No one dared to help Freya as she shivered and stared with pleading eyes at the people walking by. They all pretended not to notice what was going on, which made her feel invisible.
“Damn it!” Shiloh shouted as he pressed his forehead against her bony shoulder. She felt sick from the clamminess of his hand grabbing her delicate arm. “Freya, who would buy something damaged?” He demanded to know.
Freya felt weak from fear. She didn’t know what to say because she’d never bought anything before. But this didn’t seem like the answer he would want, and after a few seconds of hesitating, she finally stuttered, “N-n-no one, sir.”
“I never run a lousy business,” he said, sounding highly frustrated. Freya didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but she nodded her head in agreement. This situation was truly bizarre and became more so when Shiloh added, “That’s why I didn’t beat you.”
Naturally, she expected that Shiloh was about to beat her badly with his rod. But he didn’t, which made her feel even more nervous.
“It would have been better if he hit me,” Freya mumbled as she curled up on the bed and sighed heavily, unable to fall asleep due to her mind that was full of unanswered questions. Instead of being punished, she had to stay on this bed, which was even more uncomfortable. “I haven’t even been here that long, but it feels like I’ve been here for years.”
Her mind and body were exhausted, perhaps due to the unfamiliarity of this new place. Although begging had put a lot of strain on her body, she felt more comfortable doing that because that was what she knew.
Freya was tossing and turning on the big bed when she heard the sound of the door opening. Afraid of it being Shiloh, she shut her eyes tightly and pretended to be asleep.
“Freya, are you asleep?” It was Lotty’s voice. She approached carefully, taking a seat at the small table near the bed Freya was on. Freya wanted to greet her, but her back was to the door because she felt somewhat awkward.
“Freya, you have to listen carefully to what I say.” Her voice was very secretive, unlike her annoying voice in the past. The story she told next came as a shock! “Do you know that this place is a prostitution house?”
Freya’s eyes widened in surprise as Lotty added, “When night falls on this alley, red lights get turned on, and drunk men start making their way down here. Do you remember Lilly? She works here, too.”
Freya was able to recall the face she had seen on her first day here. Lilly had worn thick make-up, so she’d looked much different, but she’d still recognized her.
“I know for certain that Lilly’s job is not good,” Lotty said, sounding sad. Although she didn’t know much about prostitution, she stumbled over her words when she recalled the sobbing women of the night after they’d given their bodies to strange men.
Freya thought about Shiloh’s hand on her skin and the devilish look in his eyes as he’d felt her waist. Then, as Lotty continued, Freya’s eyes opened wider. “Freya, that’s why you have to get out of this place,” Lotty recalled Shiloh and the other men talking about how a girl who hadn’t had her period was more precious than gold.
“It’s a shame she has that scar, but her eyes are sexy.” Shiloh had said as he’d rubbed the bulge in his pants. Quick-witted Lotty had noticed that he had been intending to do something nasty to Freya and had decided to warn her right away.
“What do you mean?” Freya asked fearfully. Unable to remain in bed any longer, she sat up and turned to look at Lotty, who had tears rolling down her cheeks.
But before they could greet each other properly in this reunion, Lotty urgently said, “There are so many customers in the capital who prefer young girls as opposed to boys. That’s why you have to run away right now!”
“What do you mean?” Freya asked, still confused.
Lotty handed over a bundle to Freya, urging her to get up quickly, “It’s quite busy now because there are so many customers, so no one will know if you go out the back door. Usually, a guy is guarding it, but he is getting drunk with Shiloh now.”
Freya caught wind of Lotty’s desperate explanation, “So if I stay here, bad things will happen to me?”
“Yes. That’s right,” Lotty said, nodding as her eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“And what about you, Lotty?”
“I’m fine, Freya.”
Freya had a hard time seeing Lotty putting on a brave face, and she remembered how she used to follow her around when they were younger. Freya had always pretended that Lotty was such a nuisance. But when all was said and done, she didn’t dislike the kid. Lotty might have been the only family she’d had in that place. Freya’s face was bright red from anger after hearing all of this, and she struggled to open her mouth to speak, “It’s not okay for you to stay here either, knowing these things, Lotty.”
“I won’t have to do anything weird.”
“That’s not what I am talking about.”
Looking at Freya’s frustrated face, Lotty pretended to be brave, sticking out her chest as she said confidently, “Even so, I’m quite recognized here.”
Freya knew Lotty was very talented and adaptable, but it wouldn’t feel right if she left without her. Freya was also feeling lonely since she’d left the place where they’d grown up. But Freya knew that it was time to say goodbye to the past. A past where she was always hungry because she couldn’t eat properly and filthy dirty because she couldn’t shower. It was better to beg for money in bug-infested clothes than to stay here, so it was a better idea to leave, as Lotty said.
“We used to work together. So,” the words “let’s leave together” were on the tip of Freya’s tongue, but she was unaccustomed to saying something like this, and her face felt tingly for no reason.
Seeing her friend’s hesitant face, Lotty flashed a grin, “Freya, thank you for asking me to go with you. But I am sluggish, so I’ll only get in your way.”