With a quiet, depreciating laugh, she cut off the thoughts. It was a waste of time to think of what she should have done.
Could she do it? Could she sell herself? He was asking her to be nothing more than a high paid prostitute, right? That’s what it boiled down to, like a scene right out of indecent exposure.
Forcing herself to stand, she began walking the three blocks to the parking garage to her car. Without notice of the time that had passed walking the city streets, then going up the outside steps to the third floor of the parking structure, she spotted her car and climbed in the front seat, sitting for a moment.
As she started the engine and began slowly driving down the ramps to the exit, she remained lost in thought. She needed to get home and review the papers he’d given her – reassure herself that she couldn’t take the job.
Making such a colossal decision required serious consideration. A few months ago, she never would’ve even considered the possibility that something like this existed. She’d been truly naïve to the world around her, protected from life’s harsh realities. However, all her innocence had shattered the day the police had shown up for her at that college party.
In her mother’s last conscious moments, her only concern had been for Ari’s safety. Her mom had managed to tell the officers they needed to get to her daughter – that Ari was in danger. Only then did her mother succumb to her injuries.
The policemen showed up in her mother’s place at the frat house and then transported Ari to the hospital where she’d waited for hours in the lobby, terror helping to sober her up real fast.
When the doctor eventually came out of surgery, his news hadn’t been good. Her mother was stable, but in a coma. They’d done all they could do for her. Only time would tell if she ever came out of it.
She’d had severe swelling in her brain and they’d had to operate , drilling bur holes into her skull. Along with the head injuries, she’d also suffered two broken ribs, a cracked hip, and lacerations to her face. When Ari entered her mom’s room, she’d nearly passed out at the image before her.
If the staff hadn’t guaranteed that the person lying in the bed was her mother, she wouldn’t have known who the woman was. She was unrecognizable with her swollen face and the bandages covering her. Ari had sobbed as she’d laid her head on her mother’s bed and apologized repeatedly. If it wasn’t for Ari, her mom would be home, sleeping safe and sound. Ari would never forgive herself for what she’d done.
Trying to push such heart wrenching memories aside, Ari focused on the road as she pulled up to her small studio apartment. She slowly made her ascent up the staircase, her feet dragging as her mind raced. The papers Rafe had handed her were burning a hole in her purse.
She got to her door and fiddled with the key for several moments, having to get it into the lock just right so she could turn it. It would probably be faster for her to insert a credit card in the doorjamb to get it open than to mess with the key.
She’d watched enough movies that she could probably break into a place if she needed to. The thought made her smile as the lock finally clicked and she pushed open the door. Maybe she could find a breaking and entering job. It would be a more dignified profession than prostitution.
Though the day had started only a few hours ago, exhaustion was nipping on her heels. She sat down on the couch and glared at her small purse as if there were a snake inside of it just waiting for the opportunity to strike. Did she really want to see what he had planned for her?
With great reluctance, she finally unzipped the bag and slowly pulled the papers out, her gaze a bit cloudy as she glanced down at the words. She fought the urgency to toss them, but reality – and slight curiosity won out.
With only a week left at the apartment before rent was due, and no other jobs on the horizon, she needed to at least weigh her options. The weight of knowing her mother’s living conditions would worsen without Ari's financial support made the decision about the position even more crucial.
She’d already sold her mother’s home – the place Ari had grown up. It had broken her heart to pack her mom’s most valuable possessions and take them to storage. She’d pre-paid the unit for a year, not taking chances on losing those items that meant so much to her mom.
Everything Ari had of any decent value had been auctioned off. She’d done everything she could do at this point. Now, she had to find work – and it seemed no one wanted to hire a college drop-out, even if she had been on the honor role. It meant nothing if she couldn’t finish her degree.
In the end, she really had no choice but to look at the material before her. With a determined grasp of the papers, she unfolded them and started scanning the words. By the time she got to the end she literally wanted to throw up. She couldn’t do it – no way.