I felt myself go on my tiptoes when the door opened, rudely interrupting our special moment with Romeo. I subtly glared at Alex, who was the one that opened the door with a large, beaming smile.
"Hey! Come in!" He held the door widely open for us both to invite ourselves in. As I entered the mansion, I was welcome and warm. It was big but cozy and homely, designed to give off a weird yet warm and cuddly vibe. It was a modern house, and the first room I saw was the living room. The floor was made of brown floorboards, and the walls were a soft, creamy beige. There was a fireplace that was giving off the warmth, the fire burning with a brilliant flame. I spotted a head full of blonde hair sitting on the couch, facing away from us.
After taking my shoes off, I looked at Romeo and softly tugged at his sleeve. He looked at me with a firm expression, not happy that I interrupted his conversation with Alex at that moment. With an apologetic expression, I asked him if I could go sit next to Alex.
"I'm sorry, honey. He's on time out right now. That's why he's at the cor-" Alex looked over at his sub, who was most definitely not at the corner. He was relaxing on the couch, looking as if he was debating whether he should turn the TV on and browse through the shows.
"I'm sorry, excuse me," Alex said, motioning for Romeo to take me away. Romeo took my hand, taking me to the kitchen. My eyes still were fixated on the two, worrying seeping up to my head. I didn't want Sage to get another punishment, especially in front of me. The last thing ı had seen of him was him getting punished, and as much as he was annoying, I hated seeing him in that state. He was a boy who seemed to have strong walls around him, which could only be broken when he was hurt by his dominant. I hoped that Alex could also see that and take care of him.
Romeo had pulled me to his chest, his arms wrapped around his waist when Sage and Alex came into the kitchen. Sage's face was red, his eyes puffy, making it obvious that he had been crying. I bit my lip seeing him in that situation. When our eyes met, I gave him my kindest smile, trying to making him feel better. Alex also had a red face, but I noticed that it was from anger and not sadness, unlike his submissive.
"Excuse us. Sage, would you like to say anything to our guests?" I saw Sage wince slightly before looking at us. His eyes landed on me before he began to speak in a tiny, shaky voice.
"I'm sorry for causing a disturbance. It was rude of me."
Alex nodded, taking his hand and leading him towards the door, "Sage will go into isolation for an hour while we have dinner. Again, I'm so sorry about this. It's so rude of us, I'm so embarrassed. Help yourselves, please." I noticed the way Sage had tensed when his dominant said "isolation." It was the kind of tensing up that made you feel the person's fear.
I was about to open my mouth, but Sage shook his head, his eyes begging me not to say anything. Still, to this day, I wonder why he silenced me when I was about to point out how scared he seemed and that maybe another punishment was more suitable. Perhaps he was trying to save me from my own punishment that I surely would've landed for myself if I had spoken out and talk to a dominant on how to do his job.
Romeo took my hand and took me to the dinner table. There were lots of delicious-looking foods prepared. I licked my lips, excited to dig in, Sage completely slipping my mind for a second. When Alex came back, he looked exhausted. He rubbed his forehead as he walked over, a tired smile on his lips.
"I'm sorry, again. Let's eat."
He sat down next to us, and I took this as a sign to just start eating.
"It's okay, Alex. I of all people have been your friend for many years. I know how Sage is. Do you use the isolation method often?" He squeezed my hand, making me freeze. He had noticed as well.
Alex stopped to think, "No. This is the first time we're using it. That was what we discussed in the living room when I asked you two to go ahead without us for a second. I told him that he was to go into isolation for an hour and that if he used his safeword, I would hear."
Romeo hummed in response, clearly deep in his thoughts, "You should regularly check up on him. There might still be a chance that he uses his safeword but you don't hear. Does he have any sources of communicating with you in there?" Alex thought about it but shook his head. Romeo sighed, patting my thigh.
"Baby, can you go check up on your friend and ask him if he's alright. The isolation room is upstairs to the left."
I nodded, quickly exiting the kitchen and heading to the stairs. As soon as I got closer to the door, I heard small sniffles and wheezes coming from the room Romeo had mentioned.
"Sage?" I asked shyly, hearing the crying stop quickly. Small hiccups seemed to carry on though. I sounded like someone was having a mini panic attack, or they were at least having trouble breathing properly I stopped to listen for a while, sitting on the floor and leaning my back against the locked door of the isolation room. I heard Sage moving inside.
"Chris?" He asked with a croaky voice that made me flinch.
"Are you okay in there? Our doms asked me to check up on you. You don't sound too good, is everything okay?" Sage wheezed again, trying to sound like he was breathing normally, but I knew the sound of someone not being able to breathe all too well after having multiple panic attacks myself in the near past.
"I-I'm okay, tell them I'm okay." I wasn't convinced at all, and if Romeo had also noticed that ı had noticed, then it meant that something was going on. This wasn't normal, a sub shouldn't have been this scared of a punishment method. At first, I had assumed that I was just being paranoid and relating to Sage's fear of punishment. But then I realized it was the punishment he was scared of, it was the method being used.
"I don't think you are. Are you sure? You sound scared." I kept trying to pry something out of Sage. I put my ear to the door to try and listen. I heard shaky breaths being taken in, Sage trying to breathe normally. I could tell his back was also against the door, and if it weren't for the barrier, our backs would be touching.
"I told you I was okay. You're giving me a headache. Leave," he answered while stuttering. His shaky voice cracked, making it seem like he was about to cry. He was already crying, so that was impossible. His voice was angry, but it didn't seem like he was. Maybe he was scared, embarrassed, or feeling something else that I wasn't aware of.
"Should I tell Alex that you're scared?" I asked for the last time. The sound of his shaky breaths stopped for a few seconds before he turned around.
"Mind your own fucking business! I'm not scared. Just do your job and tell them I'm okay and stop being so nosy!" I jumped away, my eyes wide at the boy's sudden outburst.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." When no response came, I stood up, my eyes fixed on the door for a few seconds before I turned my back to it and walked away. The tip back to the kitchen seemed to take forever as my mind was stuck on how Sage was. I had never seen him this angry and offended. I was just trying to help. I came to the conclusion that he just felt humiliated that his friend or acquaintance, whatever he wanted to call it, had seen him receive punishment for the second time. Maybe his pride couldn't take it.
I sat down on my seat again, "He's okay. Just a bit angry at me or checking up on him. But other than that, he's completely okay." Alex seemed relieved at my answer, but Romeo didn't seem too convinced. He placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed slightly, warning me to tell the truth the next time. I looked at him apologetically, not knowing what to do. I was stuck in the middle.
We ate in silence for the remainder of dinner. I dared to ask, "Did Sage eat?"
I was worried since he would've been skipping dinner and not being able to enjoy much time with us if he had.
"He'll have dinner after his punishment. Don't worry, darling," Alex said with a sweet smile. He seemed like a soft dominant, but I noticed that his punishments for Sage were harsh and not very lenient.
"Would he like to enjoy it with us? I don't know, he might be upset," I said timidly, trying not to cause an uprising. I didn't want to anger my dominant or Alex. He smiled a tight smile, making me wince. I could tell he was beginning to lose his patience.
"He's being punished. I don't want to think of him having the luxury to enjoy his dinner with us. He'll eat, and then he will join us. Simple as that."
I stayed quiet for the rest of dinner. After calling the maids to come and clean up, we headed to the living room. Alex and Romeo began to drink, enjoying a glass of whiskey together. I didn't like to have alcohol as much, so I settled with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Before I knew it, Sage's time was up and he was free to come out.
"Chris, darling, would you go and let Sage out. He might want to talk to you before coming to us to apologize." I, on the other hand, thought this was a horrible idea. I was sure that Sage would want the presence and comfort of his dominant instead of some random stranger he met only once before. But I couldn't go against his wish. I simply nodded and stood up, placing my cup on the side table.
The door to the isolation room was locked. The key was still on the door, and so I unlocked it with ease. It was dark inside, which made my stomach churn. I was having a difficult time remember in isolation was on my list of punishments. Because if it was, I certainly didn't want it now. The dark was something I was terribly afraid of, and being locked by myself inside of a small room didn't appear charming at all.
Sage was laying on the floor, curled into himself. He seemed to be crying softly but stopped making any noise when I placed a hand on his back.
"Sage, it's time to go back. You can go receive some aftercare now, hm? How does that sound?"
I tried my best to sound gentle and kind in order to keep him calm. He shook his head, pulling away from my touch.
"I don't have aftercare. J-Just, give me a minute to calm down." He sat up while I took in his words. That was horrifying. That was abuse. A safeword was a submissive's right. He had to have one.
"W-What do you mean you don't have aftercare?"
He looked at me, alarmed.
"Oh, no. I do have it. It's just, I don't need it. I don't want it. I don't want to see or touch Alex at the moment." His big eyes peered into mine.
"Can you stay with me for a bit?"
I nodded hesitantly, allowing him to come near. I sat down and let him lay on me, his back to my chest. That was the first time I had comforted a submissive.
But something kept me alert. Why didn't he want aftercare?