“You know the rules, slut,” the man on the sofa says.
The girl’s lower lip trembles as the man raises his hand. He slaps her across the face with the back of his hand and the sound echoes through the dim room. The girl whimpers and rubs her cheek—the skin is already pink and swollen.
“Come on, let’s play again,” the man says. “If you win you can have all that money.”
Gabrielle leans forward and sees a sloppy pile of hundred dollar bills on the table. She scans the money and guesses that it’s several thousand dollars. She bites her lip as the girl leans forward and clenches her manicured hand into a fist.
“Rock, paper, scissors,” he shouts.
The girl lays her hand flat—paper. The man and his friends laugh and the loud drunken sound makes Gabrielle’s stomach tighten. She steps back f
