Chapter 29: Chapter 29

"I guess I'm too old for some!" she said loudly and turned to Pablo again, who didn't say anything about it, just smiled provocatively.

"You can't do that!" I threw at him and wanted to walk towards him, but Roberta held me back.

"It's okay. I'll be fine," she whispered in my ear and then looked deep into my eyes, which were blazing with anger. "But you're here alone now. Take care, love."

And that was the last I ever heard from her.

With her derogatory look she looked at Pablo one last time, threw her red hair over her shoulder and disappeared around the corner behind me.

I just stood there and was completely stunned until a hand touched my shoulder and made me flinch.

"You're my number one and you know why," Pablo breathed in my ear and I had to wrinkle my nose and turn my head slightly away from him at the strong smell of the cigar. "Because you know exactly what I need sometimes and you're not afraid to admit it to me."

Hesitant and disgusted, I looked at him and watched him grinning as he took a drag on the cigar, then I turned away from him and stood right behind the curtain...

The show must go on...

The music started and after a last, deep breath, I escaped my existence and stepped through the curtain.

Now there was no Esteban, no Josh, no Roberta or Pablo. Only I was there, running toward the pole blinded by lights.

I no longer heard the men's shouts, no longer realized where I was, just free.

I played around the bar elegantly, moving rhythmically to the music and trying to be as seductive as I could.

I slowly turned in a circle, pulled the straps of the red velvet dress over my shoulders and closed my eyes. The touch of my own hands felt cold and even the music faded at that moment.

I could only hear my breath, felt the ground beneath my feet, on which I began to float and then as the dress fell down over my skin, I felt freer than ever... until reality caught up with me again.

I was not a dancer, not a ballerina... just love...

The light got a little brighter again and the music got louder and when I opened my eyes I held my breath in shock.

I looked into the many eyes that were fixed on me, looked down at the money that was thrown at me and unexpectedly started shaking all over.

"Show your tits!" I heard one of the men shout.

"Horny bitch," another shouted, and I felt like I couldn't move.

"Come here. I've got something for you," one spoke to me, whose face I only stared at briefly and when I looked behind him, I immediately recognized Esteban, who was leaning against the wall and captivated me with his cold gaze. ..

I have never felt more lost and I thought I would never get off this stage in my life until I felt a warm blanket being wrapped around my body from behind.

"I'm here," I heard Josh's voice, to whom I then turned trembling and who put his arm protectively around my waist.

He walked back the stage with me, closed the curtain behind us, and then stood right in front of me to hug me tightly.

"I'm so sorry," I sobbed, not even knowing what I was apologizing for at the moment. Probably because he cared so much about me and I couldn't give him anything in return.

He didn't say anything to that, just hugged me tighter and for the first time in my knowledge I wanted nothing more than to be held by him forever.

Funnily enough, his smell of freshly washed laundry brought me an instant calm that made my body stop shaking, and although he was a few years younger than me, he was certainly a head taller, which had the effect on me than he could protect me from everything... but he couldn't...

"What's the shit?" Pablo yelled and when I broke away from Josh in shock, he looked at me just as panicked as I did at him.

"It...I..." I stuttered and was roughly grabbed by Pablo's arm. I looked at Josh, who was tensing up, but just shook his head no. Tackling Pablo wasn't a good idea, plus we'd both be out of a job right away and it would make me feel even more guilty than I already did.

"What was the show about?" Pablo then yelled at me, yanking my chin in his direction so the covers fell off and I was half-naked. "Do you know how lucky you are that Ronald is here and wants you again tonight??? Do you know how much money that fucking dropout cost me?!"

He looked at me hatefully, waiting for a reaction, but he didn't get any. All I could feel was the pain on my chin and the cold on my bare skin.

"Tell me the damn procedure, love," he then demanded, a little calmer, but he gripped my chin tighter, which made me whimper softly.

"Get on stage, dance and never stop smiling," I retorted, losing a single tear that slowly trickled down my cheek.

"And then?"

"Not picking the man who looks the richest, but the one who looks the most broken," I whispered to him, causing him to give me a dirty grin and lightly slap my cheek.

"Exactly, because they spend the most money," he smiled, then let go of me to face Josh.

"If you don't want to see your mother freezing to death in the cold soon, stay away from her and get your work done. Life isn't a request concert and we're not in kindergarten here. If you want her, then pay for it. It says and no boys chasing her. And you get dressed, Ronald is waiting at the bar."

Before I could even bend down for the blanket, Josh took a step toward us and aimed at Pablo, but he just grinned at my pup's anger and grabbed my arm again.

"Do you know what she is???" he grinned at Josh while simply grabbing my chest. Overwhelmed by the touch, I took a deep breath, not daring to look at Josh, but Pablo forced me to by grabbing my face and turning it toward him.

"She's a whore, so don't even dare mess with me about something like that," he said quietly, running his hand down my stomach, further and further down until it reached my panties and I whimpered softly.

Josh avoided the sight, anger and disbelief covering his face. I closed my eyes and even when I heard Josh's footsteps leaving and Pablo let go of me, I didn't want to open them anymore.

"Better be thankful. You can't do anything to dissuade him. Such inexperienced morons need to be thrown in at the deep end," Pablo laughed, and when I glared at him, his smile faded.

"Now get dressed and look for Ronald!"

"You're a bloody asshole!" I blurted out and quickly made my way to the dressing room without turning to Pablo again. I suppressed the tears that kept trying to get into my eyes and when I got to my clothes in front of the mirror, I got dressed and took a deep, deep breath.

Josh... my poor Josh. As if it wasn't hard enough, Pablo had to smack him too, and with me as a weapon. It was basically me that hurt him, even if it was Pablo who was controlling it.

"Bloody shit!!!" I cursed and then couldn't hold back the tears as I sank into the chair and hid my face in my hands.

I never wanted to hurt anyone and suddenly I felt like torture...

After far too little time to process it all, I forced myself to pull myself together while looking at myself in the mirror. I wiped away my tears, gasped for air, and lost myself in the horrific sight.

I couldn't stand myself any longer and now even agreed with Pablo. I should throw Josh in at the deep end to protect him and not continue to wreck his feelings.

Exhausted, I got up, put on a wry smile and then ran to the bar with my head held high.

"There you are! You still owe me!" Ronald greeted me immediately with a dirty smile and apparently didn't bother to pretend anything that day.

I played my role perfectly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting sweetie," I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and glanced at Josh, who was staring past me.

"Then another one," Ronald grabbed my attention again and nodding, I followed him out of the shed.

"Love", I then heard someone next to me, but since I certainly didn't have the nerve to deal with Esteban at all, I just kept walking without showing any reaction...

When I got to the top of the stairs, Ronald held the door open for me and the freezing cold air hit my face immediately while my eyes had to get used to the darkness.

I silently followed Ronald down one of the side streets, remembering not to have walked that path the day before, and then as we turned a corner that I recognized as a narrow cul-de-sac, he suddenly pushed me hard against the cold, hard wall next to me.

My scream was silenced by his hand, which he pressed tightly over it and I looked at his ugly face, which showed no emotion whatsoever.

"You just left me there, you little whore," he growled and wanted to open my pants with the other hand, but the bandage made it harder than he had expected.

"One peep and I'll pluck your larynx out," he said softly and then very slowly took his hand from my trembling lips.

My whole body felt numb and inside I was screaming, but on the outside I just stared at him in terror, which apparently amused him even more.

"Get undressed," he then demanded, but I refused, shaking my head and his hand slammed hard on my cheek. I took a deep breath and cried bitterly, but again he just laughed louder.

"Then I'll just do it!"

He moved closer, licking my cheek and shoving his hand under my pants, making me moan reluctantly.

But that wasn't a sound of lust, more of a moan of despair, and the goosebumps that ran down my arms was pure disgust at the bastard.

"You like that, don't you?" he whispered in my ear and then licked the tears from my cheeks while I felt his fingers roughly penetrate me and my mind completely drifted away...

"You're so horny," he moaned, pulling his hand away from me to put it on his own pants.

I looked up at the sky, heard him breathing heavily in front of me and suddenly got the urge to throw up...

"On your knees," he then ordered, half moaning, and I just did, dropping onto the hard pavement while already disgusting myself.

"Oh yeah..", I heard him murmuring above me and then, just before I noticed something else, a motorcycle came driving down the street and stopped right in front of the entrance to the dead end.

Surprised and at the same time desperate I looked at the driver, who got off at lightning speed with his black leather jacket and black helmet and came towards us.