I nod and go back to the car. “Ready to get in your flat?”
He smiles, and it’s the first genuine one I’ve seen from him in five days. “Yeah, I am. Are Saint and Noah okay?”
“They are. I thought you might like to see Noah later. I just wanted to check that Saint was okay with it. You know he doesn’t like to let his boy out of his sight.”
“Thank you, that’s great. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.”
It’s a slow trek to get him up the steps to his front door. He looks white, the sheen of sweat on his forehead drips down to his puffy eyes. I wipe it away, before it stings. Once he’s settled on the sofa, I run down to get his bags from the car. We’ll have to make a trip back to get Memphis’ car at the weekend. He’s not going to be driving for a while, but he should have it here.
It takes me three trips up to bring it all in. Finn had gathered all his work equipment together and packaged it all up. He’ll be able to sort it when he’s feeling up to it. When I go into the living room, he’s already asleep. I touch him gently; he opens his eyes just a little. “I’m going to go now; do you want me to help you get into bed first?”
“Yes, please.”
I put his phone on charge on the bedside table in easy reach, and I think he’s asleep before I close the bedroom door.
When I get back in my car, I shoot a text to Drake, then drive to my dads’ place. Time for a fun conversation with Pops; he doesn’t like being told to back off. I pull up on the drive and hope Dad’s in too. He can be the voice of reason when Pops wants to jump straight in. I knock on the door before turning the handle and opening the door.
“Hi, guys, it’s me,” I call out and wait to see where the reply comes from.
It’s Dad who answers. “In here,” he calls from the living room.
Pops comes out of the room before I can make my way in. “I’m so glad you’re back,” he gushes, looking past me. “Where’s Memphis?”
“That’s why I’m here. He’s gone back to the flat. He doesn’t want to see anyone for a while. Including me,” I add to soften the news. “He’s exhausted and in a lot of pain. He wants to get his head back together before he sees us. All of us.”
“That’s ridiculous. Who’s going to help him? I should be there with him,” Pops says indignantly, his cheeks flushing pink with annoyance.
“Noah is going to be there with him. It’s all sorted with Saint. You need to step back. He’s going to need us soon enough, but for now, he wants to deal with all of it in private. You know that bastard did everything he could to break him, even the worst thing imaginable. He doesn’t need half a dozen people offering platitudes he can’t process. I know how much you all love him and want to help, but I’m on dodgy ground already after the stupid mistakes I made, which means I’m giving him the space he needs and that you need to as well.”
“Hey, Memphis, it’s me, Noah. Can I come in?”
“Yes, come in, I’m in here,” I call out to him. I’ve managed to get out of bed and hobble into the living room.
He walks in, and when he sees me, his chin wobbles. I’m looking at a man that has tattoos all over his body, who’s in an active TPE lifestyle with one of the toughest Doms I’ve ever seen. And he’s about to cry. With his hand covering his mouth as he holds back a sob, he sits down next to me.
“Memphis, what the fuck happened to you? I hope the bastard that did this is rotting in prison.” He tenderly brushes my hair from my forehead as his gaze roams over my face. “Do you want to talk about it, or shall we put the telly on and binge watchMasterChef?”
I smile but join him crying. I haven’t really given myself or been allowed to have time to wallow. “Can we do both?” I ask through a hiccup.
“Are you hungry? We should order pizza and stuff our faces too.” Noah pulls out his phone and is ordering before I can even reply. I smile at him and wipe the stray tears from my cheeks. “I’d suggest a beer, too, but I imagine you’re looped up on pain meds. We’ll have to over caffeinate on full-fat Coke instead. I think Royal might have something to say about me getting you drunk.”
He’s like fresh air after all the heaviness of Royal’s demands, protection, whatever it is he’s been doing. “Shouldn’t you be working?” I ask after he collects the DoorDash and opens all the boxes.
“Nope, Saint has taken care of all of it. I’m yours for as long as you want. All I need to do is keep you company until you’ve had enough of me. Then he’ll come and get me and bring me back tomorrow.”
This bothers me a little. Is this Royal’s way of keeping tabs on me? I don’t like the idea of Noah reporting back. He notices my silence and looks at me. “I’m not here to report back; I wouldn’t even if they ask. I’m your friend, Memphis, at least I think I am. This is nothing but a few hours of company while you’re cooped up in here. Although this is a great flat. I only lived in it few months, but I felt very settled here.”
“Can I ask you about your relationship with Saint? I don’t mind if you say no, but I’m moving into new territory with Royal, moving away from the nurturing need I had when I first joined the scene.”
He nods as he bites into a slice of pizza. “Ask away, you’ve seen plenty of times what kind of kinky shit me and Saint get up to.”
I grab a slice, and while it still hurts when I chew, I devour the first slice while Noah tells me about how he found himself with Saint. A fair few of the things he talked about doing and wanting to do made me blush or swallow hard. More than a few had me squirmy and feeling horny. He laughs when he sees my reaction. One thing I don’t think I’ll be doing with Royal is being shared.
“So that’s a no from you, is it?” Noah laughs when he sees me recoiling from that. “I love it, because I get to prove how much I love Saint. The look on his face when we’re with someoneelse, whether it’s another sub or a Dom, and having two cocks in your arse is something else.”
The conversation shifts naturally into me talking about me and my past. I tell him about Royal finding me when I was fifteen and sleeping in the doorway of the gym after being kicked out. “I had no clue what to expect when I walked into Kip and Robin’s house. He could have been out looking for kids to groom.” I laugh at the thought of it.
“Saint took me there the first day I turned up. He knew I didn’t have anywhere to stay. I think it was about six weeks before I moved in here, maybe longer.”
