Mila's arms crumbled under her weight as a searing pain spread from her ribs. She gave a quiet cry as she laid helplessly.

"Do you think anyone would want someone as worthless as you?" Dave spit, giving her one last kick to the ribs. "Stay there. The floor is where you belong."

The door to the room slammed shut, rattling the frame and shrouding her in a deafening darkness.

She used her palms to push herself up, arms shaking with the motion, and she bit down on her lower lip to muffle any sound.

She was glad her brother was in a better mood then a few days ago when he lost some money gambling. She was still recovering.

He was right though. She was worthless, and no one would want her. She was weak and helpless, and only good for one use. That's what he had told her anyway.

She used to believe him, but she was getting better about creating her own image. It was hard though. She was twenty-one years old. She had graduated school three years ago, and when she turned nineteen, she began training as a submissive. It was how her mother met her father, and what she was expected to do, too.

If you chose to train, the system would pair you up with a partner two years after completion. That would be the person you would be expected to be with for the remainder of your life, supposed soulmates.

It worked for some. She saw her mother get beaten every day for Mila's entire life, so she wasn't convinced. If she had any choice, she'd move far, far away. She just wanted some land and some chickens and a dog.

Once she could finally sit up, she moved to finish dressing for the day. Even though her brother told her to stay down, he'd be even angrier if he got a call about her missing training and work. He liked when her paychecks were decent.

Rain dropped from the sky. The clouds were dark and low, but the cool breeze was a welcome change on her bruised skin.

She tugged the sleeves of her jacket over her hands, gripping the ends to control the shaking. This was her last month of training before she took the test that would match her with a dominant. She couldn't deny that flutter of hope that told her she would be finally be free. But she wouldn't be, not really. She would be going from one person to the next to be an object, and besides, most didn't match on their first try.

She tried to squash down that little light. She knew whenever she matched, her life was going to be just like it was now.

She entered the classroom, keeping her head down and moving to her seat in the far back. She just had to take it one day at a time.

She forgot that she had a test, and she was unable to be that focus without displaying any signs of pain.

"Mila," her gentle submissive teacher called after most people had already left. " Are you okay? You usually don't have any trouble."

"I'm just having an off day, ma'am," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I will work on it."

"It's okay. We all have bad days. I'm here if you need to talk."

That little bit of kindness made Mila's heart thud painfully. She bit down on her lip until she drew blood to stop the wave of emotions.

"Also, if you have a few minutes to help me in my office, I would really appreciate it. I will pay you cash." Her teacher always did this about once a week. The cash was nice. Mila could hide it that way, and all she had to do was some filing and secretarial tasks. She almost always had a gap between classes and work, and she suspected her teacher knew something was up.

After helping her teacher, it was time to go to work. She was a grocery store stocker, and she dreaded spending anymore time on her aching feet. Her whole body was throbbing in protest. She just wanted to lay in bed and shut the world out for awhile.

She struggled to push the cart, and to stretch enough to put stuff on the upper shelves.

"Mila, I have a few more boxes in the back to go out before you leave," the manager tod her and she nodded.

It was pouring the rain when she walked home. She was soaked all the way through, and she shivered helplessly.

She hoped her brother was already asleep. She had considered running away. She was not a child anymore, but she didn't know how to be on her own. She didn't have any money, or anywhere to go. She had been tucking away that cash. It wasn't much, a little under $100, but she was determined to not take the test and become someone else's object. She just needed a little more time.