Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: BRAND (01/12/17)
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TITLE: Heartless | Previous Challenge Entry
By Wendy Godwin
01/19/17 -
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“That’s my girl.” He spits out the words, then snickers.
I smile timidly at Devin. I remember how he swooped into my life like a whirlwind. An older guy. Much more mature than the boys I knew. Now, he says, he’ll stay with me forever.
I point to the small picture of a crown on the wall. The big burly man sitting on the rolling chair winks at Devin. I hold my arm as still as I can while black ink penetrates the tender skin of my wrist. I think about someday when I will wear a wedding dress and carry roses in that hand.
“Now I’ll be your king.” But Devin’s eyes avoid mine. He grabs my hand and pulls me out to the waiting limo. The air is hot and thick and I feel like I can’t breathe. Just look at me, please, I yearn to know why he is angry.
***
“Princess, I want you to meet my friend.”
I sit down in the limo next to the well-dressed stranger and we head out. He puts his hand on my leg. There is no way to escape. The limo driver is payed to make sure I come and go where I am supposed to. I’ve tried to leave many times. But my tattoo screams that I am Devin’s property.
I am exhausted as I work long into the night. The lurid limo is a hungry parasite that slowly sucks the life from me until I am a ghost. It moves me as I float from man to man, my mind long disengaged. I am numb.
My last stop this night is a familiar one. An exclusive hotel downtown that Devin has made a secret arrangement with. My ghost-body now wrapped in a gaudy red gown that Devin chose for this client. The man at the front desk is discreetly holding out a key card. I walk up and grab it. Just one more. I will my legs to work and head to the lobby bathroom to freshen up.
The girl standing at the sink in a long purple gown looks familiar. I glance, but dare not stare. She wears a cross necklace. I hope she doesn’t see me--I mean, really see me. But her brown eyes find mine in the mirror and search them long enough for me to feel the warmth that they emit. She looks down at my wrist.
The restroom is empty except for us. “I know who you work for,” she whispers quickly. She lifts the back of her hair to reveal a tattoo in the shape of a bag of money--the mark of one of the meanest monsters around. “I escaped two years ago. I know this hotel. I can help you. Follow me.”
This is all too much. I steady myself against the vanity and shake my head. There is no way. I can’t leave. Devin, he’ll hurt me. And Hugo, the limo driver, he watches me. I fly out of the bathroom and feel steely eyes fixed on me as I cross the lobby.
Two hours later, the pristine elevator, my half-dead body sealed inside, descends to deposit me back into the hell that is my life. Hugo grabs my elbow and pulls me out into the alley where the limo waits. I watch from outside of myself as my body is thrown to the ground then kicked repeatedly. I don’t feel anything except the darkness that engulfs me. I am transported.
Blinding lights burn my eyes from somewhere above me. I try to get up, but I can’t move. The smell of rubber causes me to gag, while a gloved hand holds something under my chin. My head throbs as the memories return and I realize I’m in a hospital somewhere.
“You’re safe now. They’re both in jail. Caught Hugo at the scene and he squealed on Devin. They’ll be in for a while.” I could barely make out the girl in the purple dress through my swollen, hot eyes. She walked over and gently touched my arm.
My misery mingled with the peace that flowed from her touch. I longed for more of what she had discovered. As light started to stream through the window, I leaned back into my pillow and fell fast asleep.
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