Chapter 4

Chapter Four

SERAFINA

I’m sat between the two men in robes and masks in the third row of a huge SUV. Olivia sits alone in the middle row. I’m happy she’s at least allowed to come with me for now.

I’m well aware what Sinners Academy is. I’ve heard rumors here and there throughout my life. It’s the dark, haunted place the bad kids are sent to. I’ve heard other rumors that it’s where powerful men send their kids to prepare them for the evil world of business, politics, and other realms of power.

It’s not just for guys. Girls are sent there.

Women are sent there.

I look down at the chains wrapped around my wrists. Like I’m some criminal.

The only crime here is that my father fell in love with a horrible woman. He dedicated himself and his love to her. Somewhere in his heart all he wanted was to have a family. I know he wanted to have children with Bridgette and I know her body said no fucking way . I remember her getting angry about it. Drinking heavily. Threatening to kill herself. I remember my father always being the beacon of light, yet more than once I spied on him crying alone in his study. Holding a picture of my birth mother.

The question is—why did Bridgette do this now? She obviously flashed some big money or called in a favor for this. What have I done wrong?

The fire…

I shake my head.

“Quit moving,” Throat-Guy growls at me.

“Better yet, if you want to be chained up and wiggle, sit on my lap and make it worth my time,” Shh-Guy adds with a deep chuckle.

They’re still using something to make their voices sound weird. This entire thing is weird. I’m being sent away. Banished. I’m being tossed into a variation of hell to be left to rot and to be left to be forgotten. And there’s literally nothing I can do to stop it.

Maybe this will be a good thing for me. A better life. My heart races even faster.

I don’t believe that last statement for a second… my life is completely fucking over.

I’m not sure what you want to call this place. A campus? A compound? A secret society?

We’re tucked away up in the mountains, far but not too far from towns and cities. The buildings are big and cold. Cathedrals and castles. Old stone with scars and stories to tell. The air smells of danger. It’s not like being on a college campus and feeling that sense of prestige. This is more like walking through a cemetery.

The two men in robes and masks suddenly stop walking, grab at my wrists and surprisingly unchain me. They don’t speak another word to me as they suddenly walk away.

As they walk away they take their masks off. Their backs are to me so I can’t see their faces. There’s something sexy about that. I want to see their faces but I don’t know why. After all, these two men just kidnapped me. They literally tore me from the comfort of my bed.

It’s dark and quiet and I’m standing there alone. Only for a second or two though.

“You’re the new arrival,” a voice says from behind me.

I turn and there are two girls approaching me. Wearing large hoodies, their hair messy, up in buns. No makeup on their faces. One wearing baggy pajama bottoms, the other wearing tight shorts that show off thick, athletic legs.

“I’m Lia,” the one in the pajama pants says.

She has green eyes, dirty blonde hair, naturally pouty lips. She looks like a model. Just really short though. There’s a light bruise on her jawline. I find myself pointing to it.

“Oh, this?” Lia asks, touching the faded bruise. “That’s nothing. You get used to it. I actually like it.”

“Want to hear how it happened?” the other girl asks me. “She was getting fucked from behind. And her ace held her by the back of her neck. She likes that. He held her down against the bed. Hard. Then he picked her face up off the bed by the back of her neck and slammed it against the nightstand. Why should she have the comfort of a mattress, right?”

I swallow hard, then look to Lia.

She nods. “If you want the truth, I came so hard, I started to cry.”

“Then her ace made her sleep in her own puddle of wet cum,” the other girl says. “I know this… because I watched the whole thing happen. That’s what her ace wanted. And my ace told me to watch and finger myself. I came in my panties and then gave them to my ace .”

Now I’m shaking. I’m scared yet I’m intrigued by this.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

“Because you’re our new roommate,” Lia says. “And you’ll have an ace assigned to you soon enough. To break you in.”

“By the way, I’m Naya,” the other girl says.

She smiles at me like everything is normal.

She has dark skin, chocolate eyes, and I can tell her black hair has natural curls even though it’s pulled up into a bun. These two are gorgeous girls.

“You’re here to be fucked, chosen, rejected, used, and passed around,” Naya says. “With the ultimate goal of someone eventually claiming you for marriage and then your life will be just fine.”

“If you can’t sleep tonight, we have something for you to take,” Lia offers. “It’s the kind of stuff your ace will eventually want you to take so he can enjoy you while you sleep. Now that’s something nobody can ever prepare you for.”

“Wait, are you talking about—”

“Nope.” Naya shuts me off. “It’s not that at all. We consent to everything. All the time. Now, follow us. It’s late and we’re tired.”

“Yeah, who did you piss off to get picked up and brought here this late?” Lia asks.

“Evil stepmother issues,” I say.

“Say no more,” Naya says. “They can be rotten cunts, no?”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

I want to say something else but I see Olivia standing not too far from us.

“That her?” Lia asks.

“No. Hell no. That’s Olivia. She’s basically a slave to my mother . Can I say goodbye to her?”

“Sure,” Lia says.

The three of us walk toward Olivia. She looks sad. She looks filled with regret.

“Please don’t be afraid to leave her,” I tell Olivia. “I’m not kidding. She’s evil. She’ll use you up. Look what she did to me.”

“Oh, Sera,” Olivia says. She touches my face. “I wish there was another timeline where you were my daughter. And we lived in a small town. I work as a waitress and you’re an artist. And we’re just happy.”

“I don’t think happiness is real,” I say.

Olivia hugs me. Tight. I can feel her shaking.

“I should have stopped you that night,” Olivia whispers. “You kept talking about burning things. I played into it. I’m such a fool.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” I whisper back. “Now go. You have a ride back?”

“Yes,” Olivia says.

Our hug breaks and I’m hit with an overwhelming sense of sadness. I’m losing Olivia. The only good part of my life.

“Time to go,” Naya says. “ Aces are watching us.”

I look around and I don’t see anything at first. It’s like they appear the longer you stare though. A figure not far away. All dressed in black. These guys are wearing black masks. They blend into the night. It’s scary as fuck.

“What will they do to me?” I whisper.

“Anything they fucking want,” Lia says. “But you’re far from ready. Come on, I don’t feel like getting punished because of you.”

I’m taken to one of the old looking buildings only to realize it’s basically an apartment building. Four stories tall, old brick, old windows, and the hallways have that old smell to them. It’s not dirty or moldy or anything. Just old. It almost feels ghostly. The steps and walls are echoey.

Lia and Naya take me to the third floor. Door number three.

Hey, third floor, third room, third roommate. Triple threes. That has to be a good sign, right?

Nothing can save me right now. Not the universe. Not numerology. Not even God himself.

There’s nothing fancy about the apartment. Living room, dining room, very small kitchen area. It’s got a womanly vibe to it though. It smells clean, looks clean.

My bedroom is right next to the bathroom. Lia and Naya’s rooms are more down the hallway and they share a bathroom. I’m like an outcast… I am an outcast.

My bag is already on the bed. I notice it looks a little unzipped. I pull at my bag like I’m opening potato chips and I freeze in place when I see a pair of my panties right on top. Bright pink panties with a laced edge.

It’s not just that though. There’s something else… something in my panties… I take a few deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” Lia’s voice asks.

I step away from my bed, shaking my head. I point to my bag.

“Naya,” Lia calls out. “She’s freaking out over her welcome package.”

I hear Naya laugh as she gets closer to my bedroom.

“Let me guess,” she says as she enters the room, “someone jerked off into one of your bras?”

“Panties,” Lia says.

“Oh, nice,” Naya says.

“What the fuck is this?” I scream. “Who the fuck are you two? And who would do this to my stuff? You’re telling me someone masturbated into my bag?”

“ Masturbated ,” Naya says with a grin. “She’s all proper.”

“Look, it’s what they do,” Lia says. “To remind you of who you are. Just throw the panties out. You’re not afraid of some cum, are you?”

I gasp. Lia and Naya start to laugh at me. When they leave the room, I shut the door and lock it. I move toward my bag again as though it contains a bomb.

Nope. Just some guy’s cum.

I have no choice but to reach into the bag and grab my cum-filled panties. I carefully lift my panties out of my bag and take them to a trashcan near the door.

So this is it for me now? This is… home? Masked men in black robes willing to kidnap me, attack me, hurt me… willing to do who knows what else, evident by the globs of semen in my panties in the trash.

There’s a gentle knock at my door. I unlock and open it a few inches. It’s Naya.

“If you need help sleeping, we have stuff ,” she whispers. “First night always sucks. New place. New bed. Total shock to your system.”

“My mother has been a shock to my system for years.”

“You say mother in such a weird way.”

“My father never wanted me to call Bridgette my stepmother. It’s complicated. Weird. I don’t know. Habit, I guess. Look, I’m scared out of my mind right now. I’m not usually one to break down and freak out and cry. I know that won’t change a thing. Um, can I ask you something?”

“Go for it,” Naya says.

“Does anyone know I’m here? Are there… administrators? Bosses? I don’t know the right terminology.”

Naya laughs. “You’re where you are meant to be, Sera.”

I nod. “You called me Sera.”

“Is that wrong?”

“Only people I’m close with call me Sera.”

“I’m probably the closest thing you have to a friend right now,” Naya says. “Myself and Lia. You really need to get some sleep. Not to be cliché but this is literally the calm before the storm in your life.”

“I was just fucking kidnapped and ripped from my own bed. How can…”

Naya slips me a bottle of liquid. There’s no label on it. I have no clue what the stuff is. I have a sick feeling that if I drank all that was in there, I would die. Maybe this is a test. Maybe Naya is giving me a way out.

I put the bottle in the nightstand drawer and I sit on the edge of the bed. This is beyond weird.

This is totally fucked up.