Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or anything related.
Chapter 8
Aerith sat in the same car as Don Corneo, he had his arm around her waste and occasionally forced a kiss on her. "You're a lot more delicate than the others." he said, "I'll have to go easy on you." Aerith remained quiet and let him talk, there was nothing she could do, once they got there, he'd be taking a nap and she'd have a moment of alone time. Don lived in Italy, in a house far from civilization, they were staying there for 7 weeks and he had business to take care of as well. According to him, she'd get a lot of free time, he'd be back nights to "have fun" with her.
Aerith couldn't be more relieved, in fact, she was happy about this. If she could escape while he was gone, she'd be free. Then she could go home and everything would be alright. She could see her parents her friends even Genesis. "Maybe I could skip the nap when we get home." he smelled her hair, "I see you've used strawberry shampoo."
But she couldn't leave, what about Yuffie and Tifa? They deserved to get home just as much as she did. But how could she get to them? This would be her only chance for a while, if she didn't go now, she might never go. Maybe when she got to America, she'd tell the police and they'd free everyone. "What are you thinking of?" Don asked.
"Just you." she said sweetly. It disgusted her to have to talk like that, especially to a man who was 30 years older than her.
"Of course, I'm on everyone's mind." he said. He kissed her again, "I'm glad you aren't trying to escape like your friends. I think I'll have to sell the little one, she's causing too much trouble."
"Yuffie?" Aerith said quietly, "you can't..."
"There's no need for her, she doesn't bring in as much money as you do." Don said.
"No please..." she whispered, "You can't do that."
"You don't have to worry about her, you have me." Don ran a finger down her cheek. Aerith sucked in a breath.
"But she's my friend..." she said
"I'll have a nice dinner made for us when we arrive." Don changed the subject, "But I don't think you should eat much, we want you to stay slim."
"I don't think you need to worry about that, I barely eat anyway." she said.
"And according to angry clients, you don't sleep either." Don said, "Tell me what's wrong, why are you so restless?" What's wrong? How could he ask such a stupid question, was she supposed to be happy living in a whorehouse?
"I just want to see my family again." she mumbled.
"Oh of course, you need to let them go. You don't need family in this business and I'm sure they've forgotten about you already." Don said, "Oh! We're here." Aerith looked out of the window at the large house they were driving up to, she could already see the servants getting out of their cars and going inside. She saw Zack glance back at her as he stepped inside, "What do you think?" Don asked.
"It looks nice." she lied.
"I would hope so, I designed it myself." he said. Aerith sat back against the seat and waited, "Where did you get those clothes?" Don asked, "I don't remember you having pants."
"Uh, I went out yesterday and got some." she said, "Zack told me it would be cold so I got some."
"You went out? And came back? I knew I could trust you!" Don placed a hand on her thigh, "A lot of people would try to escape, but you didn't! But I'm not too happy that you went out without my permission."
"I'm sorry..." Aerith said.
"Don't worry you can make up for it tonight." someone opened the door for don and he stepped out, "Come, I want to have some fun before dinner." Aerith swallowed and got out of the car, he took her hand and led her to the mansion, "It's been a while since we've last been together." he commented, "I'm sure you missed me."
"Of course." she said. She looked around the mansion, everything was red and purple, everything was so flashy. It reminded her of the Honeybee. Don took her up the stairs to his room and closed the door. Aerith noticed this room looked exactly like his room back at the Honeybee.
Don pushed her down on the bed and pulled down her pants, "Come on now, I'm not doing everything here, I want you to have fun too."
Aerith let him strip her down before getting up, "I'm not sure what to do." she said. In reality, she knew exactly what he wanted, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted it to be over with, so she could sleep or something.
"You've been with us for over a month, you should know how to please me." Don said, "But we don't have time for this." he pushed her back onto the bed, "Tomorrow I'll be gone all day, I want you to practice with a servant or something, you need to perfect this, maybe people would pay full price if you weren't so inexperienced." She felt his nails digging into her shoulders, she could tell he was getting angry.
"I'm sorry I-"
"You can't say sorry for everything, you need punishment." Don said, he got on top of her and rubbed her back, "I didn't bring any of my tools so you'll have to wait." she felt him moving around and struggling to get his pants off. He was a heavy man and he had all of his weight on her. Her back began to ache and she couldn't breathe.
"I can't-" she gasped as he lifted himself up.
"These pants are so tight." he continued to struggle with his pants, "Damn it! Come here, get these off of me." Aerith wasn't sure how much she could do, if he couldn't get them off, neither could she. She got out of bed and struggled with his pants, how did he even get them on? "Come on, we're running out of time, I only have a few hours!" he rushed.
"They're stuck." Aerith said, "You'll have to cut them off or something."
"These pants are rare! I can't cut them." he sighed and pushed her away, "Get out of my sight, you'll sleep in the basement with the servants. Go!" Aerith stood up and hurried back into her clothes. She didn't look back as she ran out of the room. She could hear him shouting to himself as he tried with the pants. She sighed in relief as she hurried down into the basement.
"Zack?" she called.
"Zack's not here." Someone said, "He went to cook dinner." Aerith sat down on a bed and looked around. It was dark and musty in the basement and there were only three beds. From what she could see, there were 10 children.
"How many of you did he bring?" she asked.
"13." Aerith gasped, how were they all going to sleep? She looked around the floor, many kids were already curled up under thin blankets. "why aren't you in Don's room? I thought that's where you were supposed to sleep."
"I kind of got in trouble, he told me to leave." she said, she felt weird talking about it with this person. The kid looked about 9 years old and she could tell he had more questions.
"So you'll have to sleep with Zack probably." he said.
Aerith opened her mouth to speak when she heard her name, "I need to go." she stood up and left the room, she could see Don waiting for her at the top of the steps.
"I'm leaving to get a few girls, I want you in my room when I get back." Don said, "I'm sorry we won't be able to have dinner together, but I'll have one of the servants cook you something." Aerith nodded and followed him to the door. She was confused, his mood was changing really fast. One minute he'd be happy and then he'd be angry. "Goodbye my Honeybee." he kissed her and left the mansion. Aerith stared out of the window to make sure he left before rushing off to find Zack.
She found him in the kitchen alone, he was cleaning up something he'd spilled, "Zack?" he stood up and walked over to her.
"You're okay?" he looked her over, "He didn't touch you?" Aerith shook her head.
"He couldn't get his pants off." she said, "But he's mad that I went outside."
"Oh man, I'm so sorry! I knew you would get in trouble, I shouldn't have taken you out." he looked away, "Where's Don?"
"He left." Aerith told him, "Why?"
"I need to call someone." Zack looked around, "He'd know if I used his house phone... Aerith watch and make sure no one comes through that door."
"Why what are you going to do?" she asked, "You can't use his phone, you'll be in so much trouble when he finds out..."
"This will help us both alright, and even if I do get caught, I can handle him." Zack walked towards a phone hanging on the wall and Aerith peeked out of the door. She could hear small parts of the conversation but not enough to understand. "Really?...There's 2... girl... Italy...just her..."
She struggled to keep herself from turning and listening completely, but she knew it was none of her business, even if he was talking about her. "alright, thanks, I'll see you then." Zack hung up the phone and walked over to her, "I can get you and Yuffie out of this."
"But what about Tifa?" Aerith asked.
"Cloud's got her taken care of, don't worry." Zack said, "You'll have to wait a while, until we get back to Germany. My friend will come and help you to an airport."
"But that's weeks from now..." she knew she shouldn't be complaining, he'd done the best he could to get them out of there, but she didn't want to stay in this place anymore. "What about you?"
"I need to stay here." he said.
"Why?" she asked, "you could go home and see your family!" why would he want to stay? If he had the chance to leave, he should take it right? "Your mother would want to see you right?"
"Maybe." he mumbled, "She's forgotten about me by now, I wasn't her favorite."
"Don't say that, it doesn't matter if you were her favorite or not." Aerith said.
"How would you know?"
"well, my mom and my step brother don't get along to well, they fight all the time. It's obvious she likes me more than him. But even then, when he stays out past midnight, she's always worrying her head off about him. She may not act like it, but she cares about him." Aerith said, "That's why I think your mom wouldn't have just forgotten you."
"Yeah, but what if... I guess your right..." Zack turned away and walked over to the puddle on the floor, "You should go, I have to clean this up."
"Can I help?" she asked quietly, "It'll take my mind off things."
Zack looked up at her, "Sure." he held out the sponge and pushed the bucket towards her, "I'll finish your dinner."
"Alright." Aerith took the sponge and began to wipe at the floor. The liquid on the floor smelled funny, "What is this stuff?" she asked.
"well, I was trying to make soup, it didn't turn out to well." Zack explained, "What do you want to eat?"
"Huh?"
"what do you want to eat? I making the kids mostacciolli, do you want anything different?" he asked.
"No thanks." Aerith said. She continued to scrub and Zack continued to talk. She found it strange that he was okay with talking about his home memories without breaking down, maybe because he'd been there longer. "where did you live before this?" she asked.
"Traverse city, that's in Michigan. It was a small town but it got a lot of old tourists." Zack said, "Where were you from?"
"Minooka." Aerith said.
"What?"
"Minooka, it's in Illinois." Aerith said.
"Never heard of it." Zack commented.
"Really, it's near Joliet. It was a small town really." she said, "I'm done." she stood up and looked down at the floor, "It's still wet."
"It'll dry itself, just be careful now okay?" Zack continued to cook and Aerith took a small island in the middle of the kitchen. She rested her chin on her hand and closed her eyes, she'd sleep and then wake up when Zack finished cooking. "Hey you know, I think I will try for home... if it doesn't work out, well I'll stay with Angeal and help these girls out some more." Zack said.
"It will work Zack, just wait." Aerith said.
"It's done! I'll get the kids, let's eat!" Zack said, "Put the food on plates for me alright." he left the room and Aerith got up, she looked around the kitchen and found them. She set them up around the island and took the pot over. She placed the food on the trays, there were fourteen total, she made sure it was all equal and finished just as Zack came back. "You move fast." he commented. The kids crowded the island and began to eat.
Aerith ate her food slowly as she watched them all. They must have really been hungry. The ate it quickly and filed off to the basement again. "Why did they leave so quick?" she asked.
"They're afraid to be out in the open, especially around Honeybee's." he said, "A lot of the Honeybee's like to get them in trouble."
"what?"
"There are a few girls who've been there for more than 8 years, they've got this strange sense of entitlement." Zack explained, "A lot of times they make up lies, They're sadists or something. They love it when the kids get punished."
"So I guess that's why they were so uncomfortable when I went down there?" she said. She finished her food and set her fork down, "Don told me I'm supposed to sleep down there with you guys."
"It'll be fine, they warm up to people pretty easily, they're eager to trust people." Zack said, "Some of them at least." He stood up and began to take the dishes to the sink, "You hear that? Someones here, it's probably on."
"But he said he wouldn't be back until later." Aerith said, "It can't be him."
"It doesn't matter, just get out of here." Zack said, "I'll see you later." Aerith stood up slowly and left the kitchen. She could see Don putting his coat on a hook near the door. She bit her lip and stepped forward.
"ah, I was just about to come and get you." he said.
"I thought you were getting more girls." she said.
"That was the plan, but it was a trap. Stupid American officers were here, they took every girl back to the states." he muttered something else, "But it's fine, I didn't pay for the girls anyway." He started for the stairs, "Well now, let's go." he said. Aerith followed him, glancing back at the kitchen once more. She was hoping Zack would do something to stop this, but that wouldn't happen and it was stupid for her to even think about it. "I found a way to get out of these pants." he said, "I found this." Don held up a bag and shook it up, "It's a whip, we can go ahead with your punishment."
Aerith closed her eyes as they entered the room. She wasn't ready for what was about to happen, but nowadays, she never was.
o.0.o.0.o
Zack finished cleaning the basement and washing all the sheets. Don Corneo's house had been a mess before they'd gotten there and they'd been forced to stay up all night cleaning. It was obvious that this was where he came to get a lot of his workers. A lot of the rooms were filled with cages and blood and he had to clean it all up. It made him sick just being in the room, he could literally feel the despair of Don's past victims. He refused to let the kids clean up those room's, he could barely handle it so he refused to let them see it.
After he'd finished he'd gone back to the basement and made sure they were all comfortable. They'd insisted on leaving a bed for he and Aerith so he made sure the kids on the floor were comfortable. He sat down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, when he was cleaning, he'd heard Aerith screaming. It made him shudder just to think about it. She was in pain and she was begging for help yet Don kept doing whatever he was doing.
He wanted to run in and stop him but... that would end bad for Aerith, he couldn't be there to help him all the time so when he wasn't around, Don would hurt her even more. He sighed and tried to sleep, he figured it would be a while before Aerith came down for bed. It didn't sound like Don would be letting up anytime soon. But just as he thought that, the door opened. Someone fell down the stairs and he got up. "Aerith?" He ran up the stairs and closed the door. He went back down and helped Aerith too her feet. "Aerith, can you talk?" he helped her to the bed and set her down. She collapsed onto the pillow and whimpered. "Aerith? What did he do to you?" He rearranged her and got into bed next to her. He pulled the blanket over her and closed his eyes, there was nothing he could do for her. Not now at least...
He heard her sniffled and sighed, "Zack... don't worry I'll be alright." she said quietly, "It just hurts."
"Alright." he mumbled. He turned towards her and noticed her back, "He whipped you?" he asked angrily.
"It's fine Zack, I should have asked before I went out, I deserved it." she said quietly.
"Aerith, you can't really believe that." he said. Aerith sniffled and stayed quiet, Zack sighed and sat up, "Tell me you don't believe that."
"Zack
"No, tell me." he ordered, "You can't think like that."
"Why not?" she asked, "I'm never getting out of here so I might as well learn to give in now."
"We talked Aerith..." he said quietly, "What did he tell you?" Aerith didn't answer and Zack let himself fall down onto the pillow. He closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. But he couldn't, Aerith had been fine before she went in, as fine as he could make her at least. Now her hopes were gone, he would get her out, he'd promised. He's talk to her in the morning when Don left again, but until then, he needed to sleep. He yawned and drifted off after a few minutes.
"Mommy! Zack threw a rock at my sandcastle!" she screamed. She was his little sister Katherine Fair, otherwise known as Katy. Zack stood over the weeping girl and smiled at what he'd just done. She'd gotten exactly what she deserved.
"Zack... why would you do that?" his mom looked at him and shook her head, "I don't understand why you do these types of things." Zack rolled his eyes, how could she not know? It's like she never saw anything Katy did.
"Because she stole my soda and put seaweed in it." Zack crossed his arms, "I wanted to drink it too."
"She didn't know what she was doing Zack she's only 5." his mom said, "Now go over there and help her rebuild it."
"I don't want to." Zack mumbled, "It's not fair."
"Zack, don't make me get your father." His mother threatened. Zack pouted and turned away, why did his sister get away with everything? She could set their house on fire and his mom wouldn't do a thing. He stomped over to the sand castle and started to rebuild it.
"You're doing it wrong!" his sister shouted.
"Shut up Katy, you're lucky I'm even helping." he said, "This is your fault anyway."
"No it's not." Katy retorted, "I only put the seaweed in your soda because you wouldn't give me any." Katy kicked at the sandcastle, "Go away!" She kicked some sand in his eyes and he stood up.
"You're stupid!" he kicked sand in her face, "That's what you get."
"Zack!" his mom stood up and grabbed his arm, "I've told you time and time again, she's only 5!"
"She kicked sand in my eyes, she knew what she was doing!" he pulled away, "How come you always take her side?"
"We'll talk later, go back to the hotel room. Now." his mom pointed at the hotel they were staying in. Zack rolled his eyes and walked away. This was so unfair! He entered the hotel lobby and stomped to their room. He sat down near the door and started to wipe the sand from his feet.
"Stupid Katy." he mumbled. The door opened and someone walked in.
"I saw what happened, you seem pretty upset." Zack turned around and looked at the man, it wasn't anyone he knew, maybe it was house keeping.
"Who are you? You can't just come in here whenever you want." he said.
"I just wanted to help," the man said, "My name is Ray, I saw what your mom did."
"So?"
"Well, I have an idea." Ray closed the door, "We'll drive down the street to the McDonald's and get a bite, but we'll stay a real long time so your mom thinks you ran away. When you get back, she'll be so happy and she'll apologize and everything!"
"Yeah..." Zack nodded, "That sounds right."
"I know, I used to do it all the time, Go get dressed." Ray said. Zack nodded and ran to change his clothes. His mom would be so scared! He threw on some clothes and shoved his feet into his sneakers.
"I'm ready!" he went with Zack and got into the man's car, "My mom's always listening to Katy, because she's younger than me."
"How old are you?" Ray asked.
"I just turned 10." Zack said, "My parents took me here for my birthday."
"Really?" Ray asked. Zack noticed the man speeding up.
"Hey, you passed McDonald's..." he pointed out. Ray was silent as he they drove through town, "Hey, where are we going?"
"Didn't your mom tell you never to get in the car with strangers?" Ray asked.
"Well yeah but..." Zack's eyes widened as he realized what just happened, "When can I go home?" he asked.
"That's not my decision." Ray said, "But this is all your fault really, you shouldn't have been so eager to make your mom worry."
"I just..." Zack looked out of the window, maybe he could open the door and roll out, like in the movies. He put his hand on the handle and the door locked. The lock was the kind that seemed to fall into a hole when you locked it. He couldn't get a hold of it no matter how hard he tried. why would they make locks like that? They were setting kids up to be kidnapped. Zack hit the door angrily.
"Let me out!" he screamed, "I don't want to go with you!" Ray was silent as Zack threw a tantrum in the back seat. He screamed and kicked and then curled up and cried. Ray wasn't going to let him out, he was being kidnapped and it was all his fault...
Zack woke up earlier then the rest of the kids. He sat up and looked at Aerith, it was still dark but he could see the welts on her back. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, he hadn't had that dream in a while. Maybe it was the thought of going home that brought it back.
He stood up and quietly walked out of the basement. He'd need to make Don breakfast soon. He made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge, he'd seen the day before that Don barely had any food but now he was really seeing it. There was nothing he could use to make breakfast. He decided to go tell Corneo about the problem, he left the kitchen and walked up to Corneo's room.
He knocked on the door and waited, he heard moving around before the door opened, "What is it?" Don asked on annoyance.
"I wanted to tell you there's nothing for me to use to make breakfast." he said. He fought to keep his face straight. He didn't want to show any emotion in front of this man. Deep inside he was angry for what the man had done to Aerith. But he refused to let it show.
"Then go shopping? And take Aerith with you, she's disgustingly pale." Don said, "Later on we'll do something, now get out of my sight."
"Uh, sir... I don't have any money." Zack said.
"Of course you don't..." Don muttered The man dug through his pockets and pulled out his wallet. He handed Zack a stack of bills and slammed the door in his face. Zack turned away and walked back to the basement. He shook Aerith awake and looked around for their coats.
"Don wants you to come shopping with me." Zack said. Aerith said nothing as she slowly lifted and tried to stand, "Maybe you shouldn't come... you don't look to good." Zack commented.
"Aerith shook her head, "I have to go... I'll get in trouble if I disobey him." she mumbled. Zack helped her into the coat and led her out of the basement.
"You can barely stand." Zack said.
"Well you try having a dick forced up your ass all night! Let's see how well you can walk after that." she snapped.
"I'm sorry Aerith, I didn't know." He said. Aerith glared down at the ground and Zack sighed. He never knew what to say around her, he wanted her to be happy although he knew that was almost impossible, he wanted to try. It seemed like two days ago she'd just gotten used to his company. They'd had so much fun out in the garden, but now... now he had her on the verge of tears. Sure he was only concerned for her, but he should have worded it differently.
They left the mansion and walked down the driveway, "Are we supposed to walk?" Aerith asked, "We're really far from town."
"Well, I don't know how to drive... so yeah." Zack said, "Or we could call a taxi, but he didn't give me too much money." Aerith sighed and kept walking, Zack could tell she really needed to sit down. She looked horrible, but he wasn't going to tell her that, she'd just get even more upset. "Aerith, about last night..." he started, "Did you really mean all of that?"
"All of what?" she asked.
"what you said about giving in." Zack reminded, "You can't really believe that right?"
"And if I do?" Aerith asked.
"Well then you're stupid." Zack said.
"Excuse me? You have no right to call me stupid! You have no idea what my life is like right now. If you were me, you'd give up too." Aerith pulled her hand away from him and walked forward.
"Aerith, I promised I'd get you out of here didn't I?" he caught up, "Listen here, we're meeting Angeal at a cafe called Feliciano's alright, he'll go through the plan once more. You'll have to stay with him while I get the groceries, I'll come back to get you when I'm done."
"I'm not staying with him by myself." Aerith said.
"He's not going to hurt you..." Zack said, "He's only a few years older then me, he can help you I promise."
"No." she said firmly, "i don't trust him." Zack sighed and looked forward how was this going to work?
"look, you'll never escape this if you don't sit down with him." Zack said, he looked back at the mansion, "This is risky and this may be our only chance to get away, don't you want to see your family?"
"Zack, you know I do." she said softly, "It's just... I don't want you to get in trouble for this... If you get caught, he'll whip you like he did with me, except it'll be even worse."
"Calm down, he wouldn't dare." Zack said, he was more then sure he could handle the man on his own. Don was short and fat and Zack was tall and muscular, he couldn't lose. One of the reason's he hadn't beat the man before was because he had guards. But this time he didn't bring any guards, so they had a chance of escape. But then there was Yuffie, they had to get her from Germany and the only way to do that was to go back there. "I can handle him."
"Yeah but, what if he doesn't punish you? What if he hurts those kids instead?" She asked.
"Stop asking about that! You just do what you have to do until I say it's time." Zack took her hand again and sped up, "You won't have to worry soon."
"But Zack, this isn't fair." Aerith said, "Those kids have been here longer than me, shouldn't they get out first?" Zack slowed down again, this did seem a little unfair... Maybe he could just get Yuffie home and another kid, he could give his ticket to Marlene or Denzel. But if he did that, he didn't know when he'd next be able to get more tickets...
"Aerith, if I send some kids home... You might not be able to go home another year." he said, "Are you sure that's what you want?" Aerith was quiet and Zack sighed, "You're going home." he decided, "I don't care if it's unfair, you won't be thinking like that once you get out of here.
"I know." Aerith said, "But what about everybody else?" she asked.
"When we get home, we'll tell the police what happened to you. They'll send police to the Honeybee and shut it down." Zack said, "It'll be fine."
o.0.o.0.o
Aerith sat across from Angeal and toyed with the sleeve of her coat. What if someone saw her here? She'd be in so much trouble. Angeal placed a small slice of cheesecake in front of her but she couldn't bring herself to eat it, she was too nervous.
"Alright, you have to keep this to yourself alright?" Angeal said, "I'm going to pretend to be a house-cleaner, I'm going to go to Corneo's mansion and offer to clean. He might say no considering the fact that he already has servants there."
"Then what?"
"If he says no... well I'll find another way. I'll get a job there somehow and get a ride back to Germany with you guys. I have the tickets already and all we'll have to do is get you to an airport." Angeal said, "There'll be a lot more to it but that's it for now."
"But he has a lot of guards out there... they'll chase us down like they do with anyone else who tries to escape." Aerith said, "It won't work, we'll get caught."
"I've gone through this plan several times. I know what I'm doing." Angeal glanced out of the window, "Here comes Zack, he wasn't gone too long now was he?" Aerith looked up and saw him coming towards the building. Relief flooded her heart and she turned away, "Do you like him?" Angeal asked.
"What?" Aerith looked at him, "Why would you ask that?"
"Because I saw the way your face changed when you saw him." Angeal said, "You looked happier."
"Happy?" That wasn't a word she'd use to describe anything happening to her, least of all her facial expressions. Zack entered the shop and sat down.
"Are you done 'Geal?" he asked.
"Yes." he took a bite of the cheesecake in front of him, "You better go."
"Right." Zack rubbed his hands together, "Right after Aerith finishes her cheesecake."
"Huh? No Zack, I'm not hungry."
"You have to be, you barely ate last night." Zack said, "And it'll be a while until breakfast is ready." Aerith hesitated, "Come on, it's cheesecake! When's the last time you had cheesecake?"
Aerith glared at him and picked up her fork, "Alright." she mumbled. She felt a little uncomfortable suddenly, why did they have to be watching her eat? She put some in her mouth and forced it down. "I'm really not hungry Zack." she said.
"Well you don't-" before he could finish the sentence, Aerith threw up all over the table. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth.
"I'm so sorry..." she said.
"No it's fine, I shouldn't have made you eat it." Zack said. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Come on, calm down." Aerith took a breath and opened her eyes, she should have held it in...
"I'm sorry Angeal, I didn't mean to." she said. A waitress walked over and looked at the mess.
"Oh my, we'll have someone clean this up immediately." she said. Aerith looked around and noticed everyone's eyes on her. She felt hot suddenly, what was wrong with her? She leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes.
"Zack, I don't feel so good..." she said. She felt something rising in her throat and she covered her mouth again. She couldn't throw up again, everyone was watching now. But she couldn't hold it in, it forced itself out of her mouth and through her fingers.
"Oh my god, it's blood." Angeal stood up, "We need to get her to a hospital." Aerith shook her head frantically.
"No! You can't I need to go!" She stood up and ran out of the cafe. She wiped her hands on her coat and kept running, she didn't know where she was going but she had to get away. She had to get back to the mansion or she'd get punished again. She wasn't even supposed to be in that cafe and if Don found out...
"Aerith!" Zack shouted, "Hold on!" She turned and saw Zack chasing after her. He had a few bags in his hands and she knew they were slowing him down. She slowed down to a stop and coughed, she could barely stand. She leaned against a wall and took a deep breath. Zack caught up and Aerith followed soon after. "Aerith we're taking you to the hospital." Zack said.
"No... I'll get in trouble he'll find out..." Aerith said, "Please we just need to get back to the mansion..."
"No way! It's his fault you're like this!" Zack said, "We can't let you go back there!"
"But..." she closed her eyes and felt herself falling. Someone caught her and picked her up, "Please, take me back I don't want to get in trouble..."
o.0.o.0.o
She woke up in bed, she felt hot and she could hear voices around her. "i assume this is your wife?" it was Angeal's voice, "She's very sick, she'll need a lot of bed rest."
"What is it? What does she have?" Don asked.
"She has Pneumonia, and I'll have to stay here to keep an eye on her." Angeal said.
"How did she get Pneumonia?" Don asked angrily.
"A lot of times it's because people are out in the cold for too long. But I believe her case came from an infection. There are several open scars on her back that were not cleaned properly." Angeal said.
"What are you talking about, there's no scars on her back." Don said. Was he trying to play innocent? He knew all about those scars he'd given them to her. "I bet it was one of those servant boys, they're all very jealous of her been around her." Don said, "He must've done it last night when I was out."
"No..." Aerith mumbled.
"Aerith sweetheart? You really scared me.' Don walked over and rubbed her cheek, "This is Dr. Hewley, he's going to take care of you alright?" he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Don't tell him anything you whore." He stood up straight and combed his fingers through her hair, "I need to leave, I'll have Zack give you a bath later. And Dr. Hewley, you may stay in this room, follow me." Aerith heard them leave the room and she opened her eyes. She was unsure if they'd taken her to the hospital or not but she hoped they didn't. She still felt really hot, but at least while Angeal was around, Don wouldn't hurt her. At least she hoped he wouldn't...
Someone entered the room but she didn't even attempt to see who. She was too tired to move. "Aerith, are you awake?"
"Yes." she said quietly, "What happened Zack?"
"After you ran out of the cafe?" Zack asked, "Or after you passed out?"
"After I passed out." Aerith answered.
"well, don't get mad but we took you to the hospital." Zack said, "When we found out you had Pneumonia we got your medicine and took you back here as soon as possible. Angeal's pretending to be a doctor so you'll be fine alright."
Aerith groaned and closed her eyes, "I'm sorry for running out like that." she said, "And for ruining the cheesecake."
"It's not your fault, don't even worry about it." Zack said, "Don just left so do you want me to make you some food?"
"No... I can't eat Zack." she reminded.
"Oh right, but you have to try." Zack said. Angeal came back into the room and sat down beside her.
"Zack, you should've told me about those scars." Angeal said.
"I wasn't thinking." Zack said, "Can you help me get her into the tub?"
"No! I can do it myself." she said.
"Don't start that Aerith, you're in no condition to move by yourself." Zack said. Aerith buried her face in her pillow, she didn't want to move yet. "Stop being so difficult." Zack touched her arms and she pulled away.
"I'm tired." she said, "Can it wait?" She heard them both sigh but she didn't care. She knew it was better to just do whatever he said but she couldn't. If he wasn't going to make her, she wasn't going to do it. At the moment, she was free, and they couldn't make her do a thing.
"We need to clean up those scars and bandage them up, you'll keep getting worse if you don't." Angeal said. Aerith pushed herself up and held her head, she felt light-headed. She wished her mom was there to help her, she wouldn't have had to get up at all.
"What do I have?" she asked.
"You have Pneumonia and an infection from the scars. That's why we need to clean them, so they don't get worse." Angeal explained. Zack moved to help her up and she cooperated a little. It wasn't on purpose, she just felt so weak. Her muscles ached and she could barely stand.
"'Geal, she can barely stand." Zack said as he led her down the hall.
"Well keep holding on." Angeal said, "Just don't let her fall."
"I'm not going to fall." Aerith said as they reached the bathroom. Zack pulled her shirt up and she smacked his hand away, "I can clean myself." she snapped. Zack nodded and left the bathroom Angeal stood there for a minute.
"He's only trying to help you." he said. Aerith looked away, she felt guilty already for the way she'd treated him when they were walking to the store that morning. She knew he was only trying to help but... she didn't need anybody touching her and that's all he seemed to be doing. He seemed to forget the situation she was in. She was violated all day by strangers and she had the right to tell him no didn't she? "You need to start being nicer to him." Angeal said, "He's doing a lot for you." Angeal left the bathroom and Aerith slammed the door after him. He had no right to tell her that! He had no idea how hard it was for her to be friends with him. She sat down on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, she felt so sleepy.
She closed her eyes and began to drift off, she was sure she'd awake with more then enough time to clean herself up. She closed her eyes and the next time she opened them she was in Zack's arms. "Zack?" she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Putting you to bed." he answered, "You fell asleep and I had to clean you myself. I'll start cooking some soup for you."
"Zack..." she started, "I'm sorry for being so mean to you."
"It's fine, I understand. Really, I should've realized sooner why you were being so difficult. I forget sometimes." Zack admitted, "So I'm sorry too."
"No, I'm really comfortable around you Zack." she said without thinking, "I feel... like you're the only one I ca trust. Besides Yuffie and Tifa that is. You're the only guy I trust." she closed her eyes, "It's just hard..."
"You don't need to explain yourself." Zack pushed the door to the room open with his foot and went in. "Now we'll take your medicine with the soup."
"Is it a pill?" she asked.
"Yes, and there's a hot for the infection." Zack said, "Don't worry it won't hurt at all." Zack set her down on the bed and turned to leave, "You get some rest."
Aerith nodded and curled up on the pillow it would only be a few more minutes until dinner so until then, she could sleep.
o.0.o.0.o
Zack balanced the bowl of soup on a tray and slowly entered the room, "Alright Aerith I-" she was asleep again. Zack set the tray down, she always fell asleep when he left the room. He walked over to the bed and shook her awake, "I have the medicine over there." Aerith rolled over and yawned, she still looked really tired. "Once you eat, you can go to bed again." he went and got her food and sat down next to her, "Come on, sit up."
Aerith sat up and opened her eyes, "Can't it wait? I'm not even hungry." she mumbled. Zack thought it over. He didn't want her to throw up again, but if she didn't eat, she'd never get any better.
"Just a little bit Aerith, if you feel like throwing up, just tell me." he picked up the bowl and held it close, "You want me to feed you?"
Aerith glared at him and he laughed, "Calm down, I was kidding." he gave her the bowl and waited, "I'm thinking we should take the medicine before you eat."
"I hate medicine." Aerith said, "It always tastes funny."
"Well, we're taking it now, I can only give you the pill, Angeal has the needle." Zack reached for the medicine when the door opened.
"Zack, you're still in here? Shouldn't you be cleaning something?"
"No sir, we cleaned the house yesterday, and since you haven't been here or had any guests, it's still clean." Zack said. Don Corneo walked into the room and walked over to Aerith.
"She's still sick?" he asked, "This is inconvenient. Is she still contagious?"
"No, she's past that stage." Zack said.
"Perfect! Take off your clothes." Don ordered.
"what?" Zack looked the man over, "Why?"
"Don't question me Zack, just do as I say." Don snapped his fingers and Zack stood up.
"I'm not doing it until you tell me why." he crossed his arms and locked eyes with Don. He had no idea what the man was planning but he knew it would be bad.
"Zack, you're going to get in trouble." Aerith said quietly.
"Do it." Don ordered again. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, "I want you to have sex with Aerith."
"No!" he shouted, "I can't do that to her."
"She needs the practice." Don said, "Come on." Don pointed the gun at Aerith and watched Zack carefully, "Well, I'd hurry if I were you."
Zack bit his lip, there was no way he could do that to her. She'd just said she trusted him, he couldn't do this, it wasn't right. "Aerith... I'm so sorry."
"Zack, just do it..." she said, "You have to." Zack closed his eyes and let out a breath. He pulled down his pants and took off his shirt. How could she agree to this? Did she want it? He pushed the thought to the back of his head, she didn't want it... no she was just really scared. Don was pointing a gun at her, she didn't want to die.
"I'm sorry." he opened his eyes and walked looked down at her.
"Aerith, you know the drill, pleasure him. I need to see exactly what you're doing wrong." Don ordered.
"She's sick. She can barely stand, I don't think this is the right time." Zack tried. Don ignored him and stared at Aerith.
"Hurry now, I'll have to leave again soon." Aerith slowly stripped out of her clothes and crawled out of bed. Zack looked away, he couldn't watch this. He felt her hands on him and he tensed up, how long would this take. Aerith rubbed his sides a little before slowly moving her hands lower down his body. Zack closed his eyes and let her work, he could feel himself hardening at her touch and suddenly he felt ashamed. How could he be turned on by this? He felt her grab hold of him and he moaned. What was she going to do... his question was answered as he felt her lips on his penis. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed with a pained expression on her face. He looked over to Don and narrowed his eyes, the man was enjoying this.
He tried to hold any noises in while Aerith sucked his dick, he didn't want her to know that deep down inside, he was enjoying it. At least his body was enjoying it. "Alright, no problem there." Don said, "Get in the bed."
Aerith pulled away and climbed into the bed. Zack reluctantly climbed in as well. He knew what was coming next, they were supposed to have sex now. "Don, you can't ask her to do this." Zack said, "She's to sick and if Dr. Hewley finds out-"
"Dr. Hewley is asleep, I've made sure of it." Don smirked, "Now hurry up." Aerith climbed on top of him and pushed him down onto the bed.
"Aerith-" she put a finger on his lips and he looked at her.
"Let me do everything." she said. Zack blinked in shock, she sounded so... different... Zack tore his eyes away and let her work. He didn't want to do this but he refused to let Aerith die so...
"I'm so sorry..." he whispered again.
"I know." she said. She slid down on top of him and gasped. Zack grit his teeth and closed his eyes. Was he hurting her? It felt so good... He mentally slapped himself, what the hell was he thinking? How could he be enjoying this? He heard Aerith moan and he fought the urge to push her away. They had to do this or someone would be shot. Zack briefly wondered if the gun had any bullets in it. He opened his eyes and slowly looked over to Don, the gun. It looked empty so maybe...
He felt the pressure in his penis, he wasn't sure what was about to happen but he had an idea. "Aerith stop... you have to stop..." he tried. He could barely get the words out, every time he opened his mouth to speak, he moaned. And then it happened, he came inside of her... "Aerith..." He opened his eyes and looked into hers. She looked a little shocked, she was probably embarrassed. "I'm so sorry Aerith I didn't-"
There was a loud noise and Aerith fell forward. Zack looked to Don with his eyes wide, "You shot her!" he shouted.
o.0.o.0.o
Muahahaha! Cliffhanger!
