Fragile: Book One in The Everett Gaming Series

by Sera, Drew

  I found three cans of chicken noodle soup and began microwaving. It was far from five star dining, but it would be warm and something for her stomach so she could handle her medicine. While the soup was warming, I grabbed the box of saltines and set them at the breakfast bar along with 7UP and bottled water. Just as I was carrying over the last bowl, Anthony was coming into the kitchen with Sydney. She didn’t look well at all. Anthony and I had her sit between us and I kept my hand on the back of her chair. In case she fainted or something, at least she wouldn’t fall to the ground.

  She slowly stirred her soup and dipped the spoon in to collect some soup, but her shaky hand knocked it off. She left the spoon in the bowl and wrapped her arms around her waist. I think she was close to tears.

  “Baby, it’s okay.” I stood up and felt her forehead. I was surprised to feel that it was very warm. She was shaking with the chills and complained about being cold.

  “Here, sunshine. Lean over some,” Anthony instructed her and he began to spoon-feed her. It was sweet and I was quickly learning that Anthony would go to great lengths for her comfort.

  “Anth, I’m going to go get the thermometer. Make sure she doesn’t fall.”

  As I raced up the stairs I could hear him try to coax her to eat some crackers. Back in the kitchen, he was still spoon-feeding her since her hand was shaking too much. Were these the withdraws Matt warned me of? I set the thermometer under her tongue while Anthony shoveled soup in his mouth and kept his other hand on her back. I pulled the thermometer out and looked at it, fearing a fever. One-o-fucking-one.

  “Okay, it’s a little high. It’s 101. But you’ve just had some food, which could be causing an inaccurate reading. We’ll wait a little while and check it again.”

  “That can’t be right, I’m so cold.”

  Fever and chills. Exactly what Matt told me about. Anthony and I got her to drink some water and take her antibiotic. But it was the possible fever I was most concerned about now.

  “Okay, bed.”

  She started to cry. She’s been on an emotional roller coaster, which was understandable.

  “Baby, what? Tell us so we can fix it.”

  I can’t stand to see her cry. She’s had so much shit done to her and somehow has kept it all under wraps. All I want to do is help her.

  “I want to sleep on the couch.”

  “Baby, no. You need a bed with pillows and blankets.”

  “But, I want to be by you guys.”

  I looked over at Anthony and then at the clock on the microwave. It was going on 1:30 in the morning and if she could rest peacefully with Anthony and I next to her, so be it. It would be best for her anyhow so he and I could keep an eye on the fever.

  “Okay, baby. Bed and Anthony and I will stay with you.”

  She smiled and slumped against Anthony. He took her to her room to get her settled while I quickly cleaned up the breakfast bar. I went upstairs to change into some pajama pants and a tee shirt. I brought Anthony down some too because I was pretty sure he didn't want to sleep in jeans and sweater. By the time I got to the bedroom, Sydney was on her side in bed and Anthony was stroking her hair. I set the clothes for Anthony on the bed and sat down between Sydney and the edge of the bed to take her temperature again while Anthony went to change. It was still 101. Anthony had been successful in getting her to take some ibuprofen to try to get the fever down.

  Anthony came out from the bathroom and I told him she still had a fever. I told him I was going to sit up for a while and take her temperature again in about thirty minutes. He got into bed next to her and she reached out and took hold of his sleeve.

  I sat in a chair near the bed and watched her sleep. Every now and then she’d whimper and look like she was in a bad dream. Her hand stayed wrapped up in Anthony’s shirt. As much as I didn’t want to, I woke her up about forty-five minutes later to take her temperature. This time it was right under 100. Barely. At least it was going down.

  I left the sitting room light and the bathroom light on and then climbed into bed behind her. She had settled back down and was back to clinging to Anthony.

  Somewhere around 4:15 a.m. I woke up to Sydney’s restless body tossing and turning. She spoke in fragments.

  “No...I didn’t...mean to...please...no more…hurts.”

  Fuck, she was having a nightmare. Anthony was awake though and pulled her into his arms.

  “Sunshine, sweetheart it’s a dream. Wake up, sunshine.”

  Chapter 28

  Wednesday, October 23rd

  Sydney

  I was surrounded by the darkness of the closet. I hated the dark and was blindfolded. My arms were heavy, cold and I couldn’t feel my fingers. This time with rope, my wrists were bound above my head and tied to the closet rod. I was able to stand upright on my feet only to feel the horrible pain in my sides. I had no idea how long I had been knocked out.

  I didn’t care if he whipped me anymore, I just wanted out of the closet. I hated the closet. Footsteps grew louder and I straightened my posture so he wouldn’t be disappointed. I swear he would be able to hear my pounding heartbeat. I heard his hand on the doorknob and then light seeped through my blindfold. My arms were released and felt swollen when I lowered them.

  He grabbed me by the neck and drug me out to the main room. I was still blindfolded and couldn’t see anything but I could hear multiple voices. My knees bumped into the coffee table and he picked me up and put me on the coffee table roughly. He tied my wrists and legs down to the sides of the coffee table and I heard laughter. My sides felt extra warm. I was scared and didn’t want to play like this.

  “Fire.” More laughter filled the room. “Fire,” I said more firmly and louder. It didn’t help or make a difference. When I realized that I was trapped again, I began crying. Again there was laughter. I couldn’t tell if there were three or four of them.

  My mental math was interrupted by a loud noise, which was followed by the stinging sensation on my back. I was being whipped because I was bad and disappointing. He told me so, over and over. I was trying to work on this and thought I had been doing better.

  The whipping went on and on and he let others have a turn with the belt. I didn’t think of anything during that time. I shut it all off and waited for it to be over. After each had their turn, Howard drug a square of sandpaper down my back. I bit my lip to keep from making any noise. That hurt so bad.

  More hands were on me and I pushed them all out of my mind and finally just stopped fighting. They would do what they were going to do anyhow. I had little power to stop them from doing anything.

  I was so warm and felt sick. I couldn’t help it and cried out when I felt more sandpaper drag down my back. I felt like my back was on fire and cried until a hand clamped down on my mouth and held me still. I heard a match being struck and smelled what I thought was a candle. Moments later I felt the burn of the wax being dripped over my back and fought against the hands that held me. Once the hands were off my mouth I said my safe word again over and over. Nothing except laughter.

  Through all the rough hands, I felt a set of hands that were firm, but not brutal. They appeared to be gentle but I didn’t want to be touched anymore, no matter how nice those hands felt. I wouldn't give into them. Wouldn’t do it. They were being nice to me to lure me in. There was something about this set of hands though. I tried to make myself small and blend in with the coffee table so I wouldn’t be touched. Those gentle hands continued to find me. I was angry with myself for finding these hands comforting. I was being stupid though. I’d give in and seek them and then they’d hurt me worse. I tried moving away from those hands. The gentle hands were trying to pick me up and I panicked. I cried and begged him to stop. I didn’t want to be touched!

  The blindfold came off and I was squinting under the bright lights. I couldn’t see anything at first but when vision returned to me I found myself staring at a gray shirt and felt big arms come around me. They felt familiar and somehow, safe and secure. I could
trust those hands.

  No! No, I couldn’t!

  I didn’t want to be touched and began pushing at the gray chest. Through my crying I somehow heard the most comforting voice calling me “sunshine.”

  Chapter 29

  Wednesday, October 23rd

  Anthony

  Her shaking hand woke me up. I rolled on my side to face her while being careful enough so that her hand stayed attached to my sleeve. She seems to need that consistency of being able to grab hold of my shirt. I watched her for a few minutes as she began to squirm and thrash around. I thought maybe it was the fever causing the sleep disturbance. But when she started to whimper and I heard her beg for someone to “stop,” that’s when I knew she was having a nightmare.

  I took hold of her hand that had a handful of my shirt in it and gently patted it encouraging her to wake up. Colin was awake now and was turning on the rest of the lights. I knew she was hurting because she was sounding more frantic and desperate in her sleep.

  I sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard while I pulled her onto my lap and into my arms. Her forehead was damp with sweat and her pajama shirt was wet around the neck and chest. Colin noticed and went to get her a dry shirt as I held her against my chest while rocking her and trying to gently wake her up. It was sad to see her suffer like this.

  She was coming around but didn’t have her bearings straight and started pushing against me trying to get free. I knew it was because she was scared and didn’t know where she was. I held my ground though and kept her on my lap and against my chest. It may not have been what she wanted but it was what she needed. Eventually, with the guidance of Colin, she will learn that what she wants isn’t going to be the same as what she needs sometimes.

  “Come on, sunshine. Wake up, sweetie. You’re safe.” I repeated this a few times as I rocked her in my arms.

  Finally she stopped pushing at my chest and looked up at me. When her eyes focused, she looked at me as though she had just been saved from a horrible death. Her body tensed and she looked around the room. Colin was sitting right next to us and began smoothing her hair and brushing it off her cheeks and forehead.

  Once she realized that she was just having a bad dream and that she was really in Colin’s house, I felt her body relax. As I rocked her she took hold of my sleeve again. She looked like she wanted to accept comfort but for some reason she was afraid to admit it or act on it. I pulled her closer so that she could rest her head on my chest and shoulder. She was stiff at first but eventually relaxed. I could feel her heart thudding and knew she was shaken from her dream.

  I knew Colin and I were both wondering if whatever she just dreamt was just a dream and if it was a past event that was showing up to haunt her. There’d be time for that assessment later. Priority number one right now was to get calmed down so she could sleep.

  Chapter 30

  Wednesday, October 23rd

  Colin

  Sydney was in the grips of a nightmare and was pushing against Anthony’s arms as he tried to hold her and wake her up. As I watched the two of them I was feeling many things in that moment. Number one was anger. I was angry she had been hurt so badly that she has nightmares. I felt sad that she had been dealing with this shit on her own for what seems to be a while. I was also shocked at how tender Anthony was with her. Once he saw she was in a nightmare, he jumped right in and tried to wake her up and comfort her. Never, ever have I seen him let this side out in public. He was very good for her. And last, I felt totally exhausted.

  Anthony let her push and grab at him and every now and then he'd just move his head to the side. He still continued to try to wake her up so the terror would end for her. Her eyes flew open as she continued to struggle against Anthony but her motion slowed and stilled.

  “Come on, sunshine. Wake up, sweetie. You’re safe.” Anthony brushed the hair off her face. She was a wreck, confused and uncertain.

  I moved closer to them and encouraged her to rest and lean on Anthony. She was shy and I could tell she was trying to be strong. I wanted to tell her she could lean on us to help her. She was resisting Anthony’s hand pulling her to lean on his chest but she finally gave in.

  Sydney sat cuddled up against Anthony, leaning her head against his shoulder while her hand gripped his shirt over the left side of his chest. Anthony had a hand stroking her hair while the other one gently moved up and down her arm. I began rubbing in a circular motion on her back. She needed comfort and I had a feeling that she really hasn’t had any of that in a long time.

  “Baby, do you want to talk about your nightmare?” I asked her. I knew talking was going to be beneficial for her and maybe Matt would be able to help me to get her to open up.

  She shook her head. Too much too soon. She had a lot going on in that pretty head of hers. She was able to drift off to sleep because she was wrapped up in Anthony’s arms. She felt completely safe with him and for this, I was very happy.

  Wednesday was spent with me working from home on the couch when Anthony wasn’t here. When he was here I moved into the den to get some work done. Cheng had officially signed and returned the contract and was looking forward to proceeding with the project. This was huge for my company.

  Anthony sat with Sydney most of the day on the couch watching TV or letting her hold onto his shirt while she took a nap. Thankfully there weren't any signs of a fever. Matt came over today and checked on her wounds and said things were starting to heal up.

  The next few days went on much the same. Evenings were filled with uncertainty for Sydney and myself. I worried and wondered if she’d wake up sick or from nightmares while she worried about being left alone in the room. Other than that, and all things considering, she was doing okay.

  Chapter 31

  Thursday, October 31st

  Colin

  It was Halloween and I decided to have a few people over for a little evening fun. I thought it would do Sydney some good to be around others, socialize and start to move past all this shit. Sydney has been staying with me for a little over a week and has been healing and seems to be doing well enough for some people to come over. With the evenings starting to get cool, this would most likely be the last patio party I’d have until the weather gets nice again.

  While Sydney was in the kitchen putting together some food, Anthony and I were on the patio. I flipped on the heat lamps and he started the fire pit. I wanted to make sure he’d keep an eye on her tonight. Sydney is used to dealing with everything on her own and she won’t ask for help very easily. So he and I need to be on top of her and be on the lookout for anything.

  “Anth,”

  “Not to worry, Col. I got her.”

  Tonight I wanted to pay more attention to Sydney’s interactions with the guys from the club. Specifically Evan and Seth. Will came over as well, but I knew that with him being a sadist, he wouldn’t mix well with Sydney. Will knew it too. Each day she spoke about how eager she was to begin training with me. While nothing could make me happier, I was not on solid ground with her. There were a lot of things I needed to discuss from a physical standpoint with Matt.

  Gina and Sydney were sitting at the patio table giggling about something while I stood at the grill with Matt and Blake. At least she was laughing and I liked the sound of it. Gina is going to be a good influence. She was a little older than Sydney, but laughter and friendship knows no age.

  Everyone at the barbecue knew what had happened a couple of Sundays ago with Sydney and all had offered their assistance. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by such good friends.

  “So are you still going to train her, Colin?” Blake asked as he sipped his iced tea. I decided not to have any alcohol tonight at the barbecue. I wasn’t really certain if alcohol was a trigger with her or not. No one seemed to mind at all.

  “She wants me to work with her. It’s kind of fucked up though. Her reasons, that is.” Blake looked over her and then back at me, raising his eyebrow. I began to explain, “she thinks she’s bad or not
a good sub. And because of that, she thinks that the asshole that did this to her punished her and that she deserved it. So, she wants me to help her improve so she can find a good Dom.”

  Blake shook his head and his face revealed how disgusted he was over what had happened to Sydney. “I know before Sunday occurred, you had expressed an interest in working with her. What was your area of focus going to be then?” Blake asked quietly.

  “Well, back then I thought that self confidence would be a good starting point. But honestly, after Sunday, I’m really not sure which route to explore first.” I closed the grill and sipped on a Coke while looking at Sydney. “I don't know Blake, I just want her to heal first.”

  “Use tonight to observe. See her reactions to the guys. It’ll give you ideas.” Blake turned to face the fire pit area where Anthony was sitting with the other guys. Anthony was positioned so he’d be able to keep a close eye on Sydney. Blake called Evan over.

  “What’s going on over here, gentlemen?” Evan said as he sat on the stool next to Blake.

  “Colin was just telling us how he’s still planning on working with Sydney. We wanted to see how she reacts to dominate males that she’s not used to being around. It’ll help him with his area of focus. Go over there and sit by her and try to engage in their conversation,” Blake suggested but I interrupted.

  “Wait, Evan. Don’t go over there to purposely intimidate her. If you want to go talk to them, then fine. But please don’t go over there just to try to rattle her. She’s been having nightmares and I don’t want anything to contribute to those.” I stood my ground and looked him in the eye so he could see how serious I was.

  Evan nodded, picked up a bowl of Halloween candy and headed over towards the girls. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Anthony shifting in his seat. He sat on the edge of his chair and kept his eyes over at the patio table where Sydney was.

  Gina and Sydney were sitting across from one another and Evan went over and sat at the head of the table between them. He set the bowl of candy down and Gina asked him how his mom was doing. Gina and Evan carried on a conversation and it looked like Sydney was doing just fine. Maybe it was just the self-confidence that she needed work on, once we got past the healing stage of the physical wounds. Evan leaned forward with his left arm on the table while his right hand stayed stretched back on the back of his chair. It wasn’t a threatening move at all, yet I noticed her leg start to bounce nervously and then her arms dropped down to wrap around her waist. Fuck, this is what I didn't want to happen. I handed the grill over to Matt and started over to Sydney but Blake stopped me.