"Have you had any lifestyle changes recently?" Dr. Reed asked.
Gavin sat on the exam table and thought over what he did on a daily basis. He got up, showered, ate and went to school. Somewhere in the middle of it, he found time to eat and go to the gym. Then at night he would go home, do homework, eat, and go to bed. Nothing much had changed.
"No, not really. I'm tired more, but I'm also taking twenty-something hours this semester," he replied.
Dr. Reed looked up. "You're tired? How tired?"
"Just like I sleep but don't feel rested. I haven't been dreaming as much, and my body is worn out."
"Has Zeke overused you?"
Gavin's face blazed at the comment. Dr. Anderson Reed was Zeke's primary care physician. When Gavin came to live with him, he naturally started to see Anderson as well. The benefit to it was the doctor knew Zeke's habits. He knew how volatile Zeke was and what his temperament was. It helped that he had also been the one Zeke's past lovers came to when he went overboard with them. Anderson was discreet and took his patient's confidentiality seriously.
The difference was Zeke had never had an in-house lover before. He had always called them to come to his house, but none of them had ever taken up permanent residence. Gavin was the first, and Zeke was his emergency contact. He was also able to see Gavin's medical history whenever he wanted. It was part of the agreement when Gavin came to live here.
Zeke had a tendency to use his lovers to the point of abuse. He was a gifted man in terms of business, but in the bedroom he was harsh. He had a certain lifestyle he liked to keep, and his partner had to be able to keep up. If someone couldn't deal with it, he was let go with a generous stipend for his time.
However with Gavin, he didn't get that luxury. If he was unhappy, he had to deal with it. He couldn't just pack up and leave. He had been forced into this lifestyle at no fault of his own. He had to grin and bear it because he couldn't change it. He had been sold along with the stocks to his grandfather's company when Zeke had become a shareholder. He was essentially Zeke's property now.
"He hasn't done anything out of the ordinary," Gavin replied. "Last night he didn't really touch me. I mean he touched me, but all he did was use toys to play with me. He didn't put it in."
"Can I see?" Gavin lay back on the exam table and propped his feet up on the edge of it. He felt Anderson's finger probing in between his cheeks and noted they were gentler than he was used to. "There's some slight tearing but that's not unusual for anal intercourse. If it rips anymore, call me and I'll prescribe some cream to help it."
Gavin frowned when he felt Anderson looking at something else. "What is it?"
"Did you know you have a bruise on your lower buttcheek?"
"No, I didn't. I'm not surprised I have any though. You know how your friend is."
"Yes, I do." Anderson didn't sound happy, but there was also an undertone that Gavin couldn't figure out. "Keep an eye on it. It doesn't look bad, but I don't want to risk adding anymore."
"Zeke doesn't attack an already injured place."
Anderson looked over the rest of his body, noting bruises and hickies he had. Gavin watched his face. He realized something more serious was going on in the doctor's head because of how attentive he was being. His fingers grazed over his nipples and the rest of his chest gently. He tilted his head to look at the hickies lining his neck.
"How long have these been here?" he asked.
"Three or four days. When they begin to disappear, Zeke adds more," he replied. He stopped Anderson's hand and waited until he looked him in the face. "Is something wrong?"
The doctor shook his head but he didn't look convinced. "I'm not sure. I'll order some tests to be sure. It might be nothing but I want to rule everything out. You could also be anemic. I'll know more in a couple of days."
"Do I need to worry?"
Anderson smiled at him. "Don't panic over something we don't know yet. I'll let you get dressed now."
"Anderson?" The doctor turned back to him. "When you get the results, will you tell me first before Zeke? If it's something bad, I want to be able to process it alone before he knows."
"You know he'll look at your medical history when I put it on your online chart."
"I know, but I don't want him to ask a million questions. I want to be able to sit in silence without the constant harping."
Anderson stroked his head tenderly. "Despite him being a royal prick and a pain in the ass, he's a good man. But ultimately, it is your health I have to worry about. If you don't want him to know, I will hold off on putting it in your charts for a couple of days. It will give you time to come to terms with whatever it is."
Gavin nodded. Anderson left him alone to dress which also left him with a lot of thoughts running through his head. He couldn't help but panic. He hadn't heard anything about this before so he hoped it was just his body being weird.
He made sure he didn't have to pay for anything and went outside. Mr. Sampson had the car pulled under the awning. He got in and was grateful to see a protein shake waiting for him. He smiled at the older gentleman then sat back as they headed for the salon. Zeke had made an appointment to trim his hair. Gavin hoped it was just a trim. Sometimes he would say one thing but the stylist would do something else. This time he actually wanted to keep his curls.
"How was your visit?" Mr. Sampson asked.
"It was the usual. He did bloodwork and I had a physical. He had some questions about Zeke, but they were the normal questions," Gavin said. He stirred the thick liquid with his straw. "It helps that he's Zeke's friend and knows his tendencies."
"Yes, Dr. Reed is one of Mr. Daniels' closest friends. If you need anyone to talk to, Dr. Reed would be my suggestion."
Coming from Mr. Sampson who had been with Zeke since his broke days, it was a compliment. If he said Anderson Reed was a good confidant, then Gavin would talk to him if he needed it.
The salon was ready for him when he arrived. Zeke had told them just to trim his hair and give him products to maintain his curls. He liked that he finally listened to him. They trimmed it up to his ears but left it long enough that he was happy with it. He ran his fingers through his hair contentedly.
He had just gotten back in the car when his phone rang. Davis's stupid face popped up on the screen, and he smiled at it. They'd taken it last semester at the graduation party of one of their graduating friends. Davis had set it as his background picture before Gavin had realized it. He had just never changed it.
"What is it?" he asked.
"What are you doing tonight?" Davis asked.
"Nothing, but I can't go out tonight."
"Well, why the hell not? I haven't been out with you in several months. Since the night of the summer graduation, you haven't been able to go out." He paused. "Gaving, what's going on? You seem to be busy every time we want to make plans."
Gavin leaned his head back against the seat. He knew this would come up. When he first came, he had more freedom because he and Zeke were getting to know each other. Now after six months, Gavin's requirements were so much more stringent and he didn't have very much wiggle room. He had to get permission a week in advance to do things because it was put on his schedule on Saturday nights. Zeke always planned his days out to benefit the time he had, and every other week they had events to attend.
He couldn't just drop things to do what he wanted. He wanted to desperately, but the repercussions were far worse than following the rules. So he had to decline any time he was asked out.
"Nothing is going on. My personal life has changed over the last few months. I have more responsibilities at home than I did," he said.
Davis snorted derisiviely. "Gav, you're rich. What responsibilities do you have?"
Gavin wanted to say he had no idea, but then he would have to field a million questions he couldn't answer. If they knew his true lifestyle, Davis would stage a coups to get him out. Zeke would destroy him to keep him there, and Davis's family would pay the price. He didn't want that.
"I can't this weekend. Actually, my next three are planned out for me. Next weekend my family is coming to town, and the weekend after that is a charity event I agreed to attend," he said. They weren't lies, but he couldn't tell anything more than that.
"And your birthday is after that. We should do something for that at least."
Gavin closed his mouth when his automatic response was to tell him no. They had planned to do something, but Zeke only wanted to have a small dinner. Maybe he could persuade the older man to let him have Davis and Emily over. If he knew they were a couple, maybe Zeke wouldn't be so quick to say no.
"I'll ask. Maybe we can do something at the house," he said. He saw Mr. Sampson give him an interested look in the rearview.
Davis took the answer and ran with it. "Okay! I'll talk to Emily. Maybe we can talk to Jetson and Katie about coming too."
"Don't go overboard, Davis. You know there are some things I can't do. Inviting people over that he doesn't know is one of them. You and Emily are the only ones he's met."
His friend made a noncommittal noise. "I'll just be discreet about it. Bye!"
"No, Davis! Davis?" Gavin pulled the phone from his ear and stared at the blank screen. "He's going to get me killed."
"What did he do?" Mr. Sampson asked.
Gavin rested his head against the headrest with a heavy sigh. "He wants to celebrate my birthday with me, but Zeke has already said something about having a small dinner. I merely suggested Davis and Emily attending as well, but Davis wants to invite two other people that Zeke has never met. He thinks he can get away with it because he can sweet talk anyone. He doesn't know how controlling Zeke is."
"You can always ask."
Gavin shook his head. "No, it'll be enough just asking for those two to come as well. If I asked for two more people, I'm afraid of what Zeke would demand in return. I've been very fortunate lately."
Zeke was notorious for doing things in front of everyone to make sure they knew what he was capable of. The staff at the house knew who Gavin was. He was the young master of the house, but he was also Zeke Daniels' lover. Zeke could take him any time and any place he wanted, and no one would stop him. He could cause Gavin as much pain as he wanted, and the staff would turn a blind eye.
Luckily, Gavin had learned quickly when he first arrived that he could push the boundaries within reason. He could test Zeke's patience without having any severe repercussions, but he had never gone so far overboard that he had been punished severely.
"All you have to do is ask him. He will ask a million questions, but Mr. Daniels is not beyond compromise," Mr. Sampson said.
They pulled up to the house and Gavin looked up at it. "I know he's not, but I feel that if I ask for this, he's going to ask for more in return."
"Mr. Gavin?" The young man paused in getting out of the car. Mr. Sampson was leaning over the back of the seat looking at him. "Mr. Daniels wants you to be happy. All you have to do is ask."
Gavin nodded then got out. After he shut the door, he watched the car pull away. He sighed and turned back to the house. He wished it was that easy. He wished he could just ask Zeke for the things he wanted, but Zeke wanted other things in return. Some of those things did hurt Gavin physically, but he had never hurt him mentally or emotionally. He was afraid if he asked for this that Zeke would go overboard in his requests.
Sighing, he walked into the house and hoped he would be able to simply ask as Mr. Sampson suggested. He didn't think it would go as well as the older man thought it would.