“Yes, but you have Tata to teach you. No one else is allowed to touch you. I say that a lot but I don't want any mistakes there. Do you understand?”
“You don't want me to sleep with anyone but you.”
“That's right. In your whole life you will only know me.”
“Why are you so worried? It hurts. Why would I want to do that with someone else?” I really didn't get the whole adultery thing. It was bad enough with him.
He laughed and turned the water on. “It's warm now.”
The water was hitting my back and I just gave up and cried.
“Shh – it's part of your punishment. This will help remind you that running away is very bad. We won't be leaving keys lying around anymore.”
“You could leave them in the car with the car running and the door open and I wouldn't touch it.”
He really laughed then. “I guess you have learned your lesson. Still we will be careful. I learned something too. I thought you were Italian. When the others find out you are American they will flip out because I kept you.”
“Why? Is it because they don't like Americans?” I was surprised at how I easily talked to him.
“No. It's really hard to get hold of one for sale, especially one like you. You are sweet and innocent and so beautiful. If you had been up for sale then you would have brought in over two million.”
“Just because I'm American?”
“Yes, and because you are so innocent. The combination is very difficult to find. But I found you and now that you promise to be good – ”
I nodded.
“Then nothing can stand in the way of our happiness.”
Except that I wasn't happy.
He carefully dressed me and brought me downstairs. Everyone was gathered for lunch. He was pulling me behind him. He pulled out my chair and I started biting my lips.
“Sandra, it's all part of your punishment. Sit down already.” He gave me a look that told me not to mess with him.
But the thought of even bending was too much for me. “Please no, Tata.”
His hand flew to my ear and he had me in a chair in a second. My body tried to bend up and out of the chair but he was holding me down by my ear. “You will sit nice for me,” he scolded me.
I sat on my bottom and just cried. He sat down next to me and filled a plate and set it in front of me. “Eat, no games today. I'm warning you.”
I reached for water and he raised an eyebrow. I drank it down within seconds. He moved so he was really looking at me. He poured me another glass.
I reached right for it.
He stopped me. “Slowly.”
I nodded at him and drank as slowly as I could but still the glass was empty seconds later. He sighed and poured me another. The whole table was quiet as they watched us.
“Eat something,” he said.
I picked up my fork and took a bite. The food was really fatty and spicy. My shoulders dropped. This was just terrible. He was going to get very mad at me.
There was a breadbasket on the table. I was eyeing it. He reached over and got a piece and laid it next to my plate. “Just eat something.” He turned his attention to the others. They started talking like everything was normal. For them I guess it was. I had pulled something, got caught, punished and now it was over.
Tata had his arm around the back of my chair and the ten that I wasn't allowed to look at were sitting behind us. Everything was normal.
Tata's cell rang and he answered it in English. “Yes, Jonathan Clover speaking.” He stood and left the room.
Everyone watched him leave and then they looked at me. They knew something that I didn't.
He came back a few minutes later. He pulled me to my feet and said something to the rest of them. Tata was in a hurry, so we left the cafeteria quickly.
“I got a job again. This time in England. Tata will have to leave right after lunch. My mother will take care of you when I am gone. I need you to be good for her. I will call her every day and ask.”
I nodded at him again.
Tata got a suitcase and turned to our wardrobe. He was quickly packed. He placed his suitcase to the side and started to get undressed. “Take your clothes off, angel.”
I was scared again. My back was whipped up and down; lying on it would only be painful for me.
Did he care if he hurt me or was that also just part of my punishment?
“Tata is going to be gone for a while. At least six weeks. I need you before I go. Get undressed now.” He had stepped forward and grabbed me by my face. He let go. “You haven't been that good for me. You want me to have a good memory of you before I go, don't you?”
“Yes, Tata.” I slipped out of my things and laid them on the chair. Once I was naked I looked at him to take over.
He didn't disappoint me. “Come here. I want you to crawl on the bed on your hands and knees.”
I wanted to go around the bed to the other side but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. “Listen to what I say to you. Do exactly what I tell you.” He turned me so I was facing the bed. “Go on.”
“But it's indecent.” I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Do I need to go get my cane again?”
I climbed up like he wanted right away.
“Next time without discussing. This is me being kind to you because of your back. This way you don't have to lie on your back.” He sounded so mad at me.
I felt his hands on my hips. He was positioning me. “Spread your knees a little wider apart. That's right. Stop right there. I'm going to pet you a little. Don't move.” I felt his fingers between my legs. I tried to jerk away from him but the second time he gave me a smack for doing that.
Tata entered me after playing with me for a few minutes. He glided right in and it didn't hurt. He moved his hands to my hips and moved me back and forth on his penis.
This was new for me and I figured that he wasn't getting the nicest view from me. This could be hurting me a lot worse. At the moment it only hurt when he was deeply in me, which he seemed to avoid doing.
The feeling I was getting was so different from ever before.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted.
“See I told you so.” He started moving faster and his hip hit against my bottom. I was in pain again. He went faster and faster. His breathing was coming in heavier and heavier. I wished it was over but it wasn't.
“You are so nice and wet for me, angel.” He pounded on and I hoped that he would finish soon. He was slamming into me so hard that his scrotum was hitting against me too but that felt very good.
The rhythm of that was making me breathe heavier too. I had to bite my tongue not to say that he should go even faster. I held my breath and the feeling continued and got even better. My arms were starting to go weak. I lay my head down on the bed to give them a rest.
“That's it. Just enjoy what Tata is doing to you. This is really nice, isn't it?”
I was opening my legs a little wider so he would have better access. I didn't want to do it but my body was trying really hard to make decisions for my mind.
“Oh,” he moaned. “Here it comes, angel.” He pushed into me and held still for a moment and then he pumped every now and then.
He pulled out and went to the bathroom. I wasn't sure what to do. I could hear him in the shower. I slowly got up and went into the bathroom too. I cleaned myself up and slipped out of the bathroom. I was dressed and standing in the corner when he came back showered and shaved.
He pulled out a suit that I had seen him wear at school before. He dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. His tie was on perfect and he looked dashing again. The girls would all have a crush on him until he started beating on them.
“Come here, angel. I want to talk to you.” I came out of my corner and walked towards him.
He sat down on the bed and patted it next to him. I slowly sat down. “I already explained that I have to leave. I will be gone for a wh
ile. This is really bad timing but a teacher there got sick for real and I have to go sooner than planned. I hate having to leave you but I will come back to you. You don't have to worry about that. You are my best girl.” He hugged me and held me to his chest.
“I need you to be really good for my mother. They didn't want me to keep you but the thought of another man getting you was driving me nuts. This is what is best for both of us. Don't tell them that you are an American. They will be very mad if they find that out. That is just our secret. I know how much you would have brought in but you are worth so much more to me. Okay?”
I nodded like I always did.
He hugged me even closer and kissed the top of my head several times. “I am going to miss you so much.” We sat there for a long time.
“It's time to go and eat,” he said and then he kissed me again but on my lips this time. We went down to eat hand in hand.
He was careful not to spill on his suit as he ates. He was acting very correct and serious. Tata would fool them all. I would never be fooled again.
A woman came in from the kitchen. I could hear her shoes clicking on the floor as she marched over to our table. She walked around it so she was facing Tata. She threw something down on the table. I recognized it right away. It was my passport.
Tata picked it up and looked in it. My driver's license landed on the table next and then my social security card.
He glanced at the license and then laid everything in a pile and said something.
A commotion started then. Everyone was talking at once. They were upset and Tata stayed so relaxed. That seemed to make everyone even madder. He stood and grabbed me by my hand again. The others were still pleading with him. Tata yelled and everyone else shut right up. He walked out of the room with me in tow. He brought me up to our room.
“I have to leave now or I will miss my plane. No other man is allowed to touch you. If anyone, really anyone, tries I will kill them. Is that clear?”
“But it would be too late. Men are stronger than I am.” Tears spilled out of my eyes.
“You tell anyone who gets too close what I said. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Tata.”
“Good girl. I'll see you as soon as I can.” He kissed my cheek, picked up his suitcase and left. I just stood there looking at the door. I wasn't sure what I should do now or not do. I lay down in bed on my side as I listened to the going ons in the house.
I heard a car door slam so I went to the window. Tata was standing next to the car looking up. He waved and I waved back. I watched him get in and one of his brothers drove him off.
I went back to bed and held my bunny, wondering what the others would do to me while he was gone. He was already very clear that they hated me.
Would I even be here when he came back?
Chapter 9
No one came for me at supper and no came at breakfast either. I opened my laptop and entertained myself as best I could. I was bored. Lunch came around again and his mother stood in the door. She came in and pinched my ear and led me downstairs. She first let go at the table. I sat at my spot. She plopped a pile of food on my plate and set it down in front of me.
This seemed to be the same meat and mixed peppers combination that they had at every meal. I took a little bite and then grabbed a piece of bread. A few minutes later she took my plate and scraped my food unto her plate. She ate it and then she grabbed me by my ear again and pulled me with her to the basement. I was crying by the time she let go.
My first thought had been that she wanted to kill me. Then I had reasoned with myself that she wouldn't try to feed me beforehand. Now I was standing in a laundry room. She pushed me in front of an ironing board and then she pointed at a basket full of our school uniforms.
I nodded and got out a skirt and went to work ironing it. She left and I worked on quietly. I worked for hours. Ironing everything that needed to be done. It was dark when I was finished. I wasn't sure what to do so I went up to my room and brushed my teeth and went to bed.
The next morning she woke me again. They were having banana porridge. I just drank my milk. The woman ate my food again.
“Maria.” She pointed to herself.
I repeated her name and she smiled for a second and then frowned at me like she remembered that she hated me.
She stood and grabbed for my ear again. I had to follow her but she let go as soon as we were out of the door. She walked down to the basement again. She looked over what I had done and smiled at me pleased while she talked to herself happily.
More clothes had come in. Maria taught me to use the washing machine by showing me. She yelled at me too as she showed me. She wanted me to take care of everything in here again today. I nodded at her and went to work.
She left me again, taking away what I had finished yesterday. I cleaned up the room and scrubbed the floor while I waited for the wash machine to finish. I moved the things to the dryer and hung up what couldn't go in the dryer. I worked for hours on end and no one came to get me for lunch or supper. I had everything laid out on a long table that was in here. All the towels were folded according to size, color and texture and the clothes were also dried and ironed and laid in neat piles.
I went to bed.
The next day was the same story except that Maria came for me at lunchtime. They had something with rice. It was too spicy and fatty for me again. I just ate rice.
After the meal Maria grabbed me by my ear again and brought me into the kitchen. She made me cut up peppers, green, red, yellow and orange ones, tons of them. I had to help out in the kitchen, which was full of other people. I usually didn't understand what they wanted from me. Maria would slap me then. I dished out the food for the other girls. They hardly looked at me anymore.
When they all had their food Maria pulled me to our table by the ear again. I knew what we were having so I just took a piece of bread. After everyone was finished I had to wipe off all the tables and straighten the chairs. I helped clean up the kitchen.
When every pot was put away Maria grabbed my arm and brought me back down to the laundry room. I ironed the clothes that I had hung up this afternoon.
It was really late by the time I was finished. I fell into bed and what felt like a few minutes later Maria was waking me again. I went down and started washing again. It was unbelievable how much laundry piled up in a house this size. The girls' uniforms were here again. I got right to work washing and hanging up clothes.
The first hour was boring because I didn't have anything to do. Then I had lots to do a couple of hours later.
Maria came for me at lunchtime again. I turned off the iron and followed her up. I felt totally starved in the meantime.
I had to dish out food for the other girls first before I got to sit down and eat. I took more rice than yesterday and today they had beans. I took a huge spoonful of those too. Maria gave me a look like she felt that I was taking too much. I ate everything quietly and quickly. They hardly talked to each other now that Tata was gone.
They just ate and Maria would ask questions or give orders and the men mostly grunted. The doctor had been gone since the second day. And the number of women had decreased. The ones from the beauty area had been gone since auction day.
There really was plenty for me to do. I didn't complain but every day I got more and more to do. I had to help with breakfast in the mornings and help clean up afterwards then I had to head down to the laundry room again. I had even started washing clothes before breakfast so things would move ahead quicker. At eleven I went back upstairs to help with lunch, which were just reheats from supper the night before.
The girls ignored me like I really was just one of the staff as I put their food on their plates. They even got treats on some days. I ate little and worked hard all day. Maria was teaching me where to take the clean folded clothes and towels too.
I was moving all over the house and getting a better idea what was going on here. They made films with the girls and sold them online.
The girls all hated me in the meantime.
I changed their bedding once a week. They all pounced on me when I came in to remove their sheets. They asked questions and I informed them that I was a slave here. I had to sleep with Mr. Glossner when he was here and work when he wasn't. They told me that he had slept with most of them too. They claimed that their time with him was on film to prove it.
The two who had to satisfy the policemen made a game out of pushing me and trying to trip me as I removed their bedding. No one helped me. I was all alone. They at least had each other.
It was the same story when I remade their beds. No one said thank you and I felt so weak and so tired and I wasn't getting enough sleep.
I daydreamed about sleeping.
Tata had been gone for over three weeks now and I still hadn't gotten my period. I was guessing that I was pregnant. I tried to eat more but I just couldn't. Working in the kitchens was getting hard on me too. The smells were often too much for me but I breathed in slowly and calmed my stomach down.
I started to dream about food. I dreamt I was living in a hotel and room service brought me my food so I could stay in bed to eat it. It was hard not to daydream as I stood there ironing.
Maria found a new chore for me to do. After the evening meal I was to turn the chairs over and put them on the tables and scrub the floor in the cafeteria and kitchen on my hands and knees. After that I still had to take care of the laundry. It was usually one or two in the morning when I finally got to go to bed. Maria woke me at six. She slapped me if I worked too slowly. On the average I got slapped around six times a day. I didn't cry anymore.
The men left me alone, completely. I was thankful for that.
I worried about the baby a lot too. Did I even want it? Would he? How would he react? One day Maria grabbed me by my ear again and brought me to the beauty rooms. My hair got ripped out again while I wondered if they would somehow notice that I was expecting a child.
I figured that he wouldn't let me keep it. He would sell it for money but then again his mother had had three children, all boys. Or had there been more? Had they sold the girl babies?
Class Trip Page 9