Troye was still cuddled against Jacob the next morning, but Jacob's alarm went off and the Dom eventually untangled himself from the smaller boy's limbs so he could roll out of bed. Troye sat up immediately, gathering blankets around himself to keep the chill of the room away. He pursed his lips out in a little pout, one that made Jacob arch a brow.
"You really should get up to get in the habit of waking up for school," the Dom informed him, and Troye's face fell a bit. He was not looking forward to school at all. "Yes sir," he sighed, but he snuggled further into the blankets. "Do you have anything specific you want me to wear today?" "Something warm, clearly, judging by how you're burrowing into those blankets," Jacob murmured idly as he turned and stepped into his own closet.
Troye tossed off the blankets and scurried, in just his boxers and t-shirt, to his closet as well. He decided that something warm would be a pair of tights and one of Jacob's large jumpers. When he shyly walked back out of the closet, Jacob was pulling a black turtleneck sweater over his head, one that made Troye's mouth water a bit. He was, however, disappointed that he couldn't see Jacob's neck. He very much liked the tendons there. Jacob smiled at Troye when he finally looked at him.
"Is this okay?" Troye squeaked hopefully. "It's very nice," Jacob approved. "I like you in my clothing. It was a good decision to put those jumpers in there." The sub blushed, and Jacob walked over to cup his face in one hand as his other arm wrapped possessively around Troye's waist. He brushed their lips together, and Troye shivered, but it wasn't from the cold.
Troye lowered his gaze down to Jacob's firm chest, and when he spoke his voice was soft, "What are we doing today?" "I have work again," Jacob told him. "A bit earlier than normal, so I won't be there for breakfast." Troye's eyes widened. If Jacob wasn't going to be at the table with him but Brandon was going to be, then Troye didn't feel like going to breakfast either.
Without thinking he shook his head quickly, "No, please! Come to breakfast, I-" "Pardon me?" Jacob began sternly. "What was that you just said? Did you say no?" Troye felt Jacob seize his chin firmly, forcing Troye to meet his gaze, and Troye finally choked, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, sir. I'm just scared because Brandon and-" Jacob's expression softened considerably then, "Before you tried to speak against what I was saying, I was going to ask if you would like to join me for breakfast in my office. Now I'm not so sure."
"I'll be good," Troye gasped automatically, gazing at Jacob sincerely. He knew how much Jacob preferred eye contact rather than being shied away from. "Very good for you sir, I'm sorry. I won't disobey or be loud." Jacob examined him for a few moments, but then he nodded, "Very well. You may join me." Troye kissed Jacob's jaw happily, hugging his Dom, "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much." Jacob gently hugged him back, but then he patted Troye's bum,
"Get something to preoccupy yourself, pet, because I can't have any distractions today." And that was how Troye found himself seated on the couch in Jacob's office, eating beans and toast and doing an essay about his Christmas break. He mainly jotted down possible opening paragraphs, making sure to include how he'd been matched. How he had been matched with Jacob.
The first time I opened up my letter that told me about my Dominate, I never imagined anyone like Jacob. Yes, I could see that he was a stunningly handsome man; wavy black hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, and incredibly fit. I was scared though. I was scared because he was thirty-two, I'm only eighteen, and because the letter said Jacob was incredibly high maintenance.
He is that, he expects a lot from me but it's things that are good for me, he expects what will make me a better person and I don't think he'll ever take me for granted. I've only known him for a few weeks now but I have come to love him so much. He takes care of me, and I wish with all of my being that I can be a better submissive for him, because I am terrified that I'm not good enough. I'm terrified that he will leave me.
Troye frowned at his own writing, folding it up and stuffing it in his waistband, since his tights didn't have pockets, in case he wanted to look back on it. He felt certain that tons of people wrote about being matched, and he wanted his to actually stand out as something special. To him, meeting Jacob was the best thing that ever could have happened. He pulled back out the paper, unfolding it and writing on it once more. Jacob: Best thing that has ever happened to me. He folded the paper back up, sticking it in his waistband again and carrying his container of beans and toast over to the trashcan to throw away.
Jacob peered up at him from over the laptop he was looking at, and Troye froze in his actions as Jacob spoke, "Did you finish that?" "Yes sir," Troye nodded. "There were a few beans left, but they had gone cold." "Very well," Jacob waved Troye on, looking back to his laptop. Troye was still a bit cold himself, and he didn't especially want to sit back on the couch. He wanted a break from his essay. Shyly, he inched his way around Jacob's desk and touched his Dom's shoulder. Jacob looked up at him with an arched brow, lowering his arms from the keyboard to the chair arms.
Using it to his advantage, Troye tried to wiggle onto Jacob's lap. Strong arms around his waist stopped him, and Jacob shook his head. "Sorry, pet. Not right now." "I'm cold..." Troye said softly. "I'll be good here-" "Do not disobey me," Jacob lightly smacked away the hand that Troye had tried to put on Jacob's arm. "If you're cold, go for a walk. I can't cuddle right now, I have to get my work done." Troye scrambled from Jacob's lap, mumbling apologies, and he hurried out of Jacob's office before he could make his Dom angrier.
Being away from Jacob made him anxious, though, especially because he knew that Brandon was out and about. Cautiously he made his way down the hall and to the balcony that overlooked the living room. The television was on, he could hear its faint noise, but he was unaware as to who was watching it. Peeking nervously over the railing, he could see a blonde head, but it was unaccompanied by a dark haired man. "Tommy?" Troye squeaked. The blonde turned around in surprise, looking around behind him and at the entrance to the dining room before he looked up at Troye,
"Oh. Hi!" "Where's Brandon?" Troye asked softly. "The store..." Troye left the balcony then, hurrying down the steps and into the living room to sit a couch cushion away from Tommy, "I don't think we've ever really... gotten a chance to talk." Tommy gave a friendly smile, "We haven't, but we've got one now. I don't think Brandon is due back for a bit so he won't be needing me." "Yes, I'll probably go back to Jacob when Brandon returns," Troye paled, and Tommy made a face of concern. "I don't know why he's so hard on you..." Tommy murmured.
"I think you seem like a very good sub for Jacob." "I don't know why he's so hard on you!" Troye exclaimed. "What he did to you... all because of a spilled drink. I'm so sorry, I felt so awful. I didn't know what to do. It made me feel very ill." Tommy shrugged, "I guess... I guess I'm used to it. I felt bad that you colored out, I was afraid you were going to get in trouble. Like during the interview." Troye shook his head,
"No, I didn't get in trouble... Jacob was very gentle this time because I told him I was leaving." "Last time," Tommy said slowly. "I think it also might have been because it was on live television and because he was still getting the hang of things. He seems to be improving though. He's a nice enough person that if you don't make him angry and if you follow his rules I think he'll make a very good Dom." "He is a very good, Dom. I like him a lot," Troye murmured, but then he asked. "Why is Brandon so harsh?" Tommy looked around nervously, "I really shouldn't... talk about him if he's not here." "Right," Troye nodded.
"Of course. That would be a mean thing to do, and he'd probably be angry if he ever found out. We won't talk about him, let's talk about... how old are you?" "Twenty," Tommy murmured. "Ah, I'm only eighteen," Troye sighed. Tommy nodded, "Yes, I remember hearing Jacob talk about you." Troye blushed a bit, "Talk about me?" "All good things!" The two fell into a comfortable conversation then, talking about what television shows they liked, hobbies they had, or used to have in Tommy's case, and basically just spent a good half hour getting to know one another. Troye rather liked the blonde. He found that, without the presence of Brandon, Tommy was actually quite cheerful and bubbly. He made Troye feel surprisingly happy despite having previously been scolded by Jacob.
"We should go play tennis sometime," Troye enthused. "I'd like to try out the courts." "You should see my serve," Tommy wiggled his eyebrows, grabbing a couch pillow from behind him and swinging it at Troye. Troye giggled, grabbing one as well to swing at Tommy. However, Tommy skillfully dodged it, and Troye smacked the lamp that rested on the side table on the other side of the blonde sub. Both gasped as the lamp teetered, and then toppled onto the floor. Not only did the light bulb shatter, but the porcelain frame of the lamp broke as well. "Oh fuck," Troye swore, his hands flying up to his face. "Oh God, oh no, what did I-" "Easy," Tommy quickly grabbed Troye's shoulders. "It's okay, I'll clean it up." "I need to tell Jacob," Troye croaked. "He's going to be so angry, he'll put me in the isolation room for sure, fuck-" "It's okay," Tommy repeated, rubbing Troye's arm soothingly. "Let me get the dustpan and broom." "I should do it," Troye tried to insist, but Tommy simply shook his head.
"You just need to relax a little so that you can tell Jacob," Tommy replied. "I promise it's okay, I'll clean it up." Troye tried to even his breathing as Tommy retrieved a dustpan and broom, moving the table to sweep up the light bulb shards better. However, just as Tommy got the last bit of shards into the dustpan, the lock on the door clicked, and both Troye and Tommy froze in horror. Brandon stepped inside the house, bags of groceries in one hand as well as a black handled cane in the other hand.
His eyes fell on the broken lamp, and his blank face almost immediately contorted into one of anger. "Did you do that?" he demanded to Tommy in a low tone. Troye gave a squeak of alarm, struggling to find his voice once more to own up to the crime. However, Tommy gave a whispered, "Yes." "What?!" Troye shrieked. "No-" "Shut up," Brandon snarled, dropping all of his bags. "This just makes for the perfect opportunity to use my new cane. Menace, turn around, over the arm of the couch. Pants down."
"Brandon I'm the one-" Troye tried desperately, looking from Brandon to Tommy. Tommy did as he was told though, and then before Troye could protest further, Brandon was advancing towards the now bare bottomed boy with his cane poised high. Watching in horror as Brandon landed the first welt-leaving crack onto Tommy's bum, he did the only thing he could think of doing. He flung himself between Tommy and Brandon, covering Tommy with his body despite the blonde's nudity.
However, Brandon was still aiming for Tommy's bum, and with Troye's position it was more of his lower back. Which was exactly where the cane landed. Troye cried out at the white hot pain. Not only did it sting, but it made his legs go numb, the pain was so awful. It felt as if he'd been punched in the tailbone, and he vaguely heard Tommy croak, "Troye, no!" "What the fuck-" Brandon hissed. "Get the fuck out of the way!"
The cane cracked down on Troye's ass this time, and Troye could feel his numbing legs starting to slip. Brandon didn't give up. The cane came down on him again and again, stinging hits on Troye's body. Sometimes the hits were on his back, and sometimes they were to his hips as well as Brandon attempted to get Tommy's upper thighs. Brandon was furious, and Troye knew Brandon didn't care about what part of Troye he was hitting. He had certainly been hit in zones that were completely forbidden for spanking.
As Brandon's whip connected with his middle back for what felt like the hundredth time Troye finally sobbed out. "Stop, please, stop!" every part of him ached, but he didn't dare move. He had broken the lamp, Tommy hadn't. Tommy didn't need a punishment. Brandon hit him behind the knee, and Troye finally buckled as he slumped onto the floor feeling more than dazed, and then Brandon started in on Tommy.
When Jacob first heard the commotion, he figured Brandon was punishing Tommy for something foolish. He could hear the cracks from what he assumed to be a caning coming all the way to his office. He thought that maybe Brandon was punishing Tommy outside the room again so that Troye would be forced to hear, and it made anger flare up inside of himl. Just as he rose to go find his blue-eyed sub, he heard a voice that made his blood run cold.
"Stop, please, stop!" The Dom lunged forward, unable to believe that Brandon would be making Troye watch such a harsh punishment. He rounded the hall, almost sprinting for the steps. As he reached the balcony he couldn't see Troye, but he could see Brandon swinging the cane and could hear Tommy's quiet gasps of pain. "What the fuck is going on?" Jacob bellowed out.
Brandon looked absolutely insane, sweaty and wild eyed, and he pointed towards the floor on the other side of the couch. "The idiot you call a sub flung himself between Tommy and my cane, so he-" Jacob's heart was in his throat then. Brandon couldn't have. Jacob bolted down the steps, rounding the couch and looking for his sub. What he saw was enough to make bile rise in his throat. Troye was lying limply on the floor, his clothing split in some places from the force of the cane. He was all bloody in places that he shouldn't have been hit in.
"What have you done?!" Jacob roared, flinging himself to his knees beside his sub so he could attempt to roll him over. "No, no, no-" Troye wailed then, his eyes clenched shut tightly. His hands rose up weakly, as if to defend himself, and Jacob's heart shattered.. "I'll fucking kill you," he seethed towards Brandon, but his sub needed him. Judging by Tommy's state, the blonde was going to need a few stitches, but he seemed to be in the right state of mind. "Please," Troye sobbed.
"No more. Hurts, hurts, red! Red, red, red-" Jacob's entire body went rigid, and Tommy weakly spoke, "Not because of you, you're green-" "Shut the-" Brandon began, but Jacob grabbed the closest thing he could, a television remote, and launched it at the dark haired Dom's skull. "No you shut the fuck up and call a goddamn ambulance. Look what you've done," he snarled.
"He'll be-" "Call a fucking ambulance right now, or I'm calling them and I'm calling the police along with them," he snapped, searching on Troye's body for a place where he could touch him without hurting him. The sub was still sobbing, still mumbling 'red' into the plush carpet that was getting a bit of his blood on it. "Fuck, what if you hit a critical zone? You could have fucked up his circulation or his nervous system in that area... I might call the fucking cops anyway. Troye? Troye are you okay? My poor boy, fuck..."
"Please," Troye whimpered. "Please, no more." Brandon grumbled, but he got out his phone and started the call for the ambulance. Jacob allowed himself to focus on his sub completely then, reaching onto the couch to grab a blanket that had been abandoned. Tommy had pulled his trousers up and moved from where he was bent over the couch to stand next to Troye in concern, "He... he broke a lamp and-" "Tommy, I can't right now," Jacob mumbled, softly stroking Troye' face.
"Love?" "I took the blame for it," Tommy shortened what Jacob figured was a long story. "He was going to tell you, and then I took the blame and Brandon started caning me. So Troye jumped between us and..." "No more," Troye coughed. "Red, red Brandon, red-" "It's me, pet," Jacob whispered softly. "It's me. I need to look at your back okay?" Jacob carefully lifted up the jumper, and Troye moaned in agony. He had deep looking cuts, cuts that would definitely need stitches, and his skin was bruised and awful looking. Troye's clenched eyes fluttered open, and Jacob's heart ached to find them still shedding tears.
Jacob could see on Troye's face when Troye finally realized who Jacob was. The sub's face completely crumpled, "Sir, sir- I broke a- I'm so sorry! Please, sir, please I don't want to be isolated I'm so sorry-" "Shh," Jacob whispered. "I just need to look at your cuts. I'm not angry. Such a good boy, you're alright, baby. Poor, poor, baby. There we are pet. I'm going to pull your pants down a little to look, okay?"
"So sorry," Troye hiccupped, reaching with shaking hands to try and help Jacob. "Just lay still," Jacob directed softly, moving the pants a bit. A folded piece of paper fell onto the floor in front of Troye, and once Jacob had inspected the cuts on Troye's bum he carefully moved the tights back up onto Troye's hips. He didn't dare pull them further down for fear of hurting Troye. He could already see the slices in the thin fabric where the cane had made contact. Troye appeared to have one behind his knee, which worried Jacob severely since it was an extreme danger area to be hitting. Nearly all of Troye's cane marks had been dangerous no-hit zones.
Jacob picked up the piece of paper that Troye had tucked in his waistband and he slid it into the front pocket of his own turtleneck. Ever so carefully, he draped the blanket over Troye, and then gathered him up into his arms to wrap the blanket around Troye's tiny body. Troye whimpered in pain, but Jacob gently tucked the trembling boy into his lap and snuggled him close, cradling his shoulders, which were free of marks, with one arm and holding Troye's head against his chest with his other hand. "The ambulance should be here any moment," Brandon grumbled. Troye gasped in alarm at the sound of Brandon's voice, latching onto Jacob tightly until Jacob stroked his thumb over Troye's cheekbones and kissed his forehead,
"Shh... you're alright, pet. I've got you. You're safe. Brandon is staying here, he's not coming with us." "Whatever, I'm not finished with Tommy anyway-" "No!" Troye flailed against the blanket then, twisting his head in a wild search for Tommy. "I broke the lamp, it was me, Tommy doesn't-" Brandon gawked at him, and Jacob snapped at the other Dom, "Just go the fuck away, Tommy needs stitches I think. He'll be riding with us." "You can't take my sub," Brandon shook his head. "If you can do this to mine," Jacob gestured with his head to Troye's trembling and sniffling form. "Then I can take Tommy to get stitches. Tommy, will you press the button to open the gate for the ambulance?" Tommy nodded, walking over to the control panel by the door while Brandon stormed from the room and up the stairs. Jacob looked down at his sub in his arms, finding Troye's face contorted in pain. He gently thumbed a few tears from Troye's face, and Troye hoarsely whispered, "I'm sorry, sir."
"No, pet, I'm sorry," Jacob stroked Troye' hair softly. "I should have let you stay in my office. I didn't know... I didn't ever think that Brandon would do something like this. From now on he'll be banned from being near you, that is if I don't kick him out. I'm a bit afraid for Tommy's sake, if I do that." "Tommy's good," Troye swallowed hard, nuzzling against Jacob's hand. "Good..." "Pet?" Jacob asked worriedly, but Troye conked out in his arms. "Fuck." "Is he alright?" Tommy asked in a scared whimper. Jacob looked up at the boy, nodding his head,
"I... I think so. He's been so overwhelmed. If he's hurt further than just stitches I'll... I'm sorry Tommy, but Brandon has to leave. Which means he'll be taking you away from here, too." "I understand." Jacob's eyes clenched shut and he snuggled the boy closer, trying not to jostle him and hurt him further, "Having seen him sprawled on the floor the way he was worries me. It's like he fell and couldn't move and- and Brandon hit his middle back, he could have caused nerve damage or something." "Judging by the fight he put up when Brandon wasn't going to let me go to the hospital tells me he's okay and that it just stings for him to move. And trust me, it has to sting for him to move. I didn't even get the worst of Brandon's cane and it stings so bad."
There came an urgent knocking at the door then, and Tommy scurried to get it. EMTs came in with stretchers, and they allowed Jacob to carefully move Troye onto his tummy on the stretcher. "His back is pretty beaten up," Jacob mumbled worriedly. "Did you do this?" an EMT asked in shock. "No," Jacob scowled. "But I can assure you the man who did has another thing coming."
The ride to the hospital was a bit cramped with Troye, the EMT who sat in the back, and Jacob and Tommy. Yet as soon as they arrived Troye was whisked away from the worried Dom, and Tommy was led back into another room for stitches. It took a lot of begging from the nurses and a hospital policeman to coax Jacob away from the double doors leading back into the emergency room, but they eventually got him to go sit in the waiting room despite him wanting to go where they'd taken Troye.
He was so insanely worried about the younger boy. He sat in the waiting room and pulled at the fabric of his black jeans, thinking only of how small Troye had felt in his arms and of how the massive jumper of Jacob's that Troye wore had so much blood on it. In attempts to take his mind off of things, he pulled out the paper that had been in Troye's waistband. He figured it was Troye's homework, and he unfolded it to examine what had been scrawled in a slightly messy handwriting.
Jacob: Best thing that has ever happened to me. It was the first thing Jacob's eyes settled on, and it nearly broke the Dom. Almost immediately Jacob read the rest, and Troye's words hit home. Troye loved him. The paper fell numbly from his grip onto his lap, and he buried his face into his hands as tears stung his eyes and dripped over down his cheeks. His poor pet. He was so eager to please, so kind and caring. And Jacob was apparently the best thing that had ever happened to him. Jacob felt a hand on his shoulder, making him jerk to attention.
Tommy was standing there nervously, wearing scrub bottoms rather than the jeans he had previously had on. Jacob quickly rubbed the tears off his face. "Good?" "Yes..." Tommy said softly, cautiously sitting down and wincing. "Forty stitches total. Twenty-two on my bum, eighteen on my thighs." "Shit," Jacob groaned. "I... I promised Troye that I would never hit him the way Brandon hits you. But now look what happened."
"You didn't do that to him," Tommy murmured. "My master did." "So many stitches," Jacob croaked. "I can't kick him out. Kick you out. Not after you've gotten forty stitches. I'll just... I'll make him stay on his section of the house and we'll have times that he can be downstairs. During that time I'll make sure I have Troye safe and with me." Tommy simply nodded, pointing to the paper of Troye, "What's that?" "It's nothing," Jacob replied, picking it up off his lap and folding it back up again. He held it close to him, wanting nothing more than to see Troye.
Yet it was nearly an hour before a nurse came out, and when she finally came to retrieve Jacob, he met her halfway with Tommy hobbling along behind him. He figured he must have looked pretty upset, because her face softened immediately. "Mr. Mellet is okay," she soothed. "He's resting now. I must warn you, he has over a hundred stitches. We've put him on a morphine drip to help his pain."
Jacob couldn't even feel anger, only an aching need to see his sub, to hold his hand and to kiss him, "May I see him?" "Of course," she hummed, looking to Tommy. "You as well?" "Yes, he'll be coming, too," Jacob nodded. The nurse led the way, taking him not to the emergency room but down several hallways until they reached a hospital room with the door slightly ajar, "We went ahead and put him in the recovery wing. We wanted to keep him overnight, maybe for most of the day tomorrow as well, just to keep an eye on him. Once he's feeling better we were going to have him walk. His ribs are bruised, but luckily he has no broken bones. We were honestly surprised judging by the looks of his cuts. It seemed like he took quite the beating. Tommy made a whimpering sound as Jacob winced, and the nurse finally pushed open the hospital door and let them into the room.
Troye was in a pale green hospital gown with a yellow plaid pattern on it, and he was turned onto his side so that his sore back wouldn't be touching the scratchy sheets. He was pale and tiny looking, and Jacob's throat burned as he slowly walked towards Troye. He bent down, kissing Troye's forehead and stroking the sweaty hair off the boy's brow. "I would like to stay with him," Jacob announced. "Tommy too, may we both stay?" "Two is the limit," the nurse nodded. "If you're talking about staying the night just have the nurse on duty this evening give you blankets." "Thank you," Jacob mumbled, and he motioned for Tommy to take the recliner while he grabbed a stool for himself and dragged it over next to Troye.
The nurse checked Troye's morphine drip, and then she left the three lads in peace. Jacob sighed heavily, examining Troye's sleeping face. He felt so incredibly lucky, because Troye could have been hurt so much worse. He could have been paralyzed. Jacob softly covered Troye's small hand, the one without the I.V, with his own. "Oh, pet... I should have just cuddled you, hmm? I'm so, so, sorry."
"It's not your fault," Tommy told Jacob kindly. Jacob used his free hand to stroke Troye's cheek, "I can't help but think that it was." "You'll just be his hero even more so now," Tommy explained. "He likes you a lot, and now that you've basically saved his life?" Jacob didn't respond to that, simply admired his sleeping sub's face. He looked so incredibly beautiful, his long lashes pressed against his pale cheeks. Jacob already wanted his eyes open though, wanted to see the coy look Troye always made when he looked at Jacob. And yet all he could do was wait for Troye to wake up from resting so he could apologise profusely then.
Ever so gently, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Troye's slightly parted ones, pulling back and whispering just loud enough for Troye to hear if he were awake, "For the record, you're the best thing that's happened to me, too."