The Call Girl

Diary 2: Entry 4

It was Saturday night when I decided to follow Jiu. No, don't say 'stalk', I wasn't doing that. I simply had to know more about who else she was seeing. If she was safe. I still remember the bruises I saw on her wrists. Those weren't the product of kindness; I was dead certain of that.

First, I met her for afternoon coffee and English tutoring. We were in the final weeks of the semester now. Study break and the coming exams cast their shadows across campus. Jiu was as anxious as anyone I had ever seen. Her knee kept bobbing, making the table jiggle. Her nails were trimmed short from incessant biting. And she became less and less forgiving of each mistake she made.

It came to the point where she threw down her pen and burst in to tears. "I can't do this," she blubbered into her hands.

I felt a pain tug at my heart. Oh, Jiu. My Jiu. I pulled her close and squeezed her tight, as if the pressure could eke all her misery out of her. "Shh, shh...everything's going to be alright," I murmured into her hair.

She sobbed into my chest for a few more moments before she replied. "How can you be so sure?"

I didn't immediately know what to say to that. My hand rubbed gentle circles on her back for a few moments before I answered. "Because you're you."

Jiu snorted and pulled away, smiling through her tears. "That was so corny."

I chuckled. My heart fluttered at her smile. "Right up your alley, then."

She shrugged. "That's true." Taking a deep breath, she refocused on the next practice test before her. "Okay. Let's do this."

Thankfully, the rest of the session passed without incident. She wasn't perfect, but she improved. Good enough for me.

All too soon, our time was up. "I have to go now," Jiu said. "I have to see a client soon."

I nodded, hoping she didn't see me gulp. "Alright, no problem. I'll see you soon."

She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, then smiled brightly as she waved. "See you!"

I watched Jiu as she left, bile rising up my throat. Who was she going to see? Whose hands would be all over her? Who would be kissing her? Loving her, while I'm not around?

I only noticed my nails digging into my palm when I felt a wetness on my fingers. I glanced down. Blood. Snarling, I smothered my palm with a tissue and got up to follow her.

From my tailing I discovered where she lived. An apartment in a poorer suburb. Paint flaked off the walls and metal fences were plagued with rust. I wondered if I should pity her. Did she enjoy what she did? Or was it out of necessity? Or was it both? Or was she being threatened? I didn't know, and I was too afraid to ask.

Then I followed her to her client's place. It was a house in a residential area complete with a small garden and garage. It looked like the client had a family. I hid in the bushes outside. Not my proudest moments, but I had to know. Who else was she fucking, and was anyone hurting her?

I watched as she was greeted by a man in a shirt with the top buttons undone. He beckoned her inside, and after several moments, a room upstairs lit up. The bedroom, presumably. He must have been caught up in the moment because he left the curtains open. I could see everything that was going on in that room. And to this day I regret that with all my being.

Because I watched as he pushed her down onto the bed. I watched as he took off her clothes and she took off his. And I watched, rooted with horror, unable to look away, as he pinned her wrists above her head, penetrated her, and fucked her like a rabid animal. My sweet, precious Jiu. She deserved tenderness and love. Not...whatever this was. I thanked whatever gods there were that he wore a condom. I don't think I could've taken it if he'd painted her with his semen. Yuck.

When they were done, I doubled over and vomited into the bushes. I was absolutely sick to my stomach. I wanted to scrub my mind with bleach but I saw it every time I blinked. I couldn't get it out of my head.

I remained crouched in my hiding spot as the man walked Jiu out of his house, down the front path, and too the sidewalk. She pecked him on the cheek as she waved him goodbye and smiled that sunshine smile of hers. Despite the circumstances, my heart still fluttered at the sight.

My view of Jiu was then blocked as the man decided to watch her walk away, sighing like a man admiring the sunrise. And then he sniffed the air.

"Ugh!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is that smell?"

I blanched. My vomit in the bushes.

He turned and looked right at my hiding place. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't breathe. I dared not. He approached, sniffing the air and following the stench. I knew he spotted me when his eyes narrowed like spears through my skull.

"Whoever you are, come out or I'll drag you out," he growled.

I was frozen. My legs wouldn't obey me. My hands shook.

When I wasn't forthcoming, the man fulfilled his word. His hand dove into the bushes, grabbed my arm, and yanked me out. I tumbled onto his front lawn. Then he grabbed my by the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet.

"Who are you, and why are you hiding outside my house?" he hissed.

"I-I-I," I stammered.

He shook me roughly. "I said, who are you?"

I flinched at the venom in his voice. "I-I'm her girlfriend."

The man frowned. "Whose? Hers? That prostitute's?"

"Y-Yes."

"Huh. I didn't know whores could be in relationships."

"She's not a whore!" I yelled, then yelped as the back of his hand cracked across my cheek.

"Keep it down! Why are you here? Did you see everything?"

"Y-yes, I did. She deserves better than you!" I spat in his face.

His face darkened. "You think she belongs to you? She'll do what I pay her for, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I yelled and aimed a kick at his shin. He grunted in pain. I pulled myself free from his grip.

His eyes burned with rage now. "You bitch!" He took a step forward. His fist slammed into my nose. It crunched, and blood spurted out of my nostrils. The force of his blow threw me off my feet. I landed on the sidewalk. My head smacked the ground. Hard. The world went dark for a moment, then faded back into focus in a swirl of stars.

The man crouched looking down his nose at me. "Don't ever come to my house again. If you do, you'll get worse than this." Then he stood and went back inside.

I simply lay there on the cold, hard concrete, blood flowing down my face and throat, my head pounding, and only one thought in my mind:

What have I done?