Chapter Nine
I open my eyes in the morning and groan slightly. It's much too bright in the room, my hands smart, my face stings, and the rest of my body aches. I stare over at the double doors leading onto the balcony for a few minutes before I remember all the events of the last 24-hours.
Ugh. He has to be pissed. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes me back to the market or beats me to within an inch of my life. I probably deserve it…
I close my eyes tightly, trying to block such thoughts out. That's when I notice a weight around my waist. I lift the covers slightly, look down, and see Axel's arm wrapped around me. Cautiously, I turn in his grip to face him, angle my face up, and find him still sleeping. His face is smooth, his lips slightly parted, and he looks incredibly peaceful. His body radiates warmth, and the grip he has around me is firm and strong. For the first time since meeting him, I register that he is actually rather attractive. It doesn't matter how attractive he is! He's your "master" now, you idiot. He is allowed to beat you, starve you, push you around, and rape you and there's nothing you can do about it. Stop thinking about his attractiveness and focus on not giving him a reason to do any of the above things! I know the voice in my head is right, but I also suspect it's much too late to prevent any of those vile things…
Axel stirs next to me and I quickly close my eyes to feign sleep. I don't want him to know I was staring at him. His stirring stops and I feel him stiffen slightly. The hand not around my midriff comes up and moves my hair out of my face. I try not to flinch. He continues stroking my hair, and I can't decide whether I like it or not. This bothers me, so I move slightly to try to make him think I'm just waking up. It must work since he removes the hand from my hair. I flutter my eyes before opening them fully. I look up at him and act surprised to see him.
"Good morning," He rasps, looking down at me. I find myself trapped by his eyes again. They're so deep and look incredibly gentle while he's sleepy. My breath hitches as I stare. Finally, I snap out of it. I feel my face grow red, clear my throat, and break eye contact. I shift to move away from him and am pleasantly surprised when he lets me go immediately.
"Good morning," I say while sitting up. "So what happens today?" He blinks up at me, surprise all over his face.
"Uh…" he falters. "How about you get a shower and everything and meet me downstairs for breakfast?"
"Alright. What're we having?" I ask politely.
"What do you want?" he asks, obviously wary about my attitude shift.
"Um…well…I like waffles and bacon…can we have that?"
"Sure," he shrugs. "But you'll have to eat slowly. I really don't want you throwing up because of too much food too soon.
"Okay," I say while nodding. He stares at me for another minute before getting out of bed. He stretches his arms over his head and I can't help but notice how the muscles in his back contract and ripple. I quickly shake my head, hoping to dislodge the thought. He disappears into his closet and returns a minute later. He hands me a pair of red plaid pajama pants and a black long sleeved shirt.
"I'm going to let you go to your bathroom and do your business alone. If you're not down in the dining room in half an hour, though, I will come up to make sure you're okay, understand?" he says sternly. I drop my eyes and nod.
"I'm not going anywhere," I mumble.
"Good," he replies before disappearing into his bathroom.
I clamber out of his bed, through the door, and down the hallway. In the bathroom, the soap and hair care products are still on the lip of the tub. I turn on the showerhead and close the curtain, waiting for steam to fog the room up before stripping down. I don't look in a mirror or look down at my body. If I do, I know I'll start obsessing over it. I unwrap the bandages from my palms and throw them away. I get into the shower and hiss slightly as the hot water hits my flesh. I waste no time in shampooing and conditioning my hair and scrubbing my body down. When I'm done, I shut off the water and step out. Once again avoiding the mirror, I pull on the clothes Axel gave me. I shuffle in the cabinets and find a hair dryer. I plug it in and dry my hair as fast as possible before leaving the bathroom.
I glance at a clock on the wall in the hallway. 10:15 a.m. I don't know if I finished in the half and hour time frame he gave me, but I feel fairly confident I did. I make my way downstairs and through the dining room door. Axel is already sitting down drinking a mug of coffee. He looks up at me when I walk in and nods to the chair opposite him. I sit and Renton comes in almost instantly.
"Can I get you anything to drink, miss?" he asks. I smile slightly at him.
"Um…could I have apple juice?" I ask nervously. He smiles back at me.
"Absolutely. Right away, miss," and he's gone. He comes back a moment later and sets the glass down in front of me.
"Thank you."
"You're most welcome, miss." I peek up at Axel and see he's folded his hands together and is resting his head on them, effectively concealing his mouth. I look back down, but I know he saw me looking at him.
"Um…about last night," I whisper, wanting to just get it over with.
"Which part?" he interrupts. I look up, startled.
"I-I'm sorry? What do you mean?"
"Are we talking about your escape attempt or your violent night terror that nearly gave me a heart attack?" I'm shocked and put my face in my hands.
"That really happened? I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to deal with that," I whisper.
"Hey, it's fine. Shit happens," I hear Axel say.
"A lot of shit happens to me," I mumble. A very pregnant pause fills the air. Axel clears his throat.
"And about your escape attempt?" he asks, and I can hear an edge in his voice.
"It's not going to happen again," I say weakly into my hands.
"Damn right, it's not," he hisses. After a few moments of silence, he sighs. "Look at me," he orders. I lift my face from my hands and look up into his face. "Let's get some things straight. I'm a pretty laid-back guy. I try not to make a big deal about things, but I do have a few rules I expect followed. First, everyone is allowed one stupid act of desperation. You used yours last night. Second, you to do something when I ask you to with little sass. I expect to be respected. Three, I work hard to have nice things in my home; don't purposely break them. If you accidently knock into something and it breaks, that's one thing. But don't go around deliberately breaking things when you're angry. Following?" he asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Y-Yes," I reply, a bit unnerved by his tone.
"Alright. Those are my only rules. You're more than welcome to be in any room of this house at any time unless told otherwise. There's an intercom in each room if you need anything. You can eat whenever you want, sleep whenever you want, etcetera. This is your home now too. Like I said, I'm a laid-back guy. You should know, though, that if you break any of my rules, you will be punished accordingly. Got everything?"
"Yes," I say quietly with a slight shudder. "Am…Am I going to be punished for last night?"
"No. Like I said, one act of desperation. Now that we've talked about it, it's forgotten," he replies before taking another sip of his coffee. I nod and take a long drink from my juice.
As though timed, Renton comes in with two plates, butter, and syrup in his hands. Each plate has three waffles and multiple slices of bacon on them. My mouth starts watering when he puts the plate in front of me. I pick up a slice of bacon and take a bite. It's like heaven on my taste buds. I pick up a fork and knife and dig into my equally delicious waffles.
"Slowly," Axel warns. I immediately slow down and take smaller bites. After one waffle is gone along with three pieces of bacon, I clear my throat and look up at Axel.
"So…um…what's going to happen today?" I ask. He looks up at me and raises his eyebrows slightly.
"Well, I'd like to get you your own clothes, but first a doctor friend of mine is coming over to give you the once over," he says. I freeze immediately, dropping a piece of bacon back onto my plate.
"What?" I gulp. Axel looks at me quizzically.
"A doctor. Have to make sure there's nothing wrong with you," he explains.
"There isn't," I say sharply, hoping he'll change his mind. His eyebrows shoot up.
"What's up with you, kid? Just a doctor," he says. I put down my utensils and wipe my hands on my pants. I look to the side to avoid his eyes.
"I-I don't want to see a doctor," I say with a hard voice. Apparently my tone was the wrong one to use because Axel's face goes stony.
"Well too bad, kid. I say you're seeing a doc, so you're seeing a doc," his voice is meant to leave no room for discussion, but I can't help myself. I stand up way too quickly and knock over my chair.
"Well too bad for you because I am not seeing this doctor," I nearly shout, my stomach clenching. He stands up equally forcefully, but before he can say anything, the doorbell rings. Axel's face breaks into a grin.
"Too late to cancel now," he says cheerfully. He walks around, grabs my wrist and pulls me with him into the foyer. He smiles at me brightly. I grimace and pale.