Never, not once, had I heard a story where a barter like this paid off. It wasn’t a real promise. It was just insurance for the guy holding the gun—that you wouldn’t unexpectedly flip the script. Men like this said things like that to girls like us, knowing we’d been told our whole lives that if we listened carefully and followed the rules, we’d stay safe. It was a tempting thought. But ultimately, they did whatever they wanted with that gun.
