House Bound

Chapter 8 - Hunger

       "Apóvrasma," North spat after them, taking a step forward.

       Silas placed a restraining hand on North's shoulder, the wrath in his eyes making him look utterly murderous. "Later, adelfós. Not in front of Sang."

       "You'll leave them alone, the rules were clear on what would happen if anyone was hurt too severely. Do I need to remind you all of what is at stake? Of what we all agreed to?" Kota hissed, staring down each of his friends until they all acknowledged his words, muttering or shuffling around.

       It was clear without being said that we were all thinking of what had happened to Mike. I didn't think the boys would seriously try to murder any of our house mates, but even inflicting any kind of harm seemed too risky after the earlier demonstration of just how severe consequences could be. I realised then that despite Nathan's sincerity, it was an empty threat - it had to be. He couldn't risk actually hurting Greg because of the rules. And worse yet, it seemed that Greg already knew that. He would probably come after me again, but it didn't matter. I didn't think I could stand it if anything happened to them. I didn't want them all to die. 

       I think I might have made some kind of distressed noise at that thought because suddenly all of the boys were looking at me, their rage slowly simmering away to be replaced by concern and worry.

       "Sweetie, come downstairs with us." Kota's voice was exceedingly gentle, but I knew it was more of a command than a suggestion.

       His tone didn't bother me though, there was no way I wanted to be alone right now. Gabriel grabbed my hand without waiting for my response, lacing his fingers through mine as he gently tugged me forward.

       Nathan, Silas, and North moved into the hallway like body guards, checking every inch of the place before waving us on. The entire way downstairs the boys crowded around me, and though I was still on edge, I couldn't help but feel safe being surrounded by them.

       We stopped at the bottom of the staircase, and for a tense few seconds no one spoke a word. I was avoiding their eyes, and they seemed unsure of what to say. Finally, Victor stepped towards me, bending so I could see his eyes clearly even with my bowed head.

       "Princess, you're bleeding," Victor whispered sadly.

       I pressed my palms to my face, feeling some pain in my lower lip and cheek on my left side, but a more generalized headache forming throughout my skull. When I looked at my palms though, they came away tacky with half dried blood blotted across them. 

       "Trouble..." I glanced up as Gabriel floundered for words, guilt swimming clearly in his beautiful blue eyes. "Sang... I'm so fucking sorry I suggested separating. We should have been with you to stop that shit before it started. I just didn't want to suffocate you-"

       I shook my head quickly, needing to cut him off. "No! It's not your fault. Any of you. I'm so... I'm really thankful you came to help."

Gabriel swallowed heavily. He glanced to the others before looking back at me, his voice more hesitant than before, "what did they do to you before we got there?"

       I tugged my dress self-consciously higher on my chest, and stretched it lower on my thighs at the same time, as though I could stop them from seeing Greg's touch. But that just had me thinking about the bite marks that were probably visible on my neck.

       And then I was crying in earnest. The kind of ugly, choking sobs that made it difficult to breathe.

       The smell of vanilla kept me calm enough to accept Luke's arms wrapping around me as he rocked me through yet another breakdown. I threw my arms around him, crushing us together.

       It was Victor's quiet suggestion to use the bath on their floor to get rid of the blood and stave off my shaking that saw me soaking in the hot water, fighting off the lasting tremors of fear and shock. My dress was left on, and Gabriel was quiet as he washed my hair out for me and cleaned my face of blood. Luke didn't let go of my hand.

       I emerged from the bathroom some time later, feeling the warmth of the bath all the way into my bones. The hot water had gone a long way towards soothing aches and pains both new and old, but my face still throbbed painfully. The boys had left when the water started to cool. Gabriel had left me with Silas' large dark blue shirt to replace my dress, that when buttoned to the neck completely concealed my chest, and sat longer than the dress had, almost past my knees. I breathed in the scent hanging to the fabric - almost salty, but not like sweat. It was a pleasant yet faint smell that reminded me of an ocean breeze.

       I'd rinsed my dress and underthings in the bath and hung them on the towel rail to dry. I guess it was another sign of my unquestioning trust in the boys that I felt comfortable enough to hang out with them wearing nothing - even if Silas' shirt was far more modest than what I'd been stuck in for the last two days. 

       As I finally left the sanctuary of the bathroom, Victor was leaning against the metal wall beside the bathroom door. He reached out and held my hand, leading me towards his and Gabriel's room where the others had gathered. We settled on the floor, where I slid unconsciously to a familiar position on my knees. I smiled at them all, wanting them to know how grateful I was.

       I took a deep breath, squeezing Victor's hand, though I spoke to all of them. "I can't thank you enough for being there for me. I will never forget it, and everything else you've all done for me. But... please don't look at me like I'm completely broken now."

       I heard a shuffling noise, and looked up to realise they'd all shifted closer.

       "You are not broken, Sang." Nathan said, catching me in his serious blue eyes. "That asshole doesn't have the power to break you."

       "You don't have to worry about him anymore, Sang baby. We'll keep you safe." North growled.

       Kota sighed at North's words, but he didn't look away from me as he spoke. "I know we can all be overbearing, and we can see you're not ready to process it out loud. We're here whenever you want to talk about it. And while it's fine if you want some space, we're not leaving you on your own like that again. We care about you. You're our friend."

       I was at a loss, my heart so full at their kindness. There didn't seem to be anything adequate for me to say to that - especially because proclaiming that I never wanted them to leave me felt too dramatic. But a moment later it no longer mattered.

       From the corner of the room came a mechanical whirring noise, clicking sounds issuing through the walls before the sound of metal grinding began. The noise was reminiscent of the sound made when the metal wall shifted to reveal the downstairs staircase.

       Our heads snapped over to the mirror embedded within the wall, which was slowly sliding upwards into a cavity above it and opening as we watched.