I don't know if you want to trust me on this, but I will try to update monthly. My apologies to those of you who want me to update my other stories. Love, Tori

It's a damn cold night. I shiver under my parents blankets. It's been three days since I've last seen them, and I'm used to this. Them leaving me alone for days, weeks, months. At least I know what they are doing. Gambling our money away. Drinking and drinking and drinking. Buying stuff we don't need. But its better now than it's like when they're here. I don't matter when they fight and yell. It's only themselves. They are all that counts. I shiver again. My teeth chatter. God, please: Mom, Dad, come home. Pay the oil bill. I hear a noise. Stomping. Talking. My eyes widen and I jump out of bed. They're back! I make a sound. A mixture of delight and sadness. I run downstairs eagerly. I desperately need to know if they're actually here or I'm just imagining things again. Please. I rush down to see them, but I'm greeted with the sight of... Nothing. I have to bite back tears. Still not here. It's a dark kitchen. Nobody's out of the door. Nobody's in the door. I'm all alone. Me, myself, and I. No. No, no. I shut my eyes tight. A hollow feeling makes it's way to my chest, and I have a feeling it's a replacement for my heart.

Look at me. What a mess.

Not cool, collected.

I'm definitely going out in style. Not.

"God, no. No, no." I whisper, as the salty drops of water fall down my cheek. Am I crying? Why? My heart can't possibly break. You can't break a broken heart.

I collapse on the wooden chair behind me, worn out from all of my hoping.

Hope is just a hoax. It doesn't help. Hope makes your trust fail. It's better if you don't expect anything from anybody.

They can't hurt you that way.

I wake up exactly where I was last night, except it's bright and sunny. I glare at the window, daring it to rain, but I suddenly can't spend another minute in our messy almost empty apartment. My mom and dad are losing money fast. Pretty soon we're going to have to sell everything we have.

I don't care that I'm wearing plaid pants and a red tee, I push the door open and run. I ignore everyone driving their cars, and I try to race the passing train that's running through the city, but finally I have to stop because although I've run at least a mile, I have to wait at the intersection.

A man moves away from me as he waits for the crossing signal along with me. I wipe away a stray tear. Please come today, Dad. Mom, just...just please. I'd rather be be angry that sit around and wait all day.

"You gonna cross?" The man asks gruffly, as he walks on the crosswalk.

I nod, and sprint to the other side. I walk into a clothes store and pick out an outfit. Ripped black skinny jeans. A punk rock t-shirt. Black boots. Black sweatshirt.

I look at them for a second, and then put them back on the rack and leave without buying anything. How could I waste any of my much needed money? I feel guilty by eating! I'll just have to wear two sizes too small clothing. Or maybe I'll lose so much weight that they'll be the right size.

I regretfully leave the store and walk back home like a zombie who couldn't find any brains to eat.

I gasp. "Mom!" I shriek, a huge grin spreading on my face as soon as I see their car pull up in the driveway. I don't even care about the black car following them.

My feet move by themselves, and I sprint over and hug my beautiful mother who gets out of her car. She isn't smiling, I notice.

"You lose again?" I ask, sympathetically. This means she'll only gamble more so that she has a chance of retrieving some of her money.

The man from the black car behind them gets out of his car and nods at me. "Girlie, you're coming with me."

What?! My face drops, as I look at my dad for an explanation. I don't know what I hope he means, I just know what I hope he doesn't mean. My parents always talked about this. Some gamblers give away their children as slaves when they run out of other things to give.

But Dad's car is here. Wouldn't they give it away before me? Do they care about me at all? Please say I'm wrong?

"What?" I finally get my mouth to shape that word in my shock.

"Oh, honey." My mom grabs my hands and kneels down, "I'm sorry, Kim. We had to-"

I scream at her, "I'm less important than the car? The house? The furniture? You don't care about me? I don't even have a choice. I hate you! You don't care!" I reach out and hit her, something I just had to do.

Her sad\ sorry mother act dropped like a stone. "Get in the car, Kim. Do what the man wants. I never wanted you."

I choke. A few minutes ago, I missed her more than anything. Now, I just want her to drop off the face of the earth.

I look at my dad for a minute, but he refuses to look at me as he backs up Mom.

"Go with the man, you spoiled brat. LeAnn, we should have done this a long time ago," He addresses my mother, and when he finally looks at me all I see is disgust. In his eyes, I'm a pile of wasted money.

"I hate you." I spit out. I shake, and drop on the gravel, scraping my arms and knees. I'm too worn out to run away, and looking at the guy- I don't think I would last very long. He's a cross between an ex-Marine and a body builder. I can't move, I just lay there, on the ground. Determined to not look at them.

Finally I stand up, and walk over to the guy, although all I honestly want right now is to turn around and pummel my so called 'loving parents'. Would you still love me if I gave you a black eye? Huh?

The man grabs my arms and throws me in his car, where two men catch me and cover my mouth with their hands. A female voice says something to the man who grabbed me , but I don't hear anything, because I think the guy put some sort of sleeping drug on his hand, because as I inhale it, I become more and more drowsy.

Finally, my eyes close and I fall into a deep dreamless sleep. Better than I'd slept for years.

"Are you okay?" A dark figure above me shook my shoulders. He let go of me, finally and walked a few feet, and yelled at a bigger, stronger looking figure.

"What did you do to her? Kill her?"

The bigger figure doesn't reply. He slaps the boy. My eyes fully open then, as the boy falls backward.

The man who my parents gave me to nods at me. "She's awake, brat."

The boy crawls over to me, and the first things I notice about him is his gorgeous brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. His tanned skin is hurt, with cuts and bruises, a split lip, and two black eyes, but he's still good-looking.

"What's your name?" He asks, smiling at me, as his split lip bleeds, like I was the only sunshine left in the world.

"Kim." I answer, as I stare at him in wonder. Who did this, that ex-Marine guy who took me? I reach out to touch his lip, but I hold back in the last second. My hand hovers in the air.

"I'm all right." He assures me, "Not as bad as it could be." Somehow that isn't so assuring.

The man groans. "You can love each other all you want, but my dishes won't get washed on their own. Jack, you have to show this slut how to do everything. No mistakes!"

"Yeah, whatever, Kyle." Jack answers, still looking at me.

Kyle leaves the room, and I sit up on the floor.

I bite my lip. "I don't know what to do." I say shaking. Jack reaches his hands out to hug me. I stay stiff in his warm embrace.

"I'm Jack, and we're sort of my stepfathers slaves.