Big TW for mentions of CSA and grooming

3am was a time Verina knew all too well. Waking up from another bad dream, she sighed and sat up in bed, taking a deep breath. Her covers had tangled, and her face had become wet with tears. She slowly stepped out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown, and heading out of her room.

She was initially going to head to the bar, but stopped herself. Getting drunk in the middle of the night wouldn't help matters at all. She instead went to the kitchen, and began going about making a cup of tea.

Her heart rate slowed as she sat down with the hot liquid, She felt calm; and she allowed herself to think of the nightmare.

Back alive. Studio lights should have made what was happening to her oh so clear; but everyone seemed to turn a blind eye. The memory left her feeling vulnerable as she was reminded of her reality.

Exploited. Out of control. Abused.

Her eyes teared up again. She sank into her dressing gown, and cried quietly into her tea.

She didn't enjoy sex. She hadn't been old enough to even understand what it was the first time she did it. But it was all she knew how to do. If her body wasn't being used, what good was she?

Her lungs felt like they were constricting, and her breathing was shaky. Other than that, the kitchen was silent.

She didn't notice when the kitchen door opened. Angel stood there for a moment, noticing her crying, before sitting across from her.

"What's up?"

Verina sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Nothing."

He gave her a look. "Don't give me that bullshit. You're up in the middle of the night crying. What's going on?"

"Um... I just... had a nightmare..." her voice was quiet. She didn't want to seem too childish, but she sounded young when she spoke. Angel nodded.

"Yeah. I get it." He sat down with her. "What was it about?"

She took in a shaky breath. "Um... just my life."

"Oh." He responded. "You wanna talk about it?"

She paused. She hadn't ever told anyone what she'd been through; and she felt deep down she shouldn't share the most vulnerable parts of herself with anyone in the hotel. But something in her mind urged her to talk about it. After all, she knew what Val was capable of and what Angel had probably been through.

Verina wiped her face. "Umm... so... when I was alive, I... I was in a lot of movies... like, when I was a kid, I mean." She looked up. Angel nodded.

"Yeah?"

She looked away. "...um... a lot of the times, the producers, or-or directors, or actors would... they would..."

Angel's gaze softened. He seemed to understand what she was trying to say. "...oh."

She nodded and sniffled again, a tear falling down her face.

Angel was silent for a moment. He didn't make eye contact for a moment. "...is that why you... got involved with the Vees?"

"...huh?"

"I mean..." Angel took a breath. "I know how it feels. To have so little control. Becoming an overlord... that's a pretty quick way to grab control, huh?"

She blinked. Never once had she stopped to think of why joining the Vees had seemed so inviting, and Angel had seemed to hit the nail on the head. There was silence for a moment.

"...did you get on well with the Vees? Like... were you friends? I mean, most times people band together down here it's purely transactional but... I don't know, the Vees have something different going on."

She thought for a moment. Had she not felt so vulnerable she wouldn't have revealed anything about her relationship with her colleagues. After all, she was on their side - she couldn't reveal too much, right?

She looked away. "Friends maybe isn't the right word."

"How'd you get involved with them, anyway?"

"Uh... Val. He offered me a contract to own my soul, but I didn't want to do that. But we kept running into each other by chance, and every time he'd take me out or buy me something, and in return I'd do little odd jobs for him and Velvette and Vox. In the end he asked if I wanted to join, so I said yeah."

Angel nodded. "So, he groomed you?"

"Excuse me?" She stared at him. "That's a big presumption."

He shrugged. "Not really. What were you doing before you joined the Vees?"

"...I mean... I didn't have anywhere to go, so I was just, uh... sleeping around, so I had somewhere to stay."

"You were in a vulnerable position. You're a lot younger than him. He wanted sex and other favours from you, and so he built up a relationship with you to get you to trust him. It's textbook grooming. What was your role in the Vees? I mean, the fact you own no souls and seemingly either did small underling jobs for them or stood around looking pretty makes me question if you were as appreciated as much as you think."

Her brow furrowed. She looked away and crossed her arms. "That's bullshit."

He cocked his head. "Why so defensive? You're not even with them anymore."

"...still."

Angel gave a soft sigh. "Why'd you leave them?"

"...an argument." she responded, looking away.

"Must have been one heck of an argument with how you guys bicker. What was it about?"

"...uh... I, uh, didn't like how Val was exploiting his workers, so I-I called him out and he went mad and kicked me out."

"...you were defending his workers?" Angel's look softened.

"Uh, yeah."

He looked at her for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was sincere. "Thank you. For sticking up for the likes of me. It... it's honestly horrible working for Val, and... and, well, you understand me a lot better than I thought you would."

She nodded. Something twisted in her gut; a pang of guilt. Angel's sincerity made her uncomfortable, and she put her mug in the sink. "Well, uh, goodnight."

"Oh, are you going back to bed?" he asked, a little surprised at how she cut the conversation off.

"Yeah." she responded, not making eye contact.

"Oh, okay. Well, sleep well, Verina. You can come talk to me at any time."

She nodded, but said nothing. She left the kitchen, leaving Angel by himself.