Lunar's POV
Hands clasped around my throat, the air getting tight within my lungs. Other hands shoved everything off a desk, my body forced onto its stomach and replaced those items.
My jeans felt tight but were yanked off, a shiver coursing through my flesh as a gasp escaped my lips and encased the silenced air. A shaft caressed my back entrance, another came in front of my face as a thumb forcefully opened my mouth.
"You're ours," A voice rang, hands tightening around my hips and leaving marks, as the other person gripped my hair and ruffled through it, "Say it."
I yelped as I woke up by tumbling off the bed. I scowled at my involuntary actions, burying my face in my hands as I tried to sleep on the floor. My watch going off was followed by a groan leaving my throat, "F-Fuck. For once can I go back to my dreams without your bullshit?"
I prayed for my morning wood to vanish as I got dressed for work. Heading into the bathroom I brushed my teeth and combed my hair before getting my shoes on and heading out the door. I tied my sweater around my waist, got in the car, and drove to work.
"Goddess Elysium, I hate mornings," I yawned, rubbing my face drowsily, "Especially after having a rough night."
I parked the car and headed to Mr. Hayes' office, leaning my head against the wall of the elevator, thinking about the other night in demise. I was hanging out at Mathis' place. My hand reached for my throat, my body flinching from the pain.
"Mr. Leville, it's getting late," I hesitated, not daring to step closer, "How about we finish drinking, and I help you to bed? Does that sound alright?"
"What'd you say to me, Fag?" He glared, alcohol dripping onto his shirt as he sipped from his can, "I don't take orders from your kind."
"Don't worry about it, Lune," Mrs. Leville whispered from the kitchen, "I'll take care of him."
"I-I'm not ordering, Sir," I put on my best smile, Mathis's leg bouncing as she ate from the table, "I'm asking is all. I want to help you if you need it."
"Don't you talk back to me," His can was thrown at my face, my arms protecting me, "Not in my goddamn house! This is my house, and I will do whatever the hell I want."
I didn't even get to blink when he was in my presence, pulling my hair back until my legs buckled. My falling had him choking me on the floor, my legs kicking in the alcohol he'd spilled. His grip was tight, my lungs weak as I scratched for freedom, "I-I-I can't--"
"You will not talk back to me in my house, do you understand? I don't listen to fairies under my roof," He spat in my face, his hold on my throat strengthening, "I didn't invite you into my home for you to order me around, did I?"
"Daddy, please, stop! He can't breathe!" Mathis was growing frantic as I tapped the ground. My mind was growing foggy and doing that was how we said we couldn't breathe when wrestling, "Let him go, Dad! I'm begging you, he didn't mean to offend you!"
"You shut your whore mouth, I won't take orders from you eith---"
"I said let him go!" Matty shrieked, glass shattering on her father's head before he fell over. The air filling my lungs had me hacking onto the tile floor, as I gasped and coughed. I slipped from the liquid on the ground as I moved away from her dad in case he went for me, again.
The entire room was in spots as I held my throat, Matt kneeling with tears streaming as she looked me over, "I-I'm alright, Praying Mantis. I'm alright."
"I'm sorry," She whimpered, cleaning blood off my neck, "It was the only thing I could think of to get him off you."
I hadn't even noticed the ceramic plate had cut me, my nerves causing me to laugh, "Matty, I'm fine. I'm alright. Are you okay? I'm more worried about you than myself."
"I'm absolutely fine, but I think you should go before he comes to, his rage is only going to be worse on you if he sees you're still here," I wasn't even getting a moment to exhale when her and Mrs. Leville were rushing me out the door, "I'm sorry to throw you out like this, Lune, but I swear it's to keep you safe. I love you and I'll call you."
"Mathis, wai--," I protested, but the door was slammed in my face. I sighed in defeat as I turned and leaned against the door. Tears threatened to spill, but I swallowed them back as I dabbed at my neck. Blood stained my fingertips.
Pushing myself off the door, I started heading home. I noted a strange vehicle parked outside the house, but I was too upset to question or care. I didn't want to head home, yet, so I called Jax.
"D-Do you have a place I can shower?" I murmured, brushing my fingers through my hair and scrunching in disgust at the stinking stickiness of alcohol, "Matt's father attacked me…again."
"I'll pick you up, Kiddo," Jax chortled from behind me, nearly getting me to shit my pants, "Mathis called me right after she kicked you out. I figured Mama Floid wasn't to be reckoned with if she saw you. I could only imagine what ya looked like. Not as bad as last time, if I must admit."
Part of me wanted to kick him in the balls, but everything came crashing down as I started crying. In a heartbeat, Jax had me in his arms, and held me tight, "Lord Apollyon, I hate that man, Jax. I know I shouldn't, but how can I not? I'm sure he's an asshole when he's drunk, but fuck do I hate him. We can't even say hello before he insults us or throws something.
"Hey, listen to me, alright?" Jax lifted my chin and held my cheeks, "We both know even off alcohol that man is a prick, but don't you dare shed tears because he got under your skin. I know he's awful and cruel, but don't give him the satisfaction of your tears. Mathis and her mother are gonna escape from him soon enough, but they can't do that if you beat yourself up, got it?"
He sounded like a fool. How were they going to get out of that house? When? They had no place to go. They had no access to their money because her father kept it locked.
"C-Can we get me cleaned up, Jax?" I whimpered, "I-I want this night to be over, and I need to bathe as soon as possible. I have work in the morning, and I sure as hell don't want to go in smelling like your nightclub. It's only my second or third week, and I like working there."
"Don't you worry, if you don't smell like a sobered man and lilacs by six in the morning you can have the keys to Lava Lamp," He smiled proudly, ushering me to his place, "Trust me, they'll never know the difference."
I shook my head as I fixed my turtleneck, and stepped out of the elevator. I walked into the office and began to wipe down the shelves. Mr. Hayes hadn't arrived yet, so I was by myself. Once I was finished with the shelves, I wiped down his desk, humming quietly.
"You're early. Nice turtleneck, new shampoo? You smell like lilacs and honeysuckle. It's nice," I jumped as Mr. Lincoln came up from behind me, spinning in a 180 and looking up at him. I swallowed hard as he touched the turtleneck gently, holding back my flinch. It wasn't enough, though. He noticed immediately, concern leaping from his voice, "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm alright, Mr. Lincoln," I brushed him off, casually returning to my cleaning, "I'm a bit jittery today, that's all."
"No, you're not," My flinch escaped as he grabbed my wrist and turned me around, dropping my turtleneck as Mr. Hayes entered, "Who did this?"
"It-It's nothing," I pulled away, fixing my shirt. My heart was beginning to pound, my vision growing blurry, "R-Really, I-I'm fine."
This time it was Mr. Hayes that grabbed my wrist, "Who hurt you?"
"It's nothing," I hissed, yanking my arm so hard it stung. My adrenaline was spiking, and I needed to escape and collect myself, "I'm going to use the bathroom."
I ran to the restroom, locked myself in the last stall, and hid next to the toilet. Everything started rushing back at me like an earthquake toppling a building, my face burying into my sweater as I held it to my chest. I couldn't fight my tears any longer.
A few minutes. That's all that's needed and then I'll get back to work. I'll be fine. Cry for a bit, and act like nothing happened. Easy.
I sat there silently sobbing as I buried my head in my hands, I was terrified for Matty and her mother. There was nothing I could do, they were stuck there with that useless excuse for a man. I'd left them both when I should have stayed. I could have waited outside, but I left because of this job. I could have called in sick and stayed. Mathis fucking needed me and I cowered away. I'm the reason he was pissed off in the first place. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut, why did I speak? I'm such a horrible friend.
I wiped my cheeks as I heard footsteps enter the restroom, closing my mouth tight to keep my crying quiet. My body ached as I kept sobbing, starting to sweat as I tried to calm myself down.
"Mr. Floid, please, open the door and let me in," Mr. Hayes cooed at the other side of the stall door, knocking delicately. My breathing hurt as I hid back in my sweater, hugging my knees tight. My lungs were swelling as I tried to see clearly, but my world was falling apart and becoming red. His voice hummed as he kept trying to coax me to open the door, "Please?"
"G-Go away," I choked out, the room was beginning to spin and my lungs were filling with the intoxication of my sobs. The more he stayed the more my flight was becoming a fight. My fear was turning numb and I was ready to be angry. I wanted to be left alone so I could calm down, "I-I'm fine."
"Please, open the door, Little One," Mr.Hayes' voice had a little more force but was still delicate, "We're not going to leave you when you are under distress."
"Go the fuck away!" I begged.
"Watch your mouth," Mr. Lincoln ordered, but his voice sounded weak. I didn't care if my swearing pissed them off, everything around me was too much, and I was afraid. Afraid of being hit. Afraid of my breath. Afraid of the ticking of the stall and the crawling of the cold creeping up my body. I was afraid for my best friend and her mother.
At this moment I didn't care about who they were. I didn't care about being fired. I didn't care if I lived or died. All I cared about was the fact I'd abandoned my best friend when she needed me, and I deserved the hurt I was causing myself.
"Fuck off!" I buried my face back into my sweater, my silent crying breaking into sobs as I threw my arms back over my head and hid in a ball. All I could do was rock and bawl like a petrified child. I hated it. I hated myself.
I was so terrified that everything from last night would happen again. Horrified that even now I was dreaming, and I was still at the house being choked. Petrified this was temporary before I'm proven to be dead on the floor.
"You're alright, Little One. I've got you," Mr. Hayes soothed, wrapping his arms around me before lifting me into his lap. My body trembled as I cried in his lap, his tense body rocking me, "Nobody's going to hurt you. You're safe."
Clinging to him, I felt his jacket drape over me before he carried me back to his office as somebody else entered the restroom. He sat in his chair, rubbing my back while I hid in his coat, shaking as I tried to get myself to calm down.
Wiping my cheeks, I finally settled, still clinging to him as I took deep breaths. I'd only stopped sobbing because I'd exhausted myself so much my body couldn't produce any more tears. It kept shaking and aching, flinching when his hand approached my face, "It's alright, I'm not going to hit you. Open your mouth."
"I-I'm sorry, I should have called in sick," I hid in his shoulder, shaking more as he kept rocking me, "I-I want to go h-home."
He pulled me tighter to him, caressing the back of my head, "We'll take you back to our place for the day. I don't want you driving home in your headspace."
Part of me wanted to ask them to drive me home, but I didn't want them to see where I lived. I was also afraid of my mother assuming they'd made me cry…
Staying quiet I didn't bother to protest as he picked me up and carried me to the elevator. Once inside Mr. Lincoln pressed the button for the bottom floor and stood next to us both. The door opened moments later causing them both to exit and bring me outside, taking me to a 1968 black Cadillac DeVille convertible. I recognized the type of car from a song, but I felt like I'd seen it somewhere else… Where, though?
Mr. Hayes sat in the passenger seat pulling the seat belt over us as Mr. Lincoln rested on the driver's side, started the car, and pulled away from the building. After about twenty minutes the Cadillac parked in the driveway of a mansion causing me to struggle with keeping my mouth shut as I stared up at what I wanted to call a house. It looked more like a palace or a castle, and "house" felt like an insult. Now, I really don't want them to see my house…
The outside was built with silver and white bricks with silver roofing. Stairs were on either end leading to two balconies. The yard was freshly cut with a few bushes and trees. The bushes were trimmed into the shapes of animals making the garden around them look like a little zoo. The driveway had a giant bush that had flowers wrapped in rainbow-color order. They had white roses at each end to look like clouds holding the rainbow.
Going inside the flooring was silver marble while the walls were white with silver cloud patterns. A giant dandelion chandelier hovered above us while on the walls there were little lights that looked like the seeds of the dandelion. In the middle of the room sat a big silver table, the legs of it looked like leaves while the chairs were leather seated.
I was brought out of my distractions by Mr. Hayes and Mr. Lincoln chuckling at me, making me blush and hide back into Mr. Hayes' shoulder.
"You're alright, Mr. Floid. You're allowed to gawk. You're allowed to explore if you'd like. We don't mind," Mr. Hayes humored, his laugh echoing through the home as he sat me on the ground, keeping his coat around my shoulders, "Mr. Lincoln and I will be over in the kitchen."
I followed his finger as he pointed to another room, flustering up as they left me where I stood. Watching their departure, I nervously went up the spiral staircase, hugging my sweater tight as I looked around. I'd never been in anything like this place. It was gorgeous. All the rooms had silver iron doors, each room being a different shade of color. After a moment, I realized the rooms were in a dark rainbow pattern.
The dark red was a game room, dark orange was the bar, dark yellow had little house plants, dark green was crafting, dark blue was a guest room, darker blue was a restroom, and dark purple was another guest room.
Across from those was another rainbow pattern of rooms. The other dark red room was a library, the orange was a third guest room, the yellow was another restroom, the green was a fourth guest room, both blues were offices, and the purple one was a pet room.
At the end of the area were some silver French doors with fuzzy glass so I couldn't see inside. The frame around the doors was a dark red, almost black. Tilting my head, I went to open the doors, but they were locked. I tugged, but they wouldn't budge.
"That's off-limits, Little One. Maybe soon you'll be going in there but not currently," I jumped and spun to see a smirking Mr. Hayes leaning against the wall a few feet from me. He winked at me as he rolled up his sleeves, "Come with me."
Hesitantly I followed him, glancing back at the French doors. On the other side of the mansion, the rooms were the same with the rainbow pattern. He brought me into one of the purple rooms, it was a medical room. He lifted me onto the counter, motioning to my turtleneck.
I nodded, nervously allowing him to slip my shirt from my body, hugging my stomach. He looked at the bruises on my throat, dabbing a washcloth at the little cuts he was finding. Once he was finished, he put little band-aids on the cuts and kissed my forehead, a blush fighting to escape my cheeks, "All better, Little One."
"Wh-Why do you keep calling me that?" I hushed as he turned to throw the wrappers away. I wasn't complaining, but I was confused.
"Because you like being called that, and it's cute," He side-eyed me with a grin, my cheeks couldn't fight the fire anymore as he headed for the door, "Besides, there are far worse pet names we could give you."