If only she were right.
It surprised him when, a few seconds later, his heart gave a little tug. He sensed something about her. Something special. He wasn’t sure what it was, but now that she was closer, he could feel it.
Suddenly he was excited.
But . . . was she going to smile?
Please, let her smile, he thought, strangling his grocery bag. For the true test was always the smile. It was an important rule he kept because it gave them a little control. Made what he did to them a little more fair.
Made him feel a little more human.
If they smiled, they were meant for him. If they didn’t, well, maybe they’d live long, happy lives. Maybe they’d become grandmothers. Great-grandmothers even. Happy ones.
If anyone’s even capable of being happy anymore.
When he and she were not ten feet apart, she stumbled in her sandals.
“Whoa there,” he said, his tone playful. He smiled at her.
She caught his eye and grinned sheepishly back, her face blooming into something truly beautiful. A light scar blemished her face, running the length of her forehead to her cheek, but it only added to her intrigue. “Guess I’m a little clumsy,” she laughed.
His smile widened.
No . . . no, you’re perfect.
CHAPTER 2
THE MOTOR IN the small air-conditioning unit sputtered, shattering the quiet of the motel room.
Allie stirred from her place beneath the heavy covers. She poked her head out and the frigid air chilled her cheek. Waking up in the morning was not one of her favorite things to do. It had become pointless, really. She was always exhausted, and her dreams were usually more pleasant than her reality.
Without fail, her first thought upon waking was always of her brother—and how desperately she missed him. Then, she would try to remember who was sleeping beside her.
It was usually a client.
Some lust-filled trucker who needed a warm body to sleep next to during long, lonely nights. Someone who had a loving woman waiting impatiently for him back at home.
Allie had followed in her mother’s footsteps. She wasn’t proud of it, but she didn’t know how to do anything else, and it kept her alive. Plus, she desperately needed the company. Being alone scared her.
Yes, sleeping with men for money made her feel pathetic; disgusting even. But by now she was almost numb to it. She told herself that she was using them. Not the other way around. And as long as she managed to believe what she told herself, she was okay.
And yes, she was always someone’s dirty secret. But at least now someone was paying attention to her. It was better than being the unwanted daughter of the local whore . . . or the loathsome sister her brother had always tried to get rid of. At least now people spent a little time with her. They even paid for it. Well, at least most did. She could count on two hands the number of times she’d been stiffed. Twice she’d even been knocked around. Just more experiences she had to shove to the back of her mind, because if she didn’t, she would probably lose it.
With enough vodka in her, she was able to escape into a cloud of nothingness and feel confident and powerful. It was a much-needed, albeit short, escape until the alcohol’s effects wore off and she discovered she was more used up than before and just as alone.
But her line of work ran in her family, so who was she to do anything different? After all, the apple rarely fell far from the tree. At least that’s what her mother used to say.
She reluctantly pried an eye open. The motel room was pitch black. The thick drapes on the wide rectangular window of the room kept any and all sunlight at bay, so she had no idea what time it was. If it was morning, it was her sixteenth birthday.
Sweet sixteen.
Her muscles relaxed when she remembered she was with Johnny. He wasn’t a client. He was her boyfriend. Well, maybe he wouldn’t call himself that, but she liked to. He was from California, but he was driving a truck delivering baked goods from Texas to Oklahoma for the year to raise money for college tuition. They’d met late one night at a diner outside of Houston and had been together ever since.
She loved being close to Johnny. Loved curling up against his hard, warm body when they slept at night. Loved feeling his breath tickle her face as he slept. It lulled her so much it usually sent her back to sleep for another hour, until he gently shook her awake so they could get back on the road. In fact, Johnny had been the only man aside from her brother who she’d ever even liked. She was hoping that he would save her.
She turned to face him.
And found his side of the bed empty.
Her bare feet hit the carpet. She peered around the corner to see if there was a light on in the section of the small bathroom that housed the toilet.
There wasn’t.
His duffel bag? Her eyes darted to the corner where he always left it.
Crap! Gone, too.
His keys. He couldn’t go anywhere without his keys. Were they still there?
She hurried to the little round table next to the window and saw that they were also gone. In their place was an unopened pack of Camel Lights, a twenty-dollar bill, and a note scrawled on the back of a guide to the motel’s cable channels.
Li’l Bit,
It was real fun getting to know you.
Now go home and do something with your life while you still can.
xoxo
Johnny
“No!” Her shoulders slumped forward and she began to sob.
Johnny had been nice and handsome and funny. She could’ve grown to love him, even. Well, if she hadn’t already. Maybe he could’ve been someone she could’ve grown old with. Someone she could’ve belonged to. Someone who could’ve taken good care of her.