Sinful [malexmale]

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

 You can do this.

Just do it.

One step is all it takes. Just go out there.

"Easier said than done." I muttered through clenched teeth as I stood in the doorway of my bedroom that led out into the long wood-floored hallway. Expensive lights that turned on automatically when they sensed movement, both nifty and frightening, especially in the middle of the night. I swallowed hard, tugging at the front of my black sweatshirt, shifting bare feet across the floor.

Akin had said that, before we could do anything major, I had to get used to basics. And included in that fun package of basics was actually being able to leave my room on my own, without any help, and going to a destination and doing as I pleased. I'd decided, after sitting on the closet floor for three hours, that I needed to do something with myself and I was hungry and Hannibal wasn't scheduled to make lunch until one.

So I was going to make myself something to eat and pray to God Cain wasn't there to yell at me like he was the first time.

I took a deep breath and pushed off the door frame, stepping out into the hallway. I held my breath, waiting to see if anyone would come out of one of the rooms or come charging down the hallway, but I was alone. I let out a long breath of relief and closed my door as silently as I could behind me before turning to the right and inching down the hallway. My feet didn't make a sound on the floor, which was good. No one would know I was here and jumped out at me.

Not that they would.

Everyone here was very cautious around me, except Hannibal. Akin made sure never to touch me, although, I could tell he really wanted to hug me sometimes. I'm glad he didn't. I don't think I could handle hugging just yet. Jahlia, who was required to touch me as a doctor, was very gentle and playful when she spoke to me. Abel often visited the mansion and would check up on me. He was a little strange, but Akin told me that was normal. According to him, Abel had been kicked into the river Acheron and somehow managed to get out without going completely insane. And to be blunt, Cain was an asshole and he took every chance he could to remind me of it. He would try and trick me into doing what he said or scare me into staying away from the windows. Suffice it to say, he was on my list of people to gut when I could actually do it again.

The rest of the people in the mansion were just members of Sons of Anarchy. One man, the vampire I'd seen with Hannibal at the camp, was named Kristoff. He dropped on during the night, sometimes with his wife, Bella. Another man that visited was an Egyptian, extremely tall and intimidating, named Sept. He gave us reports from his lord, and apparently lover, Theo. A couple other of the men around here were civilians or people mascarading as soldiers in other camps around the underworld, constantly feeding updates.

But I noticed there weren't other slaves around the building.

I'd asked Hannibal about it the other day and his response was "most slaves want to go home right away". I wasn't sure if he was trying to jab at me or not. It wasn't a Hannibal thing to do, but I'd only known him for a couple of weeks, so I couldn't say I knew him entirely.

But I did like the fact that he didn't treat me like a fragile doll like everyone else did. I knew they were just doing it out of consideration, and at times, I appreciated their lack of harshness. But sometimes I felt like they were treating me like a wounded animal, not to be bothered or touched. It made me feel... uncomfortable. Like maybe I was just too filthy and they didn't want to get their hands dirty. It was a silly thought, but I couldn't help it.

But Hannibal didn't care. He wasn't dainty or careful with me. He treated me like just another person. If I annoyed him, he'd gladly let me know by glaring at me or flipping me off. He was a man of few words. He didn't speak as much as he did that night he gave me a pep-talk. Most of the time his responses were nods, head shakes, crude hand gestures, or short sentences. When I asked Akin about it, he just told me that Hannibal only spoke when he felt like he should speak. He didn't waste his time with small talk or petty conversation.