Rock Bottom Pt. 01

Authors note: This is a requested story from a Literotica reader. Much of the characters and storyline was generated by their input.

ROCK BOTTOM (Part 1 of 2)

Prologue:

Some people, when anticipating ill fortune will describe a sinking feeling. Others, who have a piece of bad luck might saw they've taken a tumble. There are a few who would say after a run of misfortune that they've taken a fall. Then there was Meg Packer. If someone was to take the time to ask Meg to describe her life, unlikely as she wasn't surrounded by many people who would care, she would say she'd started tumbling down a shaft of hardship from a very young age and that she was falling still.

Aged just two, Meg lost both of her parents to a drunk driver. She was taken in by her maternal grandparents, her paternal ones having no interest in saddling themselves with an orphan at their stage of life. Her grandparents had done their best for her, educating her, raising her with a sense of morals and decency. But by the time she turned ten she found herself helping her grandmother tend to her grandfather when he had a stroke. By twelve she had taken on most of the household duties as her grandmother's health also began to wane. By sixteen she found herself acting as a full-time care-giver in all but name for the two of them.

At eighteen she lost them both within the space of just two months. Soon after came the next slice of ill luck, her grandparents' medical costs far outweighed the meagre life insurance policies they had taken out. Between these bills and the mortgage outstanding on the house, Meg was forced to sell, rendering herself homeless.

Her schooling had been erratic given her pressures at home, so she found herself engaged in menial labour to pay the bills. One thing that could be said about her though was that she wasn't one to shirk from hard work. By twenty-three she had a decent apartment that she shared with an older woman, an acquaintance from one of her jobs at a diner. Not only that, Meg had managed to squirrel away a small nest egg, $15,000 to be exact.

Then came the next drop down that shaft of hardship. Her roommate and the meth addict she happened to be dating at the time found Meg's hidden savings. Over the space of a weekend, they managed to go through not only the $15,000 in cash, but also to run up an additional $17,000 on Meg's stolen credit card in a drug and drink fuelled orgy of gambling in Atlantic City. Meg found herself not just broke but in debt, also unable to meet her rent as her roommate never returned.

Aged twenty-five, Meg now lived in a fairly squalid part of the city in a small, rented apartment. Her previous jobs were too far from her new accommodation and so she'd had to switch to a night time job, cleaning offices while the day staff were away. It was a lonely life, the hours not exactly conducive to making friends. Her already pale skin took on a ghostly aspect as she laboured each night, sleeping away the sunshine hours.

Under different circumstances, Meg would have had little trouble attracting men, but living where she did, she chose to hide her appearance where possible. Sweet faced, flaxen haired and green eyed, she stood 5'2. Her curvy body, 130lbs of it would be difficult to conceal at the best of times, her 30G-26-36 figure made it even more so. So, she chose to wear clothes a size or more too big for her, keeping her long hair frizzled and unkempt and where possible her face downward pointed.

Not much of a life but there was still room left in the shaft for her to fall further.

Chapter 1:

"Hey!"

Meg pulled the grubby tan colored raincoat tighter around her, a barrier both against the cold December wind and the voice of the man calling to her. It was just after 6am, the small courtyard that lay between the twin apartment blocks were normally devoid of people at this time, especially in the colder months of the year. This morning however, two figures sheltering by the overflowing trash cans were not only out and about but were also taking an interest in her.

"I said...Hey!" There was a touch of menace in the voice, someone unused to being ignored and unwilling to let it be.

Meg stopped and half turned towards the figures, her hand just inches from the cold steel of the lobby door. She knew them, well knew of them. Zeke and DK, the local pushers according the occasional overheard snatches of conversation Meg had picked up on walking by other residents. From what she could gather the two black youths were residents of the apartment block that was twin to her own. They ran drugs and participated in some petty extortion as well. Equally loathed and feared by the community leaving around them.

"Sorry." Meg replied, "Just heading home from work." She turned back, pulling at the lobby door.

"Hey, Big Tits!" That stopped her in her tracks. "Yeah, don't think we aint noticed. You need to bring those big puppies over here, let us see those big bitches hanging free."

Meg fled through the doors to the supposed safety of the elevator. Even as the lobby door swung closed, she could hear the echo of their crude laughing. She jabbed at the call button, the slow answering creak of the elevator descending gave her some comfort but it was only when the doors slid closed behind her and she started up to her floor did she allow herself to relax. Her apartment was at the end of the hallway, as she passed the other door, the smell of cooking breakfasts reminded her of her own hunger. She'd only had a half-eaten box of crackers at work to tide her over.

The key had a tendency to jam, so she fiddled with it for a moment, trying to open her front door.

"Ahem." the internationally recognised sound of someone clearing their throat as they sought attention came from behind her. Meg turned to find the squat figure of the building manager hopping slightly on the balls of his feet, his familiar red ledger, the rent ledger, clutched in his hand.

Mervin Smith was not a big man, he stood at maybe 5'8 but his bulk gave him the appearance of someone far shorter. The phrase, 'As wide as he was tall', would have been an apt description of him. Meg had little personal knowledge of the black man. His age was hard to judge, north of fifty but how far north she couldn't tell. His close-cropped hair and beard were short through with grey, but that didn't help much. He wasn't a local. He had moved here from one of the Southern States by his accent. She had no real idea if he had a family or where in the building he actually lived. What she did know was that he took his job seriously, there was no corners to be cut with him.

"Rent? Already?" Meg asked in a small voice.

"First week of the month as always. No call to be surprised about it."

"I have my paycheck on me, can you wait a minute, let me step inside?"

"Certainly, lets step inside." he answered.

Meg finally jimmied the front door open and the two of them walked into the tiny one bedroomed apartment. She shrugged her coat off while Mervin settled himself ponderously in the only chair in the room. Meg opened her purse and took out her pay. As she counted out the bills, she felt a dread settle on her as she saw how little the rent would leave her with.

"Is there any chance..." she began but an upraised hand from Mervin cut her off.

"Please don't put me in a position where I have to embarrass you by my flat refusal. There is no chance of any partial payments this month. In point of fact, it may have slipped your memory but I did allow you to pay just three quarters of last months rent, so I'm afraid that too, is due today."

Her eyes began to brim with tears as she counted out the additional rent money. Not only did it clean her out but she was still short. Mervin's keen eyes had been following the flow of money from one hand to the other, mentally calculating its worth as he did so.

"It seems I am destined for disappointment, unless you have a second fund of money available?" His cultured tone and words were at odds with his appearance and Meg saw a grim expression settle on his face as she mutely shook her head. "In that case, I am afraid that I will have to ask you to leave. This is the third month where you have failed to come up with the entire rent. While I am not unsympathetic there is little I can do."

"Please." Meg began, "Please, let me talk to my boss tonight. I will be due a Holiday bonus at the end of the month, maybe she'll give it to me ahead of time? At least enough to pay what I owe."

Mervin levered himself up out of the chair with a grunt of effort. He patted her on the shoulder consolingly and then his hand moved to stroke her cheek in a familiar fashion. Meg steadied herself to avoid flinching away as his damp hand caressed her cheek.

"One day, I'll give you this one day. Please don't disappoint me."

That night Meg approached her supervisor Mrs Martinez before the start of her shift.

"Meg. Excellent, I was actually looking to talk to you." Mrs. Martinez said.

"Oh, everything okay?" Meg shuffled her feet nervously.

"Sadly no." came the reply. Mrs Martinez took Meg's arm, steering her to a corner of the room so that they could speak more privately. "I got a complaint today from the canteen manager of the office on 32^nd street. She is accusing you of theft."

"Me? But... but I've never stolen anything in my life!" Meg protested, a catch in her voice at the unfairness of the accusation.

"Apparently, she has CCTV footage of you stealing food from the canteen last night Mrs. Martinez elaborated, pausing to let Meg respond.

"That. No wait, that was a half empty box of crackers I found sitting beside the trash can. I just assumed it was being thrown away. Mrs Martinez, please, you know me. I wouldn't do anything like that. I'm not a thief!"

The older woman put a consoling hand on Megs trembling arm. At the touch, Meg began to cry. She tried to stifle the sobs but the tears themselves kept flowing.

"I know Meg, I believe you. I already made that point, but for some reason this woman has taken a dislike to you. I can't afford to lose her as a customer, all that would do is put another couple of you girls out of work as well. I'm going to have to let you go."

Meg crouched down in misery, her head slowly turning from side to side as she mouthed 'no, no' silently.

Mrs. Martinez crouched down alongside her. She pushed two fifty-dollar bills into Meg's hand. "Listen, this is to help you keep going. My brother, he has a cleaning operation as well, same as mine. I've already spoken to him and he'll take you on. It's going to be a month though before he has a slot for you, but then you'll be taken care of, back on the same money. I promise. You're a good worker and a good girl. I hate having to do this to you. That stuck up puta bitch running the canteen... I'd love to have broken her nose for her but I got a family and all these other girls to worry about. You understand, don't you?"

The older woman passed Meg a handful of tissues and after a minute or two Meg managed to compose herself enough to thank Mrs. Martinez for her kindness. Then she emptied out her locker and went to take the bus back home.

Zeke and DZ were in their usual spot but Meg was far too fragile right then to have to face them so she skirted around the building, darting through the lobby doors when the two men were distracted by a customer approaching them.

Meg was in her room only a short time when there was a purposeful knock on the door. She peeked through the security peephole and her heart sank. She knew that he wouldn't be knocking if he wasn't aware she was at home, so with a sigh Meg opened the door to Mervin Smith.

The older black man stepped inside, closing the door himself.

"Am I right in guessing that the fact you are home from work already is not a sign of good news?"

Meg nodded, she fished out the hundred dollars and held them out towards Mervin. He didn't take the money at first, his gaze was fixed on Meg's face. Finally, he turned aside, walked to the fridge and opened it. Then he idly browsed through her cupboards in the small kitchenette. Meg didn't protest, she couldn't figure out what he was up too but what did it matter anyway. She was too miserable to care.

He returned from his inspection and took a seat as he had that morning, in the only chair.

"I'm going to make a few guesses, stop me if I'm wrong. This money is all you've got right now. There isn't enough food in this apartment to feed a mouse. If you pay the rent, you go hungry. If you don't pay, then you get evicted." Meg didn't bother responding, he was completely correct.

"I don't do charity, it's not in my interest or my nature." Mervin continued, "I don't do needless cruelty either though and taking your last dollar would fall under that category. I'm a good judge of character and I think you genuinely want to settle your debts. I have a solution but it depends entirely on you. Or rather on your desperation."

Meg's ears caught the word 'solution' and she looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He got out of the chair and walked closer to her. "I mean that someone who looks like you doesn't need to worry about rent for... oohh let's say a month... provided that she is willing to provide some... companionship to a man."

"You... you mean?" Meg stammered.

"You aren't an innocent or an idiot, you know exactly what I mean. But to avoid surprise on your part and disappointment on mine I will say this. I have certain tastes so if you did decide to take the deal, it won't be as straightforward as you imagine." He turned away and started to the door before pausing once more. "Take the night to think it over. I'm on the top floor, first door out of the elevator. If I don't see you by nine in the morning, I'll assume you are happy to proceed with eviction. Goodnight... sleep well."

Mervin let himself out while Meg stood there dumbstruck. 'How deep do I need to fall?' She thought to herself.

Chapter 2:

She had a restless night. How was she supposed to sleep after receiving an offer like that? The idea of sleeping with someone she didn't find attractive was repulsive in itself, but doing it for money, for rent? That was a step she'd never considered before; she hadn't been raised that way. But what were her options? It had been hard enough getting this apartment not to mention her last job. Now she'd lost one and was in danger of losing the other. If she kept her apartment by paying the rent then she'd have only a few dollars for food for the month. Suppose she did manage to keep going, she'd most likely end up tight for her following months' rent. A free month would allow her to actually set some money aside, get ahead of things if she was frugal enough.

It was a matter of deciding what was the lesser evil, putting practicality ahead of morals.

Just before 9 AM she took the elevator to the top of the apartment block. Stepping out she saw that it was configured differently from the floors below. There were six apartments on each of the other levels but here there appeared to be just two. On the left side of the hallway there was a single door just a few feet from the elevator. Midway down the corridor there was a second door on the right-hand side. Steeling herself she walked to the closest door and timidly knocked on it.

Mervin opened the door a moment later. He looked like he was mid breakfast, a sliver of breakfast cereal was stuck in his beard and he was wearing a black robe. She could see the legs of his blue striped pyjamas and a pair of black slippers showing beneath the hem of the robe.

"Come in." he said, moving back into the apartment. Meg stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The apartment looked luxurious compared to her own. It wasn't just that it was three times as big, the furnishings were all brand new and expensive from their appearance. A huge TV dominated one wall. It was tuned into a business news channel right now, the sound muted. Mervin moved back to the small counter in his kitchen, clambering up onto the high stool beside it. There was indeed a bowl of cereal on the counter and he picked up a spoon and shovelled a heaped portion of it into his mouth.

"So, are you here to agree to my proposition?" he asked after he swallowed the food.

"Yes, I agree, for a month's free rent." Meg replied.

With his spoon, Mervin indicated a small roll of bills on the countertop, the very ones she had paid him the night before. "It's all there." he said, "Minus what was owed from the previous month. I'm a man of my word."

Meg snatched up the money and held it in her clenched fist behind her back, almost as if she feared he would look to take it back.

"Right, lets see exactly what you have. Strip off for me now."

Meg's jaw dropped. "Now?"

"Yes, now. Please don't make me repeat myself, it wastes my time and as I said last night, you aren't an idiot."

She hadn't expected anything like this and so hadn't really dressed for it. That said, it wasn't like her wardrobe was overflowing with options for a situation like this. Her clothes were mostly out of fashion, loose fitting and chosen for practicality or warmth.

The loose grey sweats she had put on before leaving her apartment were easily removed. She stood there momentarily, clothes clutched in her crossed arms, wondering where she should put them. Mervin had returned to eating his cereal, almost uninterested in her at that moment. With no real options she placed the clothing at her feet and stood up, now in a pair of worn, slightly threadbare set of mismatched bra and panties, the first white, the second a muted yellow.

"Strip means strip." Mervin said, not looking up from his food.

Meg gave a small sigh, part shame, part resignation. Just another humiliation in a life of such moments. She unclasped the bra. It was the only item of clothing she was fussy about, her large breasts were quite firm given their size but being on her feet all night in work, the constant walking, the support was important. Then she pulled her panties off and stood, hands down by her sides, awaiting his attention.

He made her wait till her finished his food, which took less time than she thought as he packed it away quickly, eating as though he feared the bowl would be taken from him at any moment. Finally, he finished, pushing the empty crockery away and sitting up straight to inspect her. She felt his eyes moving over her, from the tip of her toes to the top of her head. He dwelled for a moment as he surveyed her breasts, a grunt of satisfaction erupting from his mouth with all the grace of a belch.

"And the rear."

She shuffled 180 degrees and again stood still, waiting for him to talk again.

"Okay, get dressed." Mervin eventually said. Meg did so, keeping her back to him as she simply pulled the sweatpants and top on, forgoing her underwear for the sake of speed. Once she was covered, she turned back to see Mervin sitting back on his chair, looking as pleased with himself as anyone could in the same situation.

"Body isn't bad at all, not at all and same for the face if you'd ever let yourself look someone in the eye." he commented. "But room for improvement. For a start, nails. You need a manicure and pedicure. Hair... that mess on your head needs professional attention. And you need to trim, nah fuck that, shave that mop of pubes between your legs clean off, shave them legs too."

He got off the chair and walked into another room, a bedroom from the glimpse Meg could get as he went through the door. He reappeared with a wallet in his hand and began peeling hundred dollar bills out of it. He handed a clutch of them to the visibly shocked Meg.

"Take this, get those errands done today. I expect you back here no earlier than seven, no later than nine tonight. Understood?"