Her Redemption

Chapter 11 – Her work

“So, what is it you want to tell me?” They were able to continue small talk earlier, but that’s just about it. Nothing significant or worth talking about.

They went out when Nia suggested it and they walked towards a nearby park.

“Well, you’ve been talking to my mom for months. Do you happen to know what my job is?”

“An assistant of some sort, isn’t it?”

Nia almost smiled. Yeah, that’s the story.

She stopped walking and he did, too.

Though she’d decided to tell him the truth and she really thought she would have no qualms about it, she realized she’s a bit nervous. Why? She has no idea. Maybe, at the back of her mind, she hoped she wouldn’t have to divulge her secret to someone. It would be unfair to keep him in the dark, though. She could reject him, but he would surely ask for a reason and any lame reason would not be acceptable.

He deserves the truth. Or is this her being naïve again? Yes, if she’s free to like and love someone, she might want him. He’s been a really good person.

“I’m not an assistant.” She shook her head for emphasis.

Troy frowned at her, but his little smile remained. He’s just happy she’s talking to him.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a prostitute.” Well, hell. That came out in a rhyme.

His frown deepened. “Is that a joke…?”

“It’s not a joke. I earn money by sleeping with men. I’ve been doing this for two years now. I haven’t even finished high school back then, do you think I could really snap up a work as someone’s assistant? High-paying at that? Even finding a part time job was so difficult, and that only pays minimum.” She hoped her tone downplayed her self-pity and her trepidation.

Why is she nervous? Her seven years of misfortune did make her wary of people. So many of them cared for her in the beginning but they all turned out to be snakes.

Troy ran a hand through his head as he stared at her with a frown and an open mouth.

“What?” That’s the only word that came out of his mouth. Was it too shocking?

She found herself smiling deprecatingly, “Not at all what you’re expecting, right? I told you. You deserve someone better.”

She’s tempted to ask him for friendship but knew it would be selfish. A guy who expressed interest on you and you friendzone him? Not cool. She wonders what his buttons are, his bottom line. What would make a guy like him explode?

“This…” Troy still wonders if he might have heard wrongly.

“Let’s go back. You would need time to digest my revelation, don’t you? I would admit to ignoring any hints you showed before, hoping you would lose interest after a while. I didn’t think you’d stay this long and actually confess. Since you’re a nice guy, I thought you deserve the truth. I do hope you’d keep this a secret. Lara already hates me because of this. Some of her school mates knew and they bully her. It’s unfair to her and yet I brought it upon her.” Her expression turned dark.

One time, she carefully asked her sister if she wants to transfer to a new school.

There’s no need, Lara said. Her new classmates would just ask and chances are, they would know someone from her old school and the unpleasant news would spread farther. Nia’s name and the story of their family would have been infamous. More than it already is.

“Can you actually bring yourself to be in a relationship with someone who sleeps with others? At night, I would be in my client’s bed, not yours. I have this burden and I don’t think others would want to share it.” Nia continued. Her heart isn’t exactly breaking, but it hurt a little. A reminder that she wouldn’t… she wouldn’t be deserving of someone’s love. She has no right to love someone at this point.

Troy went home in some sort of trance. He brought Nia back to the hospital. Though he has a lot of questions in his mind, he feels he has no right to ask them. It’s not respectful. She might get offended. Or she might feel hurt.

Who is he to question her? It’s not as if he’s arresting her or anything.

He slumped onto a chair in his living room. He leaned forward and clutched his head in his hands.

He let out a soft laugh. All this time and he never noticed. He never questioned her dubious work schedule. Whenever he saw her, she would look lovely in his eyes. How could he be an investigator when he has no intuition for these things? He wasn’t able to tell when there’s something wrong.

He took a deep breath before leaning his back on the chair. He stared unseeing at the ceiling. What should he do?

Nia expected that he might stop showing up after she told him the truth. Her mother smiled sadly at her.

A couple of weeks passed before he surprised her by showing up again. She wasn’t expecting him to be back. Of course, him being the good guy that he is, he might be here for her mother. Not at all for her.

Wait, wasn’t that the whole point? To drive him away? Why does she feel like she wants him to keep showing up? This is bad, she thought. She’s starting to crave for someone’s attention. She shouldn’t do that to Troy.

She let the two of them have a conversation while she busied herself with unimportant chores. After a while, she went out to buy medicines and fruits.

Troy quickly excused himself from Linda, who smiled at him. He went after Nia.

She was visibly surprised, her eyes even widening at seeing him beside her as they walked out of the hospital building.

“Can I go with you?” He asked and Nia can only frown.

“Sure.” She shrugged afterwards. She hasn’t seen him in a while and he’s looking fresh today.

As soon as they left the building, Troy started the conversation. It’s a little awkward and Nia’s not sure where she wants to draw the line with him. If he starts asking questions now, which ones is she prepared to answer?

“About what you said last time…” He began and Nia only responded with a hum.

She heard him sigh and that brought a smile to her face. What could he say?

“It must have been hard on you, isn’t it?” What an i***t. Is this something you should say, Troy? Inwardly, he reprimanded himself.

“Well, yes. Working is hard. It’s the same everywhere. Isn’t it the same for you?”

“At least, this is something I chose for myself.”

“There is that.” Nia agreed.

After a brief silence, his next question is, “How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“I mean… your work. How are you being treated there?” In their station alone, they have numerous cases of abuse, assault, and domestic violence involving women. Most of them have dabbled in s*x work.

It is technically illegal but there is no active campaign to hunt down people involved in it. It’s an ongoing debate. People say those who work in the industry made their choice and gave their consent. It’s not that different from consensual s*x, where a lover receives gifts from a satisfied partner. Of course, there are differences. Not everyone treats them with respect. There’s a part of society that condemns it. Some people show disdain against the so-called s*x workers. Why can’t they get a “normal” job? But what is normal? There are those who engage a s*x worker’s services in an act of showing dominance and subjecting the worker through utter humiliation. There could be abuse. There could be violence. There would always be a monster lurking in the dark, preying on the weak and pouncing upon a given opportunity.

Troy’s worried about her. In the beginning, when she first told him, he was thinking of withdrawing. She’s really not the girl he thought she was. He thought she’s innocent. Who knew she knew more about the darkness of this world? When he came to last week, he began to worry for her safety. 

Nia eyed him curiously. “It’s alright. The company I work for is pretty much organized. They have rules. They have terms and conditions.” She paused then before continuing.

“I do hope you’re not planning a raid and you’re not going to arrest me.” It was her attempt at a joke but she did feel really nervous.

“I won’t do that to you.” Damn. Here’s the crux of the matter to him. As a police officer, he’s supposed to enforce compliance with the laws. Anything against the law is illegal and must be punished. Yes, in the short amount of time he’d been in the service, he’d seen a few underhanded activities among his colleagues. Those have been unsettling experiences for him. He was advised to look the other way. The politics and power play between players inside the department is bigger than only one person.

“You can try but you’ll be the one who’ll end up regretting it. It’s a matter of tolerance and how much you can tolerate. Set a bar and when someone steps over the line, you speak out or you get out of here.” This was the advice his partner gave him. It made him angry, sad and frustrated all at once. He wasn’t blind to what’s happening in reality. College and internship did prepare him a little. Slowly, he’s being exposed to it more and more. There’s this tiny dot of regret in his heart. He’s hoping it won’t grow to suffocate him.