Society Girls: Matisse (20 page)

“Am I in trouble for it? It wasn’t an
official mission.” My friends have gotten in trouble for going
rogue, but I won’t apologize for doing what I had to in order to
stay alive.

“No. What you did was brave, and smart. It
only reinforces how much you belong here with us.”

“I can’t do what you do if I’m scared.”

“You think I’m never scared?”

“You’re Reina.”

“Yes, I am. I’m the girl who was almost
trafficked once, and will never forget that. I don’t want to
forget. My past makes me stronger, just as things every one of the
other mentors has experienced makes them stronger, too. The bravest
thing any of us has ever done is ask for help when we needed
it.”

“I need it,” I tell her, a little blown away
by what she just said. I knew about what happened to her as a girl,
because nothing is kept from us, but to hear her say it is surreal.
She’s not only surviving what happened to her, but it’s helping
her. I want my experience to help me somehow.

She nods. “We have a wonderful team of
doctors here. You can see one of them individually, and then if
you’d like, you can do some group sessions.”

“Group sessions? With people we help?”

“Yes, and no, not with outside women. There
are some among us who have gone through things so horrific that
they see our therapists regularly.” She holds up a finger and
places a call, asking someone to come and take me to therapy. “One
of them will be here to take you to your first appointment.”

“They can still work here while they get
help?”

“Mental illness is not something to be
ashamed of, or punished for. Like I already said, asking for help
is the bravest thing anyone can do. You asking just reinforces how
impressed I am with you.”

“Waverly said you had things about her to
tell me.”

“I’m going to let her tell all of you at
once. It’s her story. I will tell you that she’d like to be the
last recruit, and her acceptance into your group will be up to you
and your friends.”

What? I open my mouth to speak, but nothing
comes out. Thankfully, Reina’s door opens up again, and Nate walks
in.

“You ready to go to see my doctor, Matisse?”
he asks me, and all I can do is nod, because the surprises just
keep coming today.

Matisse

My session with the doctor was a little
rough, but I think it went well. I told her everything, and she
gave me some things to think about, as well as a little homework.
I’m feeling good as I walk out of her office. I’ll be seeing her
three times a week to start, and then I’ll have group sessions if
I’m ready.

Nate is waiting for me, and I smile at him.
“You didn’t have to wait.”

“The first session can be hard, and I didn’t
want you to be alone.”

“Thank you, Nate.” I don’t know all he went
through, but I’ve heard little things here and there that make me
think it was pretty bad.

“Don’t worry,” he says, seeming to read my
mind. “Once you join my group sessions with Ellie and the doctor,
you’ll know what happened to us.”

“Ellie?”

“Yep. She said I could tell you, so I’m not
breaking her confidence or anything.”

I’m still trying to process the fact that
two of the most badass people I know need help like I do when my
phone goes off. I look down and see a summons to the main Society
conference room. It’s the only room that fits all of us in—the
mentors, the founders, the recruits, and some family members. I’m
pretty sure I’m about to hear Waverly’s plea to join us, and while
I want to hear everything, a part of me isn’t ready. I’m not being
given a choice, though, so I take a deep breath and nod to Nate,
letting him know I’m ready to go.

We walk into the room together, but separate
into our respective spots once inside. I sit between Sierra and
Harlow, who both give me smiles. Everyone has been by to see me and
hang out, and I’m really lucky to have this group of women at my
side. I’m not sure I can accept Waverly as one of us, but I’m going
to try and keep an open mind as Reina stands and walks to the front
of the room.

“Thank you all for coming. Ellie is still
working with the women and children Matisse saved,” she says as
cheers and clapping begin. I blush as she waits for the applause to
die down. “And most of you know that Audrey is in Africa. She’s
leading a local team there, helping with some things you’re about
to hear about. They’ve both given me their voting choices for
today, since they can’t be here in person.

“Before we start, I urge you to listen, and
keep an open mind. I know some of you are angry at Waverly, but she
has a story to tell, and reasons why she would like to fill the
recruit spot. I am fully in support of her joining, as are all the
mentors and founders, but ultimately, we are leaving the choice up
to the recruits because you will be working side by side with her.
Waverly, are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she says, and
Reina hugs her before taking her seat. “Hi, everyone. Thanks for
listening today. I know I’m not your favorite person right now, but
I hope hearing my story will help you understand things you’ve seen
and heard in the last week. I’m going to start at the beginning,
and summarize a lot, but I’m willing to answer any questions you
may have once I’m done.”

She swallows hard, and her jaw clenches for
a moment before she speaks again. “I was born in a small city in
Africa, and my family was very poor. I don’t remember much about my
parents, but I remember being hungry as a small child. One morning,
my mother came in and dressed me up. I didn’t know where she got
the dress, but it was pretty, and I was happy to put it on. She
even used some of our precious water supply to clean me up, so I
knew it was a special day.

“There was a car waiting outside, and my
mother told me we were going somewhere grand and wonderful. She
took me to a house that was so big it needed a wall around it to
keep everyone out, or at least that’s what I thought as a little
girl. A man met us as we got out of the car. He told me he had cake
and juice for me, and if I was a good girl, I could live there with
him. I didn’t want to leave my parents, but my mother slapped me
across the face when I began to cry. I watched as the man gave her
a bundle of money, but I held in my tears as she drove away in the
car. My mother had sold me to this man. I didn’t understand it then
because I was only three years old, but I soon learned exactly what
my fate would be.”

Oh my God! I’m dumbfounded, and as I look
around at my friends, they all look as shocked as I feel. This is
only the beginning of her story, but I already want to go up and
hug her.

“For eight years, I was trained to do many
of the things you’ve been learning here. I was just a child, but I
was trained like I was a soldier in an army. I wasn’t alone in my
training—there were twelve of us to start. When we finished the
first part of our training, there were five of us left. A few of
the other children couldn’t handle what we were doing, and wouldn’t
shoot the animals we had raised as pets when we were ordered to.
That was when I was five, and yes, I shot my rabbit. It hurt, but I
knew I would die if I didn’t do it. A few other children weren’t
good at what we did, so they were sent to the sex trade early. I
was the best at what I did, because I wanted to live. Living was
the only way to escape one day.

“When I finished my training at age eleven,
I was told I was being rented out as a bodyguard and companion to a
wealthy young boy. My new studies were to begin, but I would be
with him for most of the time. I was scared, because I didn’t know
if he would try and hurt me, but I was also excited to be out of
the compound I hadn’t been allowed to leave since I was brought
there.”

I know in my heart who the boy is, before
she even says it. I also know he didn’t hurt her.

“The boy I met that day is the man you know
as Kendrick. His name was Kenyi then; he wasn’t mean, and he didn’t
want to hurt me. He became my best friend and did everything he
could to protect and care for me. He insisted I eat with his
family, so I was given quality food. When I went on vacations with
them, he made sure I was sitting with him, and not the other
servants. I couldn’t go to his school as it was boys only, but he
bought me little trinkets and baubles so I’d know he was thinking
of me while we were apart, and to cheer me up because I cried every
time I came back from my new training.

“Yes, I was still continuing my initial
training while I was with Ken. I shot targets with guns, knives,
and arrows daily. I battled my peers, and then my instructors, in
hand to hand combat. And I ran at least ten miles per day. Other
things were added as well. I was taught five new languages, and I
learned how to hack into computers. We were never left alone with
the weapons or technology, but I know how to use them. There was
also one more type of training I had to endure.

“This one wasn’t about how to hurt or kill
or spy. I was being trained to be a sex slave. I wasn’t touched in
a sexual way, because as I was told, I was worth more as a virgin.
I was also told, over and over again, that I was allowed to be with
Ken because the man who had bought me—Klas—needed something from
his parents. If not, I could be sold for millions. At age eleven, I
was in high demand.”

If I hadn’t heard that Klas was already
dead, I would find him right now and kill him myself. Of course I
know what she’s saying happens. Even if I hadn’t been in the
container with the children, I know what the Society’s main
missions consist of, and I watch the news. Hearing it about others,
and knowing it happened to your friend are two different
things.

“Although I wasn’t touched,
I was forced to watch. Thankfully, I never had to watch children
and adults, because watching the adults do
things
to each other, and with each
other, was scary enough. I’ve watched more sex acts than the
biggest porn addict in the world has. Every type of sex you can
imagine, leading up to me seeing submissives be trained before
being sold. I was told that would be me when I was eighteen, and I
was forced to attend every session so I’d know exactly how to
behave when my master purchased me.

“I had to watch hundreds of submissives be
trained over the next several years, and it never got easier for
me. I’m sure some people would be able to become immune to the
crying and the screams, but I never did. I knew how to kill, but I
also knew if I killed anyone in any of those rooms, I would die. I
felt selfish for wanting to live, and the guilt still keeps me
awake at night sometimes.

“When I was sixteen, I finally got up the
courage to tell Ken where I was being taken and what my fate was
going to be. He was angrier than I’d ever seen him, so he started
to plan. To save the money his parents gave him. He stopped dating,
refusing to go out with the girls his parents wanted to set him up
with. I’m pretty sure they thought he was gay at one point, and I
know he was beaten more than once for his disobedience. He endured
it all in order to make what he planned to do seem real.

“On my eighteenth birthday, he insisted on
throwing me a big party, with all of the wealthy and powerful
people in our city invited. Klas was there to take me. I should’ve
been gone when Ken turned eighteen, but he asked to keep me a
little longer, and his parents paid some kind of bonus, I think. In
the middle of the party, Ken got up on stage in front of everyone
and said he was in love with me. He said he wanted to marry me once
we both finished school in America. We sold that lie like our lives
depended on it, because mine did, and I was afraid for him at that
point as well.

“He had been given a huge sum of money on
his eighteenth birthday, money he didn’t want because he knew where
it came from. He took that money though, and added what he’d been
saving for two years to it, to buy me from Klas. Klas was angry,
and didn’t want to sell me to him, but since we’d declared our love
in front of so many people, he had to take the deal. He placed a
condition on the sale, though—we had to marry, or he could take me
back. I also had to remain a virgin until the wedding, because his
investment was at stake.

“We agreed, because what else could we do?
We came to America, and went to school. Ken had helped me learn
everything he was learning, and I worked hard year round those last
few years, and I was able to pass your GED test and get into a
small college while he went to Johns Hopkins University. It was in
college where he first heard about the Society, and realized if we
could find this group, we could hopefully save ourselves.

“He told me to switch my
degree from computer science to physical therapy, because his plan
was to get a job in the Society and take me with him. We tried
everything we could to find you, but he had no power in this
country, and we knew we were being watched. Ken made sure to excel
at all his classes, hoping if he graduated at the top of his class,
he’d be on some kind of radar. We were getting ready to go off the
grid, and run, because time was running out for us, and even though
we love each other, we’ve never been
in
love
. He would’ve married me if it came
down to that, but neither of us wanted that.

“Jane Corrigan approached us as we were
walking out of our apartment, bags in hand. She had heard about
Ken, and his grades, plus the volunteer work he’d been doing with
battered women. I need to tell you right now that yes, he did that
to get noticed, but I want to also remind you that he truly cares.
You all have to know that. He loves the work he does, and while he
initially did it to look for a way out for us, he has come to love
this place, and all of you in it.