Chapter 7

Maria had detected the bitterness in Roger’s voice. And why not? While they both had been ostracized by the other kids during high school, it was Roger who had borne the brunt of their cruel jokes and isolation. She felt guilty, not just for having turned him down for the Halloween Dance, but also for the fact that while she did not actually engage in making fun of him, her own attempts at being accepted meant she often said nothing and let the cruelties go by when she should have said something, helped the boy who truly needed her, yet another reason to chip away at her self esteem. I should have stood by him, she thought. I should have been his friend and instead I put my efforts into trying to get the other kids to accept me. No wonder he harbors such resentment toward them ... and me.

But Maria did not have long to contemplate her past mistakes as another customer was already knocking on the door. She made her way to answer the door and to ultimately provide her services.

Over the next few days, Maria noticed several changes. For one, a new sporty convertible sat out front, there was now a large screen HDTV in the living room and Kyle had begun to sport flashy jewelry on both hands and around his neck.

She, at first, thought to herself that if he was spending large amounts of her earnings on himself it must mean he had paid off his IOUs to the gamblers. Maybe, she thought, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

But those hopes were dashed when Kyle staggered home the following night the smell of alcohol strong and sour. She could tell he was upset and, like always, she wondered if she dared try to help.

“A bad day?” she asked tentatively.

He looked at her and she saw fear as well as anger. “The guys I owe the money to want it all ... by this weekend.”

“I thought maybe you had already paid them off.”

“Are you kidding? Every time I gave them some cash they said it only covered the interest.”

“But what about the new car? The TV, the...”

“Shut up, bitch! I got a right to live the good life. I just didn’t think they would want it all at once.”

“What ... are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve got to lay my hands on fifteen grand by this weekend.”

“Fifteen thousand? But that means you’ve only paid them...”

“Yeah, a couple of grand. Like I said every time I make a payment the interest goes up. I’d have you quit your day job and work full time but even so, there’s no way you could make that kind of money by this weekend.”

“What about the car?” she asked.

“I just got it a couple of days ago on one of those deferred payment plans. The finance company owns the car ... not me!”

She racked her brain but could come up with nothing.

“If only we had something to sell.”

The look he gave her was odd. She had not seen that look before, but he was immediately on his feet and headed for the door.

“Have an idea?” she asked.

“Yes ... as a matter of fact I do,” he replied, walking out.

Maria slept fitfully and noticed the next morning that Kyle had not returned. She wondered what his idea could be, but reality came knocking and so she showered and dressed for work.

The house was empty when Maria got home from work. She grabbed a bite to eat as Kyle no longer ate with her, showered and changed into her “work” outfit of bra and thong and waited for Kyle to call and say there was a customer on the way. But the phone did not ring and she wondered what idea Kyle had come up with to pay his debts to the gamblers.

It was late when a car pulled up outside and Kyle and two men entered the front door. Maria assumed they were customers and got up to meet them.

“Hello,” she said to them wondering if she would be servicing them one at a time, if it would be a threesome, and if so, if she would have to endure double penetration as she had last week.

“They’re not customers, Mother. You see, I’ve solved my financial problem. Actually, you gave me the idea. Sell something, you said. So that’s exactly what I did. It seems there’s couple with some rather unusual tastes who are looking for a slave.”

“No, Kyle, PLEASE!” she screamed just before one of the men grabbed her arms while the other pulled out a syringe and injected her in the arm.

The last thing she remembered was Kyle smiling in her face. “Thanks for paying off my gambling debt. I’ll even have a little left over for myself. So this is good bye, Mother. I don’t think we’re going to be seeing each other ever again.”

With that the world went dark.