"Come on, Girl!" Phyllis shouted at me.
I took one step, then another, moving slowly.
Phyllis grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen.
There was a knock on the door.
"Stay here!" she told me, and went to the door.
I stood still, obeying her. I looked around the kitchen, noticing everything around me. My eyes stopped on the window. I was disappointed. I was unable to see outside. The thick dark curtain blocked out everything.
I heard Phyllis open the front door.
"Good evening, Ms. Phyllis," I heard a man, with a rough voice speak to her.
Phyllis returned his greeting.
"The Alpha sent us for you because of the terrible storm heading toward us tonight. Since you are an elder, we have to protect you," he told her.
"Let me get my things," Phyllis said.
I heard her footsteps as she returned to the kitchen.
"Let me help you," I heard another voice say. It was the voice of the same young man who had visited Phyllis earlier.
"No!" she said.
Eager to finally see someone’s face other than my grandmother’s, I ran into the living room, smiling. And there I met him!
Phyllis was so frightened. It was as if she almost had a heart attack. She quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me back into the kitchen. She held me by my throat and started to squeeze.
"What did I tell you?" she asked angrily.
I tried to speak, but I couldn't, because of her tight grasp. She pulled me back into the laundry room.
"No, no," I said softly, not wanting to return to the dark.
"Is everything okay?" a voice asked.
Phyllis stopped choking me. We turned around, and there I saw him again.
"Everything is fine, Josh," Phyllis said.
"Josh," I said softly, but it wasn't soft enough for him not to hear.
Hearing me call his name, he smiled at me, showing his beautiful white teeth.
"Shut up!" Phyllis shouted at me and turned to face Josh. "I'm trying to control my handicapped granddaughter. Is it a problem?"
Granddaughter? It was the first time I'd heard her refer to me as her granddaughter. But she had lied. I was not handicapped.
"No, it isn't a problem," Josh said, and returned to the living room.
Forgetting that I wasn't alone, I eyed him as he left. He was quite handsome. He had short, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was very tall, slender, and looked strong. I turned my head to the side and jumped when I heard a snort.
"You're just like your stinking father," Phyllis said angrily. He eyed my daughter until he decided to rape her; now look at you with the Alpha's nephew."
I lowered my eyes in shame when I heard her harsh words. She should have understood why I had stared at Josh. It was the first time that I had seen a man up close.
"Look at you!" she continued to scold me. "You have his red hair and green eyes. You look just like your rapist father."
My eyes filled with tears, and I allowed them to streak down my cheeks.
Phyllis pushed me against the wall and left the room.
I pulled myself down to the floor and cried. I quickly got up as soon as I saw the silver knob turn. The door opened slowly, and there I saw him again. My eyes widened in surprise. He was dressed in a light blue shirt and long, dark pants.
"Are you alright?" he asked me, his voice smooth and sweet, but worried.
I was so scared of being approached by someone else other than Phyllis that I ran and hid behind the washing machine. I lowered my head onto my knees, hiding my face from him.
I heard the door close. I was so happy he was no longer there and was about to raise my head from my knees when I felt fingers running through my hair. I slowly turned my face, and met Josh's dark brown eyes, not too far from mine. I smelled his breath against my face. His breath had a strange, but sweet scent, giving me an urge to taste whatever he had eaten.
I jumped up and moved away from the wall, scared of being alone with him. "I promise I won't hurt you," he told me. I huddled against the wall, wanting him to leave before Phyllis returned. "Can you talk?" he asked. "I won't hurt you," he again said. I nodded, wanting him to leave or I'd surely be in serious trouble. He did not leave but stood there staring at me with his dark brown mesmerizing eyes. "I'm Josh Hernandez and I'm twenty-three, and you?" "Eighteen," I said softly. A name I could not give him, for I had none, and I didn’t want him to know what Phyllis called me. "Wow," he said surprised. "You have a beautiful voice, but can I have your name as well?" I froze, not answering him. "Your name must be as sweet as your voice," he said. I smiled. His voice made me feel strange inside. "Yes, that's what I want to see on your beautiful face, happiness, not sadness," he said, cheering
I stood frightened, afraid to answer her. "Nothing," Josh said. I turned my attention to him right away, terrified, hoping he could get me out of that mess. After all, it was he who had started it. I didn't call him into the laundry room. He'd come on his own, desperate to know who I was. "Nothing at all," he again told Phyllis. "I just came in here to see if she was fine and she is." He looked at me and smiled. I lowered my eyes. "And what could be wrong with her?" Phyllis asked him, upset. "I'm needed in the living room," he said, and exited the laundry room, ignoring my evil grandmother. Phyllis watched him while he left and until he closed the door behind him. She impatiently twisted her right hand, wanting to punish me. The two of us were left standing in the laundry room, eyeing each other. "What were you two doing in here?" she snapped. "Nothing," I quickly answered her. "Nothing?" she asked sarca
I dug my hand into the ground, grabbing a handful of dead leaves and twisted and turned my head. "Hah!" I screamed, my voice strange to my ears. It was as if I could not control the sounds that were escaping my mouth. "Josh!" I screamed his name, not knowing what else to do as he sucked between my legs. I felt a strong feeling between my vagina and lower belly as if my entire body was going to explode. I removed my hand from the ground and grabbed him by his hair, lifting his head from between my legs. He pushed me back to the ground and started sucking on me again. My entire body stiffened, while he squeezed one of my breasts and played with it. I couldn't handle such a strong feeling. It was too much. I pushed myself backward, removing his mouth from me. I sprang to my feet and ran toward a tree. My entire body shook while I held on to the tree. Josh got up from the ground, wiping the wetness from his mouth. I pushed myself bac
I couldn't stop crying, knowing Josh was no longer with me. I'd only met him that day, but deep down it felt like I had known him for a long time. Even though he was a stranger, I felt safe with him and trusted him with my life. I had to find him after the storm passed. I had to escape and go in search of him. A strange smile appeared on my sad face while I sank my hand in the soft bed, grabbing on to the white sheet and thought about him. If I found him, he would take care of me and teach me what I needed to know about the world. First, I had to find out where he was. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sat up on my bed. "Are you finished crying now, Reds?" Cindy asked, while she sat on her bed with a book in her hand. "Reds?" I repeated. Suddenly, I looked up at my hair, realizing the reason why she called me so. I nervously turned my head aside, and stared at the room. It consisted of two pieces of furniture—the two beds. "Wh
Wait a minute. A son? I kept on hearing those words ringing in my ears. She had a son? All those years I had lived with her, I had never heard her say anything about having a son. She was always talking about her dead, beautiful daughter—my mom. I didn't know why it upset me so badly to hear that she had a son. She didn’t love me or ever held a decent conversation with me. She was always hitting me or telling me bad things about myself. I started to wonder if her son knew about me, whether he knew she had me locked away in a cell and was treating me badly. What if he didn't and could have given me the life I had wanted? I looked at my grandma with disgust as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "A group of people is heading to Spicy Groove after breakfast. You can go with them," the tall man told her. I felt Cindy hold my hand. She smiled at me when I looked up at her. "Let's see what they have prepared for breakfast," she s
Locked away in a cell by my grandmother for eighteen years, I wanted to be free from her and go outside where people were different. Every move I made kept me trapped. The people I met were just like her, evil and cold. Tears ran from my eyes when I remembered Josh’s words. He didn't know me, he'd said. Was he ashamed of me and how I looked? I knew I should never have believed him. I knew I was not beautiful. Everything about me was ugly, including the ugly bright red hair on my head. I hated that it reminded Phyllis of my rapist father. "We're here now," the two men said as they placed me down in front of a large white house. The house was the largest house I'd ever seen. The men held my arms, preventing me from trying to escape. The door opened and I saw an old gray-haired lady. "Why are you holding her like that?" she snapped at the men. "She tried to run away," one of the men answered while they led me inside. The old lady closed t
I took small steps behind her, not wanting to walk into her as I followed her. "It's a very large house, but right now I first want to show you your room before I'm asked to run off to do something," she said. Her footsteps echoed on the floor of the house. While she continued to talk, tears filled my eyes when I remembered the way the Alpha had talked to me, as if I was nothing. "Here's your room," Francine said, stopping at a door on the left side of the hall. I quickly wiped away my tears and followed her into the room. The room was very neat. It only had a small bed, covered in a light pink sheet. "The door next to the bed is your bathroom," she said, pointing to it. "Well, that's it," she said, and turned to face me. "Since we will be working together, what is your name?" I was beginning to get annoyed by everyone wanting to know my name. I was tired of trying to hide the reason why I didn't have a name, so I gave her the
"Yes, he will be able to save you from Alpha Pharaoh," Francine assured me. "He helped me by bringing me into this world by raping my mother," I told her while I sobbed, "so how would he want to help me again?" Francine stared at me while her bottom lip jumped as if she wanted to tell me something, something that she shouldn’t. "If I do decide to go to him, how will I find him?" I asked her. "You don't know him?" Francine asked, surprised. "No," I said, shaking my head. Francine held her cheek, the same spot where Alpha Pharaoh had hit her. She lowered her head sadly and stared at the floor then back at me. "I want to help you, but I am scared," she told me. I stared at her until the tears in my eyes prevented me from seeing her. I understood that she too feared the Alpha. I also didn't want to get her into any trouble anymore for I seemed to have that effect—destroying people's life as I had done to my mom's. T