Sometimes in life, there are such moments when complete despair sets in. You do not know what to do; you have to proceed. Such a period came in Sandra’s life at the end of the Fall. Her mother became seriously ill, and the girl stayed at her mother’s bedside for days and nights, caring for her as well as she could.
Treatments required a large sum of money, and though her father was a military man, his salary was still insufficient for food and medicine. The medical expenses were such that the family could barely survive. But no one ever complained. They all wanted only one thing: for their mother to get better as soon as possible. Of course, anyone can say that there is always a way out of any situation. There was one even now, but Sandra did not agree to use it.
The girl’s friend, Laura, offered her a well-paying job, but behind the good sum was something awful that Sandra considered extremely innocent and immoral. About one hundred thousand dollars were needed for treatments, and as soon as possible. In that moment of desperation, Sandra gave up and dialed Larry’s number, holding the phone in her hands. The girl took a deep breath and pressed the call button. The ringing tone was unbearably slow, and finally, an answer was heard on the other end.
“Hello, Sandra.”
“Hi, what’s up?”
“Hi, Laura, remember you offered me a job?”
The girl was silent for a second, as if remembering, then she almost squealed happily into the phone, “Of course! Good for you. It’s better for everyone, believe me, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this job, Sandra.”
“Oh, I hope so,” the girl felt a chill run down her back, “Do you still have an opening?”
“There’s always room for you.”
“Okay, thank you, Laura.”
“You’re welcome, friend. I’ll meet you tomorrow at the address I will text you.”
The next day, Sandra arrived at the address Laura gave her. It was a modeling agency. She spun around for a while in front of the modeling experts who evaluated her appearance, took pictures for her portfolio, and in half an hour, she was signing a non-disclosure contract. The girl was full of doubts but still signed the contract. She wasn’t supposed to be a model; what she was supposed to do was called an escort service.
A couple of days after she got the job, she received her first call from her boss. “Sandra, a wealthy man really likes your photos,” he said. After these words, the girl began to tremble. “Tomorrow night, you will have to accompany him to an event. He has already paid us for your services. You will get some of the money later, but he can still tip you if he likes you a lot. Is that clear?”
Forgetting that her interlocutor could not see her, Sandra nodded silently. When she came to her senses, she muttered, “Yes, I see.”
“Fine. Put on something decent.”
Frankly speaking, Sandra was afraid. It was her first time in such a role, and the fear consumed her even more. Except there was nowhere to retreat. After talking to her supervisor, the girl dialed her friend’s number.
“Hi, Laura, listen, a man likes me, and he wants me to escort him to an event tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“What’s great about it? I’m terrified.”
“Don’t worry so much. No one will touch you. It is all with tolerance. The agency always takes care of it.”
“I hope so. Let me take you where you needed to go tomorrow unless, of course, it would make you feel better.”
“That would be great.”
“That’s the deal, and stop worrying already. Better find some self-confidence, and remember, it is all for your mother’s sake.”
“You are right,” Sandra noted again, “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
As promised, Laura picked up Sandra the next evening. Sandra took a long time to choose the bad stress, did her makeup and hair, and tried not to think about the upcoming events. When she went outside, her friend was already waiting for her in her brand new red car with music playing loudly.
“You look great,” Laura said as soon as Sandra approached the car.
“Thanks. So, are you ready?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing.”
“Are you sure they are not going to hurt me?”
“No, they won’t, so he told me. Silly, we only accompany them. They need pretty girls to make an important appearance in front of their partners. I have never met a handsome young guy yet; they are all old men. If you don’t want to, nothing happens. It is written in the contract.”
“That night, Sandra was accompanied by a fat, ugly man who was always kevin and reeked like a pig while laughing. He annoyed her, but she tried her best to pretend that everything was fine and that she liked it. All for the first time in her life, Sandra tasted alcohol. She drank a glass of good champagne after which the girl suddenly felt dizzy; she almost fell if she had not been picked up inside by the man next to her.
He watched her all evening, enjoyed her beauty and gracefulness. “Thank you very much,” Sandra quickly muttered with embarrassment. She was very impressed by her glimpses. “No problem, just happened to be right on time. My name is Carl, by the way.”
“Well, I’m Sandra. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Are you here accompanied by that rich man over there?” The guy pointed to the man with whom the girl had come.
“Yes, to be honest. He is awful; he has absolutely no manners with the lady.”
“Yes, you can tell that right away,” Carl smiled when he looked at Sandra. His gaze changed involuntarily, and the girl immediately noticed it.
Carl was young and handsome; he was wearing an expensive suit and a hairstyle that suited him. After all, he was the only one at the event who really paid attention to her, and he communicated sincerely, without any subtext.
“Is this your first time here?” the guy asked.
“Yes, it’s strange, but it looks just as I imagined.”
Carl looked at the girl questioningly, and she asked them to explain, “That’s too pompous and not natural.”
He laughed, and she couldn’t contain her laughter either. After that, Carl and Sandra got to talking. They came to the table with drinks, and the girl took a glass of champagne again, this time she drank more carefully.
The couple talked about all kinds of topics, not shying away from loud exclamations and laughter. Some of the guests even looked back at them with disgruntled faces. While chatting with Carl, Sandra had forgotten that Laura was also accompanying someone in the room.
“Ah, there you are, finally,” the friend reminded herself and approached the boy and the girl, “Do you two know each other?”
Sandra frowned slightly, “Of course.”
Laura replies, “I am accompanying Carl to this event. I just noticed that you have been here for almost an hour, chatting about something, so I thought I would join in.”
Laura noticed the way Carl looked at her friend. There was a look
of interest in his eyes that made Laura suddenly feel a pang of jealousy, which she tried hard to contain. For the first time in all her work, she was lucky enough to accompany such a handsome man as Carl, and he wasn’t even paying much attention to her; he was giving it all to Sandra.
“Alright, join in,” Sandra smiled at her friends, “How was your evening, Laura?”
“Totally. And you?”
“Turned out the evening came to an end. Half an hour before the end, Carl and Laura laughed, and Sandra once again remained with the man she had accompanied all evening. He ended up paying her a tip of two hundred dollars, just as the bosses had said, and later Sandra received her first fee from the agency – one thousand dollars. Of course, it was only a small fraction of what she needed, but still, it was something.
The next week, Sandra woke up early in the morning and drove to the hospital to visit her mother. She put all the money she had earned during that time in an envelope and put it in her bag. She wanted so badly for her mother to live a new full life, but the more time passed, the less she believed it herself.
Sandra arrived at the hospital by 10 AM and the first thing she did was go to her mother’s attending physician. Upon entering the office, Sandra timidly said, “Hello.”
“Hello, how is Mom feeling?”
“Oh, no change,” the doctor replied and invited the girl to sit across from him, “But you know you can’t delay. The sooner the operation goes through, the better.”
“Oh, that’s why I came to see you.” Sandra took the envelope out of her bag and placed it on the table, “It’s not enough, here, of course, but it is already some part of the whole amount.”
“Wonderful, but still, it is not the kind of money your mother needs right now.”
“I am doing my best to earn it,” Sandra said.
“I see. Tell me, is she conscious now or not?”
“She’s asleep. So, hardly makes sense for you to go in and see her now?”
Sandra noted silently. She said goodbye to the doctor and left the hospital. Sitting on a bench, Sandra cried, mentally praying for her mother. Her phone rang, wiping away her tears; Sandra reached into her pocket for the phone.
“Hello, Sandra, there’s something going on. You are going to be crazy happy,” cried Laura cheerfully.
“What is it?” Sandra asked.
“That Evans you and I went to, a man took a fancy to you, and now he wants to buy you for one night. He said to tell you to name your own price.”
Sandra grimaced, “What are you talking about? I’m not going to do that, no, I will never agree to that, Laura.”
Laura never replied, the girl read. Simply this is your real chance to help your mom, just think Sandra, think. Her friend persuaded her. Sandra understood that she could never earn the money she needed any other way. One hundred thousand dollars in cash if he agrees. “I will go for it,” Sandra said. “Send your mother’s.”
It ended the call. Exactly five hours later, a tall man drove up to her house with a bag containing all the money she needed. As the man walked to the house, the girl was shaken with excitement. Inside, the man rang the doorbell, gave her the money, and told her she had to go with them.
“Can we make a stop at one place first?” Sandra asked.
The man didn’t say anything in response, he just nodded. On the way, she asked him to stop by her father’s house, who lived a few blocks away. The girl rang the doorbell, and her father, who had suddenly aged over the past year, appeared on the doorstep.
“Oh, hi, honey. What brings you here?”
“Hi, Daddy,” Sandra handed him a heavy bag, “It’s the entire amount for Mom’s treatments.”
“But how?” the man looked at his daughter in amazement, “How did you manage?”
“Never mind, Dad, I really have to go now.”
“No, wait. Explain to me how you managed to get that much money.”
“Bye, Daddy,” the girl walks quickly at the door and disappeared into the darkness that had the same sits on the city. The roar of the car’s engine could be heard, and the bright lights of the headlights could be seen.
Sandra was brought out of the town to a huge mansion. On the doorstep, she was met by a lovely woman in a suit. “My name is Pamela; follow me upstairs, honey,” she smiled and began to climb the stairs. The girl followed her. The manager took Sandra to a luxurious, beautifully decorated room.
“Unfortunately, the master will not be in today,” she informed her. “He is away on business.”
As if in a trance, the girl nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. The woman who escorted her out hurriedly left, and only then was Sandra able to breathe normally. All she had left now was a meeting with a customer, one meeting only, and all this hell would be over. She lay down on her bed and fell into a sweet sleep from fatigue.
In her dreams, she saw her mother, brimming with health, just like in her childhood. They chatted carefree about little things, and nothing bothered them. She felt so good.
Sandra was awakened by someone’s gentle touch. Someone gently stroked her hair, sometimes touching her cheeks and lips. At first, the girl didn’t even want to open her eyes; it seemed too hard to be a part of a dream. When she did open them, she froze in utter horror. Next to her was him, the handsome man from the party, Carl. The girl mechanically sat up on the bed and then stood up and stepped back as far as she could. Her heart was pounding like crazy.
“Oh, my God,” she could only utter, surprised.
“I didn’t know who both me,” Carl said with a smirk.
“Yeah, I didn’t think we would ever meet again,” this is your chance and your second meeting with me. Carl got out of bed and slowly began to walk closer and closer to Sandra.
“But why do you want me? Shouldn’t care about that. Don’t you want what I want? You will be mine,” Carl murmured.
Fortunately for the girl, they were interrupted. There was a knock at the door, and Pamela’s voice was heard. “Carl, there’s someone here to see you.”
“Who else?” Carl replied, stepping away from Sandra.
“Your mother,” the cheers.
“What the hell is she doing here? Get dressed,” the boy quickly threw on his shirt and went downstairs. From the first floor came Joey’s cheers, which Sandra heard muffled as she dressed. She was still in shock at her customer and what had happened. His touch was pleasant but at the same time too rough. What are you doing here, mother? Said Carl, somewhere below. Oh, it decided to visit my son for a while. You live here all alone, poor thing, so I thought I would stay with you for a week.
Finally, Sandra got dressed and decided to go downstairs. Carl’s mother immediately noticed the unfamiliar girl
and turned to her,
“And who is this lovely creature, son?”
The mother cheers, “Um,” the guy stretched out thoughtfully, “That’s my fiancée, Mom. Meet her. Her name is Sandra.”
“Fiancée?” Carl’s mother put her hands on her chest in surprise, “And you are hiding her from your mother? How cool! Come on, come closer, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you.”
Sandra stunned by Carl’s lies, apprehensively approached his mother. “Hello, nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, dear. How beautiful you are. Look at you, my son has finally decided to get married. This calls for a celebration.” The woman commanded.
“I will celebrate without me,” said Carl grudgingly, “I’m off to work.” Turning around, he went upstairs.
“So be it. It will be fine for the two of us, won’t it?” Deborah said to Sandra.
“Sure,” she agreed, still in shock at the unexpected turn of events. That moment, she was aware of something else entirely. Peter looked at her all the time, glancing over her. He was clearly stretched to her, and she didn’t like it at all. So it happens that instead of one night, Sandra spends a whole week at Carl’s house. While his mother was visiting, they spent a lot of time together, sometimes walking in the garden, sometimes going to some museum exhibitions that Deborah adored so much.
Surprisingly, Carl was always gallant and polite to Sandra. He courted her, sometimes even gave her expensive gifts. “You are beautiful; I won’t trade you roughly,” his hands returned to her tightly again, and this time the other family helped the girl’s worsts not to let her get away. Sandra frantically ran through her options for escape. “Stop it!” It’s Peter, she yelled as Peter’s lips touched her neck. “Leave me alone!”
“Come on, my friend won’t mind, believe me,” Peter replied. “Go to hell!” The girl tried to break free, but at that moment, the guy piled his whole body on top of her, completely immobilizing her.
“Help me!” the girl cried in tears, “Please!” Suddenly, someone roughly pulled Peter away from Sandra, literally throwing him to the ground. Wiping her eyes, the girl saw Carl was sitting on top of Peter and was beating him in the face with his fists, screaming something unintelligible. “She is mine, you hear me? She is mine!” He shouted as he struck another blow to his friend’s face.
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on her, you bastards!” Carl yelled, “Okay, Peter, it’s enough. Okay, I get it. I also know who she is. I will wait. Don’t you dare talk about her like that.” Carl turned angrily to the limp Peter, and he quickly left the house. As soon as she heard the roar of an engine and the screech of tires, the guy ran to the girl, curled up in a lump on the recliner, trembling with fright.
“Are you alright?” he touched her face gently, “Did he hurt you?”
Sandra shook her head negatively, “I shouldn’t have left you alone with him. This is all my fault; I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” He hugged the girl tightly, looking at her through her hair down her cheek. She was still trembling with fright, sitting in his arms. She was getting calmer by the minute. They sat by the pool for a long time, hugging each other in silence.
At one point, Sandra reached for Carl herself and gently kissed him. “I love you too, Carl. I want to stay with you.”
A few months passed, and the wedding, which at first was a fiction, actually did take place. They invited everyone, and even Sandra’s mother, who was finally able to leave the hospital and be happy for her daughter who had saved her life.
“Oh, baby girl, where did you get all this money?” her father asked Sandra in a whisper after the ceremony.
“It’s all thanks to Carl,” Diddy, the girl smiled, looking now at her husband, “He is the one who saved Mom and me.”
