“What is it, Ki? My husband’s already waiting for me out front. What else do you want?”
Without answering Nindia’s question, Kinan kept pulling her friend by the arm. “The debt collectors are waiting for me, Nind.”
The two women looked toward the parking lot. “See? There’s someone sitting on my motorcycle. They’ve been waiting for me,” Kinan said, the worry plain on her face.
“But just go home. I’ll wait here until they leave.”
Nindia sighed and looked at Kinan. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to leave you?”
Kinan nodded, the distress clearly showing on the beautiful young woman’s face despite her horribly unfortunate circumstances.
“Do you have any money?”
Kinan shook her head. “I don’t get paid until tomorrow. I barely have enough to make it through today.”
“Oh my God.” Nindi reached into her bag, pulled out her wallet, and handed Kinan a red bill. “Here. Take an online motorcycle taxi home.”
Kinan’s eyes glistened as she looked at Nindia. She nodded weakly. “I’ll wait for now. Maybe they won’t be there much longer,” Kinan said, sitting on the sofa where guests waited for their appointments.
“Okay, I’m going home. My husband’s already out front.”
Kinan looked at Nindia dejectedly. Luckily, she had Nindia, a friend she could ask for help, from years ago until now.
Kinan stared at the bill in her hand. Every month, her salary disappeared just paying off Lisa’s bills. Even today, Kinan didn’t have a single cent left after buying lunch. She’d planned to go hungry tonight until payday tomorrow.
Whew.
Kinan forcefully let out the tightness in her chest. She wanted to complain and lean on someone, but who? She didn’t even have a boyfriend. Her parents! Kinan’s sadness grew heavier at the thought of them.
After waiting for quite some time, the two men still sat calmly beside Kinan’s motorcycle. Eventually, Kinan grew tired of waiting, and the office became increasingly deserted.
Kinan approached the security guard near the lobby door. “Sir, I can leave my motorcycle here overnight, right? It’ll be safe until tomorrow?”
“What’s wrong with your motorcycle, Ms. Kinan? Did it break down?” asked the guard, who already knew Kinan because of how friendly the energetic girl was to everyone she met.
“No, sir. A friend is picking me up. We arranged to meet out front,” Kinan lied.
“Oh. All right, I’ll keep an eye on it. I happen to be working the night shift.”
“Thank you, sir. Here are the keys.” Kinan handed him the keys to her motorcycle.
“I’ll be going now, sir. Thank you.” Kinan left after receiving a nod from the guard.
Kinan hurried through a small door at the back of the building to avoid the two people waiting for her.
“Thank God. Thank you, sir.” The tall, slender beauty got off the back of an online motorcycle taxi and handed over the fare.
She felt relieved that she’d managed to escape the debt collectors this time. Kinan took her house keys from her bag. Her heart overflowed with gratitude that she could finally get inside the house where she would be safe.
But before the door could close completely, a hand blocked it. Kinan’s eyes flew wide when she saw who was standing outside.
“Drag her out!”
A woman pointed at Kinanti, her face twisted with anger.
“Please, Tan.” Kinan’s feet moved backward.
“There’s no mercy left for you.”
“But—”
Before Kinan could say anything, the two bodyguards who had been sitting on her motorcycle rushed forward and grabbed her arms.
“Wait, Tan. I’ll call a friend first. I swear, Tan, I can pay off the debt in installments this time.”
“No.” The woman with vividly red lipstick waggled her index finger.
“You have to pay it all off.”
“I’ll do my best, Tan.”
Kinan reached for her bag with trembling hands. She dialed Angga’s number. It wasn’t until the third call that he finally answered.
“Hello.” His deep voice greeted Kinan’s ears.
“Mr. Angga, I need your help right now. I’m waiting at my house.”
Kinan got straight to the point, but then—
Click.
Click.
Click.
Kinan stared at her phone. “Yeah... he hung up.” She tried calling again, but suddenly Angga’s phone was out of reach.
“Well?” The woman Kinan knew to be a pimp looked down on her, cigarette smoke billowing from her crimson lips.
“Just a minute, Tan. Wait half an hour. My friend is coming, but his house is pretty far away.” Kinan tried to stall by making excuses.
“Okay, there’s nothing I won’t do for you, but... if you lie to me again, just see what happens, pretty girl.” Carla gave a harsh laugh. She stared at Kinan with a hungry look.
“Pretty, energetic, marketable,” Carla thought. “You’re going to be my cash machine.”
Silence fell. Kinan checked the time on her phone again and again. The message she’d sent still showed only one check mark.
“Ugh, Mr. Angga, are you going to help me or not? Why did your phone suddenly die?!” Cold sweat began soaking through the beautiful girl’s clothes.
Carla kept glancing at the anxious Kinan. “Five more minutes. If no one shows up by then, you’ll belong to me for the rest of your life.”
Carla signaled to the two bodyguards. They nodded, understanding what she meant from her eyes.
Until finally—
“Okay. Thirty minutes are up.” Carla checked the watch on her wrist, then stood and looked at Kinan with a sinister grin.
“Tan, don’t. Please, give me one more chance!” Kinan knelt at Carla’s feet, hoping she would take pity on her.
“No. People like you do nothing but make promises, Hans.” Carla signaled to the man named Hans with a wink.
Hans approached and pressed a handkerchief to Kinanti’s nose as she cried and clung to Carla’s legs. Without waiting long, the girl went limp.
“Carry her,” Carla ordered. One bodyguard went outside to open the car door, while the other lifted Kinanti, who was now unconscious.