Chapter 30
JOJO:
I followed the alpha behind warily. And with every step into the dimly lit, endless hallway, it got even quieter, causing goosebumps to rise to the surface of my skin. I realized that we were going to be alone, AGAIN.
He did not look back at me. Very cocky of him to assume that I would just walk behind him. Maybe the sound of my footsteps made it known that I was galloping behind him. It did not matter anyway; I would be nothing short of an idiot to disobey a man such as himself.
I couldn’t help but wonder if he truly believed me. My Aunt had been too believable with her lies to the extent that I doubted myself a couple of times while speaking. What if he wanted to tell me he hadn’t believed me and had to fire me? I mean, even if he believed me, my Aunt had already caused too much havoc because of me. I was sure nothing like this had ever happened before, it just had to be me, it was always Jojo Wyatt. Then again, if he wanted to fire me, he could have easily done so in the presence of everyone, right?
Right.
He strolled into a room without knocking or pressing any bell. The door slid open on his arrival and he seized my right hand and pulled me inside. The door closed again and I looked around the ancient-looking room, trying to see if there was anyone in the room beside us. Except for the little statues and artifacts littered in some corners of the room, I found the room totally empty.
The air around us stood still. I could not bring myself to breathe in the same air as him. As soon as we faced each other, he let go of my hand, and it dropped to my right side.
“I want to see every scar.”
There it was again; the orders that always caught me off guard. A solemn chill rushed down my spine, I sought to blame it on the chilling temperature of the room, but I would be only fooling myself. It was him, all him.
I wished he would not ask for that. I would have done anything else, but this request was one I could not bring myself to obey, even if I had done it so easily before. They were a mark of my pain, my suffering, the ugliness of my life, life woes, and all my bad memories were etched and carved into my skin. How could he ask me to show him the one thing that made me hate myself? I swallowed hard to fight back my tears.
How?
Slowly, I lifted my t-shirt, exposing the ones I had earlier shown to him. I stood silent as I did so.
“The other ones, Red.” His deep voice echoed, startling my senses. Every nerve in my body responded to his call and I dropped the hem of my shirt immediately. My fingers began to tremble, vibrating at my knuckles.
Dear, moon goddess. He knew I was stalling.
“They’re all over my body, Alpha. I… I’m not wearing anything underneath my clothes.” I blurted out.
I watched his jaw harden at my last statement. His black orbs raked through my body, from head to toe. Even in Mel’s oversized T-shirt and jeans, I still felt naked.
“That makes it easier Red. I’ve seen it all before.”
I frowned slightly.
“No, you haven’t. I still had my bra and panties on…” My tone had taken a defensive edge, and I did nothing to hide it. The long pause that followed made one thing clear to me; he had also been thinking of that night.
He cleared his throat, breaking our awkward silence, and began to move towards me. I stumbled backward on my own accord and did not stop until the bones of my back crashed with the cold concrete of the walls. Once again, that familiar scent hit me, accompanied by flashes of that night this time; the night a man had dragged Mykel from me and rescued me.
It could not be him. If it was, he would not have been surprised by anything I said today.
“I would not touch you without consent. Just, show me, Red.”
It did not feel as though we were speaking of my scars anymore. The conversation had taken a different direction. I did not speak, and he ran out of patience. He closed the distance between us and held the hem of my shirt, before raising it. He slipped his right palm underneath and placed his cold fingers against my skin, the metallic rings on them caused me to shudder.
I should have stopped him. I should have protested and asked to leave this room that minute. But I didn’t. I wanted him to be here, closer.
He had almost unraveled the under of my breasts when a loud ring interrupted us. He dropped the shirt immediately, as though he had been released from a spell, and pulled out his phone from his pocket, to answer the call. While he stood composed and nonchalant, I had my hands pressed to my chest as I struggled to steady my breathing. He did not so much as look at me again.
“Yes. Tell him to wait for me. I’m on my way there.”
He ended the call and stared down at me.
“Leave.”
Without hesitation, I picked up my pace to run away from him. But I stopped when the door would not budge. I suddenly recalled he had opened his door on his own. I turned to him and motioned towards the door. He stood in front of it when it slid open, I hurried out.
He was the only one with access to that room. Perhaps, that was where he took his whores to. He took me there and asked to see my body. A new wave of anger flooded my head as I hurried to my room.
Ashley was in over her head when she saw me, asking for all the nitty gritty details.
“You disappeared for almost an hour and nothing happened? You were alone with him and nothing happened?” She continued to press on, but I continued to say “no”.
I took a shower to prepare for my first night. I faced the mirror, holding back tears as I turned around to have a proper view of both my front and back. I was not sad, only repulsed by the sight of my bare skin, I did not want to tear my skin of this time, I was simply grateful. Mostly for the fact that I had no fresh scars and the old ones had begun to disappear. I could not wait for the day they would all be completely gone. Perhaps, the stigma that followed them would leave too.
I put on my costume for the night. A black bra, matching panties, and thigh-high sheer stockings with garter belts. I applied the concealer on the exposed parts of my skin and made a mental note to replace the product. It was almost empty. My black gloves slid into my hands easily, completing my look and I wondered if I would be asked to take them off tonight.
Hopefully not.
Ashley had already left, and I found myself hurrying to go backstage. I had roughly an hour left until it was my turn to perform. The atmosphere allowed reality to dawn on me. I was actually working here.All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.
As a strip dancer.
Bentley was going to kill me for coming out on stage without makeup, and Ashley too. I had promised her I would apply something but they were the least of my least worries.
I entered the backstage and scanned the room. A medium-sized television sat by a corner, showing Ashley’s performance. But I wasn’t watching her. My eyes were on the huge crowd, instead, of the powerful-looking men with their eyes solely fixed on Ashley. My heart was in my throat as I now watched her. The way she dominated the stage, and her mannerisms, literally had the whole audience paying rapt attention. I could not imagine anyone paying so much attention to me.
This was ridiculous! How could I have even thought I could do this?
I had to find somewhere to hide. I know I wanted to be strong, but my willpower had not reached this level. When I turned, I not only found Zita Lowe staring back at me, but my world came to a standstill when my ears caught the next sentence roaring over the microphone.
“… Next up, we have one of our newest additions to the club, Red.”