I stand there, staring at both guys. It's silent for a moment as they wait for my response.
"So, " I start. "If I stayed here, there would be no more passing me around? No more being used?"
Stefan glances over to Master. The master replies, "Definitely not. The kidnapping for ransom and the mistreatment are both over. I'm not allowing it any longer.
"And I wouldn't have to stay in that barred-up room anymore?" I ask.
Master shakes his head. "No, and you'd be allowed to leave the house whenever you want,"
Stefan speaks. " Hey, and we have plenty of money put back, maybe you could go to college now like you said you wanted. You wouldn't have to go to that dead-end job, either." He stands and walks over to me, uncomfortably close. I throw a nervous glance at Master's way. He sits straight, his muscles tense and his jaw clenched, staring daggers at Stefan. "You could study anything you want. They offer loans and grants, ya know? Plus, " he smiles down at me, his blue-eyed gaze meeting mine. Guilt grabs a hold of me. He's so nice. "It could give us even more time to get to know each other without all of the craziness."
Master practically leaps from the couch, cutting in. "Alright, let's give her some time to make up her mind. " He snaps, glaring at Stefan.
Stefan looks over at him, surprised. " Alright, man. Chill out. I was just giving her ideas."
Master continues to glare at him. "She's smart enough to think for herself."
Stefan's forehead creases, and he glances over at me confused. "I just need some time to think." I intervene.
As I turn to go upstairs, I see Bryan and Sage walking down together, hand in hand. "Guess what, guys ?" He shouts looking over to us, "I'm gonna be a daddy!"
"Wow, you work fast," Stefan says. "Sage hasn't even been back for two hours, Dude."
I glance, laughing over at him. "I don't think that's what he meant."
Sage grins, "I'm a month along already."
Master smiles at her and Bryan. "That's great, guys. I'm so happy for you, Sage are you going to be staying here with Bryan now?"
I see her expression change, and her eyes flicker over to me nervously. I know I don't know her that well, but I feel a sort of connection to her in a way already. We have been through some of the same things, and she struggled through the same conflict that I am dealing with right now.
" Will I have to stay in that room again, and follow the schedule, again? " She asks, her voice shaking like a scared child.
Master shakes his head, "No, we are stopping this bull shit, I'm done. So is Stefan. "
Bryan perks up, upon hearing this. " Oh, thank god. I didn't want to continue this. How do you think Eric is going to react to this? "
Master thinks for a moment. " I didn't consider that, I forgot. "
" If we are out though, " Stefan says. " Then he can't just continue by himself. "
Master scoffs. " No not here. "
" Maybe I could go talk to him? " I offer.
Master looks at me. " Why would you do that? "
I shrug. "When I cleaned him up after the fight, we talked. He apologized for being such a dick, he was being nice to me for once. "
I see Master smile, but it looks less happy and more stressed and fake. "Cool. First Stefan, now Eric. "
I can tell he's becoming jealous, Master is the territorial type. Oddly enough, that turns me on.
" What are you talking about? " Stefan asks, looking over to Master, confused.
" Nothing," Master says, turning to walk out the door. He slams it behind him, and then Stefan turns to me.
"What was that about? Did I do something wrong?"
I shake my head, "No, I don't know." I reply, lying to avoid the awkwardness.
"Wow," Sage says, looking at me. "You've turned Master into a lock sick puppy."
I glance at her, awkwardly. "I, uhm. I guess so. I'm gonna go have this conversation with Eric."
I quickly leave to the kitchen, grabbing some pain medicine, and a glass of water, and then I head to Eric's room.
When I entered Eric's room, he passed out. "Eric?" I ask. "Eric, wake up."
I see him stir. He slowly opens his eyes. When he eventually sees me, he gives me a sleepy smile. "Hey. beautiful."
I stare at him, stunned. "Who the hell are you?"
"Here," I say, holding out the pills. "Take these. They'll help the pain in your ankle. We need to talk."
He slowly pushes himself up, grunting, and grabs the pills out of my hand. I hand him the glass of water, and he takes the medicine. "Okay, what is it ?" He asks, seeming a bit more awake.
"Master, Stefan, and Bryan were talking. They want Sage and I to officially move in, and they want out of the deal you guys made." I sit and nervously wait for his response.
He nods, "Okay, and why are you the one telling me this?"
I shrug. "They didn't know how you would react, so I told them I'd tell you."
I hear him sigh, and then he looks back at me. "I'm tired."
"Do I need to let you go back to sleep?" I ask.
He lets out a soft laugh, but it seems like it comes more from a sad place somewhere inside of him. "I don't mean I'm sleepy. I mean that I'm tired. I'm tired of taking people from their lives, I'm tired of treating people like shit. So they'll be too scared to run away and get me thrown in prison. I'm tired of keeping such a huge secret, and honestly, I'm just sick and tired of being so lonely. Even though I'm in a house full of people."
I give him a sympathetic smile. "Maybe if you started being nicer to people, you wouldn't feel so lonely."
He shrugs and glances down to his lap. "I don't know, I feel like I've been holding this act for so long now that it's actually who I am."
"I mean, you're doing pretty good with me, right now."
He glances back up at me, and after a moment, he smiles. "I guess you're right, where's Sage?"
"Down in the living room. Why?"
His jaw flexes, and he looks at me, seriously. "I want to apologize."
I agree to help Eric downstairs. We enter the living room with Eric's arm slung over my shoulder as he limps. "We are gonna have to get you some crutches," I say to him.
When his eyes find Bryan, and Sage on the couch, I feel his heart being to beat faster against my side. I glance over to see Master in the recliner. He watches Eric and I with an unreadable expression.
"Hey guys," Eric says.
Sage glances up at his, and anger displays itself across her features. "What do you want?"
I help him to the recliner and he sits. "I came to apologize, for everything. The abuse, the being a jerk to you, all of it. I am sorry, and I promise that if you decide to stay here, I won't bother you. I'll stay completely out of your way."
Sage glances over at Stefan, who is just as stunned as she is. When she looks back at Eric, she nods. "Thank you for apologizing, but I don't feel comfortable around you, but maybe we could fix that in the future."
I glance over at Eric, and a smile of redemption spreads across his face. "Deal," he replies.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I turn to see who it is. Master stares down at me with a mixed expression. "Can we talk?"
I nod, "Sure."
Master pulls me up the stairs to his room, and shuts the door behind us. As soon as it closes, his lips are on mine, and we are stumbling to the bed. Never breaking the kiss, Master wraps his arm around my back, and he gently lowers me to the bed, slowing the kisses. When he breaks the kiss, I gaze up at him breathless. "I don't like feeling jealous." He murmurs.
I smile up at him. "Why are you jealous?"
He scoffs, and pulls away, sitting up. I sit beside him. "Stefan was all over you earlier, and you're so amazing that you got Eric to like you. You could have anyone that you want, and I'm so messed up that I don't even deserve someone like you."
I stare at him for a moment. thinking. How do you respond to that? I have feelings for him, and I feel like we could be happy together. "Master, I want to stay here with you," I reply with certainty.
He glances over to me, surprised. "Are you sure? I don't want you to regret anything, you can still leave whenever you want."
A smile crosses my face, and I lean over to him. "Of course I'm sure. I don't know exactly what it is that we have between us right now, but I do know that I wanna stick around to figure it out with you."
He gives me a thoughtful smile, and then he asks, "You remember the other night when I told you that Master wasn't my real name?"
I nod. "Yeah, what is it?"
"It's Jacob- My real name. I just never went by it, because the guys call me Master as a joke. They used to say I'd always take charge and be too bossy."
Letting out a laugh, I reply. "Well, you are pretty good at taking charge."
He grins and tackles me back onto the bed. His face is near mine, and he stops inches away. "You don't know the half of it angel," he says, his voice dropping to the low, breathy tone.
"Well, then," I reply, playing along. "Why don't you show me?"
I hear a groan fall from his lips, and he gently presses them on the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. He slowly kisses up the soft skin of my neck to my ear. "I'd love to, but I feel like we should at least go on one date first. I want your first time to be special."
I wrap my arms around him, hugging him to me. My hand goes to the back of his head, and I pull his face to mine. "That sounds great, and I can't wait," I reply smiling.
His lips press to mine, and as we share another deep, longing kiss, I can say with certainty that I am perfectly content here in Jacobs's arms.