This chapter will include some Fabina fluff! It's been pretty dark the past couple of chapters at least, so I'm going to lighten the mood a bit. Scenes with Joy and Fabian doing couple things might grow few and far between, now that the story has progressed a bit more (Sorry Jabian shippers!)

I do not own HOA or condone what Jerome has done/will do to Nina!

Trigger warning for mentions of abuse, both physical and verbal. Nina also exhibits severe Stockholm syndrome in this chapter, she has shown signs of it in previous chapters but it's going to be more prominent in this one!
You have been warned!

Nina's P.O.V

I actually wake up on my own the next morning. I take this time to just enjoy the peace I have. Peace. It's almost laughable… my version of peace versus say someone like Fabian's. I barely got a look at him when he was over yesterday… I was too afraid to. Afraid of what he might do. Sitting on my used, beat-up mattress on the ground, I close my eyes. Trying to focus on anything but the pain that I felt all over my body. The pain on my ass from the whips and the branding, the pain on my wrist from the second branding attempt, the pain on my upper body and face from the beating… I shut my eyes carefully and just let myself breathe. I was still chained up, but my wrists were handcuffed in front of me this time, allowing me to crawl if I wanted. I opened my eyes after a couple of minutes and saw a note lying on the ground within my reach. It was from Master.

Good morning girl… or afternoon, without me there to wake you who knows when you'll be reading this. I've felt a bit down lately, so I've taken it upon myself to treat myself to a vacation. Nothing big, small, I'll be gone for a week maximum, nothing more. I took some money I had saved from the restaurant, and gone to Greece for the nice weather while it still lasts. Fabian, Joy, or both of them will be over occasionally to house sit. Mostly to make sure you stay out of trouble, though. I gave them both the numbers to unlock the key pad for your room, just in case they need you and also to feed you and give you with the keys to your handcuffs and chains. I'm sure you'll enjoy this week off from me, but don't worry Slave. I'll be sure to make up for lost time when I return. Somebody has to keep you in line.

Love,

Master

He… he left? Maybe that's why he was harsher than usual a couple nights ago… he hasn't been feeling great I guess. I feel bad for him. I actually do love him. He loves me, too. We care for each other in our own unique ways. I fold up the note and set it beside my mattress. While I lie down on my mattress again to do nothing but nap during the day, I hear the all too familiar sound of my keypad again. It was slow, like somebody was reading the numbers as they were punching them in. Joy?... or worse, Fabian? I couldn't bear to look at Fabian again after what happened after the last time I was alone with him.

I promised Master I would never disobey him like that again.

The door opens, and I see Fabian slowly walk into my bedroom.

He smiles at first but is eventually horrified at what he sees. Huh?
Oh.

Oh.

My face.

Sure, my branding was covered by my long sleeve shirt, and my shorts, but my face had a few good bruises around it, along with a light black eye. I hadn't done makeup or anything this time, this is the first time he's seen my bruises from my last beating.

"N-N-Nina…" He whispered, loud enough for me to hear before walking over to my mattress.

I can't believe he called me by that name. That name wasn't mine anymore.

I didn't dare look up at him as he came over to me.

I stared at the ground.

"Nina… Nina what happened?"

"Sir. Please stop calling me that…" I whispered back, still looking at the ground.

"You can call me Fabian… you remember that, right?"

I shook my head.

"No, Sir. You can't call me by that name. And I should only refer to you as Sir."

"Nina that's so-"

I cut him off.

"So WHAT?" I said, slightly raising my voice at him, this time looking directly at him before looking at the ground again.

Don't make eye contact with another man. Not for more than a second.

I let out a sigh.

"Please. Please stop calling me by that name. That's… that's not my name."
Fabian was at a loss for words. I cringed at the thought of one of the recent punishments I received after I had told Fabian my birth name.

"You can refer to me as anything, anything but that name. Girl… Slave… Bitch… Whore…" Fabian stops me in my tracks after my list of names begin to get degrading,,

"Never. NEVER. Will I ever call you those things. It's… it's not right. You don't want me to call you by your real name? Okay, fine. If that's what you want so badly. But I won't call you by those things, either."

This time it was me who was at a loss for words.

"Here…" He said kneeling beside me, his expression softened from his last sentence. I didn't even notice the keys in his hand until he began unlocking the chains that restrained my ankles, followed by my handcuffs.

I did nothing after being freed from my restraints. I wasn't ordered to do anything.

"Your bruises… did Jerome do those, too?... These ones seem pretty bad…"
I couldn't bare to look at him.

"It isn't right… his 'slave' or not, if Jerome does things like this to you, it isn't right."

If only he knew the extent of it.

I could only shake my head no in disagreement. He caught on immediately.

"Nin-" He stopped himself, "There's no possible excuse for him to get violent like that with you. Ever. No matter what you said or did."

"He paid good money for me. He deserves to have a well-trained slave. I'm bad sometimes, especially… lately." I trail off.

"He doesn't let anybody call you by your real name, or even know it."
"I'm his property he controls what people should and shouldn't know about me."

"He HITS you"
"When I've disobeyed him."

A large sigh comes from Fabian's lips, "How… how about we continue talking upstairs. I don't even want to get into the fact that it seems as if he keeps you locked away in some sort of dungeon, lacking any sort of comfort. Do you need help?"
I shake my head no before attempting to stand. Unsuccessful, I fall to the ground immediately and let out a small cry of pain.

My body hasn't been on it's own two feet in a little while. That combined with my most recent beating I received, I'm surprised my legs even tried to stand. Without me even having to say anything else Fabian comes over to me, reaching his hand out for me to grab on to. I look at his hand briefly, and then up at him.

"Can… can I use something else?"

Fabian looks at me puzzled

"I can't touch anyone without Master's permission, especially another man…" I say while my gaze moves away from his, staring at his shoes.

"He's not here, it's okay. He won't hurt you" Fabian said, trying to comfort me.

I wouldn't budge.

Aware he was fighting a losing battle, he looked around my bedroom and saw nothing he could use to help me up. Mostly because I had very few things in my space to begin with.

"Hold on…" Fabian said while he opened my door back up, propping it open so he could wander off into the rest of the basement. He came back with a sturdy-looking wooden chair with rubber stoppers on the bottom.

"Here, try this" He said while setting it down as close to me as he could. I grabbed onto it, my legs trembling slightly while I climbed my way onto my feet, lightly wincing in pain. Once I was standing, it took a few moments before I got more comfortable. I let go of the chair and attempted to walk forwards, I almost fell again. Fabian caught me. He saw my instant look of panic, along with feeling my body tense up.

"It's okay. You were going to fall otherwise. Here, it's okay" He said in a comforting tone again, making sure I was okay getting back on my feet. I continued walking out of my bedroom, Fabian following close behind me ready to catch me if I accidentally fell again. Once I was in the actual basement and got to the bottom of the steps, I felt like my balance had improved. I walked up the stairs, slower than a normal person but faster than I had been walking before.

Finally, I made it to the top of the stairs. I jumped as I heard a door shut behind me. I quickly turned around and realized it was just Fabian closing the basement door.

"Lets head to the living room" Fabian said with a soft smile, I obliged and followed behind him.

He sat on the couch, I stood. He lightly patted the seat next to him, thinking I was just unsure of where to sit.

I stared at him.

"You… you can sit here if you'd like. Or if you'd rather not sit next to me, you can sit in the softer-looking grey seat over there" He said, starting off stuttering.

"Not allowed on furniture…" I said in a softer tone, my gaze making its way back to the ground.

"Jerome isn't… he's not here. It's okay if you don't follow a few of his 'stricter' rules for the next week or so. It would at the very least give you a small break."
"I don't want to risk making that a habit. If I do it while you're here, and then accidentally do it when he returns. I… I don't want that."
"If you insist for now…" Fabian sighs.

"I'm sorry Sir, I didn't mean to upset you"

"No, no it's alright, you didn't upset me. It isn't you. It's just… Jerome has been one of my best friends for the longest time. Finding out the way he treats you, though… slave or not, nobody should treat any human being this way"

"Only when I'm disob-"
Fabian cuts me off,

"No. Not even just when you're 'disobedient'. I'm also talking about the silly rules he has set to begin with. I mean, just from what I've gathered… can't sit on the furniture, can't even brush hands with anybody without his permission, no matter the circumstances, can't have anybody knowing your real name, only calling him by certain honorifics seeing as I've never heard you call him Jerome, and that's just a small few I've noticed, I'm probably missing others.."

"They're completely justif-
"Don't you even think about saying they're justified, they aren't, no matter what…" He starts off, "My father… he owns slaves. Two of them, actually. He bought the other one a year after the first. He treats them like… equals, pretty much. I know both of their names. They both have a voice. They both call him by his name. Sure, sometimes they call him "Master" but, in public at least, it's rare. They have their own sleeping quarters, separate from the house, on the same property. They live… well off, just like my father does. He doesn't hit them, he doesn't create crazy strict rules for them…"

This. This tugged at me. Other slaves, they actually… do normal things?

"I don't like the idea of 'buying' people, neither does Joy. I don't agree with this whole new social norm… I never have, even when it was first passed when Jerome and I were pre-teens in boarding school. He obviously went a different route…" He stopped, staring at my face.

"When did he do this to you?"

"A… a couple nights ago…" I respond softly, my tone just above a whisper.

"And what was his reasoning for it?"

My heart sank.

"He… I…" I stutter, "We were… in the middle of something. I accidentally did something out of reflex. He… completely lost it"
"Don't be so detailed, Nina" He chuckled, trying to bring light to the situation. I wasn't even going to correct him for using my name. He just… wants to be nice.

"Here… sit. Please? Your legs were incredibly weak before coming upstairs. I would love if you sat with me"

After pausing for a few seconds, I hesitantly sat down on the sofa next to him, making sure none of our limbs were touching.

"Nina… what was his reasoning for what he did a couple nights ago?"
I couldn't. I can't bare to talk about what happened. I do believe I deserved it all, yes, but I'm still extremely ashamed. Tears began to brim my eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey… it's okay. We don't have to talk abou-" He started to say when his hands brushed against my wrists, in attempt to hug me gently and comfort me. I noticeably winced and let out a small cry, one of his hands brushed against where the second burn was. I yanked my arms away.

"I-I'm sorry if I did something…" He started, I could tell he truly felt bad.

With a few tears rolling down my face, my arms began to tremble ever so slightly. I turned them around so that the bottoms of my arms were facing upwards, and with my other one I rolled up my left arm's sleeve, revealing the "JC" initials that were burned into my skin. It was almost a full two days ago, so it didn't look the best. The skin was bright red around it, while the initials themselves were a deeper, darker red. I couldn't bring myself to look up at Fabian's reaction.

"Nina… " Fabian whispered with shock, concern, and disgust evident in his voice. A few more tears fell down my face while he grabbed my hand of the arm that was branded. I tried to hold everything in, but after a few more seconds I couldn't anymore. I started to cry more than I was before.

Fabian's P.O.V

I couldn't stand seeing her this upset. I carefully pulled her into my arms for a hug, wrapping my arms around her torso while holding her close to me while she cried. I hadn't so much as seen her shed a tear since I first saw her in person, so this just broke my heart. "Nina… Nina I'm so sorry" is all I could manage to get out, one hand rubbing her back slowly while my other hand rested gently against her head that was buried in my chest.

"It-It's not your fault. I deserved this. I just feel so…" she cried, unable to finish.

"Nina, you didn't deserve any of this. Not him beating you. Not him… branding you like that. None of that."
"He… he only lost control of his anger when… when I accidentally pulled away when he did it… I-I was really sorry, I didn't mean to, I never want to disobey him in his presence like that… I didn't mean to"

"I know you didn't. He shouldn't of done that to begin with. Pulling away is a natural reaction, that doesn't excuse how he reacted. Not in the slightest. You deserve so much more." I said in the most comforting tone I could muster while holding her.

"I'm… I'm his property. He can do whatever he wants. I just… sometimes I feel hurt. I love him, but sometimes he causes me so much pain. Along with being a servant sometimes I feel like I'm a human punching bag. I really try to be a good girl, to obey him, but sometimes he hurts me because… because he likes to"

I couldn't believe what I just heard. I just unlocked a whole other side to Jerome, to my best friend, a side I could've gone my whole life without knowing. I feel awful for Nina, though… she gets the brunt of his dark side.

"Nina he can't keep doing this. I won't let him."
"That's the thing. He hurts me. But I still feel like I deserve it every single time. I'm dirty. I'm useless. I became useful the moment Master bought me. Sometimes… I get really down about it, especially when it gets really bad. During times like that, I tend to tell myself that if he wasn't hurting me the way he was then he would be hurting someone else like that. It makes me feel better. I deserve it a lot more than someone else would."

"No…" I start off, lightly pulling away from our embrace "Nina, nobody deserves to be treated the way you do. Not you. Not anybody else. Even if he did this to somebody else, they wouldn't deserve it. You especially don't. You didn't become 'useful' the moment you stepped into his home, he just stopped treating you like a person the moment you did."
"I shouldn't even be speaking to you… I'm not allowed to speak unless spoken to or given permission from him…"

"It's okay. I won't let him find out, I don't want him to have more reasons…. More reason to hurt you. But I don't regret us having any sort of conversation… do you think maybe… we could call ourselves, sort of friends? Not close or anything, but two people that enjoy each others company, that enjoy speaking to one another. I'm okay with you not speaking to me like this in front of Jerome, though."
She continued to stare at me for a few seconds.

"I… I guess… That would be okay. He can't know. Please. If he does…"
I cut her off, "He won't. It's alright, I'll be sure of it"

"I don't remember what it's like to have any friends"

She breaks my heart nearly every time she speaks.

"Well thank goodness I'm here then, not to brag but I've gotten raving reviews on my friendship qualities…" I start off in a lighthearted tone. Before I can continue, I hear her softly giggle. I made her laugh again, even if slightly. That's all my mind could focus on.

"You're funny. Sometimes in an awkward way, but you're funny. I don't care what your fiancé says."
Fiancé? Oh boy.

"Fiancé… Joy and I actually, aren't engaged. We're still boyfriend girlfriend…" I said.

"Oh, my bad Sir. I thought that I had heard at one point that you were. I'm really sor-"
I cut her off again, "It's alright, honest mistake no need to apologize. Also, you can call me Fabian. Being called those honirifcs… it makes me feel some sort of way. And not a good way. Especially knowing what I know now about Jerome…" I trailed off, " But back to what we were saying. It's an honest mistake. Sometimes I think Joy THINKS we're engaged… so it wouldn't surprise me if a word slipped from her by accident and you overheard it."

"She really wants to marry you?"
"Don't sound so shocked, Nina" I chuckled while looking at her, she flashed me a giggly smile back.

"That isn't what I meant!"
"No I know, but yes. She does, and it's only gotten worse the past year. Some friends getting married, our other good friends Eddie and Patricia just got engaged recently as well… it's given her some sort of longing, I think. I don't know though… we've been together for years, but I don't feel like I'm ready for something like that."

"I have't really known you for long, but I've heard Master talk about you at times"
I looked at her with a slightly confused expression, "Me?"
She giggled again, "No, the other Fabian that Master has known since high school."
It warmed my heart that she felt comfortable joking with me.

"Look who's funny, now." I said while checking my watch, "Nina, I might make myself something for lunch, would you prefer anything?"
She stared at me like I had 4 heads.

"I-I can do it" she stuttered, "I can make you what you want"

"Nina its alright, let me. I make myself my own things all the time. And especially since we're friends now, it would be rude to not ask what you wanted."
"I don't know…" she said, seeming conflicted almost. "I don't know what I would want to eat"
"Well, let's start off somewhere different. What do you LIKE to eat? And I'll go from there"
She looked at me puzzled again.

"Um… Master usually feeds me scraps of meat that either he or him and his guests don't finish… and usually gives me deli meat sandwiches with bread that's about to go bad so it gets used. Sometimes after rough nights, he'll cook me a hot breakfast, eggs and toast, but that isn't often at all. One of those will do."
"Meat scraps… deli sandwiches on old bread… or plain toast and eggs? Nina no wonder you look so thin…" I said, unable to hide how horrified I sounded.

"I-I'm sorry… I know that with how thin I am combined with all the marks and bruising I look pretty ugly…" she said softly while looking towards the ground. I gently lifted up her head with one of my hands.

"You are many things, ugly is not one of them, though. Not even close." I smiled at her, removing my hand from under her chin. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I saw her blushing from under the bruising on her cheeks.

"I just feel bad you haven't had a really, really good meal in a while. Do you remember what you used to like to eat before being bought?"
She slowly shook her head, "Before… I lived with my Gran. She… we were really, really poor. The food I ate with her wasn't that much of an upgrade, but it wasn't scraps."

"Here. Well it sounds like you're in need of a really, really good meal. I'm going to cook myself some chicken, rice and gravy along with some corn. Jerome said I was free to anything in his pantries or fridges and freezers to feed myself. I'm sure he won't care if I cook a little extra for you. How does that sounds?"
I saw her eyes light up immediately.

"That… that sounds great. My own plate?"
I chuckled at her, "Of course! Give me some time" I said while standing up from the couch and making my way to the kitchen. I broke apart one of the whole chickens that Jerome had thawing in his fridge. I put all the other parts into bags and froze them, leaving out the two breasts. I cooked them off, and before they were finished I started on my rice, gravy and corn. After about a half hour to 45 minutes, I was finished and lunch was ready.

I plated everything up onto two plates and walked them in, handing one to Nina who looked at me like I had just placed a wad of cash in her hands.

"Thank you Si- Fabian." She corrected herself, I smiled back at her.

"You're very welcome Nina, I hope you like it" I said, picking up my fork and starting to eat.

It was almost as if I blinked, next thing I knew Nina's plate was empty. I was still getting to halfway done with mine. I looked at her plate in slight shock. She noticed my gaze.

"S-Sorry… I didn't mean to eat so fast."
I smiled at her, "I'm happy you enjoyed it. That also probably means you needed it, too. Much more than I knew."

Not much else was said until I finished my plate. I got up and went to take hers, she reluctantly gave it to me.

"Can… can I go back downstairs, now? I feel a little sleepy… sometimes I don't sleep good during the night. Especially with the pain I'm currently in."
I look at her, "Downstairs? Here, if you'd like you can sleep in Jerome's bed. Or his guest room. Whichever makes you comfortable"
"Guest room, please… I feel like if I slept in his bed, even so long before he returned, he would somehow know or find out."
"Guest room it is then. Sleep well, Nina." I respond, smiling at her one last time. She actually smiled back before she got up and walked off to the guest room.

I'm glad she's starting to feel at least a little be comfortable with me.

Even with how bad Jerome seems to have screwed her up, she still has such a funny, kind soul inside. I'm glad we consider ourselves friends now, I'm glad she probably feels like she has at least somebody in this world that'll treat her like a person.

A friend.