1

“A million dollars. Just one night.”

Every word dripped with temptation, slithering into her mind and withering her every moral until all she could think about was the money.

She needed it.

She’d finally run away. After sixteen years of enduring abuse at the hands of her drug-addicted parents, Valencia Raine finally gathered the courage to flee.

They’d always tainted her life like a stain on a white shirt, making her ashamed of them wherever she went. There had been no escape for her. At school, she’d been an outsider, unable to make friends because everyone knew how messed up her family was. It didn’t matter to them that she was the smartest in class; that just made her more of a freak, apparently. When she tried to get part-time jobs, it was either her parents showing up to make a scene or the loan sharks they’d borrowed money from showing up to harass her. Every dollar she saved was taken from her, leaving her helpless.

Last night had been the final straw. The house, already cold because of all the broken windows, had been raided by thugs. Valencia had been dragged out of bed by the collectors.

Screams and gunshots had filled her ears as she was dragged through the dark. When she’d been brought to the living room, she’d been pushed to her knees in front of her parents, who, bleeding and bruised, had avoided her gaze.

“I told you, didn’t I?” the man sitting on the sofa had said. “Give me my fucking money. Or I’ll have your daughter tricking more than a circus clown.”

The combined effect of being jolted awake and having a gun pointed to her head had given her shivers, making her entire body tremble with suppressed panic.

With wide and desperate eyes, she stared at her parents, waiting for them to do something, to save her.

With a crooked smile, her father had looked at the loan shark. “R-right. Man, w-we’ll trade her,” he’d desperately offered, twitching feverishly.

Valencia had gone cold.

“Oh, yeah?” the collector had said, his eyes glimmering. “You think this little bitch is worth all the drugs and money you motherfuckers took?”

“She can be!” her mother had said, clinging to her husband. “Th-think about it. She’s sixteen, they’ll feast on her! If you keep her working f-for you for a few years, she could make you twice as much money!”

The collector had slowly turned his gaze over to Valencia, then, meeting her gaze.

A pale, gaunt face was what he saw. Her haunted green eyes stared at him, not a sound coming out of her mouth as tears streamed down her face.

He saw the fresh and old bruises on her body, and it was obvious to him. She had no value. Her parents would probably give her out for half a line of coke. He’d scoffed.

“Take her.”

A terrified whimper had left Valencia’s mouth, her face twisting with fear as hands grabbed her, tugging her to her feet.

“N-no, wait…” she’d cried.

“Shh!” her mother had hissed. “Just do it, or we’ll die. What’s the big deal about sex?!”

“Please!” Valencia started screaming then, digging her heels into the carpet. “Take the money! They have money!”

“Wait.” The collector raised a hand.

The thugs paused.

Breathlessly, she broke out of their grips and scrambled against the wall.

“Money?” the collector tilted his head, turning to stare at her parents. “Money?”

Bucky and Didi were clutching each other, desperately avoiding the man’s eyes as they glared at their daughter.

“Ahaha, she’s just a stupid little bitch, don’t listen to her!” her father had hissed, saliva spraying past his cracked lips as his bloodshot eyes glared at Valencia.

“This morning, they robbed a convenience store a few streets away,” Valencia said shakily. “There’s a loose brick behind the bathroom sink, they put the cash in there.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Didi screamed, jumping up to leap at her daughter, but was held back by one of the thugs, who shoved her to her knees.

The collector looked at one of his men and nodded. The man rushed off to the bathroom.

Once they’d found the money, the situation de-escalated. It wasn’t even close to paying the magnitude of debt the two had, but it was enough to let them live another night.

The killers slowly filed out of the house, and, trailing behind, the collector had stared at Valencia for a long time. With a lopsided smile, he’d then walked to the door. “Next time, kid.”

She’d been trembling violently when he’d left, the promise of those last three words leaving her cold. She knew what he meant. Next time, there wouldn’t be a secret stash of cash to save her. Next time, he would be leaving with her as payment. It was only a matter of time before she fell into his hands.

Bile rose up her throat, but before she could even calm herself down, a stream of curses shattered the silence, and a heavy fist slammed into her nose.

Blood sprayed out as she crashed onto the floor. They weren’t done.

“I’ll kill you!” her father raged, beating any part of her his fists could reach.

Valencia covered her face with her arms as she usually did, quietly crying as she was beaten.

Behind him, she could hear her mother cheering him on, begging him to kill her.

Pain exploded throughout her body, making her dip briefly into unconsciousness. The blows came endlessly, Valencia thought she would die.

“We gotta go!” Bucky was hissing, making his wife jump up and start grabbing their few things. While she was packing, he started pacing, throwing up random things as he searched for something. “I’m gonna teach this brat a lesson,” he growled. “Didi! Where’s the fucking wrench?!”

“I don’t know!” Didi yelled back, grabbing her needles so they could run. If the dealers came back, they were dead.

When Valencia’s eyes briefly opened, her blurry vision only allowed her to see for long enough to understand what her father was doing. He was looking for a weapon to finally kill her. She knew he was high, he would probably do it.

When he swore and disappeared into the bathroom, Valencia pushed herself onto her knees. If she stayed here any longer, she would die.

She started crawling, pushing herself toward the door. The stench of urine and smoke clung to the peeling wallpaper like mould. She tasted blood and rot. Her blood.

“Where’s the fucking gun?” Bucky was muttering in the bathroom. “Didi?!”

“I don’t know!” she screeched back from the bedroom.

Gritting her teeth against the pain exploding through her body, Valencia grabbed the wall and pulled herself to her feet, limping toward the door.

She was dizzy, her vision was blurry and every inch of her hurt, but somehow she got outside.

“Where the fuck did she go?” she heard her father growling inside the house.

Desperation fuelled her steps, and she pushed herself to run, feeling every sharp prickle of the gravel beneath her bare feet as she limped through the dark night.

She wanted to sniffle but knew it was better to let the blood out than take it back in where it could clot. The cold air iced the tears she cried, drying them on her face. She didn’t know where she was going, she just knew that she had to get away. She had to escape, not just her parents, not just this house, or this town, but her life. She had to escape Valencia Raine and all the curses that came with being her. What was the point of being such a pathetic girl? A girl so unloved and without value? Someone they could throw away like a broken crack pipe or toss around like an old shoe. It was a worthless life to live.

So, what else could she do? What could she do when she was being offered the deal of a lifetime? Or rather, of a brand new life?