NPOV

Clovis waited for the men to leave the room. He made sure they were out of earshot before hurrying over to me, light footsteps making the house creak. The way he moved reminded me of a mouse - soft and scared.

"I'm sorry.... They do that to everyone, you'll have to get used to it." he said, moving to pull on my restraints.

I sat there, stunned.

They just.... hurt me. Even Octavian never forced me to do drugs.

It took me a minute to snap out of it. I did my best to help Clovis free me from the chair: he struggled with the knotted cords while I tried to wrench my arms free. But the heroin was making me lightheaded. Dizzy. Nauseous. I wasn't much help. I was so exhausted, part of me had already given up.

Clovis suddenly paused from the work, looking at me expectantly.

"What?"

"I asked you what your name is."

"Oh. Sorry.... It's Nico." My voice sounded rough. My throat was dry. I cursed myself for making a stupid first impression.

Clovis only nodded. A beat of silence went by as he went back to work. The cords were tight, and it was obvious that Lycaon wasn't going to help or give us something we could cut them with.

I watched his nimble fingers undo knot after knot, still hesitant to talk. I had questions, but asking them is sometimes a bad idea... The answers are always horrible.

Of course, the answers could also prepare you. I needed to know what came next.

I forced myself to speak. "Um, you said they did that to everyone? The heroin, I mean. How often do they-"

"It varies. Usually, about 200 milligrams a day, spaced out over a few hits. I know it doesn't sound like much but, believe me, it is. I saw what they gave you, and they aren't giving you the really hard stuff yet - they probably want to ease you into it. The only reason they give it to us is so that we won't run off."

"Us?"

"There are six of us here. Seven, if we count you."

Somewhat reluctantly, he rolled up his sleeve and showed me his arm. My eyes widened when I saw all sorts of bruises and scabby track marks from the needles.

"It's not so bad." He said, seeing my reaction and rushing to get the skin out of sight. He pulled the sleeve back down. "Just don't piss anyone off, take the drugs they give you, and do what they say. It's easier if you're high."

What Kronos said flooded back to me:

....more whores....

"Why am I here?" I asked quietly.

I knew the answer. I was desperately hoping I was wrong. That I thought up some sick scenario far from the truth.

Hope was destroyed when I saw Clovis look at the floor, body slumped under the weight of the question.

"I-I knew you were going to ask me that... I didn't want to be the one to tell you..." He squeezed his eyes shut.

No. Please don't say it. Only seconds had gone by, but I could hardly breathe. The air was full of tension and anxiety.

Will once told me I was strong, but I promise he would have changed his mind if he had lived to see me now.

Clovis continued with a shaking voice. "There's three bedrooms in the house. Lycaon stays in the one on the first floor.... the two upstairs are for-" He swallowed. Hearing the words was making me spiral out of control, I knew where this was heading. "I'm sorry, it's not something I ever talk about. P-People come, they pay Lycaon, and then one of us goes upstairs with them for a night. Sometimes two split the bill and take turns.... Please don't cry. I promise we look after each other."

"I'm not crying," I said it even though we both knew it was a blatant lie. Tears were on my cheek.

I cried too much. I was such a fucking crybaby. At least I was quiet about it, the sobs weren't huge or painful or pathetic. They were just empty.

The cords fell away from my wrists. I looked down, seeing that the skin was rubbed raw and bleeding.

"Can you stand?"

I nodded. Clovis offered me his hand and helped me to my feet. He ushered me in a different direction. "We stay in this room, over here."

We stumbled into the middle of the room. He stopped walking and crouched, hand moving over a rug. I was confused at first, but then he pulled the rug back. It revealed a small door, smartly hidden from careless eyes. Clovis swung the entrance open and beckoned me over.

"Down here's the basement." He said, stepping onto the latter. "I'll go first. Make sure to close the door behind you. Otherwise, we'll get in trouble."

~

Going down the ladder was hard for me. My whole body hurt, so I had to take it slow. Thankfully, the climb was only a few feet and Clovis was patient.

I got to the bottom. A small group of people stood around the room, turning away from their conversations to look me up and down.

They all looked around the same age as me - some were older, others a little younger. Everyone was thin. A few of them gave me fake smiles, trying to reassure me. It gave the opposite effect. Their expressions were tired and agitated, like they knew something bad was about to happen and didn't have the energy to do anything about it.

"Guys, this is Nico. He's the new guy we overheard Lycaon talking about yesterday." Clovis said, then he started listing off names and pointing.

"Nico, this is Katie. That's Nyssa, and sitting by her is Dakota. Mitchell and Lacy are on that bunk over there, they're brother and sister."

"I thought you said there were six of you?"

Lacy piped up from where she was sitting on a bunk bed. "Clarisse is still upstairs-"

The door suddenly slammed closed, making a few people jump.

"-Or she just finished...." Mitchell mumbled.

I couldn't decide if I should have been scared. No one seemed thrilled about her presence, the last thing I needed was to become someone's target.

A voice from behind me. "Who's the creep?"

I spun around. Facing me was a girl - brown hair, sneering face, angry eyes. Her hair was a mess, pulled back haphazardly with a bandana. A tank top showed off muscles on her crossed arms.

She raised an eyebrow, looking at me expectantly.

I said nothing.

"Fine." She sighed after a minute, turning to Clovis for an answer.

"His name's Nico, the new guy Kronos brought over...." Clovis yawned and stretched. "He doesn't talk much, don't take it personally."

"Trust me, I won't. I'm surprised - do you see his arms? How'd all those get there?"

I hated that my arms were bare. I knew someone would have said something about the scars, but I never got the jacket back after Kronos snatched it away. I could feel the others sizing me up.

My eyes fell on my sneakers when I answered. I guess I didn't want to see their faces. "They're from the last guy I was with. He was... rough."

"Huh. That explains why they didn't send you to Gaea. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I think I should be blunt-"

"Don't, Clarisse. Just shut up."

"Why don't you shut up, Clovis! He deserves to know!"

My heart fell heavily inside my chest. I was suspended in dread, I struggled to make my voice work. "What is it?"

"Just that you're going to die. You aren't exactly desirable, the last guy damaged you too much. No one's going to rent you. Even if they do, the price will be so low that it won't matter. Unless you make more money than it takes to keep you breathing, Lycaon will murder you in the bloodiest way possible. I've seen it happen."

"C'mon, Nico. Don't listen to her." Clovis said, trying to lead me away. "I'll show you an empty bunk, okay? You can get some sleep."

I was distracted; I wanted to hear what else Clarisse had to say. Clovis tugged on my shoulder.

"What would you do, if you were in my shoes?" I asked, stepping towards her.

"Honestly? You're better off killing yourself."

A/N ~ This is LONG but everyone should learn from this. Okay? Okay. If you don't have time to read all this, I promise it won't hurt my feelings - BUT AT LEAST SCROLL FOR THE PSA

I met this guy at the college I'm dual enrolling at. He was the same age as me (already on my good side b/c everyone else is, like, 3 yrs older), smart, and somewhat funny. A little socially awkward and weird, but who was I to judge?

I gave him my number and planned to meet up with him for coffee the next day (there's a Starbucks on campus).

The next day we meet up and talk for 2 hrs straight. I'm thinking, "He's pretty cool. Why not? I've been lonely anyways."

So I agree to go to dinner with him. I suggest Olive Garden. Because, hey, I like Olive Garden and I was in the mood. He agrees so we plan it for Saturday.

Saturday comes around. He shows up in a convertible, and he drives it like a moron. He had his arm around me WHILE he was driving - which is dangerous. You shouldn't do that. Nonetheless, I'm not that bothered yet. When we get to the restaurant, I learn he's never been. He keeps harassing the waiter by trying to speak Italian to him (The guy was very impressed with himself, and really wanted me to know he spoke 5 languages) and he also wanted to know what all was frozen b/c "It's $20 a plate." (I DID offer to pay for my own, but he wanted to pay for me). He kept comparing Olive Garden to ACTUAL ITALY (and, of course, he wanted me to know how many countries he's been to).

This is a word-for-word snip of our conversation:

Him: "You know, most girls are automatically more attracted to me when I roll up in my convertible. Or when I tell them about my lakehouse, the jet skis, and the trips I've been on."

Me: "Listen, none of that is YOUR money. It's your PARENTS' money."

He just looked at me like no one ever said that to him before omfg.

I still agree to go for a walk after dinner. There's a trail right by the restaurant that a lot of people use. We walk and talk for a bit, with him awkwardly holding my waist. Afterward, he drops me off and asks me if he can kiss me. I let him because he was polite about it and I thought we had a good time.

When I was home, I realized I was kind of uncomfortable the entire date. I chalked it up to being uncomfortable with DATING (I'm not used to that, lol) not necessarily HIM. So, to make sure, I plan another coffee date.

THIS IS WHERE SHIT REALLY GETS BAD

He meets me at Starbucks. I sip my frappuccino while he talks, keep in mind he didn't order anything. 15 minutes in, he asks if I wanted to walk around campus. I say sure - because I like the campus and it's still a pretty public place.

Then he starts leading me down a SHADY AREA DEVOID OF PEOPLE, OFF THE MAIN PATH. I ask him where we were going. He makes a stupid joke. Turns out he just wanted to shove his tongue down my throat. I kiss him a little, then duck away from his arms and tell him I wanted a walk. (I just didn't want to be weird. Remember, I'm new to the dating thing and barely fucking know him.)

We walk. I FOR SOME REASON IDK WHY let him lead me in the Music and Arts Building, which I'd never been to before and was completely empty. He proceeded to look in some classrooms - as if checking whether or not people would see us.

RED FLAG

I am a very flighty and nervous type of person. I was immediately uncomfortable. So I walked out and said something like "we shouldn't be in here" or something like that. He followed me out.

Now he wanted to go in the Psychology Building - which I was okay with because I'd been in there before and it's always full of people.

Him: "Let me show you the classroom I go to!"

Me: "Okay???" (why I hadn't NOPEd out of there at this point is a mystery)

We go down this empty hallway.

Him: "I lied to you, hahaha. My class is on a different floor."

If he was trying to be romantic or cute, it wasn't working.

He then grabs me and pulls me SUPER close to him. Like, we were UP AGAINST EACH OTHER. And then, for the third time, he tries for a makeout session. I try to pull away, but he still HELD ME THERE for an extra couple seconds (which doesn't sound like a lot of time, but I promise you it was) even though I CLEARLY DIDN'T LIKE IT.

Him: "Haha, you look kind of scared. Did you keep your eyes open?"

HE KNEW I WAS UNCOMFORTABLE. HE JOKED ABOUT IT. Just so you guys understand, the way he said it scared me. This could just be me being over paranoid, but he sounded rapey. I was preparing myself to start screaming. I was scared. IT WAS LITERALLY THAT BAD.

I calmly said I needed to use the bathroom. I texted my sister, telling her to call me and say she needed to pick me up early or some bs like that.

He walks me to her car, the whole time trying to get me to go down these "shortcuts." I was still freaking out, but this time I was smart enough to say no.

I texted him saying I didn't want to go out with him anymore. I don't care if I'm overreacting. The guy was a fucking creep.

/////////PSA/////////

YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT YOURSELF IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE/SCARY/DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH ANYONE. ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCTS - DON'T DOWNPLAY THOSE INSTINCTS WITH "Well, I've always had bad anxiety." OR "I'm just not used to this." OR "blah blah blah." IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO PLAY IT SAFE. THERE ARE BAD PEOPLE OUT THERE. IF YOU ARE EVER HURT, SEXUALLY HARASSED, OR SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY SOMEONE, REPORT THEM. FIND A WAY OF HELPING YOUR MENTAL WELLBEING IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO (like therapy or something similar, there are tons of options).

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 [24/7 hotline]

National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474 or 1-866-331-8453 (TTY)

Crisis & Suicide Prevention Lifeline for LGBTQ Youth (The Trevor Project): 1-866-488-7386

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

If you ever need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to message me. I mean it.

Stay safe, friends.