After he heard she was looking for other work, he started making her do more around the house before and after work. She suspected it was to keep her too tired to try and look for another job. Well, it worked.
With nowhere else to go, she had no choice but to do what he told her to. For a time things settled into an exhausting but steady routine. She had almost gotten used to it. But that night things had gone too far.
The bar had closed early due to a drunken brawl. After the police had come, the manager insisted everyone just head home for fear of any kind of retaliation. Like she always did, Gloria came in through the backdoor as it was closest to her room.
Her stepfather had plans that night, so she was looking forward to an early bedtime. Voices from the living room ripped away that hope.
If her stepfather was home, and he knew she was off of work early, he’d certainly make her do chores. When she heard someone else’s voice, she knew he’d likely make her cook for them.
For a moment she thought about just sneaking out again, but he owned the bar. Certainly the manager would tell him he’d sent everyone home, and if she wasn’t there, he’d drill her about where she was and why she hadn’t come home.
Rather than suffer through that, she’d just lowered her head and made her way through the house to the living room.
“I don’t know, you owe me a lot of money.”
“I know,” her stepfather said.
“We’re talking thousands here. I doubt one fat girl is worth that much.”
Fat girl? What? Were they talking about… her?
“Look, she cooks good, cleans. Hard worker, that one. You can do whatever you want with her, she’s too stupid to say no.”
Too stupid? That little bastard!
“I still say there’s gotta be a catch.”
“No catch. I’m selling her to you.”
“And in exchange we wipe your debt to me.”
“Yup. She’s no good to me anymore anyway. Not into fat chicks. Not like her mom, wooo. Lemme tell you somethin’ about her mom.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
Gloria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her stepfather was selling her to his old friend.
This couldn’t be legal, could it? Then again, could she do anything about it? Where would she go? No, maybe she was wrong.
Gloria pressed her back against the wall as she tried to convince herself that they were talking about someone else. Anyone else.
“So how’re we going to do this?” the friend asked.
“She’s a heavy sleeper. Tonight I’ll go in, drug her, and we can take her over to your place.”
“What if she doesn’t go along with it?”
“I dunno. Kill her, I s’pose. No one would miss her anyway. I’m the only family she has to speak of. Don’t got no friends.”
That was all she needed to hear. Gloria was out the door running through the forest her house was nestled against.
As she cried, she realized that no matter how offended she was, it was true. No friends, nowhere to go.
The desolation of her situation weighed so heavily on her that just putting one foot in front of the other was almost asking too much. All she wanted to do was fall to the ground and cry.
There was no hope for her, no options. No way out. Even now they were probably chasing her. They’d find her, take her back, and drug her.
A wolf’s cry cut through the night, banishing all other thoughts in that moment. No, that couldn’t be right. Now, of all times? Was the cry meant for her, to announce it’d found a meal?