Well crack the whip,
'Cause that bitch is just insane.
S Y K E S:
My phone ringing woke me up from a sleep while I held Zaire's small body to me. I shuffled a bit and let out a quiet gasp as pain shot up my side. I didn't bother waiting on the pain to leave before I opened my phone, and grunted. "Hello?"
"Hello Sykes." The voice on the other end of the phone was monotone, almost like a recording.
"Who is this?" I ask grumpily, not in the mood to be fucked with right now. Whoever this is woke me the fuck up, and I didn't want to deal with anything retarded.
"I'm your worst nightmare." The person chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. "You have something that belongs to me. I'll get it back, whether you or it likes it or not." I laughed.
"Steven?" I laugh, and I hear the person chuckle again.
"Oh hardly."
"Then who the hell are you?" I demanded.
Silence, and then: "It probably doesn't remember me. I was never a priority. However, it belongs to me. Soon, all will be revealed."
And then the dial tone rang in my ear. I slammed the phone down on the table and released a loud groan when pain shot up my side. "MASTER!" Zaire squealed, touching my shoulder.
"What?" I snapped, and he shrunk back immediately. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. You're okay, come're good boy," I whispered, and he slowly crawled over to me, and gently pressed himself against me.
"W-what's the matter?" He asked me hesitantly.
"Someone just called me claiming I had their property." I said and he blushed. "Yes, you, pet. At least I believe it was you. Because the person never used a name just referred to what I have as it." He bit his lip and shook his head.
"I have to make a call right quick." He said, and stood up, walking away from me. I stared after him in one, frustration and two, anger. What the hell even is that? He can call someone I can't know about? What the fuck? This ain't gonna fly. Nope, not even for a goddamned minute.
I stood up and groaned quietly, trying my best to tiptoe down the hall to listen to him. He'd favored going to the kitchen thankfully, so I didn't have far to walk. Once I settled, I held my breath, and listened carefully.
"Jason I need you to answer the damned phone it's important!" His voice frantically said, and I heard him sit the phone down on the counter. Seconds later, it rang in a loud, alerting tone. I stood straight, listening closer.
"Jason, it's happening again." He whispered. Silence and then, "I'm positive it's not Steven this time. It was something that he'd do."
He was silent again, and then "You said you'd protect me if I stood up against the mother-fucker!" He shouted. "I thought he wouldn't be getting out for a life-time or more!"
I was startled, but I held in my breath, confused. What the hell is he even talking about?
Typically, I'd respect my Slaves privacy, but this was too strange to ignore. I mean, really?
"I do not give a fuck!" He cried loudly. "I didn't testify against him for him to be let out in a few years! I thought I'd be safe. I thought I'd be safe from him."
He was deathly silent as he listened to what the person on the other end of the phone was saying. "I've settled down, now." He said his voice cold, "I'm not going to leave again. Not now, not when I'm happy. If I see him, I'm going to do what I should have done when I had the chance. You better hope that I don't get to him first because there won't be anything left of him to find." He snapped.
Silence lingered, and then he sighed deeply. "I'm not going back to that again, Jason. I just need to be free of this shit. First it's Steven and now this? No. I've put my family through enough. It's bad enough that we've had to lie to everyone. I'm over it, and I'm over 'following the rules' since when have you, or anyone else cared about what happened to me?" He sounded genuinely offended by whatever it was that the person had said.
Again with the silence. "Look Jase, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to protect my identity. But I'm fucking over this. All of this because of a few bad mistakes. I'm a fucking teacher now, I have a damn boyfriend, and I am happy. I'll be dead if I leave this life behind." He snapped angrily. "Either you get that piece of shit back in jail where he belongs, or I'll put him six feet under."
He was silent. "I'm not going to explain to you why I settled down. It's simple, I don't like living on the run. My life isn't a game anymore. I'm settled down, and not even he could change that. Get looking for him. I have to go pick something up from my warehouse."
Silence ensued again, and he sighed deeply. "We've been talking too long. Go. Be safe. And please, don't make me have to take things into my own hands. I will be free from him, whether he's locked in a jail cell or..." He trailed off.
"No, I haven't been doing that. I stopped. Now mind your own damn business. I just told you I'm a teacher." He sounded angry again. Silence again. "No, fuck you, Jason. Protect yourself. I'm not 'going out of the country!'"
"Bye." He snapped, and slammed his phone down on the counter. I walked back up to my room and sat down on the bed slowly. I couldn't stand the confusion anymore but really, what can I do? I can't demand him to tell me about the phone call. He'll know I spied on him. But... then again his life is mine, right? That's what he agreed to when he signed the contract. Granted, I didn't know what all he entailed, but.. I love him anyway.
When he walked back into my room, he looked nervous. He was fidgety, and nervous looking. He obviously wasn't too comfortable, and it was eating me alive. "What was that about?" I snapped, unable to control myself.
"S-sorry master," He whispered shyly. "I just... had to call a friend."
"And you yell at your friends commonly?" I asked him and he sighed.
"You heard?" He whispered.
"A bit." I admitted.
"Look, it's not what it sounds like..." He trailed off.
"So what is it then?" I growled, and he sighed.
"It's... complicated." He admitted. "I can't really go into detail right now. I have to go pick something up." He said, and I grabbed him by his wrist.
"Terrance will do it." I snapped. "You aren't leaving my side until I know what the hell is going on."
He was silent, and biting his lip as he looked over me. "Sykes please," He whispered, "I-I can't..." He trailed off.
"You can and will." I demanded.
"I was a hooker before a teacher." He snapped, anger in his eyes. "I had no money, my dad blew through everything while he was on drugs. When he died, they repossessed the house, froze all of our accounts, and I lost my damn college fund." He looked upset, and I felt upset myself. "I'm not some little user who'll get with a master and use him for money. I would never do that. Therefore, I sold the only thing I had when I had to go to college, my body. I tried getting a job, nothing worked." He wasn't angry anymore, he just looked... broken. "I knew that it wasn't safe, but I didn't have a choice. Zexions father was a single father already raising his own son, and me, he didn't even had money to put Zexion through college. That's why Zex and Liam initially met."
"Zaire don't." I snapped.
"You wanted to know." He said, and bit his lip. "Anyway, I witnessed a bad guy do something horrible... I still have nightmares about it today." He closed his eyes. "I went to the police, and when they arrested the guy, they promised me they'd keep me safe if I testified against him in court. I was the only witness that was alive." He let out a shaky breath as he looked up at me. "I agreed, because they said this wouldn't happen. At first I lived on the run a bit, but when Zex, his father and I settled down here, I thought it was over completely. Now Steven is here, the damned asshole, and this is happening... I just need something out of my warehouse."
"What is it?" I asked him softly.
"It's my emergency kit." He said softly. "It's got fifteen thousand in cash, a disposable cell, a gun that is registered under Jason's name, and some ID's that can help me disappear." His voice was soft, and I looked at him actually hurt.
"Do you really think you can just leave? Just disappear?" I snapped at him, and he shook his head.
He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I was never supposed to meet you, Sykes." He whispered. "I was never supposed to fall for you, either. I was supposed to stay alone because no one around me is safe anymore. Between Steven and the Trial, I'm a ticking time bomb. But I got thousands of miles away from Cali. I thought I was safe..." He whispered. "I love you, Sykes... that's why I can't let you get caught in this web..."
"No!" I shouted, and stood up way too quickly. "Do you really think I'd let you walk out of that door knowing all of this?" I snapped, and he shook his head no. "I love you Zaire, despite your past. I didn't care when you told me about your father, I didn't care when you told me about Steven, and you know what?" I glared hard at him. "I do not care if you have some psychotic serial killer-rapist thing after you. You are still my Slave, and there is no way out of that."
He paused for a moment. "Then you better get a bag packed, and be ready for a drive." He sighed. "I have to leave town, there's nothing I can do about that. If I don't, he'll find me, and since he called you, he knows where I am. And if I leave you behind you aren't safe either. How's your side?" He said softly.
"It hurts, but I can walk. And drive." I said, and he rolled his eyes. "Just get my bag ready, I won't be able to carry it." He nodded calmly, and packed me a bag quickly, and then ran it out to the car. His phone rang again with the same ringtone, and he paused a moment.
He answered the call, "Get out of town now." The voice on the phone said, and he sucked in a breath.
"Jason what's happening?" He asked.
"Jerome just bought a ticket to Maine, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to be there when he gets there." He said.
"We're going anyway," He said coldly.
"We're?" The man hissed on the phone.
"We're. Sykes and I. We have to drop Alexei off with the babysitter for a few days." He was cold as he said it, but there was an edge of worry to his voice. "Don't even start with me, I'm going out of town. Just bye." He snapped, and turned his phone off. "When we get in the car we need to call Terrance and tell him to pick Alexei up, and take him to a babysitter."
"Sounds good." I said, and he sighed deeply.
"I'm sorry." He said softly, coming forward and pushing the hair out of my face. "I never knew that this would happen again. I love you, I can go without you. If anybody comes by looking for me, you just say--"
"Shut up, Zaire. Get your ass out to the car. I'm getting the gun." I snapped, and reached into the drawer, pulling it out and pushing it into the back of my pants. I then walked down the stairs behind him. He put the bag in the back of the car and got into the passenger seat. I got into the front seat, and handed him the gun.
He held the gun nervously, and pushed it into the glove-box. "This isn't..." He trailed off, and I just shook my head. I turned on the radio, and looked around a bit, looking over him. He just went silent as he watched everything around us.
"Where are we going?" I demanded.
"Canada." He said slowly. I nodded, aiming for Canada. "C-can I call Terrance?" He asked, and I nodded.
I tuned him out as I looked around the street, looking tired. I felt the overwhelming urge to shut down, but I managed to keep it together. I didn't keep it together for myself, I kept it together for Zaire.
He didn't look good as he sat in the seat, his face pale as he shook all over. I could tell the gears of his brain were working overtime as he tried to figure out what to do. I sighed and felt like I was doing the same damn thing, but really, what can I do?
I just sighed and looked down at the steering wheel. When we get to Canada, we'll discuss this more. But for now, I have to be strong for my slave, even if he is pretty tied up in bad experiences.