2
I opened the door and saw my childhood
sweetheart, Ryan, didn’t even look up. He was
scrolling through photos on his phone, picking
<
and choosing.
Sometimes he even cracked a smile,
something he never showed me.
Until he glanced up, seeing me, and looked a
little stunned.
“Your leg?”
I touched the scar that ran down my shin,
tugging my dirty jeans lower.
The second year in the slum, a bunch of
mercenaries went on a killing spree. If they
hadn’t decided to keep me around for
“entertainment,” it would have been more
<
than just a scar.
“You were so good at bullying people at
home, what’s with the act now? You just
gonna try and steal Amy’s thunder again?”
My foot froze before getting into the car.
“No, I won’t.”
He arched an eyebrow, looking satisfied.
“Good. She’ll be relieved to hear that.”
I didn’t know what to do, whether to get in or
not.
<
Then Jake honked the horn, hurrying me on,
and I climbed in, tense.
The next second, I heard Ryan’s disgusted
voice.
“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”
My worn–down, gray–black sneakers looked
completely out of place on the pristine car
mats.
Old mud, blood, dirty water… I hadn’t changed them in forever. I remembered how they used to be my favorite white sneakers.
I started shaking, instinctively kneeling down
<
and scrubbing at the mat with the edge of my
sleeve, the only clean bit of cloth I had.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I’ll clean it, I’ll clean
it…”
The words tumbled out without me even
thinking.
“I’ll be quick, it’ll be clean, you’ll see…”
The mercenaries had used the same tone,
cursing me for being dirty while their actions
got more and more violent. The repeated
wounds on my body became their source of
amusement.
<
It was like the louder I screamed, the less
dignity I had, and the happier they were.
Why?
I didn’t know.
I just knew that to please them, I had to do
what they wanted.
“What are you doing! Do you have any class?
Ryan was shocked and angry.
Jake saw what I was doing in the rearview
mirror and just stared.
く
But all they did was complain. Neither of
them helped me. Or maybe they just thought I
was too dirty, that they’d get ‘their hands
contaminated.
Then, suddenly, Jake spoke up.
“Get in the car. Don’t bother cleaning it!”
I looked up, confused. He didn’t mind me
being dirty?
Jake loved his car. Besides Amy, no one else could mess it up. If he’d been this generous
to me before, I would have been happy for
weeks.
L
But now, hearing him tell me to get in the car
just confused me.
Of course, Ryan answered for Jake.
“We’ll have the car detailed tomorrow,
disinfected a few times.”
