The moment Jules stepped inside the room, Tyler stood to her feet, forcing a smile. Instantly, Jules closed the door behind him and twisted it to lock. "What happened to you, Tyler?"
"Nothing," she beamed with a lengthy smile, but it was easily noticeable that it wasn't genuine at all. It was unsettlingly forced, that even Jules couldn't help but grimace. Her eyes stayed widened, it was merely her lips that stretched across her face, but it seemed rehearsed since it was even showing her gums. "Come here," she patted the bed as she reached for the blankets, "let's have some fun."
"Tyler, the rooms are private," Jules reminded, stepping closer to her and seeing her flinch when he tried to touch her. "What's going on?" Tyler inhaled a sharp breath, her smile falling for a moment. She appeared frightened, her eyes shifting across each corner of the bedroom. It seemed as if she was hesitating whether to reveal the truth behind the mask she tried to keep, and Jules felt his heart clench when she began picking at the skin on her forearm. It was a bad habit she always had, which they had both attempted to make her stop and she had for a long time; it saddened him to see that she had picked up on it again.
She took a step away from him, biting her bottom lip, the reluctance across her face. Then, in a shaky breath, she said, "Are you going to hit me?"
Jules felt a pound from his heart as it slammed into his chest cavity. This made all his muscles tense, and all he wanted to do was leave the bedroom and murder Draco. His hands squeezed into fists as he hissed through gritted teeth, "I'm killing Draco, right now—"
"No, no, no, you can't," Tyler pleaded as she leaped towards him. However, she was evidently malnourished, brittle to the bone, and the lack of nutrients had weakened her. Hence, since she tried to go too fast, she collapsed onto the ground, not even strong enough to catch herself. Even through the pain of her body slamming onto the floor abruptly, she still glanced towards Jules to make sure he hadn't left the room. "Please, don't go see Draco. If you do, then he'll kill me."
"Only if you tell me what is going on with you," Jules begged, feeling his eyes begin to sting. "What happened with you? Where have you been?" Even after a minute, Tyler still didn't have enough strength to push herself to her feet, and Jules advanced towards her, grabbing onto her forearm to help her up. "You lost so much weight Ty, and you're so cold." The tumble had caused her ankle to feel off, and when he noticed that she was now limping towards the bed, he instead picked her up and carried her. "Who did all this to you?"
"Draco..." she coughed. Every single cough felt as if it was puncture through her stomach, hurting her in the process. She even winced when Jules attempted to push her hair away from her face.
Jules tried to maintain his composure, but seeing her this way was heartbreaking, especially since he had no idea she was in such terrible condition. He cleared his throat, refraining from exploding into a series of curses. "He's the one that gave you these bruises?"
Tyler shook her head. "I'm being held at the Dragon Brothel." Her voice was raspy, barely afloat above a whisper and he had to lean in to hear her. Her blinks were alarmingly slow, and even though their gazes were connected, her expression was so ghostly. "He said I have to pay my debt for ruining their rescue mission of Nate."
Jules furrowed his brows. "That mission was almost ten months ago."
"And I've been working at the brothel ever since, against my will." She didn't reopen her eyes after her next blink, but she continued to talk. "He said I'm close though, so I'm almost done."
"He'll work you until you're dead, Tyler. We both know your dad, he's a fucking lunatic." He planted his fingers on his forehead as he fell into thoughts, his lips puckering while he tried to find the best way to help her without alarming Draco. "What if I helped you escape?"
"He'll kill you."
"No, he won't," Jules insisted, reaching for her thin fingers that didn't move at all when he touched her. "We recently confirmed that Cesar and Draco had a relationship, and that's why he kept me alive. I mean, their assumptions but I think they might be true. If they are, he wouldn't kill me even for this." Finally, hope returned in Tyler's eyes as she opened them, and Jules sent her a reassuring smile, tightening his grip on her hand. "I can help you leave this place, Ty."
Tyler swallowed hard, exhaling a long sigh as she held back a sob. It wasn't that she didn't want to cry, releasing her emotions was all she wanted to do, but Draco's brothers was heartless and ruthless, where she was beaten even more if she did cry. It didn't matter how brutal they were or what foreign objects their used on her, she had to maintain a straight face and moan to excite them. It had become instinctive to suppress her cries.
That was why her voice was so monotone when she revealed, "I thought you were dead."
"I thought I died too," he chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "But Raphael and Lucius saved me and Draco made sure I received the best medical care without telling anyone. Then, he let me leave the base and told me to stay under the radar for some time." Tyler nodded her head, but her eyes closed again. She was clearly exhausted, and Jules helped her under the covers, bringing the blanket to her collarbone before he cooed, "I'll get you food and water. We'll talk about how you can leave when you wake up."
***
Tyler tightened the black parka that Jules gave her, shoving on a hat that shadowed her face as well. She seemed much more refreshed after she had feasted on the food he had brought her. It had been months since she had a full meal rather than small snacks throughout the day, along with candy bars that caused her stomach to turn. Even though there was barely any muscles on her bone, and she felt too weak to run, this slight hope that she could finally leave this behind and never return, gave her the energy she needed. That was why she faced Jules and smiled, a genuine one. "Thank you, Jules."
"Be safe out there, alright?" he cautioned, reaching for her shoulder and pulling her in for a warm embrace. "And stay alive, please Tyler."
"I'll try my best," she winked.
Finally, Jules opened the door and checked down the hall. When the coast was clear, he began to jog down the hall and Tyler followed close behind him. Thankfully, since it was still very early in the morning, they didn't cross anyone that alarmed their presence and it was a clear path all the way to the exit of the base. The large double metallic doors were widened, and with one last look towards Jules, Tyler waved her hand and escaped into the cold air of the night, her body soon vanishing behind the trees from outside.
"You're lucky I have no needs for her anymore." Jules was certain he had a heart attack when those resounding footsteps echoed close behind him. He didn't even turn around as Draco approached closer to him, staring past him into the forest that hid their base entrance. He tilted his head to the side, glancing down at the paralyzed Jules. "She always gets sick and she's so frail, not many customers want her anymore." The palm that fell on Jules' shoulder felt as thought it weighed a ton. "I was going to kill her after this last job with you, so koodos to you," he snorted, finally starting to distance himself from Jules as he continued his pathway down the hall, "you saved her life without even knowing it."