The Collateral -- Part 3: Obedience Training

I didn’t think that I could sink any lower. But I was wrong.

Just a few weeks ago, I was a happy teenager. I had a girlfriend, and my own indie rock band, and plans for my future. But things have changed since I signed away my freedom and became the collateral for my dad’s loan.

Bit by bit, everything has been taken away from me. My clothes. My friends. Even my self-respect.

Now my own dad is treating me like a piece of livestock, a workhorse that he expects to rent out for a profit. My stepmom is treating me like a servant, forcing me to cater to her crazy whims.

And my bully of a big brother? He’s got ideas on how to make easy money with a blond eighteen-year-old slave boy. But he’s realized that he’s gonna have to break me first.

I thought that I could fight him. That I could hold on to some piece of my pride.

But I had no idea how far he was willing to go.