Chapter Two: THE OFFER
521 Words
Aria Monroe’s phone buzzed under her pillow at 3:17 AM.
The vibration shot through her skull like a live wire. She fumbled for it, the glow searing her sleep-deprived eyes.
Preparation required. Arrival: 8 p.m. Bring nothing. Look elegant.
Micah shifted beside her, his small body curling tighter under the thin blanket. Aria’s thumb hovered over the delete button. One tap and it was gone, like it never existed. She deleted it.
Teresa Monroe’s hospital room smelled like antiseptic and stale coffee. Fluorescent lights flickered above the bed, casting jagged shadows over her mother’s hollow cheeks.
Dr. Langford flipped through charts, his voice low, measured.
“We can’t keep stabilizing her like this, Aria. She needs long-term care.” Aria’s grip tightened around her mother’s limp hand. The IV lines trembled with the force of it.
“There’s no money for that,” she said.
Dr. Langford didn’t look at her. “Then there’s no other option.”
The receptionist slid the bill across the counter. Her manicured nail tapped the highlighted total: $47,892.
“Payment plan?” she asked, bored. Aria’s throat closed. She shoved the paper into her bag, where it brushed against the edge of the black card.
Micah’s school called during lunch. Aria stood in the hospital cafeteria, a stale sandwich untouched in front of her, when her phone rang.
“I'll sort it out soon”, she said to the receptionist, as she dashed out of the hospital.
“Micah got in a fight. Again.” The principal’s sigh crackled through the receiver. “He said the other kids called your mom ‘the psycho lady.’”
Aria’s knuckles whitened around the phone.
“I’ll talk to him.”
“You need to do more than talk, Ms. Monroe. He’s angry….” Aria hung up before the principal finished his statement.
Mr. Voss pounded on the door at 5:30 PM. Aria barely had it open before he kicked the frame, his breath reeking of cheap beer.
“24 hours, Monroe. Then your s**t’s on the curb.” He spat on the threshold. Micah ducked behind Aria, his backpack clutched to his chest like a shield.
Aria didn’t flinch. “We’ll be out.”
Mr. Voss smirked. “Damn right you will.”
Aria pressed the black card against her thigh. The gold script glared back at her: One night. One chance. One bidder.
The faucet dripped. Her reflection wavered in the cracked mirror. She exhaled exhaustedly.
Just at that moment, she remembered Raven’s words to her. Smoke curled from her lips as she leaned against the bathroom wall. “Girls who go to those auctions don’t come back the same.”
Aria stubbed out her cigarette. “I don’t have a choice.”
She immediately scanned the QR code and she heard a voice “Welcome. You have entered the circle. Are you ready to surrender control?”
Aria’s voice cracked. “Yes.” Just then her phone flashed, the cracked screen lit up and a message dropped:
“Your identity has been verified. Dress code: Black. The car arrives at 7:00 p.m tomorrow”
- Writer
