Months

18

Real life sucks. Lavender's parents asked her roommate to escort her to class and follow her around all the fucking time. She could barely take a drink without her roomie reporting it to dear old mom and dad.

But she has to sleep at some point. She's not able to match Lavender's particularly odd sleeping habits perfectly, and Lavender's itching for some solitude.

It's dusk. If she grabs the bike and leaves as fast as she can, she'll get several hours to herself. The only question is where to go.

She doesn't tell Mateo she's on her way to the safehouse. It's not like he ever gave her a heads-up for anything. The road she travels gets thicker with trees. It's still so familiar.

Lavender drops the bike against the side of the house and steps up to the porch. She knocks. Not even half a second later, she can hear muffled screaming from inside. Of course Kenton hasn't stopped being a pain in the ass. Another moment and Mateo opens the door.

"Hey! You! What're you doing back here?" He cocks his brow playfully. Lavender rolls her eyes.

"Needed some company from someone I don't hate," she murmurs wryly. Kenton interrupts with urgent gagged yells as he writhes on the ground behind Mateo. It looks like Mateo already confiscated the pants she gave him. The older man snickers and steps aside, welcoming her in.

"Didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"I'm not staying."

"Yeah, yeah. Say hi to your boy. He missed you." Mateo motions to the captive, who immediately blushes bright red. Kenton shakes his head and glares.

"You got anything to drink?" Lavender asks.

"You know where the beers are."

She steps over Kenton to get to the fridge. Looks like Mateo stocked it since she left. She cracks it open and chugs half of it. Her buddy looks at her quizzically.

"What's got you so messed up this early in the morning?"

"Ugh, parents. Nevermind. Don't ask again."

"You wanna let off some steam?"

Lavender follows Mateo's gaze to Kenton. The bruises she gave him last time have almost healed, but somehow he looks worse. The poor guy pleads with his big puppydog eyes, as if that'll do anything.

"Before you get carried away, I've got some ground rules for ya," Mateo interjects. "If you damage my merchandise, you better fix him up."

She blinks. Glances at Kenton again. Mateo definitely wasn't fixing him up. "Practice what you preach," she grumbles.

"What was that?" Mateo turns to look at her. He actually looks mad.

"I said you suck at keeping your... merchandise... unbroken." Lavender takes a swig of beer and crosses her arms. Kenton whimpers from the spot between them on the floor. Mateo kneels down and plants his large hand on Kenton's chest, who starts squirming nervously.

"I can do whatever I want to him. You-" he gestures to her- "are still learning the ropes."

"I think I know the ropes by now," she spats.

"Shut yer yap!" Mateo growls. "You don't know shit! You think a couple weeks makes you an expert?"

Lavender bristles, but doesn't say anything else. This isn't why she came over. She finishes her drink and ambles over to Kenton. His eyes are wide as he stares up at her. It hasn't been that long since he saw her, so why does he have such a bewildered look on his face? Right, he must've thought he'd never see her again. He probably thinks this means he still has a chance at escape.

Lavender socks him in the cheekbone and he screams against his gag. Kenton starts sobbing already and uselessly squirms against his bonds. She lands a kick to his side and he rolls over and curls up to protect himself.

"Phhm, nnhm-" Kenton begs Lavender to stop. She doesn't. Again and again, she hits him until marks of red appear on the both of them. It's hard to tell if it's blood from the cut that opened up on his cheek, or from the abrasions on her knuckles. That doesn't stop her. She winds up again, but Mateo grabs her wrist.

"That's enough, kid."

Lavender doesn't listen. She jerks her arm out of his grasp and hits Kenton again. His crying only encourages her.

"I said that's enough!" Mateo strikes Lavender across the cheek. It's enough to shock both her and Kenton. She stands up, panting. She doesn't look at him. Kenton stares. He's still trembling. Mateo grabs Lavender's shoulder and pulls her up.

"Watch yourself," Mateo orders. She says nothing. Just glares. At Mateo, at Kenton, at nothing in particular.

Lavender shakes her head angrily. "I'm getting another beer. For the road."