Enticed:A Dangerous Connection (Secrets) (13 page)

I find Desiree just coming out of the bathroom upstairs. Wearing a silky black robe and her hair in a towel, she is not particularly pleased to see me. And even though I explain that Jimmy sent me to her, she doesn’t seem inclined to help me. “Come back later.”

“I could do that.” I follow her into her room, ignoring the brush-off. “Or maybe I could just borrow something now.”

“What
ever
.”
Her voice drips with irritation.

“Sorry to be a pest.” I go to her bureau, which is loaded with lotions and cosmetics. “Wow.” I act impressed. “You know what to do with all this stuff?”

“Of course.” Desiree flops down on a chair and begins to towel-dry her hair.

“I’ve never been good with this kind of thing,” I admit honestly.

“It’s not that hard. You take care of your skin and it’ll take care of you.”

“Really?” I pick up a jar of cream. “How did you learn that?”

“My grandma.” She sighs as she starts pulling a brush through her hair. “She was the only one in my life who cared about me.”

“What happened to her?” I ask as I open a jar and smell.

“She got cancer and died.
Okay?
” Desiree tosses down her hairbrush and frowns. “Just take the aloe vera, would you? And beat it.”

“Which one is it?”

She jumps up now, grabs a green bottle, and thrusts it at me. “Here!” She’s on the verge of tears, and I don’t want to lose this moment.

“My grandma died about five years ago,” I tell her. This is actually true. “I kinda know how you feel.” Okay, this is not so true. I was never close to my grandma. She lived on the East Coast, and she and Mom didn’t really get along. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, that’s life, isn’t it?”

“I guess so.” I squirt some of the aloe vera into my palm. Stalling, I rub it onto the rash. “Didn’t you have any other family?”

“Not really. My dad died of a drug overdose so long ago I can’t even remember him. And my mom’s been in prison for dealing since I was about six. Grandma was all I had. After she was gone, I landed in foster care.” She picks up her hairbrush again. “And that pretty much sucked.”

“Yeah … I can imagine.”

She narrows her eyes. “Really? Can you?”

I nod earnestly. “Yeah. There were some foster families in the apartment complex where I lived. Didn’t seem like real happy places. I figure they take in the kids just for the money.”

“Well, you got that one right.”

I want to add that not all of the foster families were bad, but since she seems to be softening, I hold my tongue. “So you decided to join up with Tom then?” I wipe some lotion on the other arm.

“Decided?” She laughs without humor. “Yeah, right.”

I pretend to focus on getting the aloe vera spread evenly. And it’s actually fairly soothing on the broken-out patches.

“No one really decides to join up with Tom.”

I nod, putting some lotion on my legs now.

“I met Jimmy on the streets and he helped me out of a bad situation. He got me a place to live and some clothes and food. He took care of me.”

This sounds familiar. Jimmy finds an attractive girl who’s down on her luck and wins her over with stuff. Most likely it’s stuff financed by Tom. Once the girl feels indebted to him, they tighten the net and pull her in.

“So what if you wanted to leave now?” I ask absently, not looking up as I smooth the lotion over my other leg.

She releases that sarcastic laugh again.

I stand up straight, just looking at her. “So if you want to walk away and start a new life … you can’t?”

She glances toward her still-open door and frowns.

“I’m just curious. Trying to figure things out for myself. Jimmy is offering to let me stay here.”

“There are worse places. Believe me, I know.”

“But what about freedom?” I say quietly. “Or rights?”

She turns away with a stony look.

“Just because Jimmy was kind to you doesn’t mean you owe him. It’s wrong to be held against your will and you — ”

“Shut up!” she hisses at me. “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about … or who you’re dealing with.”

“I’m just saying — ”

“I’m saying to shut up!” she shouts.

“Sorry, I — ”

“Talk to me a year from now!” she growls. “That is, if you’re still around. Then you can tell me all about freedom and rights.” She points to the door. “For now, you can get out!”

Despite her hostility toward me, I feel somewhat hopeful as I replace the aloe vera lotion on the bureau.

“Just take it with you,” she barks at me. “And get the **** out!”

I hurriedly thank her and, grabbing up the lotion, make a fast exit. I must’ve triggered something to get such a strong response from her. Hopefully our conversation, no matter how painful, will get her to think.

“What’s wrong with Desiree?” Ruby asks as we meet at the top of the stairs.

I shrug. “Guess I hit a nerve.”

Ruby frowns. “Seems like everyone’s in a bad mood today.”

“Why’s that?”

“Kandy’s holed up in her room.” She rolls her eyes. “Probably coming down from last night. But then Tatiana and Jimmy just had a big fight downstairs. She sounds really, really mad.”

“I hope it’s not because of me.”

“Why would it be?”

I tell Ruby about Jimmy’s idea to move Tatiana to the basement.

“Uh-oh …” Ruby shakes her head. “That’s not good.”

“Yeah. And I told him I wouldn’t mind sharing a room with her.”

Ruby makes a grim expression. “The only one who can stand Tatiana for long is Kandy, and that’s because she’s so strung out most of the time.”

“Well, thanks for the heads-up.”

“You could always share my room with me,” she offers. “I wouldn’t mind. Maybe we could put another bed in there.”

“That’d be cool with me. Why don’t you mention it to Jimmy? Might be better coming from you.”

“Okay. But I’ll wait for him to cool off. He and Tatiana were really going at it. I was afraid it was going to turn into a real knock-down, drag-out fight. Ya know?”

I grimace. “Yeah, I know.”

Feeling a bit like a troublemaker and then wondering why, I fill up my water bottle and even grab some provisions from the kitchen — just in case I get stuck in lockdown again, which seems fairly likely considering how many times Tatiana has locked me up in there and then forgotten to let me out.

Included in my stash is a large jar of salsa that might be useful as a projectile. I’m hoping that the solid-feeling jar is strong enough to break the bedroom window if I hurl it hard enough. And I’m just starting to feel desperate enough to do that — if no one is home to hear it, that is.

It’s getting late in the afternoon, but seeing that I still have some freedom, I take my dirty bedding and the spare clothes from Kandy to the laundry room, where I put them in the washer and turn it on. While I’m there, I spot some clean sheets and a fuzzy green blanket in a plastic laundry basket.

Feeling extraordinarily fortunate, I carry these back to my room where I’ve already layered some towels from the bathroom onto the mattress, which I’m sure must be filled with bedbugs. As I attempt to improve this sorry bed, I hope Jimmy comes through with a new one before long. However, I’m not holding my breath. And once it’s neatly made, I tuck the salsa underneath the pillow. Just in case someone drops by and wonders, not that I’ve had many visitors of late.

I’m really praying for God to make a way out of here for me. I haven’t heard anyone talking about working tonight, but as far as I can tell, every night is a working night in this place. And if they are going out tonight, I’m hoping that with Tatiana out of sorts with Jimmy, she’ll forget to lock my door before they leave. Really, it seems like she, even more than the rest, has the most to gain if I get out of here. She should be happy to have me disappear while everyone is out. How convenient for her — she’ll get her room back. And this horrid mattress, too.

I do wish that I could rescue everyone in this place, but as the minutes and hours and days just keep on ticking by, pushing me closer and closer to the inevitable date with Mr. T, I figure I better focus on getting myself out. Before it’s too late. Now if only God would help me to escape.

… [CHAPTER 13]………………

“I
see you’re already making yourself at home here,” Tatiana says as she walks into my room. I hate that I actually consider this my room, but sadly it’s true. She leans over to pick up the edge of the fuzzy green blanket, and giving it a hard pull, she jerks it off. “But that’s mine.” Now she does the same with the sheets. “So are these.” Of course, the jar of salsa rolls out, tumbling onto the floor. “And what is this?” She picks it up.

“Midnight snack?” I say a bit glibly.

She narrows her eyes as she tosses it in the air, catching it with one hand. Then bouncing the jar in her hand, she stares at the window as if she knows exactly what I planned to do with it.

“Look,” I say quickly. “I
know
this is your room. And I don’t even want to be in it. I’d gladly give it back to you if I could. And Ruby has offered to let me stay with her. I would’ve told Jimmy already, but I haven’t seen him.” I wave my hand. “But believe me, I’d happily evacuate for you — if I could.”

She glares at me. “Yeah, I bet you would. Now that you’ve infected my mattress with your lice and bedbugs.”

Everything in me wants to rise up and lash out at her now. How dare she accuse me of infecting her nasty old bed! But I suspect she wants to get a reaction out of me. She’d probably like an excuse to lay into me. And judging by the look in her eye, she’d probably mess me up pretty badly. But instead of reacting, I pray for God to give me the right words.

“I just want out of here,” I quietly confess to her. “I want to be free again … to come and go and live my life as I please. And I think you want the same thing.”

“You don’t know me well enough to know what I want,” she snarls. “Don’t pretend like you do.”

“Fine. I’m just being honest with you.” I look down at my bare feet. “Sorry I took your blanket and sheets. I didn’t realize they were yours. You can have them back — ”

“Don’t worry,” she says lightly. “I will. I’ll have it all back.”

I look up, locking gazes with her.

“In a few days this room will be mine again.”

“Oh … ?”

“Yeah, I heard Jimmy talking to Tom earlier. Your big date is set for Friday night. Sounds like Mr. T came through with the big bucks. His expectations are probably really high. You should be preparing yourself, Serena. I’m sure it’ll be a night you’ll never forget.”

She laughs meanly, but her eyes look slightly concerned. That is, unless I’m imagining things.

“So come Friday, you’ll be on your merry little way.”

“What if I want to come back?”

She looks at the jar of salsa in her hand and then shakes her head. “No, I think I was right about you all along. After your date with Mr. T, you’ll probably fall apart. Or you’ll try to run away. Or kill yourself.” She shrugs like it makes no difference. “That’s how it usually goes down.”

Now the room is silent, and feeling like I’m on the verge of tears, I turn away and pretend to be looking out the window. How can a person — especially someone who’s stuck in the same dead-end lifestyle — be so emotionally disconnected and hateful? How can she be so cruel and heartless?

“I know what you’re thinking,” she says quietly. I’m actually surprised that she’s still here. But maybe she just wants to torment me some more.

I turn around and just gaze at her. “What am I thinking?” I ask in a weary tone. I feel so tired … so exhausted … so beaten.

“You can’t believe I’m such a witch. You think I should become your pal and help you to get out of here. You think I should want out of here too. Right?”

I bite into my lip. No matter how I answer this, it will come out wrong.

“Well, you haven’t seen the things I’ve seen, Serena. You haven’t experienced what I’ve experienced. You don’t know what you don’t know.”

I look directly into her eyes. “I know that this is wrong. I know that Tom is treating everyone in this house like slaves. He’s using all of you for his own gain. He doesn’t care about any of you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Serena.”

“How can you live with that?” I quietly demand. “Don’t you think you’re worth more than that?”

She gives me a disgusted look. “Worth more? Meaning that Tom should charge more for me?”

“No. I mean as a person. Don’t you think you’re worth more than settling for a life like this — a life of slavery?”

“What if this is all there is? What if a girl like me will never have more than this? Besides” — she glances over her shoulder — “no one ever gets away. Not really. She gets caught and beaten and then shuffled to different places, worse places. But no one gets away. Well, unless she dies.”

“I’m going to get away. I know God is preparing a way of escape for me.”

She laughs. “Well, I can’t wait to see how that turns out.”

“You could get away too,” I say hopefully. “We could help each other.”

She looks bored now. “Even if we got out, we wouldn’t get far. I don’t know why you can’t get that through your head. Tom has people everywhere. As soon as you think you can trust someone, you find out that she’s working for Tom or one of his friends.”

“God is bigger than Tom.”

She tosses the blanket and sheets back on the bed. “You might as well use these for now,” she says bitterly. “You’ll be gone soon enough. And talking like you do, I’m pretty certain you won’t be back.” She gives me a sad smile. “Hopefully they won’t be carrying you out in a body bag, though. I almost think I could’ve learned to like you.” Now with the salsa still in her hand, she goes out and I hear the dead bolt being locked … once again.

It’s about an hour before I hear the sounds of them leaving. I can’t tell if everyone is gone or not, but the house is so quiet, I figure they’re all out. I look at the window. Would I have had the nerve to pelt the jar of salsa through it? It would’ve taken a good, hard throw. And then I would’ve had to be ready to scream my head off until someone heard me. And what if no one did? Then I’d have to explain the broken glass and salsa mess to Jimmy.