The Trafficked

13

‘He didn’t have to hit me.’ Amy’s sobs broke through her words. ‘I was only looking outside.’ She touched her mouth; it was sore from where the rough Hong Kong man, who she now knew was called Tony, had hit her. She could taste the rawness where her brace had cut into the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t stop shivering.

Lenny gave Amy a tissue and she wiped her nose.

‘You are not allowed to look outside. There is no point in banging on the window anyway, the windows are double-glazed and there is an anti-glare film on them, so no one can hear or see you.’

‘Why did he hit me then?’

‘He hit you because he and Sunny’, he gestured towards the lounge, ‘are very angry with your father. You have to be quiet and do as you’re told or they will hurt you.’

‘Why did you bring me here?’ She blinked tears from behind the pebble-thick glass of her spectacles. ‘I don’t want to stay here. I need to go back to school now.’

‘You cannot go anywhere until your father pays up. Now, eat this…’ He handed her a Pot Noodle.

She stared at it. She was really hungry. She had not had anything to eat since she got there. She took the carton from him.

‘Can I have my bag please, Lenny?’

‘You can have your bag but not your phone. You won’t be talking to anyone for a long while. Play by the rules here and you’ll be okay-make trouble and you will suffer…Understand?’

Amy nodded, her lip starting to quiver again. ‘Thank you for the food, Lenny.’ She stared at the Pot Noodle but it was no longer in focus as tears filled her eyes. ‘Thank you very much.’