The HUSH Series: (HUSH, HUSHED and JANE.)

by Sandra Raine

  Tia had Jenna's spark, and Bai, well, she was kind of unusual. . .meaning, and from the few minutes I was in her presence, seemed to enjoy what she was doing 'cause in no time she was on her knees sucking the birthday boy's cock.

  His name was Patrick. He was a decent looking man in his forties who obviously had a thing for young girls just by the way his cold and perverted eyes swept over each and every one of us. He was also kind of tall and slender with a slight build meaning, at one time he worked out. He had strong uncalloused hands and a soft voice. And while he appeared to be a gentleman with his charm and mannerism, a gentleman in bed he was not. I mean, and maybe he was that way toward grown women, maybe even a girlfriend, but to us girls he was the complete opposite as he was very demanding, very rough, and he fucked all of us like if his dick was keeping to a penetration schedule, meaning, he fucked us simultaneously as if making sure he got his fill on each one of us.

  After a strenuous break because we weren't allowed to leave the bedroom, go to the bathroom, talk, or talk to Patrick directly, we were forced to sit around watching Patrick snort coke like there was no fucking tomorrow. After he was done whoring around with his drugs, he then took us to bed one-by-one and continued to fuck us just like the way he snorted coke - selfish and aggressive. I mean, for a man paying generously to sample illegal fruits, one would think he would savor his fruit not toss the fruit onto a dirty dingy floor and then pick it up and expect for it to taste good. I mean, if I were a paying customer that would have been the approach I would have taken.

  When Patrick had finished with me, I headed straight into the master bathroom and cleansed the gunk off my breasts with some soap and water as well as my face and neck only 'cause he kept kissing and licking on me. I could still smell the faint of his hard liquor and cigar breath lingering in my pores even after I washed up.

  When I stepped out of the bathroom I noticed the girls were sitting down on the carpet in a semi-circle while Patrick was laid out on the bed like he had gotten shot in the back, or something.

  "Um. . .what happened? Is he dead?" I mused to no one girl in particular. And I only posed the question 'cause Patrick did look like he was dead.

  Tia smirked, raising a tiny vile and putting a delicate finger to her lip. "We drugged him." She giggled while the other girls grinned.

  "Why you do that?" I pried, slightly amused myself.

  "For nothing really," Tia said motioning me to sit down beside her while she slipped the vile down the front of her ultra-white panties.

  "What'd you slip him?" I continued to pry.

  "Some Ketamine."

  "Isn't that like a date-rape drug or something?"

  "Does it look like we're interested in raping that ass. . .hole?" Bai scoffed jokingly in which I couldn't help but to smirk.

  "Bai, chill," Tia scolded. "Justin always slips me some whenever we visit Patrick."

  "Um. . .Why does he do that?"

  "He doesn't care for Patrick around me."

  "Oh." I said while feeling a little taken aback from learning about Justin's unconventionality. I mean, I never even knew that he harbored a soft spot somewhere within his cold black heart.

  "So," Tia said changing the subject as she studied my eyes, my face for a second. "You new?"

  I lowered my gaze from hers and mumbled, "Well if you consider ten months 'new'. . .then I guess I am. You?"

  "Girl, please!" Tia inoffensively drawled in her most Southern accent. She then rolled her eyes which were a strikingly uneven blue. "I've been suckin' on my daddy's dick since I was eight with my mama sittin' in the same room coaching me on."

  My jaw dropped. And just for a split moment there I actually convinced myself that what I had just heard was no more than a bout of sarcasm until I glanced appallingly at Chloe and Bai for their reaction. And when I found that their jaws were still intact and locked in a consenting silence, it was then had I come to the startling conclusion that they had already known of Tia's abuse. I didn't know whether to throw up or grab a box of tissues?

  "Jesus, Tia," I muttered but fell speechless for a second. "I mean, that's really fucked up."

  "Huh?"

  "I mean. . .for you to be doing. . .I mean. . .to be forced into doing something like that. I mean, that must've been traumatic for you. . .especially in front of your. . .uh. . .um. . .mom."

  Tia laughed. And for some reason her laughter caused me to cringe 'cause I knew a punch line of some sort was coming.

  Then, "If you think that's fucked up, then I'll tell you what's even more fucked up. . .My daddy happens to be my granddaddy, and my mama, his baby girl. And as far as I can see, girl, there ain't nothin' traumatic about your life neither. And as far as I'm concerned, you got it good. What?" she then suddenly paused to scoff but more offensively while her eyes bullied my presence in a manner that was spiteful coercing the back of my neck hairs to literally stand on end. "You come from money. You're white. You're pretty, and "Daddy" seems to have taken an extreme likin' to you - "

  "'Daddy'?"

  "Yeah. Dominic. . .Daddy. I mean, you do call him "Daddy", right?" I meant to agree but then I realized I was no better no matter how much Tia painted me to be in the eyes of Chloe and Bai. I mean, if I truly were who she perceived me to be then I wouldn't be calling Dominic "Daddy". I mean, it would have been something along the lines of like "Sir", or "Mr." like Mr. Church.

  "Yeah," Tia mocked, "he's everyone's daddy a'ight."

  "How do you know all this? I mean, about where I come from?" And suddenly I was on the defensive. I mean, just 'cause I was petite and named-brand suburban white didn't mean I couldn't hold my ground, much less, take a beating. I mean, Dominic, Justin and Josh were witnesses to that.

  "Shit, girl, I's have ears the size of pancakes. I's hear everythang." Tia and the girls chuckled. I chuckled, too, only it bordered on cautious. I found Tia to be funny but I think her humor derived from the pain she'd been enduring since God knows when. And to poke fun, I assumed, was a way to alleviate the torture of her body being abused; kind of like the way I snorted coke and popped valium to alleviate my pain. Yeah, I guess I could honestly say we all had our own tricks to coping. Patrick makes a snorting sound and we glanced anxiously in his direction; he still hadn't moved.

  "How old are you?" I finally summoned up the nerve to ask Tia. I guess I was probing to see how long the road ahead was for anyone trapped into this lifestyle.

  "I just turned eighteen. Bai is shy of turning sixteen. And Chloe - "

  "Almost seventeen." Chloe interrupted solemnly. "Oh, God!" And a tear then suddenly escaped her eye. Maybe it was 'cause she just discovered how long it had been for her. "I hate them so much. . .especially Justin and Josh. They're so goddamn mean."

  "I agree," Tia sided leaning toward Chloe to comb her hair. It was somewhat matted - compliments of Patrick pulling on it as he drilled her from behind. "I thinks what we needs to do is band together and make an escape - "

  "But they'll find us!" Chloe suddenly interjected. "Then they'll beat us and torture us. . .and. . ." and her voice trailed off with tears following behind. "We'll all be Jennas," she sobbed. And I honestly couldn't help but to sympathize with Chloe 'cause a few tears had also escaped my eyes. I mean, Chloe looked so scared and so terrorized that her fear started to have a huge impact on me.

  "Chloe," I said, also combing her hair. "I'm just kind of curious. . .but did Tanya put you up. . .I mean - "

  "She betrayed me by being my friend then she left me in the game room with Dominic and Justin, and they both raped me then they forced me into making money for them. So to answer your question: Tanya did set me up!" Chloe sounded outraged. And I know her outburst wasn't intended toward me 'cause I had nothing to do with her misfortune. But Chloe was angry, and betrayed 'cause she had been betrayed by the people she trusted. And the betrayal wasn't from a trusting adult but from friends, her age, and of her peers. I think that alone was the most devastating part of it all that it wasn't adults manipulating teen
s, it was teens manipulating teens. And that alone made me question what the world was fucking coming to?

  "Jesus," I mustered.

  "I'd wish you'd stop saying this 'Jesus' shit, Jane!" Bai snapped. "It's becoming annoying."

  "You don't believe in God?" I challenged.

  "If there was a God would we be doing this shit?" Bai had a point. And because she had a point, I didn't argue. I kept my mouth shut. "I mean no disrespect, Jane, and you can say God's name all you want but unfortunately only Dominic and his thugs are answering God's call for the moment."

  "Ignore Bai," Chloe snarled, "her parents sold her when she was eleven for five hundred bucks."

  "And my mama sold me when I was ten for a hit of crack!" Tia chimed in.

  Then Chloe continued. "And because I don't come from money, my dad approves of what Dominic does with me only 'cause he gets a cut of what I make. Lazy bastard!"

  I couldn't believe the horror I was hearing unfolding around me. And I couldn't understand how inhumane family could be, too. Then I couldn't believe how Dominic and Tanya and the cousins were literally living off our horrors without so much as a freaking care in the world! I mean, I just couldn't believe it. I bowed my head and wept and wept and wept like some lost child in a third world country. I mean, this was America for crying out loud! How could this be happening? How can anybody not know? I mean, where have the bylaws gone wrong? Where have our parents gone wrong? I mean, am I to believe that money is more precious than a daughter's innocence? Am I to believe that this is how low American's, let alone parents, have stooped just to earn a buck? What world am I living in where it's okay for men to bang away on ten-year-olds like Tia? I-could-not-under-stand-it! And why has neither of us called the police? I mean, there was a phone sitting on the nightstand. So why hasn't any one of us gone to pick up the receiver and dial 911? Were we all that fucking petrified?!

  So in the end it was me who made an attempt toward the phone but Patrick snorted again, and then he moaned. He then rolled over onto his stomach, grunted then continued to snore. I looked at Chloe, and she looked at me. But as I took two more steps toward the phone something within her look caused my feet to halt and my fear to pinch down hard around my eyes. And the desire to pick up the phone slowly escaped me 'cause it was replaced by a fear I've yet to see according to Chloe's expression.

  "Don't, Jane," Chloe forewarned. "They will kill your family. Its not like it's never been done before. We're all in to deep - "

  "You sound like a fucking movie, Chloe." I said biting back my tears.

  "You should listen to Chloe," Tia said solemnly. "Justin, Josh and some other guy murdered Chloe's mom when she threatened to go to the police when she found out what Dominic had done to her daughter. She stepped out one day to run some errands, and the very next night they found Chloe's mother, dead. Then they threatened Chloe's dad that if he ,too, went - "

  "Stop!" My voice caved after snapshots of both my parents' dead bodies flashed before my eyes. "Please," I then pleaded with an urgency of hope; like hoping Justice somewhere truly existed. And all that was left was for some Superhero to answer that call and save us all.

  "Then do you want to hear something else, Jane?" Chloe instead retorted. And what struck me odd about that very question was the way she asked and the tone she used. . .cool. . .calm 'cause I assumed her to still be in mourning over the loss of her mother. But then the assumption escaped me into thinking that maybe she had already moved on and I just couldn't see it. The sudden beating of my heart stilled to a calming pulse. My tears dried instantly, and I just nodded. 'Cause in all honesty I needed to hear something that would get me motivated. . .as in not to run.

  "Tanya Ray was once like us." And if my jaw wasn't already on the floor from all the stuff I had heard earlier, it was now. "And her pimp wasn't Dominic, Justin or Josh but a guy named Alan. Justin and Josh are not really Dominic and Tanya's cousins as we were all lead to believe in the beginning. They're just muscle to Dominic, Alan and the entire organization; they don't call the shots. Now Dominic, Jane, is not this eighteen-year-old guy he has led you to believe. . .he's actually twenty-two. Now here's the scary part: Dominica's transcripts were forged for his Junior and Senior years by the organization he works for. And they were forged on behalf of you and me. And I don't know how or why but only that they were. Now Tanya wasn't just a coincidence. . .I mean, the captain of the cheerleading squad actually taking an interest in girls like us? I mean, seriously. From what I've heard she was forced to befriend us both or else she would have been the one risking more than just a beating. And her reward for getting to you was early retirement. 'Cause when I met Tanya she was still "working" for the organization and when she befriended you she had only been in retirement for a couple of months. From what I heard through Tanya's occasional big drunken mouth is that the organization has a way of using all of us. And one of those ways is to befriend other girls like she's done. I mean, and I've heard, that some girls have even earned their freedom but the cost is to live in another country so you don't rat them out. But then again I also heard that many girls are known to be taken far away and then shot to death and then buried in some desert somewhere - "

  "The organization is a lot bigger than you think, Jane," Bai casually intervened. "And why we're telling you this is because we heard about your first attempted escape."

  "From Dominic?"

  "No. . .Justin." Bai continued. "And he, too, has a very big, BIG mouth. He tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, too. He doesn't think we're listening but we're listening."

  "I wonder how many dicks he's sucked?" Chloe suddenly pondered catching all of us off guard with her embarrassing remark.

  Bai high-fived Chloe. "Probably too many to count!"

  "So wait a sec. . ." I said halting Bai and Chloe from possibly throwing a party amongst themselves. "Are you saying he, too, was a - "

  "Hustler?" Tia interrupted questionably.

  "Uh. . .Something like that. . .Yeah."

  "Both he and Josh used to hustle as partners back in their day. . .so Justin claims."

  "And Dominic?" I then pried cautiously hoping that there was some mud there.

  Tia shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't know, Jane. I mean, I've never heard anyone say anything about Dominic. As far as I'm concerned he just busted onto the scene like that!" She said snapping her fingers and grunting with minimal disgust.

  "Yeah. Like a fucking Genie!" Bai sneered. "It's just too bad that that doesn't apply to us. 'Cause if it did, I'd wish to go back to that fateful day and shoot both my fucking parents dead!"

  Chapter 48

  Knowing that I was strapped for time with Patrick and Dominic and the fake cousins looming nearby I shuffled myself closer toward Chloe. And lowering my voice I then posed a question that suddenly had me thinking: "You said Tanya was pimped by a guy named. . .named-"

  "Alan." Chloe finished.

  "Yeah. Where is he now?"

  "At some hot shot school back east."

  "Back east?"

  "I think it's Har. . .Harvard?"

  Suddenly my face turned pale, and my stomach somersaulted. Then, I had a flashback about Doug and Tanya that in the study, and remembering how nervous Tanya appeared around Doug and the way Doug spoke to her like almost the exact way Dominic would speak to me.

  Doug was Douglas Alan Parker. He lived back east. And he attended Harvard Business School: Alan? Back east? Harvard?. . .It didn't make sense, or did it?

  "Something the matter, Jane?" Tia asked showing signs of concern over my sudden silence. Tugging myself away from my damaging thoughts and easing the tension from my face I muttered, "Um. . .no." Then. . ."Have any of you seen this guy Alan. . .in person, I mean?" Tia, Chloe and Bai all exchanged significant looks.

  "I saw him at school once when he was picking her up in a Jeep." Chloe said nonchalantly.

  "In a Jeep?" I repeated in an obvious painstaking manner, which to my surprise, the girls did not see. Alan drives a Jee
p, Jane is what my mind personally surmised.

  "We too have seen him. Only it was from a far distance when he brought Tanya to a job that required more than one girl." Bai added.

  "Jane, are you sure you're okay?" Tia continued to ask me. I could sense that my edginess was starting to confuse her.

  "And Justin and Josh, Chloe. . ." I said ignoring Tia, "you said they were. . .hustlers?"

  "Yeah," Tia answered matter-of-factly. "I mean, I heard theys were peddlin' themselves up and down some skid row and the coast when Mr. Ray spotted 'em. I heard theys were just boys when he offered 'em jobs in - "

  "Wait a minute!" I interjected, throwing up a hand, and shutting Tia up. "Mr. Ray? Jobs? I mean. . .'Mr. Ray' do you mean Dominic's father, Bob Ray?" And to my horrid surprise Tia said nothing. She just sat there with this unarguable expression that literally chilled me to the bone. "So you're saying that Bob Ray, Tanya and Dominic are running a prostitution business?"

  "Hmm, well, I wouldn't exactly say 'business', Jane," Bai argued, "but rather a ring. I mean, I think that's the proper term nowadays, right?" she said urging us all to agree.

  "Don't forget about Mrs. Ray." Chloe reminded.

  "What about Mrs. Ray?" Then Chloe laughed, along with Tia and Bai. Then. . .it hit me. "Oh," I groaned. "She's part of it, too, huh?" I could literally feel the bile of betrayal inching its way up my throat. I mean, Bob Ray, Helena Ray, Tanya, Dominic, Justin and Josh - the "they" and "them" of a prostitution ring. . .But then where did Doug fit in, in all of this?

  "Don't look so glum, Jane," Tia consoled only her consoling bordered on mocking than compassionate. "I mean, you, and of all people, should have seen this coming?"

  "Oh, God!" my voice trembled as I realized that Tia was right. I mean, I should have seen all this coming. I mean, it was there all along, in front of me, staring me dead in the face. God, I felt so stupid and ashamed. I meant to open my mouth to say something in my defense since Chloe, Tia and Bai were just sitting there looking at me dumbfounded but I heard movement and faint voices just down the hall prompting all of us to jump to our feet.