Chapter 1: Homeless
Kavya
He snarled in my ears, “Wait here and don’t move until I call your name.”
I nodded quietly. I was shivering since the room was extremely chilly. I wished he would at least cover me with a shawl or blanket. The flimsy silken gown he had draped over me provided no protection. It neither protected me from the cold nor concealed my modesty.
This flimsy robe barely covered my arms and draped around my back. The robe did not cover the front of my body. The bra’s tiny semicircular cup managed to cover the underside of my boobs and nipples. My lacy and see-through black bra top did nothing to conceal my milky curves. My only other piece of clothing was a lace panty. Thankfully, it had a nude lining and adequately covered my lady bits.
I was cold and hungry, with no idea when I’d be able to eat anything. I recall hurriedly devouring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before my stepfather yelled at me to hurry up. My mother was unable to stop him, and she probably didn’t want to stop him in the first place. Who could fault her? My stepfather continuously badgered her into agreeing. Rajendra, my stepfather, had racked up a massive debt and had mortgaged our home. When the debt collectors arrived at our home, he had failed to make his regular payments.
“Rajendra, you cretin. “Take your head out of your wife’s skirt and come down here,” they yelled.
Rajendra dashed out of the house. I peered out my window to see who was generating the uproar.
SLAP.
The curly man’s large hand smashed hard against Rajendra’s cheek. A drop of blood began to ooze from the corner of his lip, and his cheek went tomato red.
“What happened to the money you promised?” As if Rajendra were a rag doll, the huge man pulled him by the collar of his shirt.
“Please, Please...“I beg you. Please give me some time. “I’ll have the funds ready.” Rajendra cried out.
“Soon? When will it be? Our boss does not manage a charity. He wants the money now; if you can’t pay, why did you borrow it in the first place? You must either pay or give up the house immediately.”
“Please have mercy on me,” I swear to God. I was meant to be paid today, but my client’s vehicle broke down, and he has agreed to repair it and pay me the money when he returns to town tomorrow.”
SLAP. He slaps Rajendra’s cheek once again.
“Do you think I’m stupid for listening to your cock and bull story?” I couldn’t care less if your client’s car broke down or if he died. “I want the money you owe me, and I want it now,” he yelled.
“Throw his wife out of the house. “They can return to the house after he pays his debts,” the big man yelled at his pals.
Two men forced their way into our home. My mother was carrying my 2-year-old stepbrother Mohan when they were dragged out of the house. When another man saw me standing at the window, he grabbed my arm and hauled me out of the house. I almost fell, but he was pulling me so swiftly and forcefully that I was almost sprinting behind him to keep from falling.
“Please, please, please. I beg you. We have a family. Please have mercy on the children. Please give us another day,” my mother begged, as Mohan began to cry.
The man who had dragged my mother out whispered something into the burly man’s ear at that point. He gave me a piercing stare and examined me.
“How old are you my dear?” he asked me.
“I will turn eighteen in a week” I answered trying to keep my voice from shaking. I was so nervous I was about to piss my pants.
“Well, well, well. This just got very interesting” he sneered at me “but you look like you are only sixteen”
“I bet she has not had her cherry popped yet” the guy holding my arms commented.
“Please, I swear I will pay you back tomorrow. Please let us inside the house” my stepfather started his pleas again.
“Can’t you see that I am in the middle of something? Are you a virgin little one?” he asked me.
My face flushed red with embarrassment and I looked down at my feet. I did not dare look up at any of them or answer. I nodded to answer his question.
“She has never had a boyfriend and she had made a virginity pledge to her father. She is honouring that even though her father is no more” my mother spoke out for me.
“What a lucky day it is for you, Rajendra! Looks like your problems will be solved after all!” he guffawed.
Rajendra had a confused yet hopeful look on his face and I was confused too by what he meant. What did my being a virgin have anything to do with this situation we were in?
“I have an offer to make with which you no longer have to pay the debt,” the burly one said with a sneer.
“Sell her virginity and your debt will be waived off”
“What? You would waive off the whole amount for her virginity?” Rajendra looked like he had won the lottery and he could not believe what he was hearing.
This turn of events hit me like a bolt of lightning and I looked at my mother with pleading eyes.
Surely she could not agree to something so outrageous! How could they even think of selling my virginity? Even after I had made a holy vow and promised my father that I would not have sex until I was married.
“Yes, the whole amount” he replied.
“Uh…Yes. We agree to this” Rajendra agreed immediately.
“Fantastic. I will have a word with my boss and I will be back in a week when she turns eighteen” He looked into Rajendra’s eyes with a sneer and hissed “If you or your family tries anything stupid like running away or sending her away, then that will be your last day on earth”
Rajendra was well warned. This sounded like a golden opportunity and I knew very well that Rajendra did not give a rat’s ass about my well-being. He only cared about himself. He was trying to get rid of me for a long time, if he could get rid of me and also earn some money in the process why would he not take it?
“Don’t worry about it at all. I will personally make sure that she never leaves the house until you come here to take her with you” Rajendra assured him.
He stuck to his word and my home became a prison that I could not escape. I tried everything possible but Rajendra had locked me away in my room and would only open the door to give me my food.
On the day I turned 18. My mother had given me my favourite peanut butter jelly sandwich and just a few minutes after I had finished it, the debt collector had come knocking on our door.
Rajendra handed me over to the burly man. My mother too did not protest. She has made it very clear as she had locked me in the door after the deal was discussed.
“In times of great difficulty, everyone will have to make some sacrifices Kavya”
“But Mom, what about the promise I had made to Dad? What about my vow?” I pleaded as my face was covered in tears.
“The dead don’t hear anything or see anything Kavya, But we are still alive. Would you rather keep your promise to your dead dad and see that your stepfather, your stepbrother, and I are killed in front of your eyes? Have you no gratitude for the man who has fed and clothed you for the last three years? Can’t you support him in his time of need?” she thundered.
I could not believe what she was saying. Did she have no regard for my father at all? Did she forget all about him so soon?
“I don’t know why you are making such a big deal about losing your virginity. You were going to lose it to some shmuck any day now. Don’t act as if you would wait until you were married. At least this way you have the opportunity to save your family from being thrown on the street. Now stop acting like a fool and do as Rajendra says” She bolted the door shut behind her.
What choice did I have now anyway? When my own family did not care about me anymore who would care about me?
I was put in a room with some more girls who looked like they were all eighteen years old. We were given a warm bath and these clothes to cover up.
Now I sat here unaware of the fate that awaited me.
