Alright... this chapter will be the last for this week!

TW: Abuse + Attempted Assault + Violence

I was NOT kidding when I said this is an extremely dark chapter!

The Deranged Case of Nathan Jones

TW: Abuse + Attempted Assault

Mercedes let out a deep breath, she'd been feeling like someone had been following her for weeks and now she knew. Her brother had found her and he was pissed, she saw his dark eyes before entering the place she was staying.

"Oh Mercedes… you can only run so far." Nathan sang and she hid behind a pillar, covering her mouth. She could hear his footsteps and felt tears running down her face but she made herself remain quiet.

"Mercedes! I just want to… talk, just want to know what nana left you and why she only left it for a little…" He said before stopping himself. "Come on sis, let's just talk."

Mercedes noticed his footsteps sounded further and peeked, seeing that there was no one there and ran in the opposite direction. She ran down a long path only looking back so often before feeling her hair being yanked and her body falling to the ground.

"Stupid bitch. I have been looking for you for over two years and you got your shitty ass out here in California! WITH MY MONEY!" Nathan spat before punching her in the stomach making her gasp.

"It's not… Just leave me alone!" She managed to get out between breaths.

Her brother shook his head, standing upright before kicking her in the side. "You don't deserve it! After what you did!" He shouted, kicking her again. "This is why our parents hate you," He added before wrapping his hand around her hair and yanking her up off the ground.

Mercedes let out a loud scream, trying to hit him and clawing at his face so he would drop her but he didn't. Her scalp was burning from how hard he was holding her hair and it hurt when she tried to breathe.

"Ungrateful little bitch!" He spat, tossing her and when she landed, she tried to get up to run away but he kicked her in the back. "Give me the money nana gave you and I'll go!"

She took a shallow breath. "I.. I can't.. There were stipulations, the money could only be assessed if I promised not to share it." She replied, crying. "If I give it to any of you it goes away…"

Nathan nostrils flared before he leaned down so that they were eye to eye. "Then withdraw and put it in another account!"

"Nate, why… Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you leave me alone?"

He scuffed. "You think it's easy being related to you? Having to always be the perfect child because you sister is such a fuck up? You ruined dad's career and mom… well she hasn't been the same since you did what you did!" He replied, growing angrier. "You just had to come back after nana died, she left you the fucking house why couldn't you have stayed there?"

Mercedes sat up, slowly moving away from her brother and searching for a rock or something. "It was an accident! I didn't… I'm sorry!" She said through sobs. "I didn't know… I thought it was okay and I tr-tried to-" Nathan slapped her hard.

"Don't lie, you did it on purpose because you were jealous!" He punched her in the stomach before punching her again this time in the face. "GIVE ME THE MONEY!"

"HEY! WHAT'S HAPPENING OVER THERE?" Someone shouted and Nathan grumbled.

"This isn't over bitch, you will never be free of me." He spat before running off.

Mercedes hadn't even realized that she was shaking as hard as she was or that she'd gotten out of her car. She was trying to breathe but couldn't seem to fill her lungs, she felt tears falling down her face and heard herself repeating 'no'.

"Mercedes?" She heard someone say and felt panic rush throughout her body.

"G-go a-away…" She stammered trying to open her car door before flinching when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Sam quickly moved his hand away. "Hey…" He said softly, seeing her eyes were shut firmly and that she was shaking. He was almost to his car when he had to turn back because he left his case at his office. He could've gone the other way but decided to backtrack.

"No, no, no, no…" Mercedes kept muttering and he gently grabbed her hand.

"Mercedes, it's me Sam." He said and felt her hand relax slightly. "Did… did someone hurt you?" She pointed at the black book in her car, he moved her aside and reached inside to grab the book.

He opened it without seeing the note. "It's the portfolio from the colors ball, I got the same one." He said and she shook her head, pointing at the note. "See you soon, sis." He read aloud. "What does that mean?"

Mercedes took in a ragged breath. "Mm-my brother… he found me." She sobbed out.

Sam looked at her before closing the book, tossing it back into her car and grabbing her keys then closing the door. "Come on, you're going home with me."

Mercedes didn't even register what he was saying, she just let him lead her to his car. He didn't say anything on the drive back to his place and she half expected him to take her to the guest house but he hadn't because when she woke up she was in a large bed. She sat up, seeing that she wasn't in her clothes. She was in a large shirt and her underwear.

"You passed out." She heard before seeing Sam standing there looking grim.

She pulled the covers up and nodded. "I… I don't know what…"

Sam walked closer to her, folding his arms over his chest. "Why are you afraid of your brother?"

She felt her body stiffen. "He… I don't want to talk about him."

Sam shook his head. "Not acceptable, you literally passed out after we arrived here and I tried like hell to get you to come to, so explain." He demanded.

She bit her lip, shaking her head to push away tears. "I don't want to relive those memories… Please don't make me talk about him." She begged and Sam let out a sigh.

"You're not going back home, you do realize that, right?"

She nodded. "I understand if you want to evict me… I just need time to-"

Sam held up his hand, shaking his head. "No, you will stay here until I can find other arrangements… I know Stacey has space at her place but until whatever this is… is resolved, it's better you be where I can see you."

Mercedes looked at him confused. "Why do you care so much? It's not like we actually know each other that well." She protested and he rolled his eyes.

He looked at his watch before peering at her. "I'll be home around five, I'll have someone check on your shop to make sure it's fine. Sara, will bring you some breakfast. I took the liberty of grabbing your clothes from the guest house, shower's through there." He said before leaving without giving her a chance to reply.

She shook her head before scrambling out of the bed to give him a piece of her mind, when she reached the door and swung it open he was standing there with an annoyed expression.

"Get back into that bed now." He asserted and she was taken aback by his tone. It wasn't harsh or even threatening, it was slightly sexy and her body reacted in kind.

"I…" She started but stopped when he stepped towards her causing her to take a step back and he kept moving towards her until her legs hit the back of the bed,

"Get into the bed, witch." He said practically hovering over her. She looked up at him and sighed.

"Fine…" She replied getting into the bed reluctantly. "But as soon as you leave, I'm leaving too." She warned and he narrowed his eyes at her before huffing as he walked to the door.

"Sara, if you could bring my things up here please, along with Mercedes' breakfast and have Stacey transfer my calls here." He shouted before turning and shaking his head as he removed his suit jacket and draped it over the lounge chair.

"So, you're just going to hold me hostage?"

He rolled his eyes. "As opposed to letting you pass out again? FYI, you're the reason I won't be able to check on your shop." He responded sitting down at his desk right as Sara entered, smiling.

"I called your sister and she said she'll be over in two hours, here's your paperwork and for Ms. Jones, I brought oatmeal and fruit." She said handing Sam his things before placing the tray of food on Mercedes' lap.

Mercedes smiled. "Thank you." She said before narrowing her eyes at Sam. "Does he make you do everything because he's a lazy vampire?"

Sara smirked. "Mhm, I don't think I've ever heard a more perfect description of him. He's very much a brooding vampire but lazy he is not, he usually cooks but had me come back when you started staying at the guest house." She admitted and Sam cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Sara. You can take the rest of the day off." He said and Mercedes noticed his cheeks looked slightly pink. "Also, tell Stacey that her presence isn't wanted or needed."

Sara nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She replied before winking at Mercedes then leaving.

Mercedes looked at him with a sly smile. "So you had Sara come back?" She teased and he groaned.

"This is going to be a long day." He muttered, turning his attention to his work while Mercedes snickered. "Witch."

Mercedes stumbled into her place, breathing heavily and trying to figure out what she should do. She had been in California for a while and thought everything was fine but now that Nathan had found her she wanted nothing more than to run away again.

She quickly started packing and throwing any and everything she had into her suitcase, checking her watch and seeing that she wouldn't be able to withdraw any money until the bank opened, she opted to find a hotel in the next city over and stay there until she could.

She waited until it was three in the morning before she quickly went to her car and packed it then got on the road. She tossed her phone an hour into her drive and found a hole in the wall hotel, luckily she had just enough cash to cover the night's stay. She only grabbed a change of clothes and parked in the back.

Him showing up the way he did terrified her even more than she knew because she hadn't heard from her parents in years and she'd only received threatening letters here and there.

"What caused him to be so angry?" She asked herself, sitting on the bed with the first aid kit, tending to her wounds.

Nathan figured his sister would try to run and much to his chagrin she managed to sneak away before he could return and make her give him his money.

"Stupid bitch!" He muttered, checking the tracker he placed underneath her car. Once he got her location, he got on the road brewing and ready to really teach her a lesson. Lucky for him there was no traffic and he was willing to speed. It only took him forty-five minutes to find the nasty hotel her tracker signaled. He got out and went straight inside to the front counter and hit the bell.

"Can I help you?"

Nathan sighed. "I'm looking for this woman." He said, holding up his phone and showing a picture of Mercedes. "And before you say, she's not here I know for a fact that she is and to make it even better here's five hundred dollars."

The man looked at him before slowly taking the money he threw down and handing him a key. "I don't want to know shit." The man said before turning around and heading back into his office.

Nathan smirked, grabbing the key and seeing the room number on it. "Looks like you have nowhere to run now… little sis."

He quickly ran over to her room and didn't even wait before putting the key in and opening the door, seeing Mercedes sitting there hugging her knees.

"What are…" She said before he slammed the door with a devious grin.

"You have nowhere to go now."

"Mercedes!" Sam shouted and she flinched looking at him. "You blanked… and started muttering about Nathan? Is that your brother?" He asked.

Mercedes let out a shaky breath. "I don't want… I don't want to talk about him."

"I don't accept that answer, what did he do to you?" He asked and she looked away wiping her eyes.

"It's not anything I ever want to relive or ever talk about so please just let it go. I will be fine after some rest." She said softly.

Sam used his hand to turn her towards him. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what I'm helping you against."

Mercedes furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not looking for help, you're holding me hostage and demand-" She started but was cut off by his lips crashing onto hers and she couldn't help the soft whimper that came out as she kissed him back.

"You're so damn frustrating." Sam muttered before kissing her again, wrapping his arms around her.

Mercedes melted feeling his strong arms around her and for the first time in a very long time, she felt safe. She hadn't felt this safe since her grandmother was alive and she started sobbing causing Sam to jump back with a worried expression.

"He was so horrible to me and all I had was my nana… she made me feel safe." She said in between sobs as the events of that night came out of the place she kept them locked away.

Nathan locked the door behind him, throwing the key on the ground and storming over to her. He grabbed her ankle and yanked her from her spot, snarling at her.

"I have hated you since they brought you home!" He said, slapping her and grabbing her when she tried to move away from him.

"Nathan, stop!" She pleaded, slapping his hand away from her.

Nathan ripped off her shirt, glaring at her. "You know you're not really a Jones right? So this isn't wrong."

Mercedes shook her head. "Stop! Please!" She begged, trying to break his hold on her ankle. "I can't give you any money!"

Nathan laughed humorlessly. "You're gonna give me everything I want, you fucking bitch!" He spat, pulling at her shorts but she kicked in the stomach and again in his face when he leaned over.

"You will never touch me again!" She shouted, scrambling off the bed. She grabbed her keys and tried to make a run for the door but he grabbed her ponytail and pulled her back, this time hovering over her.

"You don't have a choice, murderer." He said, pinning her arms down with one hand and undoing his pants with the other.

Mercedes struggled underneath him, kicking and screaming but he only tightened his grip, trying to pry her legs open.

"The more you fight the angrier you'll make me." He grunted, prying her legs open with his knee and biting her on the neck causing her to scream out.

Mercedes felt herself starting to panic even more and shook her head, kneeing him so hard he fell. She sat up and started punching him with all her might. "YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!" She shouted, kicking him off the bed and kicking him a few more times in the groin before quickly grabbing her keys and running out of the room to her car.

She was breathing so heavily and wanted so badly to call the police but she knew that would put her parents on her radar and she didn't need them coming after her too. She was shaking so badly that after an hour of driving she forced herself to pull over to take deep breaths. She tried to rack her brain on how he was able to find her but flashes of him trying to force himself on her kept coming and she started sobbing.

She blinked and realized she had actually fallen asleep on the side of the road. She checked the time and saw that it was past noon, she looked down at herself seeing the bruises and began crying again.

She placed her hands over her eyes, shaking. "Nana… why'd you have to leave me?" She cried out before there was a tap on her window, she immediately froze too afraid to turn to see who was there.

Tap, tap.

Mercedes reluctantly turned and saw a beautiful woman looking at her, signaling for her to roll down her window. She slowly let it down and the woman looked at her before shaking her head.

"Honey child who hurt you?" The woman asked and Mercedes felt her lip quiver.

"I… I'm fine." She stammered and the woman scuffed.

"If that's what you're considering fine, then you might want to rethink a few things. Now, I'll ask again, who hurt you?"

Mercedes felt the tears falling down her face and a soft sob escaped as she tried to form words. "I… he…"

The woman reached inside and unlocked her door before opening it and gently pulling her into a hug. "Come on, you can't stay here and especially not like this…" She said helping Mercedes out of her car. "Do you have anything important you want right now? I can have someone come back and grab the rest of your things."

Mercedes just nodded her head, allowing a perfect stranger to guide her to their car. She eased her into the passenger seat before going back to Mercedes's truck and grabbing her a shirt, along with her keys and what looked like her wallet.

"My name is Unique." She said getting into the driver's side. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital or the police?"

Mercedes quickly shook her head. "Please no… I can't…they'll…" She started before she started sobbing again.

"It's okay sweetie, I got you." Unique said, driving off and Mercedes allowed herself to drift off, she removed herself from this moment and didn't remember how long it took to get to wherever they were or how she'd gotten out of the car.

"Where?" She asked looking around, she was in a beautiful sage room with a large queen sized bed that was filled to the brim with decorative pillows. The walls were adorned with paintings of many iconic black women and from what she could tell there was an ensuite bathroom.

"You're in my guest room." Unique said softly. "I took the liberty to lay out a few things for you as well as brew you some tea that will help you sleep. Aht, before you say anything, you are safe here. Dinner will be ready when you wake up. I won't pry but I will need to help clean up those bruises… go ahead and shower and get some rest."

Mercedes nodded slowly, wiping her eyes. "Th-thank you."

"You are so welcomed." Unique said before walking out and closing the door behind her. Mercedes sat on the bed for a little while longer before moving over to drink some of the tea. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she drank the warm liquid which was soothing to her aching throat.

She took a few more sips before getting into the shower where she cried even more allowing the warm water to ease some of the pain she felt. She used the soap provided for her and immediately felt calmness flowing over her. The tea was kicking in so she got out of the shower and put her clothes on, she walked back into the bedroom and sighed. Her mind was still going a mile a minute but all she wanted was for it to all go away.

"Got a minute?"

She looked up and saw Unique standing there. "Yes."

"Good, let me get those bruises tended to." Unique said, walking over and sitting beside her, grabbing her arm. "Tsk, tsk, chile… my moma always told me to never let a bruise settle. It'll turn our luscious skin all shades of wrong."

Mercedes looked at her before looking down at her arms and legs, seeing all the damage her brother really had done to her. "How… how bad?" She asked and Unique stopped for a second.

"How bad do you feel?"

"I hurt… I'm too afraid to check other places." She admitted with a soft sob.

Unique nodded, grabbing her hands and looking at her intensely. "If it hurts then it means you fought. It means you're alive and that counts for something… don't ever stop fighting."

Mercedes nodded, feeling tears flowing down her face. "I… I fought."

"Yes you did sweetie, you did." Unique replied, wiping the tears off of Mercedes' face. "Get some rest, I'll tend to that bite mark when you wake up."

Mercedes gave her a small smile before feeling herself grow heavy, she crawled up in the bed underneath the covers and slept, thankful to feel safe even if it was only for a moment.

Three days later…

Mercedes slept for two days straight before Unique woke her up to eat and tend to the bite mark on her neck that had begun to swell. She was thankful Unique never asked what happened but she was starting to feel like she was overstaying her welcome.

"Morning sunshine!" Unique singsong when Mercedes walked into the kitchen.

She smiled. "Morning…" She replied hoarsely just now realizing that she hadn't spoken in a few days. "Can I help with anything?"

Unique shook her head. "You are a guest in my house, therefore I shall treat you as such but you can grab those plates and set the table.

Mercedes nodded and happily grabbed the plates to set the table. "Now I know I said I wouldn't pry but do you think whoever bit you was… infected with anything because that mark is getting worse."

Mercedes touched her neck and winced. "I… I'm not sure. I hadn't seen him in years…" She answered and Unique just hummed as she started plating the food.

"Well, I have a friend that can give me something for it that'll hopefully clean up whatever is causing it to react that way."

"It was my brother…" Mercedes said, shocking herself.

Unique stopped moving for a moment before resuming what she was doing. "Did he… how far?"

"He tried but I managed to get him off before he could…" She replied softly, sitting down. "It's not the first time he attacked me." She admitted.

Unique sat across from her, nodding. "Your parents never did anything to help you?"

Mercedes shook her head. "I didn't live with them… I lived with my nana but sometimes I would have to go over there and after she died I had no choice but to live with them… he's the reason I ran away again."

"You ran before?"

Mercedes sighed. "I did something bad and he beat me… so I ran away. I don't even know how I lasted as long as I did but my nana left me money and that's why he's back now."

Unique looked at her hard before nodding. "Well, you eat up and we'll see about doing something with that hair of yours… I know when I pamper myself I always feel somewhat better, maybe it'll help you too."

"Thank you for helping me." Mercedes picking at her food. "The last person to do that was my nana…"

"Well maybe she sent me to continue doing that." Unique said and they began to eat their breakfast.

Unique and her friend Jane pulled up to where Mercedes' truck was and saw a man standing there and kicking it.

"Who is that?" Jane asked and Unique narrowed her eyes.

She unbuckled her seatbelt. "You stay here and don't move no matter what happens." Unique instructed, getting out and walking straight over to the man.

"Stupid fucking bitch!"

"Now that's no way to speak about a woman." Unique said and the man looked at her with so much hatred in his eyes.

"Wha the fuck are you?"

Unique stepped close to him, showing that she wasn't the least bit afraid of him. "Someone that is only giving you this one chance to walk away and to leave her alone."

Nathan smirked. "So you know where she is then?" He asked, taking a step closer only stopping when he heard the sound of a gun clock.

Unique smirked. "I do and if you value your life you'd be on your way." She warned as Nathan looked over her shoulder seeing a petite woman standing not far from them with a double barrel pointed at him.

He chuckled. "She'd kill us both." He said as Jane moved closer making him shift slightly.

"Oh, I'm a damn good shot and I never miss." Jane replied, noticing him balling up his fist.

"Listen you stupid-" He started before Unique pulled her own gun out and pressing it to his temples.

"Last warning… There's a lot of open space around here and I promise you no will hear the gun go off or ever find your body. Leave her the fuck alone."

Nathan looked at them both before taking a cautious step back, slowly raising his hands. " You can't protect her forever and she won't stay long…" He said slowly walking to his truck.

"And that's fine but while she's here, she's thoroughly protected and will continue to be well after she leaves."

Nathan shook his head, vowing to get both of them after he got the money from Mercedes. He got into his truck plotting to pretend to drive off then follow them but when the other woman pointed the gun upwards and fired he knew they already figured he would try as much

"You think you've won this round but I will find you again." He said as he pulled off.

until next time!