Page 1 of Do It For Me
HIM
“Daddy.” I hate calling him that way, but if I don’t, he’ll hit me again. “I need to buy more makeup. Can you take me to the mall?”
For the first time in my life, his face lights up at a request like that. “Sure. In fact, I think you’re old enough to go on your own.”
My cheeks burn. Is he serious?
“Then I’ll… I’ll tell Mum so we can—”
“Oh no,püppchen1. She doesn’t need to know.”
“But—”
“Or would you rather stay here?”
“No, I—”
“Fine. It’s settled, then. You can leave at five.”
I go grab my things in silence and wait.
Mum did my makeup earlier, and Tara was furious. I’ll keep this to myself. We talked about Declan, though none of us trulyknows him. My sister loathes that I can leave this house, even if I don’t want to. I wish I could stay with Mum.
A few minutes later, at five o’clock, my father leans against the doorway, cigarette in hand. “Goodbye,püppchen.”
“Bye,Daddy.”
I jog to the entrance, my heart pounding in my chest.
This is the first time I’ve been allowed to go out alone. The first time I’ve ever had a moment of independence.
Everything’s going to be fine. I’m going to be—
A van screeches to a halt on the street ahead. The doors burst open, and three men leap out, rushing toward me. Panic claws at me as I stumble back, instinctively edging closer to the guards nearby. But it’s too late. Three sets of hands clamp down on my arms and legs, yanking me inside.
“Mum! Help!”
My scream fades into the air as one of them slams my head against the van’s door. My vision swims, dizziness setting in, but I keep struggling. I must.
Their grip tightens. One man forces my head against the cold window while the others tear my clothes. Through the haze, I catch a glimpse of my father standing in the doorway, motionless. The guards remain frozen, like statues.
Mum bolts out the door, sprinting toward us…
But before she can reach me, darkness swallows me whole.
Three years have passed, yet I still remember every detail of that day—how I woke up trembling, naked in the middle of a cold,unfamiliar room; how my body throbbed with pain from their beatings; how I begged for them to let me go.
I haven’t been alone since.
My body disgusts me. I’m nothing but a shame to my father, and my mother keeps her distance because of him, though she tries to stay close in her own way.
Our bond is all we have; we can’t lose it.
But it’s not enough. After everything I’ve endured, I need more. She’s the only reason I resist the urge to end it all. But God, I hate this body. I hate the memories that lurk in the corners of my mind, tearing me apart piece by piece. They surface when something triggers them,usually the nightmares. The same ones that haunt me, forcing me to relive the torture over and over again.
It doesn’t matter how much I try to forget the past; the nightmares and memories always return. I wasn’t even eighteen, and they killed me. They scarred my body and my soul; that wound will never heal.
And now? Now, a wealthy prick is coming to ask for my hand—or that’s what I’ve heard. My father has spent years trying to get rid of me, spinning a story that’s as fake as the smiles I give to anyone who shows interest.
