One Day Soon (One Day Soon, #1)(26)

“But you said—”

“I said he didn’t do girls. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like them.”

She was making my head hurt. Why couldn’t she just say what she meant? She clearly liked having information that I didn’t.

“He’s a hustler, babe, and that’s not the same thing as being gay.” Karla looked at me like I was a moron.

“A what?”

“A hustler. A commercial. A pro. A dick peddler. Come on, you’re not that dumb are you? You have to know what a hustler is.” Karla pulled out a pack of gum and popped a piece in her mouth.

My mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

“Shit, you look like you’re about to have a stroke. What’s so hard to understand? Yoss gets paid to be a naughty little boy for some very dirty old men. That doesn’t mean he likes it. None of Manny’s kids do, but when you’ve got a pretty face, it pays well. And Yoss definitely has a pretty face. That’s why Manny takes him out so much. The pervs line up for a piece of our boy.”

Oh my god.

Karla curled her lip as though she smelled something bad. Her look had nothing to do with Yoss and the repulsive, horrible things he did. That look was for me.

“Look at you, you’re freaking out! What is your problem? Do you think everyone just hangs out all day by the river swimming and having a good time? This isn’t a f*cking music video, cupcake. I think it’s time you take a crash course in homeless kid 101. You’ve had it easy with Yoss looking out for you. The rest of us, we’re not so lucky. We need money. We need to find our own food. Our own clothes. We have to find a way to get by. A lot of us do stuff that prissy little bitches, like you, can’t stomach.” She sneered at me and I felt so incredibly low.

Living on the streets was no picnic, but I knew it could have been so much worse. If Yoss hadn’t found me and taken me under his wing.

“But why does he have to do that?” I asked, my voice high-pitched. I sounded whiny. I hated it. I hated myself for thinking about Yoss with disgust. Because I was disgusted. Sickened. Appalled.

“You really need a wakeup call, Imogen. Kids out here have only a few options. A, we can sell drugs. B, we can sell our bodies. C, we can starve to death and become just another statistic.”

I was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering.

“And Yoss always makes sure to share what he earns. He’s a good guy. Because he gets on his knees, you’ll have something to eat tomorrow, cupcake.”

I was going to throw up.

“Don’t call me cupcake,” I growled. Okay, I was focusing on the wrong thing, but I couldn’t think about Yoss out there—

“I’m gonna be sick,” I gasped.

I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to breathe normally.

That’s where he is tonight. Letting men…do things to him.

I grabbed a bag and vomited the contents of my stomach.

“Gross! Shit, that’s nasty!” Karla squealed, getting to her feet. “Screw this, I’m not hanging out with you if you’re going to puke all over the place. You’d better tell Yoss I was here though. But I’m out. Later.”

When I was sure I wasn’t going to throw up again, I quickly threw out the bag of sick. Then I curled onto my side and replayed Karla’s words over and over again.

A hustler. A commercial. A pro.

Yoss was a prostitute.

And I had been worried that he was selling drugs. I was such a dumbass.

I barely registered the first tears that slid down my cheeks. I soon was lost in miserable, horrible thoughts of Yoss in back alleyways doing awful things with awful men.

I could only assume that Manny was his pimp. That in return for keeping him safe, Manny secured Yoss’s services.

Oh god!

How long had Yoss been…hustling?

Since he was twelve?

I was going to be sick again.

I bent over and heaved until there was nothing left in my stomach.

My heart broke into tiny, bitter pieces.

I curled into a ball and let the tears fall.

Not for me.

Never for me.

They were all for Yoss.



I couldn’t fall asleep until Yoss came back. I kept my back to him as he slipped under the covers beside me.

Like always, he never touched me. We lay side by side, feeling each other’s heat.

I had wondered why he had never tried anything with me. At first because I was scared he would. Then later because I wanted him to.

Now I understood why.

How could he want sex with me when he was selling it to strangers?

Did I want him to touch me now that I knew? Did it change the way I thought of him? I wasn’t sure. I hated that I questioned my feelings at all.

It wasn’t his fault that he was forced to make the choices he had. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the men—Yoss on his knees—dark, secluded places where they wouldn’t be caught.

I bit down on my lip so I wouldn’t cry again.

Yoss scooted closer so that his arm brushed against my back. I expected him to move away like he always did, but this time he stayed. He pressed the length of his arm along the curve of my spine and I kept myself perfectly still, pretending to be asleep.

I knew the second he thought I was awake, he’d move. And I didn’t want him to.