SOLD TO THE DEVIL WITH SUIT

Faye's Point of View My stepfather sold me tonight. Not for drugs. Not for revenge. For money he owed a man he was too scared to look in the eye. I didn't know that yet. Not when it started. The door was closed loudly and the picture frames on the wall started shaking. I was standing in the kitchen washing the dishes and the three plates we always used. Marisol was sitting at the table drawing a cat with a lot of legs and singing a song from that show she was not supposed to watch at this time of night. My stepfather yelled out my name, "Faye." His voice was really loud. It felt like it cut through the whole apartment. I turned. He was pale. Sweating, even though it wasn't warm outside. "Get Marisol to her room," he said. I didn't move fast enough for him. "Now," he snapped. Marisol looked up, crayon frozen in her hand. She was nine. She still believed adults only yelled when something was really wrong. She was right. I walked with her to her room. My hand was steady.. My stomach was not. I locked the door behind her. I told her to remain in her room. I said she should not come out no matter what she heard. She nodded at me. She always listened to me. That was the trouble with being the one who held everything together, people learned to lean on it. When I came back to the kitchen, two men stood where my stepfather used to stand alone. One was older, arms crossed, watching the room like he was bored of being there. The other looked maybe mid-twenties, and he wasn't bored at all. He looked like he was watching the moment his world started to make sense to him. I have no idea of his name yet. I would never forget his name when I knew what it was. His name was Kai Reyes. "My name is Faye, " my stepfather said again. He called my name like it was hard to say it. "What is going on here?" I asked. Nobody said anything away. The silence was telling me more than any words could. "You owe someone money, " I said slowly. I was not really asking him a question. This was the thing that ever made sense with my stepfather. His jaw got tight. He stared at the floor. Not, at me. "How much?" "Faye" "How much?" The older man let out a short breath, almost a laugh, like my question amused him. Kai didn't laugh. He just looked at me the way someone would watch a storm coming like he already knew how it would end and was just waiting for me to realize it too. "It doesn't matter how much, " my stepfather finally said. "It's more than I can pay tonight." "Then figure it out. Sell something. Sell the car." "I tried." "Then" "It's handled, Faye." Something in the way he said *handled* went cold in my chest before my brain caught up to why. I looked at the two men again, really looked this time. Nice coats. Nicer shoes than anything we owned. Kai's eyes never left me, not even when I looked away first. "What does 'handled' mean?" I asked, quieter now. My stepfather said nothing. The older man did. "It means you're coming with us," he said, like he was reading off a grocery list. The kitchen went dead quiet. Even the refrigerator hum seemed to stop. "Excuse me?" "Your father's debt," he corrected himself when I flinched, "your *stepfather's* debt is getting paid tonight. You're the payment." I laughed. Actually I laughed, because it sounded insane, because things like that happened to characters on shows Marisol wasn't allowed to watch, not to real people. Nobody else laughed. I said "That is not funny" when the silence went on for long. "Tell me that is not what you mean." Kai Reyes said "It is what I mean." I turned to my stepfather. "Tell them no," I said. He did not look up. I said "Tell them no" louder this time. He whispered "I cannot." I asked "You cannot or you will not?" His silence was the answer. It always was. My stepfather had been silent about everything that mattered for years. The money, the drinking, the men who used to call at hours. My stepfather was always silent about these things. I looked at Kai Reyes. I looked at him directly for the time. I kept my eyes up.I make sure my voice is not even though I was nervous inside. I said to Kai Reyes "You cannot actually think I am walking out of here with you." Kai Reyes did not answer away. He looked at me. He studied me. He looked at me like I was a lock he was not sure he could open. Kai Reyes said "I do not think so." He said it finally. He was calm. His calm voice scared me. It scared me more than if he was shouting. Kai Reyes said "I know." "I have a sister. She's nine. She needs me." Something moved behind his eyes. Gone before I could figure out what it was. "She'll be okay, " he said. " Long as your stepfather stops making promises he can't keep." "That's not a real answer." "It's the one you're going to get." I looked back at my one more time giving him every chance to be the person who protected us even just once. He didn't look at me. "You're really doing this, " I said. Not a question anymore. "You're really giving me away like I don't matter." "It's not like that, " he said in a voice. "Then what is it like?" He had no reply. Naturally he didn't. The older man moved forward. Something about the way he walked told me this wasn't a conversation anymore. It was a formality. The choice had already been made— long before I had finished washing the dishes. We're going. Now. I wish to say goodbye to my sister. But no time. I will not go without saying goodbye to my sister. Kai spoke again sharply this time. Like two minutes. With surprise! The old man looked at him as if Kai didn't usually offer anything for free. I didn't wait to see if he would change his mind. I ran to Marisol's room inside and got to my knees in front of her. She hadn't moved. Her drawing is still frozen on the page. I have to go, I said, trying to keep my voice calm. Where? I don't know yet. When will you come back? I couldn't answer that. Faye I love you, I said. No matter what happens. No matter how long it takes. I'm coming back for you. I promise. She didn't really understand. How could she? I held her forehead, kissed her, perceiving the smell of her shampoo, the warmth of her hand holding mine like she already knew I was lying about the coming-back part. I stood, walked back, to the kitchen to two strangers waiting to take me. I had no say in a life I never asked for. Kai was watching the door when I came out like he had been counting the seconds. I wasn't. Not even a little. I nodded anyway. There was no choice left. He just turned to the door and he didn't say a word. That was when the truth settled down in my chest. I hadn't just lost my home that night. I belonged to someone now. And I had no idea what he actually wanted me for.