Chapter 10

                                    

                                          
Juri had nothing.
                          
As a last desperate measure to make the money, she sold her car. She had only gotten a shit ten grand but it was enough. She also knew she should never have stayed at Is'haaq's place but she couldn't help it. She was so desperately hungry for proper food that she had to do it. 
                          
She had nicked a few packets of biscuits here and there and she had taken off with a box of tampons before her period made an appearance, but she couldn't steal everything. She was a thief, but she liked to think of herself as a decent one. She wondered if it made her a bit of a hooker though. She was essentially having sex for food- even if Is'haaq was ignorant to it all.
                          
But it was almost over.
                          
Uncle Paul would come, take his shit and fuck off. 
                          
And that would be it.
                          
She could go back to her life the way it was before her bastard parents sold her out to him.
                          
She looked back down at her phone, both agony and relief swimming around in her gut as she read his message.
                          
I'll be there on Friday. Hope my money is there, girlie. Or not. I'd love some of that tight, little ass of yours. 
                          
She could go to Is'haaq again. She needed to go. She hadn't eaten in over two days and her shaky hands bore testimony to it. She left work as soon as her shift was over, tossing her gloves into the bin before she freshened up in the back room. Her fingers felt stiff from tying balloons and making them into flowers for almost five hours straight. She changed her work shoes for a pair of sneakers and zipped up her jacket over her backpack before she stepped out of the store... nicking another pair of gloves from the box. It wasn't much but at least it kept her hands warm.
                          
She walked down the busy main road, taking the twists and turns past the large wholesale stores. It was late. It was past five already and the traffic was heavy beside her. The smell of fuel and smoke permeated her lungs as taxis and trucks raced past her. She could feel eyes on her ass that she ignored as she made her way closer and closer to the garage. It took her almost an hour to walk to his workplace, but it did her good. She loved the monotony of it all. She didn't really have to think to walk... she didn't have to think to hire an Uber either but was beside the point. She couldn't afford it. 
                          
His white box BMW came into her sight. His car was an old piece of shit, but he loved it. He wouldn't have bothered with detailing his windscreen if he hadn't, but she wasn't one to talk either. Her car was just as old as his was. She remembered his car though. He kissed her for the first time in that car. She remembered the way the gear shift dug into her leg as he pulled her closer to him and the way the steering wheel felt against her back as he hauled her into his lap so he could kiss her the way she deserved. 
                          
She shook her head, ridding herself of days long past. It made no sense to dwell on what else had happened. It wasn't as if it would have done her any good anyway. She huddled into herself as she leaned against the passenger door for him. The smell of her latex gloves troubled her nose and she could almost taste it as she brought her hands to her mouth, blowing warm air into her palms. 
                          
She really had reached an all-time low.
                          
She was actually fucking someone for food.
                          
What would her granny say if could see her now? 
                          
"Do you want a coffee?" She jumped as a cup popped up before her eyes, attached to a freckly hand and a familiar warmth.
                          
"You're too sweet sometimes." Juri smiled, taking the cardboard cup from his hand. 
                          
"I think you mean most times." Is'haaq chucked her under her chin, kissing her forehead before her head dropped back. "So what were you thinking about so deeply that you didn't even see me?" he asked once they had settled in.