Page 190 of The First Taste
“Kaia!” he barks.
My eyelids snap open. I take a half step back, only to be reprimanded by Gus.
“What are you doing!?” he hisses.
I can’t take my eyes off of my father. He is glaring at me, his fists clenched, his jaw locked.
“Do you want to have this conversation here?” my dad asks.
I swallow and shake my head. We are on my turf, so I feel safe enough talking to him… and there is the fact that I don’t want anyone to know just how little my own father thinks of me.
“We’re going to have to finish this fitting later, Gus,” I say.
Gus shoots me a glare. “You cannot leave right now.”
I step down, only vaguely even aware of Gus’s presence. “I’ll be back.”
Behind me, Gus throws up his hands in a baffled gesture. “You have pins all along your back! Don’t even think of sitting down!” Gus yells at my back.
Eyeing my dad, I head out of the costume room and take a right into a long backstage passage. Leaving behind the bright light and airy space of the costume room, I advance down the dimly lit, cramped hallway.
My father is right on my heels, grabbing my arm and jerking my body around to face him. His fingers dig into the flesh of my upper arm. “I’ve been calling you,” he says.
I swallow, my gaze raking his face. All my life, I’ve been conditioned to say yes, to give away what little I have to make my father happy.
But no more. Lifting my chin, I try to keep my tone even. “I haven’t been picking up because the last time I saw you, you tried to sell me.”
My father bares his teeth. “And if you had just been reasonable then, this whole situation would be resolved right now. But as it stands, things are so, so much worse.”
I try to wrest my arm from his grip. “Let go of me. You are hurting me.”
He squeezes my arm even tighter, his touch brutal. “Good. You need to listen this time instead of running away like a little girl.”
I pull back, affronted. “I am your little girl!”
His face contorts with rage. He gives me a hard shake. “Shut the fuck up and listen to me, you stupid, worthless whore. You and I are going to leave right now and go back to Tony. And we are going to beg for him to take you.”
I shake my head, my face heating. “No! Why would I do that? Why would I do anything for you when you treat me like this?”
My father grits his teeth and pulls me in close, talking low. “Because, Kaia. I owe a lot of money to some very bad people. And either I make good on their investment, or they start looking for ways they can take their money back. They have made that crystal clear. And I don’t think your mother would make it very long as a hooker.”
My jaw drops. “What?!”
My head spins. My dad is talking about my mom as if she’s just another of his possessions. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that my dad owes so much money that he’s lining up me and my mom to sell off like we’re cattle.
Of course, there is no mention of my dad working off the debt or my sister being involved in any way.
My dad takes a step forward, pushing me back against the wall. “If I don’t come up with three hundred thousand dollars in the next two days, I will have no choice but to sell your mother and your sister to the mafia. With you, I’ve worked out a sweet deal. But your mom and your sister are not worth nearly as much. Do you want to know what kind of life you’re consigning them to, Kaia?”
“That is such bullshit!” I yell, pushing him back a step. “This is your mess! You should have to clean it up, not me and not your family!”
My dad’s eyes go black. He flings me against the wall, pressing the pins in my garment into the skin of my back. Then he puts both his hands around my throat and starts choking me.
I flail, my eyes going wide, my airway suddenly obstructed. I try to swat at my dad’s hands, my fingernails finding the flesh of his forearms.
But that only makes him more angry. “If you won’t come with me, you will be punished. I paid for everything for you growing up. And I will be repaid for it all or I will kill you.”
My vision starts to swim. I try to call out, try to kick at my dad’s legs. But I am powerless against him, struggling mindlessly.
