A message for Lucas.

I figured with mommy still on edge from that incident a second ago, I’d need to be extra careful to check Jane’s paper slip. I cursed myself when I realized I didn’t give that detective my name— the only way she could possibly help me is if I contacted her first, and if this note didn’t have her information on it, I was screwed. In addition to being on edge, mom kept peeking over at me with this worrying gleam in her eye— like she was trying to undress me with her mind.

I thought I saw her licking her lips.

When we were almost on our street, where the lights were old, and the dim warm lighting made it hard to see the other people in the car, I finally checked Garland’s message.

It was like a small business card, with sharp handwriting on it’s surface that read:

Get to a phone when she’s not watching, and call me at— ***-***-****

Please sir, you don’t have much time. - Detective Jane Garland.

I_ _felt a pit of fear open in my stomach as I read those words, but that detective knew just as well as I did how far mommy had gone tonight. I think she might still have some of my lipstick on her teeth, but I didn’t want to consider how much farther mom might push herself onto me.

My heart was still pounding when I heard the engine turn off, realizing we were in the driveway, and closer to whatever it was mommy wanted me to do for her. I walked arm in arm with her into the foyer, and the first thing she said to me made my blood run cold.

“Strip.” Came momma’s commanding words as she locked the door behind us. “Off with it.”

“I, um, uh, what?” My knees felt shaky, surely I just heard my mom wrong. She might be cruel, but there’s no way she’d actually tell me to—

“I said strip. And I mean strip naked. Any man worth his salt should know how to do a proper striptease.”

“B-but, you said only wh-whores put their bodies on display…” I argued between stammers, knowing how hopeless it was with that perverted look on her face. “D-don’t I need t-to stay pure?”

“Yeah, it’s usually just dirty whores who don’t know the value of a man’s body that do this kind of slutty thing, but I need to see how you’re ‘developing’. Your girlfriend needs to see your delicate parts, Lucas.”

“So strip.”

My breath was caught in my throat. This couldn’t be real. Did I…