When Life Begins Again

Chapter Five

Seven o’clock comes and I’m all set to go to the club. I had a wonderful time exploring today and I really enjoyed my food at Clover’s, I’ll have to go back there sometime.

“Annabelle, it’s time to go. We’re going to have a full house tonight. I’m beyond proud of you. Not only did you go off today to explore but you also came back before your time was up. And on top of that you’re a beautiful and talented girl. I’m lucky to have found you,” Dalia tells me, brushing her hands under my chin.

I forced a smile as I stared into her eyes and said, “Thank you madam, I’m happy to be of service to you.” I don’t like it at all when she touches me. I didn’t want to do any of this. All I wanted was to run away. But I do as I’m told and fake happiness so that she doesn’t get suspicious and lock me away or kill me.

She takes my hand and leans me out the door.

Some of the other girls follow after us and we walk down the street to the left of the building, stopping three businesses down and walk into Dalia’s Club. We go into the back room where we change into our outfits for the show.

I put on a pink glitter dancing dress that’s similar to the first one I wore but it’s all pink in a light rosy sort of colour. I love all the dresses, they’re beautiful and I always feel gorgeous. I just don’t enjoy being the object of affection for all those men out there. It made me shiver.

“I’m going to have Rose and Jasmine dancing with you today Annabelle,” Dalia says to me as she runs her hand down my hair, petting me like an animal. I guess to her I was one. Just a play thing for her amusement. She makes me sick. Acting like we were ‘her’ girls.

I turn around and smile at her, “Sounds good Madam, what about Sylvie, Angelia and Gloria?” I look over at the girls standing around the room.

Dalia smiles at me and says, “They’ll come on after you do your performance and become your backup for your second dance. Then I’ll have some more girls come on after you’re all done. Now the time is right, so, it’s time to get out on that stage and dance like your feet are on fire.” She opened the stage door and ushered us out onto the stage.

I step out the door with Jasmine and Rose following behind me. Once we’re all out on the stage the stage door closes. I walk over to the pole in the center of the stage and wait for the music to start.

Rose stands to my right and Jasmine stands to my left.

The music starts playing then we all start dancing.

I look out into the crowd of people and my eyes stop on the one face that I was hoping to find. It was Daniel, he came, just like he said he would. I start singing my song and make me sensual moves while moving around the pole. My eyes never leave his.

The music stopped and another song started up. Angelia, Gloria and Sylvie came out onto the stage and we all started our group dance.

All I wanted to do was run out into the crowd and reach Daniel. I wanted to be with him again. But it would have to wait till the morning tomorrow, like we had agreed. As I came close to the stage I felt a hand touch my leg and I shook it off as I moved about.

We did a few more songs then the door opened and Dalia called us back while letting out another set of girls.

I glanced back for a second but didn’t see Daniel anywhere. He must’ve took off.

“Great job out there ladies. You made me proud again. Do you hear all those cheers out there? That’s all for you girls,” Dalia told us, closing the door behind us.

“That’s all for Annabelle, they love her,” Gloria said, staring over at me. She was jealous of how good I was when she had to work twice as hard or harder to get where she is now.

“Now don’t think like that Gloria, you’re all special in your own way,” Dalia says, walking over to Gloria and placing her hand under her chin.

I change out of my dancing dress and put my regular clothes back on. Jeans and a floral sleeveless shirt. “Thank you madam, may I go back to my room now?” I ask her.

Dalia walks over to me, taking her attention away from Gloria and says, “You can go back to your room when we’re all finished here. Until then I’ll have some food brought in for you and all you girls can eat something.”

“Okay, sorry I asked. I’m just a little tired. That’s all,” I told her, regretting I asked. We always stayed here late till the dancing was all done then we went back as a group to insure no one took off unattended.

Dalia smiled at me and said, “It’s quite alright Annabelle. Just relax and enjoy yourself. I’ll be back.” With that said she was out the side door that led to the front of the club.

I walked over to the corner of the room and sat down on the sofa next to Rose who was already sitting down.

“How was your first day out?” Rose asked me curiously.

I looked at her and said, “It was great. I really enjoyed it. I went to a few different places and met some nice people. I got to pet a dog named Glory. She’s a golden retriever and a very beautiful dog. I went to a park that was breathtakingly beautiful and sat on a bench that was underneath a willow tree.” I decided to leave out my trip to the café.

She smiled at me and said, “That sounds pretty good. What other places did you go to?”

“I went to a restaurant called Clover’s they had really good food and the décor was so beautiful. I loved the atmosphere of it and the waiter was cute. He had that charming boy next door kind of look to him. I can’t remember what his name was though. After there I checked out a clothing store close by and just looked at the clothes they had. I tried on some stuff but couldn’t get anything as I used up my money on food for breakfast and lunch,” I told her, smiling at the memories I made today.

“I wish I could leave like you can Annabelle. Dalia doesn’t trust me enough to go out yet because of some stuff I did when I got here. I really didn’t want to be here, and I still don’t, but I mean, what can I do? We’re stuck,” Rose tells me, looking really down.

I reach out and touch her hand, stroking it softly. “As long as you do as you’re told and act the part then she won’t do anything to you and it won’t feel so much like a prison,” I told her, sincerely.

Rose stares into my eyes and smiles at me saying, “Thanks Annabelle. I’m glad you’re my friend. I just wish we could’ve meet under different circumstances.”

I stared back at are, smiling. Rose’s eyes were almond shaped and a deep green with specks of brown in them. Her body was petite like mine and her skin was fair like mine. Her hair was a medium length was a wave to it and it was a natural red colour. She was about an inch shorter than me and we’re the same age. We could’ve been friends in school if we lived in the same area. Rose is a beautiful girl in a girl next door kind of way. “I feel the same way Rose,” I tell her, honestly.

Something changes in her expression, and she suddenly leans in closer and presses her lips to mine, kissing me softly.

I quickly pull away and look over at the door where Dalia just walked in.

Dalia comes over to the table and sets down some food. “Here’s some food for you lovely ladies to eat. You did a great job today and everyone loved you, so eat up and enjoy yourselves in any way that you like. Just don’t leave this room until it’s time to head back,” she told us, staring at me and Rose.

The other girls came around the table and started picking out what they wanted to eat.

I stood up and looked at the food on the table. I’m pretty sure Dalia caught that. But she didn’t seem to care. If anything, she was happy about it. I hope she doesn’t try making us have a make out session for the club goers. I’m really not into that. I don’t like girls in that way. I grabbed some fries and went back to sit on the couch. “Thanks madam,” I say before sitting down.

Dalia smiles over at me and says, “You’re welcome, Annabelle. I’m going back out there to watch the show. You girls behave yourselves now.” She then turns around and goes back out the way she came in.

Rose gets up off the couch and grabs something to eat from the table and comes back to the couch, sitting beside me. She turns to look at me before taking a bite of her burger and says, “I’m so sorry Annabelle. I never meant to...”

“To kiss me? I think you did. It’s fine Rose. You were just confused and didn’t know how I’d react to it. Just don’t do it again and I'll forgive you,” I told her, smiling. Then I pick up a fry and stick it in my mouth.

Rose sighs, relieved that I wasn’t mad and says, “Thank you. You’re absolutely right. I was confused and didn’t know how you’d react. I just felt something with you and read it wrong. I promise it won’t ever happen again. She then takes a bite out of her burger and smiles as she chews it. “This is so good,” she says through chewing.

I look over at the other girls who were standing around. They were all talking and eating. Mostly about how much they hated being here. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed a camera in the corner of the room. This was only my eighth time being here and I only just noticed it was there. She must be recording us to make sure we’re not making plans to escape. I’m super glad I didn’t say anything about my trip to the cafe now. Not something that I wanted Dalia to know about.

“What are you looking at?” Rose asks me.

I lean closer to her and whisper, “There’s a camera in the corner of the room that’s recording everything we say and do.” Then I slide back over to where I was.

Rose stares at me, acting as if I hadn’t told her anything and takes another bite of her burger.

“What are you thinking about doing when you’re finally able to go out?” I asked her, trying to get her mind off the camera.

“I’d like to check out that park you talked about. I also want to try that restaurant you went to. Beyond that I'll just explore and see what’s out there. I don’t even know where we are in the world, she tells me honestly.

“We’re in Toronto, Ontario. And it’s Monday the 10th of July in the year 2023. I saw a newspaper at one of the stores I went to today,” I told her. I’m nowhere near my home. I was really upset when I saw that paper. How could they take me from my home and get me here. That would take about fifteen hours, but when I woke up, I was in a room full of girls.

Rose stares at me, now finished eating her burger and says, “Thank you for letting me know. Now I kind of wish I didn’t know. I was taken from my home on the tenth of June, which means I’ve been captive for a month. And I’m about 19 hours away from my home. Not that it matters, my parents were killed.”

“Are you from Halifax?” I asked her, curiously.

“Yes, how’d you know?” She asked me, looking surprised.

“Just how far you said we were from your home. I’m from Moncton, New Brunswick. It’s about 15 hours from here. Halifax is three hours in the opposite direction,” I told her.

She nodded her head and said, “I guess that would’ve meant we didn’t live too far away. But far enough away that we might never have crossed paths.” She smiled at me, then looked down at her hands.

“You never really know where life is going to take you. I could’ve ended up in your part of the world sooner or later. I’ve been to Halifax before, passing through. I didn’t spend much time there. We stopped to take a break on our way back from Newfoundland when I was 15 years old. Two years ago. My parents had some business to take care of over there. They were part of a big company, and they sold the company to some rich person out there. He wanted them to come out to meet with him in person before he would make the final sales and he didn't want to come out to them to do it. So, we spent a week out there. He showed us around his home and told my parents about his plans for the company and how he planned to expand it out there. My mother feared flying, so we always drove everywhere we went. It made for a long trip, but I really enjoyed it,” I told Rose, smiling fondly at the memory.

“What did you do when you stopped into Halifax?” She asked me curiously.

“We stopped at the mall, got something to eat and did some shopping as well as picking up snacks and drinks for the rest of the drive back home,” I told her. Then I looked over at the clock on the wall and noticed that we had been sitting there talking for about two hours. It was now 11:30pm. Which meant it was time for us to head back to the building.

“Really? Which mall did you go to? Never mind I already know the answer to that. I used to go to the mall all the time with my friends. We loved it,” Rose told me, remembering her days at home.

Dalia walks into the room with the rest of the girls and says, “Alright ladies, it’s time to get your rears in gear and get a move on. It’s bedtime. So, grab your stuff and let’s all head back.”

Everyone started gathering up their things and we all followed Dalia out the door into the cold night air.

The club stayed opened till midnight, but the entertainment was only there till 11:30pm because Dalia didn’t want us out too late.

After walking for a little bit, we reached the building and went inside. Dalia let us go to our rooms ourselves and followed the ones that she didn’t fully trust.

I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the 3rd floor. A few other girls came on and then the door closed. I leaned up against the back wall while I waited. The elevator stopped on the 3rd floor, and I stepped out after a few other girls. I walked straight for my door and walked inside, locking the door behind me. Walking over to my closet I set down my things and grab my pajamas. After getting changed I walk over to my bed and drop down into it, closing my eyes. There was nothing more I wanted right now than sleep. After a few minutes of lying there I finally fell into a blissful sleeping, thinking about Daniel and how I'd see him in the morning.

...

Tuesday, July 11th, 2023

Morning finally came and I sprang up out of bed. I rushed over to my closet and pulled out my clothes for the day. I couldn’t wait to get over to the cafe to see Daniel. As I slipped into my floral dress with pink flowers on a yellow background. It’s a flowy dress that goes down a few inches past my knees. It has off the shoulder straps that hang loosely on my arm with spaghetti style straps going over my shoulders. I grabbed a comb and brushed my hair to get rid of any knots then I grabbed my shoulder bag and head for the door.

Just as I’m about to reach the door I hear a knock. I look over at the clock on the wall and see that it’s 9:06am. Now who could that be. I stop at the door, unlock it and open it up. Standing there in front of me was Rose, smiling.

“Good morning, Annabelle,” she greeted me cheerfully.

“Morning Rose, is there a reason you’re at my door right now?” I asked her, feeling impatient.

Rose jumps up and down saying, “Dalia gave me the go ahead to go explore today. She even gave me some money and a bag to carry it in.”

I sighed mentally and smiled on the outside. “That’s great Rose. But why are you here?” I asked again.

“Oh, I thought I could go with you, and you could show me the park that you were talking about,” she tells me, sounding hyped.

“Could I do that later? I wanted to go somewhere else first.” I asked her, hoping she’d get the hint.

“That’s okay. I could go with you wherever it is that you wanted to go and then you can bring me to the park,” she tells me, not looking disappointed in the slightest. She didn’t get what I was saying. Not at all.

“Rose... I just want to be by myself this morning. Is that okay? Can you go explore on your own and then we can meet up at Clover’s for lunch then I can take you to the park. Clover’s is on the same side of the street as this place but it’s further down,” I tell her, trying not to be harsh.

Now Rose looked disappointed. “Okay Annabelle. I understand. I’m sorry if I seemed intrusive. I’ll head out now then and I’ll see you at lunch time. Have fun,” she tells me then walks away before I could say anything else.

As grateful as I was that she actually listened, I felt a little bad. But I couldn’t risk her seeing me with Daniel. I waited a few minutes to make sure Rose couldn’t see where I was going, then I headed for the elevator and went down to the main floor.

I walked outside and walked a little bit down before walking across the road. I found a cross walk and walked across it to make sure I didn’t get hit by anyone. It also helped to avoid anyone seeing where I was going. When I finally reached the cafe I took a deep breath, let it out and then walked inside. I didn’t see Daniel anywhere, so I walked up to the counter and ordered a hot chocolate and a muffin.

“Here you go miss, that’ll be $5.67 please,” the barista said after handing me my stuff. I handed her a ten-dollar bill and told her to keep the change. “Thank you very much,” she said in responds.

I spotted my seat from yesterday and decided to sit there again as no one had claimed it as theirs. Just as I sat down with my stuff the door to the cafe opened and in walked Daniel.

He looked around the room and smiled when he saw me sitting at my table. He held out his hand with one finger up and mouthed one minute. Then he headed to the counter and order a coffee.

Just seeing him here made my heart begin to race. I couldn’t believe it. He actually came back. I mean he said he would but part of me didn’t believe it was real or that he was lying to me. But it is real, and he told the truth. I took a bite of my muffin while waiting for him to finish up. I didn’t eat much while he was with me, so I wanted to get as much of my muffin eaten before he got over here.

Daniel got his coffee and walked over to my table. He smiled again and sat down across from me. He set his coffee down on the table and just stared at me for a moment. “I half expected to find an empty table when I came in. I thought maybe you had been a dream or that somehow you wouldn’t be able to make it in. But here you are. And last night... You were amazing. I didn’t like what those guys were doing to you though. After seeing that I decided that I really needed to get you away from there. I started coming up with a plan. If everything goes out right, I should be able to get you out of there soon,” he tells me, sounding serious.

He was so hot; I couldn’t imagine a man like him falling for a girl like me. “What exactly is your plan and how soon is soon because I really want to get out of there and find my siblings,” I told him.

He reaches out his hand for mine and says, “I must tie up some loose ends, then I’m going to pack up a bunch of my stuff and put it into my truck then come to get you. I’ll drive you as far away from here as you want to go. But I’ll have to tell you where to meet me so that no one sees you with me. That way you’re not at any risk of getting caught and brought back there. As for as soon is. A couple of weeks. I wish it was sooner, but I must leave my job and by law I need to give two weeks notice. Which I did yesterday after we talked.”

I look at him shocked and say, “How could you do all that for me? You don’t even know me. You met me for the first time yesterday. For all you know I could be lying to you, and I choose to get up on that stage and dance and sing for those people every night.”

Daniel smiles in a laughing way and says, “I love you, Annabelle. I might not really know you, but I want to, and I know that what I feel for you is love. I’ve never felt this way about anyone ever. And I would give up everything for you. Besides, I’m twenty-one. I can always find work wherever we settle.”

I jump out of my seat and rush over to him, throwing my arms around him. “Thank you, Daniel. I’m so glad that you found me. And I’m beyond grateful for everything that you’re doing for me,” I tell him, feeling tears at the corners of my eyes. I hadn’t meant to cry but I was so happy that the tears came on their own.

Daniel wrapped his arms around me, embracing me in them. “There's no thanks needed. I’m more than happy to help you in this way. Besides I was starting to get bored with my life. I wasn’t living my life in the way that I wanted to. Now that I've decided to leave with you, I can start over new and find a new job that makes me happy,” he tells me, slowly releasing me from his arms. He stares into my eyes for a moment then he leans in and kisses me tenderly.

I throw my arms around his neck and push into the kiss, it felt blissful and breathtakingly amazing. It felt right.

He pulled away from me and sat back down in his seat.

I moved back over to my seat and sat back down as well. I took a drink of my hot chocolate and looked over at him.

Daniel picked up his coffee and took a long drink of it while staring over at me. Then he put his cup down and smiled, lovingly. “As much as I want to be with you right now, I better be going. I don’t want anyone to see us together and ruin our plan,” he tells me as he stands back up.

I nod my head and tried not to look too sad. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m glad that you came and that you’re so willing to do all this for me…” I paused for a moment, looking down at my cup. “Will I see you again tomorrow? Maybe somewhere else?”

He leans in closer to me, lifting my head up to look at him, he stares into my eyes and says, “I will come see you everyday till it’s time for us to leave. As for where to meet up, I’d say somewhere else would be better for sure. That way we’re less likely to be seen together. But where would you like to meet?”

I smile sweetly and say, “Could we meet at the park up the street? It’s very beautiful there and peaceful and it’s far enough away from the building I’m being kept that I’m less likely to be spotted.”

He smiles back at me. “I know the one. That should be fine. So, I’ll see you at the park tomorrow morning,” he tells me. Then he gently kisses my lips.

I kissed him back, wishing it could never end. I brush my hand along his cheek with my right hand and feel it slip away as he pulls away. “I’ll be waiting,” I tell him smiling happily.

Daniel grabs his coffee off the table then turns to leave. Looking back once before heading out the door.

I picked up my muffin and started to starvingly eat until it was gone. Then I drank my hot chocolate. Once I was done I threw my garbage in the trash and walked out the door. I looked at the clock before leaving the café. The clock read that it was ten o'clock which meant it was too early for lunch, so, I decided to go for a stroll. After walking for a while I would head to Clover’s to meet up with Rose. Hopefully she wasn’t upset that I wanted to be on my own.