughter. I'm getting the hell out of this house."

"You stupid girl, what do you think you're going to live on? You're still a child. You're only fifteen—you've got a few days left until you turn sixteen, but even then, nobody is going to hire you."

"That's none of your business anymore."

I stood up, not caring that I didn't have any clothes on yet, and walked out of the bathroom. I got dressed, grabbed my school backpack, and packed as much as I could fit inside. Just as I was about to leave, my mother blocked the exit.

"Don't think you're getting off that easy. You still have plenty to do here."

I ran back to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and went back to the door.

"Get out of my way, or I swear to God I'll use this."

"You don't have the guts to hurt me."

Without hesitating, I slashed the knife across her left arm.

"I told you, you're nothing to me anymore. If I want, I can call the cops and make sure you and that man spend the rest of your lives behind bars. So you better get out of my way."

My mother backed away from the door. As I stepped outside, she screamed after me.

"You'll come back to this house! And when you do, it'll be on my terms!"

"Don't hold your breath."

I walked with no destination in mind. I had nowhere to go and no money. Suddenly, a motorcycle pulled up right in front of me.

"Hey, beautiful. Why are you all alone on these dangerous streets?" the rider asked.

I kept walking, trying to ignore him.

"Stop right there!" the man barked.

I heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Give me everything you have on you."

"I don't have anything. I left home with nothing but the clothes on my back."

"In that case, I'll just take your body instead."

"No! Please, not again!"

Right then, an older woman stepped out of a nearby house holding a shotgun.

"If you don't want me using your blood to repaint this street, you better get moving right now," she warned.

The rider quickly started his motorcycle and sped off.

"Come inside, girl," the woman said. "These streets are dangerous at night."

I walked into her house, trusting her because she had just saved my life.

"Tell me, what are you doing out here at this hour?"

"I ran away from home," I replied. "My father died, and my mother doesn't want me."

I couldn't bring myself to tell her what had just happened to me.

"You can stay here as long as you need to. I always have an extra room."

"Thank you for your hospitality. I don't have any way to pay you back."

"We'll figure something out. Come on, I'll show you to your room."

She led me to a bedroom that had a bed, a fan, a TV, and its own private bathroom.

"Why are you doing all this for me? You don't even know me."

"You need help, and I'm going to give it to you. Go get some rest; you look exhausted. We'll talk more later."

The woman left the room, leaving me alone.

A few months went by, and I turned sixteen far away from everything I had ever loved. The woman was incredibly kind to me—until the storm found me once again.