Fragile: Book One in The Everett Gaming Series

by Sera, Drew

  “Boy shorts?”

  She held them up and I understood. I could easily see her sitting in a tank top and boy shorts on my couch. My dick twitched. Whoa, where the fuck did that come from? Sydney in panties on my couch would never happen. It would be like an angel sitting in the Devil’s cavern. But my dick liked the idea of Sydney sitting in panties at my place.

  We gathered a variety of panties in the same colors as the bras and headed to the counter. I had everything I needed from this store and thanked the manager for all of her attention and assistance. I would have been fucked if I had to do that on my own.

  I headed to the next store on the list Gina gave me and was instantly annoyed when I walked in. For fuck’s sake. It was dim and sounded like a nightclub. There was a guy with bleached blonde hair attempting to fold shirts at the front table. He also attempted to greet me.

  “‘Sup.”

  I rolled my eyes and suddenly felt very old. I told him I was looking for the sweats and knits. Gina said this store had the softest sweats and knits around. Whatever, if it was soft it would be good for Sydney.

  This store, though annoying, didn’t frustrate me with options. There was a simple double-layered table with sweats. The upper table had sweatshirts and the lower had the pants. I got a handful of each and found some comfy, soft shirts and tank tops. The bleached blond kid was pretty efficient at the register so I couldn’t complain.

  I sat down at the coffee shop to get some caffeine so I could keep going. I was just about done but had to find the place that had that shower gel. It smells amazing and I’ll forever associate that scent with Sydney.

  While I drank my coffee I checked my cell. It was nearly noon now and my financials meeting would be over with. I’ll check in with James and Mitch later and make sure everything is going okay. I had several texts and missed calls and some voice mails. Fuck! I still had the thing on silent mode. I listened to the voice mails first.

  “Hey Anth. I wanted to apologize again for this morning. I was out of line. I know you’re trying and I’m sorry. Call me later.”

  I rolled my eyes as I listened to Matt’s message and hit delete and moved on to the next one. It was Colin.

  “Anth, call me.”

  That had the tone of Matt having spoken to him about our morning. I deleted that and read the texts while I sipped on the coffee.

  MR: Anthony, I’m sorry about giving you grief this morning.

  Delete.

  MR: Anth, I want to make it right, please call me. I’m sorry.

  Delete. Seriously, it was fine.

  CE: Sydney had a rough night. Threw up some and had a slight fever. I stayed on the couch in the guest room since she was feverish. She’s been asking where you are.

  Poor sunshine. We’ve got to help her through this. I had a chill race down my spine when I thought back to the closet in her apartment.

  I downed the rest of my coffee and decided I needed to get going so I can get over there and help.

  Luck was on my side because the bath and beauty store was right next to Macy’s. I needed both of those stores.

  I quickly found the vanilla stuff and got a bunch of it. They had it in shower gel, lotions, bubble bath, soap. I stuck to the shower stuff and some lotion and a bottle of bubble bath. I also grabbed one of the shower sponge things and then headed to Macy’s. I went to the personal shopper department and found my usual guy, Marco.

  “Ah, Mr. Graves. I didn’t have you scheduled for today. Is it my mistake?”

  “No, no mistake. I need some help, Marco. For a girl. Young woman, I mean.”

  He smiled and took the bags I had been carrying from my hands and put them in the back. Experience told me he’d send some people from the store down to the car with the bags. Marco and I began walking towards the women’s department.

  “Tell me about her.”

  “She’s twenty-seven. Wears a size four and is a medium. But those sizes seem too big for her. She wears size eight in shoes. I need some jeans and shoes. Like Converse or something simple but comfy.”

  “That’s easy, Mr. Graves. Let’s get the shoes first.”

  Luckily they had several colors of Converse in her size so I got a black pair and then a bright blue pair. She had a navy pair in her closet, but I think they were an off brand. Maybe a discount brand or something. Marco asked me about socks. Fuck me. How do these shoppers think of all these things? It’s a good thing I don’t shop for myself.

  The jeans didn’t end up being so tough either. He picked out a few different brands and fits and told me to bring back what didn’t work. Easy enough. Marco was sending down two guys with my bags in fifteen minutes. I headed back out in the mall to get to the escalator the led to the parking garage.

  On my way, a yellow sock monkey in a store window of a novelty store caught my eye. It made me think of her because it was yellow, cute and cheerful. I knew it was important for her to have something to hold. This would be perfect. I bought it and when I got to my car, the Macy’s guys were there to load up my trunk.

  Once I was out of the parking garage and on the freeway, I dialed Colin from my steering wheel. He answered pretty quickly.

  “Hey, Col. How is she.”

  “Anth, when are you coming over? She’s been asking about you.”

  “I’m on my way. Is she okay?”

  “Her stomach has been bothering her. She ate some toast though and took the antibiotic. I got her bandages changed and medication on the wounds.” He paused and I knew something was on his mind but he was holding back. “There’s something else.”

  I knew it. I felt like I had tunnel vision and was just floating around on the freeway.

  “Anthony? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, what else, Col?”

  “I turned her phone on this morning once it was charged. There are a bunch of voice mails and texts from the bastard that hurt her.”

  I felt my hands gripping the steering wheel tighter and tighter. Bright red brakes lights caught my attention and pulled me out of my thoughts. Someone ahead of me was braking hard and I had to slam on my brakes to avoid an accident. The squealing brakes caught Colin’s attention.

  “Anthony! Anth, are you there?”

  “Yeah.” I adjusted my sunglasses as I tried to calm down.

  “What happened?”

  “Freeway.”

  “Fuck, get off the phone and get here in one piece.”

  He ended our call, which was probably for the best right now. I drove on heightened alert to the drugstore close to his house. Last stop. I sent Colin a text before I got out of my car.

  AG: Col, I’m at the pharmacy by your place. Need anything?

  I didn’t wait for a response and headed in with a small list of bathroom necessities for Sydney. I got some hair stuff, new toothbrush and some other items like the ones that I noticed she had in her bathroom. Colin sent me a text back and needed 7UP. I grabbed two bottles and made my way to the register. Small bags of M&M’s caught my eye and I grabbed a handful. She loved these things.

  By the time I pulled up to Colin’s, I felt like I had walked miles and was exhausted. Suddenly I wasn’t feeling too brave about the yellow sock monkey so I left him in my trunk. When I got inside I set all the bags down in the entryway and stared at Colin. He looked exhausted too.

  “You look good,” he said sarcastically.

  “Awe, thanks. I thought I wasn’t your type.”

  He laughed, slapped his hand down on my shoulder and took the 7UP bottles off my hands.

  “How much sleep did you get last night, Anth?”

  “Probably as much as you. Where is she?” I had to see her. I wanted to see her and sit by her.

  “Kitchen,” he said in a quiet tone.

  I began crossing the entryway towards the kitchen but Colin put his hand on my chest stopping me.

  “I want to show you her phone first.”

  I nodded and followed him down the hall to his den. He shut the door as I flo
pped down in his chair. It was so comfortable that I thought I could sleep in it for weeks. I shut my eyes for a few seconds and opened them when he tapped my knee with her older iPhone.

  “Keep the volume turned off. I don’t want Sydney to hear.”

  I didn’t want to see whatever was on that phone but felt that I needed to. After being involved with BDSM lifestyle since my early twenties, I have seen quite a bit. I’ve seen whippings, beatings, bondage and just about everything else. The big difference though is that what I’ve witnessed in this lifestyle has been consensual. What Sydney has experienced has been abuse and non-consensual. I’ve also seen a lot of punishments at the club so I felt somewhat prepared for what I might see on the phone.

  Sitting up straight in the chair, I took the phone and read the texts, looked at the pictures and video. What a dumb fuck. He took pictures and videos and then sent the incriminating info to her phone.

  The first text came in around 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning and it had a picture of her knocked out on the kitchen floor bound to the heater just like Colin and I found her.

  H: Got to be getting hot over there, bitch.

  The next one came over around 10:00 a.m. No pictures accompanied this one.

  H: Still waiting for your call, slave. Better start dialing.

  The third text came over at 1:00 p.m.

  H: Better not have gone to the cops. I’ll fuck you up so bad you’ll wish you were dead.

  I shook my head. What a dick. I now came to the video and hit the play button. I watched the idiot set up the phone on the coffee table to capture his abuse. Fucking idiot. Sydney was curled up on the floor, naked and leaning against the wall of the breakfast counter. He approached her, grabbed her by the neck and she struggled against him. She looked like she was crying. I flipped the volume up a little so I could hear. He was telling her to open her mouth. She refused but eventually gave in after taking the brunt of some punches to the stomach. He made her swallow some pills and then grabbed her by the hair and flung it back into the wall. She slumped over and he grabbed her by the wrists and made a cut on each of the wrist burns and then pressed the metal cuffs against the cut. Blood trickled down and she began whimpering. The whimpering didn’t last though because he started to kick her in the stomach. She was starting to look sluggish. Maybe from the pills. After he chained her to the heater, he set the key on the counter and then put her phone within reach. He shut the record button off after that.

  When it finished, I just stared at the phone for a moment and then looked up at Colin. He was angry and disgusted. As was I. There was nothing remotely arousing about anything that sick fuck did. Nothing was even in the realm of BDSM. That was just abuse. I handed Colin back the phone.

  “What do you want to do, Col?”

  He looked down at the phone and then back at me.

  “Turn it over to the police. They have enough in these texts, pictures and the video to arrest him.”

  Part of me wanted him to suggest that we find the fucker and give him a taste of his own medicine. But, what Colin was proposing was the right thing to do. I nodded to let him know I agreed with him but said that he was going to need to talk to Sydney about that because ultimately it was her phone. And if she was scared enough, she might not want to turn it over. Probably afraid of retaliation. It could open her up for tough, personal questions from the police. The ass fuck could say they were “scening” and that it was consensual.

  “You and I will be here to help her though it,” he said and I agreed with him. Sunshine needed us and we weren’t going to let her down.

  I nodded. Of course we would be there for her. Since that was settled, I wanted to see our fragile kitten now. My eyes ached to see her all day. Colin and I walked out to the great room and found her on the chaise part of the couch now. She looked up at us and smiled.

  “Anthony!”

  I sat down on the chaise by her and let my eyes roam over her looking at the bandages. She looked down and away in shame. I tilted her chin up to look at me and when her eyes met mine her lip started to quiver. I smiled at her though.

  “Sunshine, no tears. I like seeing you smile.”

  I took hold of her hand and nodded in the direction of the bandages on her wrist and arm. Her eyes followed mine.

  “These aren’t your doing, sunshine. Nothing you could have done, or not done, would have made you deserve this. Once you’re all healed up, Colin’s going to show you exactly what being in a healthy D/s relationship is like.”

  Tears spilled down her cheeks and Colin’s hand was there to catch them. She smiled at us through the tears.

  “I want to start learning now. Please,” she began but Colin held his hand up and she responded to his silent command to stop talking.

  “Baby, you have to heal first. It’s only been a few days and you need to be healthy and to have your strength before we can start. You concentrate on getting better and I’ll decide when you’re ready, okay?”

  Sydney nodded and looked over at me and asked if I was staying for a while. I told her that I was staying and she smiled. I showed her the stuff I picked up for her and when she saw the vanilla scented stuff she smiled ear to ear and sniffed under the cap. Simple little things meant so much to her. Sydney and I took tags off of the new clothes while Colin got the clean bandages, medication and ointments ready for us to clean the wounds. She set aside a new pair of the sweat pants and a soft long sleeve tee shirt to put on after we changed the bandages.

  Colin put a big towel down on the bed and motioned for her to lie down. I admired Colin’s strength because he did this frequently with her all on his own already. I needed to step it up and help more.

  Sydney was on her stomach and Colin was starting to pull the bandages off when he looked up at me. He nodded in the direction of her clenched, shaking hand. He notices everything. It’s further confirmation that he is the best thing that could happen to Sydney right now. He doesn’t miss a beat. I moved over to the bed and took hold of her shaky hand.

  “It’s alright, sunshine. Nothing to be scared of. If you want, you can squeeze my hand really hard. Then I can use that as an excuse Friday when I lose at golf. I can always use an excuse for my golf play.”

  She smiled and let out a laugh and looked up at me. I winked at her and put my other hand on top of hers. She kept her smile plastered to her face but shut her eyes as Colin was pulling some bandages off that had stuck to the wounds. I knew it hurt her but she was trying to be brave in front of us. I squeezed her hand to make sure she was still with me and hadn’t slipped off some place in her mind. Matt told us to watch out for her slipping off into darkness. Gina really struggled with that for a while and Matt wanted us to stay on top of Sydney. Moments later she squeezed my hand back.

  Soon Colin finished everything and we helped her into her new sweat pants and tee shirt. She looked soft and cute. I’m not a cuddle guy by any means but I do what is needed. Especially with aftercare. I’ll sit and hold a sub or bottom until I think she’s okay. But with Sydney, I think she could easily turn me into a cuddle guy. Colin was very much a cuddle guy and would be very good and healthy for her. Positive touch was important. Colin was perfect for her.

  Chapter 27

  Tuesday, October 22nd

  Colin

  I was pleasantly surprised to see her reaction to Anthony. Over the past couple of days the more I saw how she responded to him, I knew that somehow he’d need to be a part of her recovery and training.

  After we changed her bandages we went to the great room. She wasn’t feeling well and wanted to lie down on the chaise. I turned the TV on at a low volume so it wouldn’t disrupt her if she fell asleep. Anthony sat on the couch next to her and I sat in the chair next to the couch. Neither Anthony or I were even watching TV, as we were too concerned about Sydney. She looked like she was staring off into space and was emotionless. With everything Matt told me to be on the lookout for, I was being extra cautious. Seeing the look on her face made me worry about
her slipping into shock.

  “Baby,” I tried getting her attention but that hadn’t worked. “Baby. Sydney, sweetheart.”

  Anthony and I exchanged glances and then he got off the couch and crouched down so he was right in front of her face.

  “Sunshine,” he put his hand on top of her shaking hand. “She’s cold, Col.”

  I got up from the chair and took over a throw and draped it over her. I also climbed up on the chaise and lay on my side, propping myself up with my arm. I put myself close enough to where she could feel the warmth of my body but still being separated by the blanket. Sydney moved her hand and took hold of Anthony’s shirt. He laughed and then settled in to sit on the floor and lean against the bottom of the couch so she could hang onto him. She felt comfortable with us.

  I had closed my eyes to let them rest and when I opened them it was 12:45 a.m.! We sat down to watch TV about 2:00 in the afternoon and all three of us fell asleep. We obviously were exhausted. The house was dark and cool and the TV was the only glow of light. I sat up and saw that Anthony was still sitting on the floor and Sydney still had her hand wrapped up in his shirt. I reached over Sydney and nudged Anthony in the head. He woke right up and his eyes darted around the room and then to Sydney.

  “We fell asleep,” I told him, giving him a minute to adjust to his surroundings. “We need to get up and get some food in her so she can take the antibiotic.” I felt guilty. This wasn’t very responsible of me. We were all just so wiped out. I stood, stretched and told him to bring her in the kitchen in about five minutes. I flipped the switch on the fireplace as I walked by to take the chill out of the room.

  When I got into the kitchen, I nearly blinded myself by turning on the overhead lights. I turned them off and flipped the switch for the drop lights over the breakfast bar and the lights under the cabinets.