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Chapter 8
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2025-04-28 18:20:12
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The Price Of Us Chapter 9
LOUISWhen I woke up, the house was eerily quiet.No yelling. No shattering glass. No stumbling footsteps shaking the paper-thin walls.Was I dreaming? This was an unusual occurrence, yet as I gradually made my way out of the bedroom, I knew the truth: Father had not come back home. Not the night before and definitely not last night.I knew I should be relieved—elated, even—but all those years of disappointment had dulled the feeling. My father's coming and goings were never blessings; they were preludes to whirlwinds. When he returned, as he always did in time, it was almost always with raised fists from his constant inebriation and rage.But just for a while, I gave myself this moment. Just a second, one of optimism. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time, my father wouldn't be returning.But instead of calming me, the thought made me more unsettled. I needed to get out. I needed to get away before the cycle became worse. I thought back to the casino that I applied to,
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 10
ELIASI should have known better.The moment I stepped into the hospital parking lot—alone, clad only in jeans, a hoodie, and a tattered leather jacket—I felt it.That shiver at the back of my neck.That metallic, biting tang of danger.But stupidity got the best of me.But as childish as it seems, I’ll blame it on the boy. Louis, with his sun-faded curls and haunting blue eyes dragging my mind from the sharpness I'd taken years to build.Stupid.I pulled my hands into my jacket pockets and made my way towards the side door.One look through the glass doors, and there he was—Louis—marching determinedly along the corridor with a mop cradled to his chest, head down.He looked…drained. Worn out at the edges.And yet, something inside of me twisted—a foul, animalistic impulse.Mine.The thought arose uninvited, unwanted.I gritted my teeth and started to make my way forward—but as soon as I took the turn beyond the ambulance bay, they were waiting.Three men with poor posture, poor shoes
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 11
LOUISI stared back at the email in the slightly darkened hospital break room."Congratulations. We are pleased to extend an offer to you for a position at Allure Casino as a Floor Assistant."I read the mail five times, my heart racing.This was a joke. It had to be.No one just gave away jobs at Allure—the most upscale, casino in Chicago. It was a palace of vice, talked about behind nurses' masks and janitors' gloves.And yet, there it was.My name.My acceptance.I sat there in shocked silence, hope flickering like a fragile match in my chest.Perhaps this was it. My ticket out away from that house. Away from him. I’ll finally have a chance to live.I pressed trembling hands over my eyes and breathed out slowly.I accepted the offer without hesitation or regret because now, I am more determined than ever to leave that house.I walked home lighter that evening, visions of shining floors and generous paychecks keeping my battered heart afloat.But by now, I should have known better,
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 12
LOUISMy new uniform itched.Black dress shirt, black pants, black vest— clean, starched, and nothing like the faded hand-me-downs from home.I tugged nervously at the collar as I stepped onto the casino floor for the first time.The place hummed around me like a living, breathing entity.Laughter. Clinking glasses. The sweet, intoxicating smell of whiskey and high-end perfume.I made my way carefully through the crowd, tray in hand, hyper-aware of every step.The bruises under my clothes throbbed with each shift of my weight, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.Don't screw this, Louis, my brain screamed at me."Lost, kid?"A pit boss—a mountain of a man with a crooked nose—barked out a laugh and jabbed a thumb toward the roulette tables.I muttered a thank you and headed in the direction he pointed.My face burned in embarrassment. I haven’t even started and I was already blowing it.But when I spotted a dark form propped against the far wall, observing—always observing—my heart f
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 13
LOUISThe streets were slick with rain when I stepped out into the night.I tugged my worn-out jacket tighter around me, hunching my shoulders, and wincing every time my bruised ribs scraped against the fabric.The cold still seeped in through the threadbare material, but at least now, I might be able to afford another one.Despite everything, the bruising, exhaustion and mind-numbing fear, I’d experienced today, I couldn’t stop smiling.I'd survived my first shift.I had a paycheck coming my way.I had a way out.For once, hope didn’t feel like a noose around my neck.But then, I felt it.That flutter at the back of my neck. The one that felt like eyes were watching in the darkness.I hastened m step, my sneakers making distressed sounds against the wet pavement, my heart already pounding.Perhaps it was nothing. Maybe I was only frightened. I mean, I tend to do that a lot.But when I dared look back, I saw the glow of a cigarette cherry in the shadows.Someone was following me.Pani
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 14
ELIASThe darkened glass of my office window overlooked the entire casino floor.From up here, everyone looked small and insignificant.Everyone except him.I leaned forward a bit, my elbows resting on the mahogany desk, eyes fixed on the security feed.There he was, moving slowly through the casino lobby, cleaning tables, stopping now and again to grimace at the limp he worked so diligently to hide.Louis.Christ, that limp was terrible today."You know," Cathan stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed, "this is becoming an obsession."I didn't turn. "I'm just making sure he lives.""You're making sure you lose your mind over another broken thing you think you can fix," he snapped, taking a step closer."You're not his savior, Don."My jaw tightened."I'm not trying to be," I lied.Cathan didn't push it further—he knew when he needed to back off.Still, his words dug under my skin.The truth was, I saw too much of myself in Louis.The battered look he tried to hide, the way he f
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 15
LOUISThe weight of the tray still shook slightly in my hands, even after I'd left the VIP hall. My heart thudded against my ribcage like a trapped bird.Snap out of it, Louis, I scolded myself, slinking back into the service corridor.But how could I?The way he touched me, held me. Like I wasn't some fragile thing that would shatter at the slightest contact.Elias.I shouldn't even have know his name, but the time he told me in that small private hospital room, I couldn't unhear it. Couldn't help but feel the way it twisted inside my chest and made everything tight.Elias.He spoke it like it didn’t matter. Like he didn't need to hide.Who was he?No regular man could command the fear and reverence that he seemed to demand just by stepping into a room.And no ordinary man looked at me the way he did—like he had to protect me and…Let me not go there.I set the tray down and pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to push the panic away.This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to
Last Updated : 2025-04-28The Price Of Us Chapter 1
LOUISSince Mama left Father and me when I was ten years old, all I’ve ever known is suffering and pain. Father had always been cruel to me, even before my sorry excuse for a mother left—but her absence carved a chasm so deep in his already blackened heart that the only way he knew how to fill it was with fists.Each. And. Every. Day.And this morning was no exception.“You sorry excuse of a man,” he roared, driving his heavy boots into my stomach again and again. The pain burned through me, but I didn’t dare cry out. Just like I hadn’t for the past seventeen years.“Twenty-seven years and you still can’t even stand up to me,” he spat, delivering a final kick to my shin. “Such a disgrace.” Then he turned and stomped up the stairs, likely to drown himself in whiskey or whatever poison numbed the void inside him.I stayed on the cold, cracked kitchen floor, blinking back tears of frustration. I was pathetic. Helpless. A man who couldn’t even defend himself in his home. I’d tried over t
Last Updated : 2025-04-15
Latest chapter
The Price Of Us Chapter 15
LOUISThe weight of the tray still shook slightly in my hands, even after I'd left the VIP hall. My heart thudded against my ribcage like a trapped bird.Snap out of it, Louis, I scolded myself, slinking back into the service corridor.But how could I?The way he touched me, held me. Like I wasn't some fragile thing that would shatter at the slightest contact.Elias.I shouldn't even have know his name, but the time he told me in that small private hospital room, I couldn't unhear it. Couldn't help but feel the way it twisted inside my chest and made everything tight.Elias.He spoke it like it didn’t matter. Like he didn't need to hide.Who was he?No regular man could command the fear and reverence that he seemed to demand just by stepping into a room.And no ordinary man looked at me the way he did—like he had to protect me and…Let me not go there.I set the tray down and pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to push the panic away.This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to
The Price Of Us Chapter 14
ELIASThe darkened glass of my office window overlooked the entire casino floor.From up here, everyone looked small and insignificant.Everyone except him.I leaned forward a bit, my elbows resting on the mahogany desk, eyes fixed on the security feed.There he was, moving slowly through the casino lobby, cleaning tables, stopping now and again to grimace at the limp he worked so diligently to hide.Louis.Christ, that limp was terrible today."You know," Cathan stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed, "this is becoming an obsession."I didn't turn. "I'm just making sure he lives.""You're making sure you lose your mind over another broken thing you think you can fix," he snapped, taking a step closer."You're not his savior, Don."My jaw tightened."I'm not trying to be," I lied.Cathan didn't push it further—he knew when he needed to back off.Still, his words dug under my skin.The truth was, I saw too much of myself in Louis.The battered look he tried to hide, the way he f
The Price Of Us Chapter 13
LOUISThe streets were slick with rain when I stepped out into the night.I tugged my worn-out jacket tighter around me, hunching my shoulders, and wincing every time my bruised ribs scraped against the fabric.The cold still seeped in through the threadbare material, but at least now, I might be able to afford another one.Despite everything, the bruising, exhaustion and mind-numbing fear, I’d experienced today, I couldn’t stop smiling.I'd survived my first shift.I had a paycheck coming my way.I had a way out.For once, hope didn’t feel like a noose around my neck.But then, I felt it.That flutter at the back of my neck. The one that felt like eyes were watching in the darkness.I hastened m step, my sneakers making distressed sounds against the wet pavement, my heart already pounding.Perhaps it was nothing. Maybe I was only frightened. I mean, I tend to do that a lot.But when I dared look back, I saw the glow of a cigarette cherry in the shadows.Someone was following me.Pani
The Price Of Us Chapter 12
LOUISMy new uniform itched.Black dress shirt, black pants, black vest— clean, starched, and nothing like the faded hand-me-downs from home.I tugged nervously at the collar as I stepped onto the casino floor for the first time.The place hummed around me like a living, breathing entity.Laughter. Clinking glasses. The sweet, intoxicating smell of whiskey and high-end perfume.I made my way carefully through the crowd, tray in hand, hyper-aware of every step.The bruises under my clothes throbbed with each shift of my weight, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.Don't screw this, Louis, my brain screamed at me."Lost, kid?"A pit boss—a mountain of a man with a crooked nose—barked out a laugh and jabbed a thumb toward the roulette tables.I muttered a thank you and headed in the direction he pointed.My face burned in embarrassment. I haven’t even started and I was already blowing it.But when I spotted a dark form propped against the far wall, observing—always observing—my heart f
The Price Of Us Chapter 11
LOUISI stared back at the email in the slightly darkened hospital break room."Congratulations. We are pleased to extend an offer to you for a position at Allure Casino as a Floor Assistant."I read the mail five times, my heart racing.This was a joke. It had to be.No one just gave away jobs at Allure—the most upscale, casino in Chicago. It was a palace of vice, talked about behind nurses' masks and janitors' gloves.And yet, there it was.My name.My acceptance.I sat there in shocked silence, hope flickering like a fragile match in my chest.Perhaps this was it. My ticket out away from that house. Away from him. I’ll finally have a chance to live.I pressed trembling hands over my eyes and breathed out slowly.I accepted the offer without hesitation or regret because now, I am more determined than ever to leave that house.I walked home lighter that evening, visions of shining floors and generous paychecks keeping my battered heart afloat.But by now, I should have known better,
The Price Of Us Chapter 10
ELIASI should have known better.The moment I stepped into the hospital parking lot—alone, clad only in jeans, a hoodie, and a tattered leather jacket—I felt it.That shiver at the back of my neck.That metallic, biting tang of danger.But stupidity got the best of me.But as childish as it seems, I’ll blame it on the boy. Louis, with his sun-faded curls and haunting blue eyes dragging my mind from the sharpness I'd taken years to build.Stupid.I pulled my hands into my jacket pockets and made my way towards the side door.One look through the glass doors, and there he was—Louis—marching determinedly along the corridor with a mop cradled to his chest, head down.He looked…drained. Worn out at the edges.And yet, something inside of me twisted—a foul, animalistic impulse.Mine.The thought arose uninvited, unwanted.I gritted my teeth and started to make my way forward—but as soon as I took the turn beyond the ambulance bay, they were waiting.Three men with poor posture, poor shoes
The Price Of Us Chapter 9
LOUISWhen I woke up, the house was eerily quiet.No yelling. No shattering glass. No stumbling footsteps shaking the paper-thin walls.Was I dreaming? This was an unusual occurrence, yet as I gradually made my way out of the bedroom, I knew the truth: Father had not come back home. Not the night before and definitely not last night.I knew I should be relieved—elated, even—but all those years of disappointment had dulled the feeling. My father's coming and goings were never blessings; they were preludes to whirlwinds. When he returned, as he always did in time, it was almost always with raised fists from his constant inebriation and rage.But just for a while, I gave myself this moment. Just a second, one of optimism. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time, my father wouldn't be returning.But instead of calming me, the thought made me more unsettled. I needed to get out. I needed to get away before the cycle became worse. I thought back to the casino that I applied to,
The Price Of Us Chapter 8
ELIASAaron was becoming a thorn in my side planted too deeply.His men were gouging into my businesses, milking profits, and trying to buy out my suppliers.His actions were small things. Petty things that weren’t mean to put a dent in my business.But even a small infection can rot if you don't cut it out before it's too late.I leaned back in the leather seat of my blacked-out SUV, my fingers drumming an uneven rhythm on my thigh. Next to me, Cathan sat with hard, assessing eyes.“You're distracted,” he said, turning his face to mine.I looked out at the smudged city as we sped towards the casino, my mind racing. "No more than usual," I said."You're brooding over the boy again."It was not a question; it was a statement."Drop it, Cathan," I growled, feeling the new itch, I’d recently begun to feel under my skin. The desire to turn the car around. To find Louis again.Just to make sure he's okay.It was pathetic.I was getting pathetic.We've got greater concerns," Cathan said, ad
The Price Of Us Chapter 7
LOUISThe man came back here again.A surprise, really, as I'd persuaded myself, I'd never see him again. And maybe it would have been better that way. A safer and easier path.I still didn't know his name, and to be truthful, I was too wary to ask. Something inside me feared the answer—feared that his name would be one I didn't want to hear. A name filled with danger and tainted with blood.Just like he was the day we first met.He was still as captivating as ever, though. Every step he made seemed to carry the weight of entire worlds, yet his gait and steps embodied the stealth of a ghost.But this time, he did not wait. I dare say he was in a haste. As if he was running away from something…or someone. I would not be surprised if that someone happened to be me.At the end, who would ever want to be close to me? I thought bitterly.Amidst the self-loathing thoughts, something inside me whispered that he didn't belong here. Surrounded by flickering fluorescent lights and stale antisep
