Abuse/Coercion Happens #1
About six months after you moved in, you noticed Colton was not paying as much attention to you unless he wanted to have sex, and he would scare you when he was angry.
One day, Colton told you that he was in a tight spot financially. He said you could earn cash much easier than he could and that it was time for you to start contributing. Before you knew what was happening, Colton took you to a nearby house where there were at least fifteen girls, and told you that if you really loved him, you’d sleep with a couple of his friends who were willing to pay for it. You felt horrible about yourself, but you didn’t want to lose Colton, and you were afraid of what would happen if you said no.
The next day, when the same thing happened again, you quickly realized that this was not just a one-time event; this could be your life. Things were never the same again, and you worked a lot to get “easy cash” for Colton. He told you that you were the prettiest and his favorite, and he seemed to give you more attention than the other girls. You still loved Colton and looked to him for safety, but you also felt ashamed, exposed, and trapped in a world you never wanted to be a part of.
Sometimes Colton brings the men to you, and sometimes, the woman in charge, Tracy, takes over. Like Colton, she is cruel. She slaps and kicks you if you protest too much, and she is especially mean when Colton is around to watch. When you cry, she softens a little and tells you that all women feel this way at some point. She tells you that you should just be grateful that you have food and shelter. She says the other women use drugs to help.
Colton allows you to go to the store with Tracy one afternoon to get food for the house. Across from the store, you see a church. You watch as Tracy examines the different types of bread and flirts with the man at the counter. She is distracted, and you can see that you might be able to escape for just a minute.
You have not been outside for weeks, and you feel so drawn to the church that you can barely resist. You feel that being in a church and praying for a minute will comfort you at least a little. If Tracy is feeling kind today, she will yell at you for sneaking off, but she will have pity because she knows you are exhausted. If she gets angry, though, you will suffer a beating from her, or worse, from Colton if you return home late.
What happens next?
If you feel there is little harm in stopping in the church for a while, go to Church #1.
If you do not want to take the risk of a beating, go to Return to Trafficker #2.