“Goedemorgen dames,” Luuk said entering the room.
Everyone except for me and Famke greeted him back.
“I have an announcement to make,” he said drumming his fingers along the top of his chair at the head of the table. “Who here was given to me by Kerstan?”
Please don’t do this, I prayed silently as I raised my hand. Minnie raised her hand as did a new girl that must’ve pissed off Kerstan after I was traded because I didn’t recognize her.
“The three of you knew Amity – Lieve?” he corrected himself staring at us in turn. We all nodded and Minnie looked at him curiously.
“Were you close to her?” he continued.
“No,” the new girl responded. Luuk responded by waving her out of the room.
“I was,” Minnie replied. “So was Betje.”
“Come with me,” he said to Minnie. “Betje already knows.”
“Luuk let me come with her,” I pleaded.
“Stay here,” he replied coldly as he held out an arm to Minnie. I watched desperately as he walked out of the room with her.
I buried my face into my hands and waited. Famke got up from the chair she had moved down too and came over to me.
“I’ll go out there. The worst he can do is hit me,” she said reassuringly as she hurried out of the room.
But no sooner had she opened the door and stepped out did I hear the most heartbreaking wail in the world.
He told her. And she was by herself when he did it.
Famke came back into the room with Minnie half collapsed in her arms crying hysterically. My heart broke seeing her like that and I met Famke just inside the doors. She handed Minikin to me and called Luuk a bastard for not letting me be with her when he told her.
His response was a smirk.
“Amity was a bitch that needed to be broken and when push came to shove, she crumbled,” he replied.
“I’m going to town,” Famke suddenly said, pushing past him aggressively on her way out the door.
“Did I say you could?” he asked loudly.
“I don’t need your permission, Luuk. I’ll spread my legs, fuck a few people along the way, and bring money back for you, but I am going to town,” she replied through grit teeth.
Luuk stared at her angrily and she glared right back at him. It was the most intense standoff I had ever seen where words were not needed.
“Go,” he finally said waiving her off.
Famke glanced at me and gave me a nod before she left. Minnie was laid against me sobbing uncontrollably as the rest of the girls in the room looked at us. They’d never understand the heartbreak that we both shared so I didn’t care if they wanted to stare.
“Enjoying the show?” I snapped.
Maybe I cared a little. But it wasn’t for me, it was for Minikin. She was overcome with grief and she had an audience to witness it.
“Yes.”
I whipped around in Luuk’s direction. He was standing at his chair again, watching us with a smirk sitting on his lips. I can’t exactly say what took hold of me at that moment. I only really remember grabbing everything that I could get my hands on from the elaborate table settings and throwing the
m at him, hoping that I would hit him with something.
The sound of the sickening crack as I finally connected against his face with one of the glasses was deafening. The silence that followed as he stumbled was deadly. I watched numbly, as a trickle of blood appeared above his left eye and began to lazily roll down the side of his face.