I didn't dare make a sound or show him how upset I was that he was probably giving me away. He drove for a while, but I started to feel trapped in this car. I didn't know where we were going and it was a small car. I was slowly psyching myself out again.

"Shh... what's wrong?" Vidal suddenly asked in concern.

I was shaking and crying now, I couldn't handle the stress of being in this tiny moving vehicle that was probably taking me somewhere dangerous so that Vidal didn't have to deal with my stupidity. I sobbed harder when he took my hand, trying his very best to get me to stop crying. I was digging myself in deeper and deeper by continuing to cry like this. I needed to stop acting like a child.

"Shh... stop." He demanded, making me put my thumb in my mouth and humiliating me more. I took my thumb out of my mouth, I hated it.

Suddenly, the car stopped, stopping my heart along with it. Vidal got out of the car and came around to my side. We were in the middle of nowhere, he was going to dump me there and leave. I just knew it.

"Hey. You have to calm down." He said, stroking my hair and wiping away my tears. "I know you don't like the thumb sucking... you think it makes you a baby. But that's not true. You need it to calm down and that's why I'm asking you to do it."

I shook my head vigorously.

"Fine. Either do it and calm down or continue to freak out while I drive. It's up to you, Kiwi." He said to me, getting up and moving around to the spot in front of the wheel. I refused to suck on my thumb even though I couldn't calm down without it. I sobbed my heart out, not even sure why I was crying anymore.

When the car finally stopped, a feeling of dread filled my body.

"Shh... relax, Kiwi." He said to me, unbuckling me and carrying me to a weird bird-like thing. I was perfectly fine with being placed in it until they turned it on. Vidal took my hand and the thing we were in started flying. I was one hundred percent sure that I was about to die.

I didn't want to die. Now that I was free, I was dying. That made me so sad.

I was full on panicking, hyperventilating, sobbing. Luckily, it didn't take long before it landed on the ground again. I closed my eyes, trying to relax, I needed to stop being so dramatic. I was being stupid, childish. He was going to hate me if I didn't stop this.

I recollected my sanity and took a deep breath, opening my eyes and decided to explore my surroundings. I looked out the window and froze. It was beautiful. There was so much water and there was sand and there was a beautiful house and trees. It was breathtaking.

Vidal unbuckled me and picked me up. I wiped my tears away roughly as I stared at the sight before us.

"This is home now." Vidal said to me.

I didn't mind that. I'd never had somewhere that I called home and this place was pretty. I liked having a pretty home. He carried me across the large sandy area, and then into some trees and through those into a big open space and then across there and to a small house. It was a cute little house, and there was more water beside it.

Then the Uncle Rico guy came running behind us.

"Vidal! We need to talk." Uncle Rico said sternly.

"You're scaring her, Rico." Vidal said when I regressed slightly.

"Move... go. Into the house." Uncle Rico said angrily, steering Vidal into the house.

I tightened my grip around Vidal's neck, and he rubbed my back.

"Listen, Uncle Rico. I know you heard about the stuff Ari and them have assumed about me. I also know you're mad that we stayed at the mansion. Just... can you give me a break for half a second?" Vidal sighed.

I whimpered at the annoyed tone in Vidal's voice and he planted a kiss on my forehead.

"No one assumed anything... I'm here to talk about your inability to settle in the correct place." Rico said

"It's ok, Kiwi. Shh... I've got you." He whispered.

I was crying again, and Vidal was upset now because I kept crying. Uncle Rico came into the little house with us and he tried to get Vidal to put me down. Once those attempts had passed, I was a complete and utter mess. I didn't want to leave Vidal. He called me Kiwi and made me feel warm and safe. He took care of me.

"You need to suck your thumb to calm down, Kiwi. Please." Vidal begged me.

I shook my head vigorously and he sighed.

"Alright, listen. I'm taking her up to the bedroom and I'll be back so we can talk." Vidal said.

He carried me up a few steps and into a room where he tucked me into bed. He stroked my hair a few times and told me he'd be back before he left.

I heard them arguing for a long time and then finally, the arguing stopped and I heard a few apologies. Vidal came back and he checked on me. Then he went into the closet and he started putting clothes from the bag in it.

"I'm proud of you for being such a brave girl today, Kiwi." Vidal said to me.

He is?

That's weird.

I refused to obey when he told me to suck on my thumb and I cried the entire time. I didn't see how I was brave at all.

"Ok, let's look around, shall we?" He asked me.

I nodded and slipped out of the bed. I crawled after him and he showed me everything and told me I could go to the kitchen, but to be careful in there and if I wasn't sure how to use anything, I should call him. I just nodded along to everything he said. He didn't know that I'd been trained to cook for him, but maybe one day I'd be able to tell him.

We both got comfortable after the little tour of the house. He changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and then he sat on the couch with me. He pulled me into his lap when I started nudging his arm softly. I placed my toes on his warm leg and he yelped in alarm, causing me to jump up.

"They're so cold." He whispered softly, taking them in his hands and warming my toes up. "Do you always have ice cold toes?"

I nodded in embarrassment and he smiled.

"We'll ask if it's normal. I'm sure it's alright." He chuckled.

We sat on the couch, and he gave me more fruit which was nice. I wanted some kiwi but he didn't seem to have any. He warmed my feet up and put really warm socks on them, then he changed me into one of his t-shirts with nothing else on beneath it, it covered a lot, but I felt more exposed, especially because he had to put cream on all the red lines and bruises on my body.

"I can get someone else to do this. A female if you prefer." He said to me.

I shook my head vigorously, females were scary, they always did the most damage when they hurt me.

"Alright. If you don't want anyone else to do it, then you're going to have to let me." He said.

I pouted, feeling the tears sting my eyes. He sighed and looked at me. He stared for a few moments before he put the cream down and pulled me into his lap.

"What're you afraid I'm going to do?" He asked me.

Didn't he see all the marks on my body? The bruises, lash marks, gashes? Didn't he realize exactly what I was afraid of?

"I'm only trying to help these get better." He whispered, running his finger over one of the red lines on my arm. I lifted my arm, offering it to him.

I was ok with him putting cream on my arm, but my thighs were another story. I was acting so entitled, and he was tolerating it. I mean he could just throw me over his lap and hit me until I gave in, but he wasn't.

"Ok. I can start with your arms." He said softly, taking my arm and gently applying cream on the angry red lines.

"What's next?" He asked me.

I shook my head, I was not comfortable with any other area of my body being touched.

"Your legs? Only up to your knees, your thighs are still off limits." He said softly, looking at me for confirmation.

I nodded and he massaged some cream into the lash marks on my calves.

"Do you want to put underwear on?" He asked me.

I nodded vigorously and he pointed to the closet.

"Go do that, I'm waiting here." He said to me.

I nodded and ran off. I quickly put on a bra and panties and ran back to him. He had me kneel in front of him with my back to him. I got into the proper submissive position, knowing what he'd do to me if I didn't and I didn't want him to hurt me.

"Why do you do that?" He asked me.

I stayed silent. This was probably a rhetorical question even though it didn't sound like one.

"Fine, stay like that." He sighed and he started brushing my hair again.

It felt so nice to have someone brush my hair. Then he started braiding my hair, and then he tied it up at the bottom. I couldn't see what he was doing, but it didn't seem quite right, and he kept huffing and puffing.

After he finished, he pulled my body into his chest, ruining my position.

"Now that you have underwear on, can I get the back of your thighs? I'll be so gentle and I swear I won't touch anything else, you can do whatever you can by yourself." He said to me.

I was very reluctant, but he hadn't hurt me yet. For once, I believed him. So I nodded hesitantly and he did what he needed to do. He respected my boundaries, which was really special. I didn't feel uncomfortable with the exception of the pain I felt when he pressed down a little too hard.

"Listen, Kiwi. I know you're afraid I'll do this to you, but I swear I will never do anything to harm you. I will never intentionally hurt you, and if I do by accident I want you to tell me." He said to me.

I looked up into his eyes and he now had me in a position where my head was on his lap and the rest of my body was on the bed. He was running his fingers through my hair and rubbing my scalp. It felt really nice.

He chuckled and then he leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked me.

That was the first time someone asked me that. I wanted to do whatever he wanted to do. I didn't care, I just wanted to thank him for how nice he was to me.

"Alright. How about we go explore?" He said to me.

I looked up at him in confusion and then he smiled, helping me up and having me follow after him. He handed me another pair of underwear that was more slippery, if that makes sense.

"Put this swimsuit on, then we can go explore." He told me and he ran his fingers through his orange hair. I looked up at his hair and stared at it. It was weird, I had never seen orange hair before. It was pretty though.

"Have you never seen a redhead before me?" He chuckled.

I looked into his eyes and he smiled at me.

"Wanna touch it?" He asked, looking down at my hands which twitched slightly.

I reached up and felt his hair, it was very soft, too soft for my brain to comprehend. He chuckled and I dropped my hand down to my side. My cheeks flaming red in embarrassment.

He finally left me in the closet to change into the other underwear he gave me. It was much less revealing and I liked that. I walked out in the swimsuit when I was done and his eyes widened when he saw me, making me step back in confusion.

"No. No. It's ok. I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to come out without the shirt on." He explained.

I nodded and stopped retreating.

"How about you put the shirt back on and we can go down to the beach, then you can take it off and we can go swimming if you'd like." He said to me.

I didn't really know what he wanted, but I just decided to agree to what he was offering and I put the shirt back on.

"It's getting late, Kiwi. Hurry if you want to swim." He told me as I walked beside him.

How did he expect me to hurry, how did he walk so fast too? I was pretty much running beside him. He stopped and then scooped me up.

"Sorry about that, I forgot how short you were." He chuckled.

I pouted and he smiled.

I am not short. He's just a giant!

"So you do have an attitude, huh, Kiwi." He chuckled.

I felt my cheeks turn bright red and then I dissolved into his chest in embarrassment. He seemed happy about my attitude even though I was fairly sure it was a bad thing.

"Can I ask you a serious question?" He asked me.

I gripped his shirt in my fist and nodded. The prospect of serious questions made me nervous.

"Do you at least feel a little safe with me? Even if you're a little scared, are you at least just a little at ease around me?" He asked.

I thought about it and then I nodded. I felt more than a little at ease around him. I had the tendency to trust way too easily, but he was proving to be worthy of my trust.

"That's good. I promise you I will do everything I can to keep you completely safe and secure." He said to me.

I nodded and snuggled into his warm shirt.

"Ready to have some fun, little Kiwi?" He asked me.

I looked up in alarm. When people offered me fun, it was a bad thing.

"Ok, ok. Backtrack. I didn't mean whatever you're thinking. I'm so sorry. I meant actual fun. Like let's play in the water." He said and I relaxed. He set me down and he helped me get the t-shirt off. He led me over to the water and we both dipped our feet in.

I was feeling very sad because my body was on display and everyone could see I was a bad girl. I just wanted to be a good girl, and I wanted to be beautiful, but being beautiful wasn't really an option for me.