Emily's POV

I've been sitting here watching Alison sleep for the past twenty minutes, trying to figure out what to say to her when she wakes up. So far, I've come up with nothing. I don't know what to say to her if she tries to go back to that hell hole. I don't know what to say if she asks me why I want her to stay with me.

I just don't want to scare her away. And I know I will if I tell her the real reason why she is here. I can't risk that. I can't lose her when she's not even mine to lose.

Alison's eyes slightly flutter before they slowly open. Her blue eyes look around the big room with a confused expression. Whenever they land on me, she looks down at her body to see the grey long t-shirt I had given her to wear last night.

"Where are my clothes?" She asks, her voice raspy but cute.

"I had Hanna wash them for you." I answer, vaguely. She nods her head.

"Did you take my clothes off?" She quirks her eyebrows up, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Not necessarily. I had Hanna take them off of you and put that shirt on you. Don't worry, she's straight." I laugh lightly, trying to lighten the mood. The last thing I want her to think is that she's not safe here.

"Why didn't you?"

I definitely didn't expect her to ask me that.

"I had business to attend to." I lie. I can't exactly tell her that I would have lost control and fucked her then and there.

"Oh, okay." She looks down at her hands, silence filling the room. "Did you sleep next to me?"

"No, I didn't." I answer with honesty.

"Where did you sleep?"

"I didn't." I stand up from the chair while looking at the time. "Are you hungry?" She nods her head yes. "Get dressed and then meet me downstairs for breakfast." I walk out of the room before she could argue with me.

"So, how did she react?" Hanna asks, finishing up the pancakes.

"Fairly well. She doesn't seem to be bothered being here."

Hanna smiles at this. "Do you think she has the potential to be your sub?"

Before I can answer her, Alison enters the kitchen, wearing her clothes that Hanna washed last night.

"I hope you like pancakes and eggs." Hanna politely says with a smile. Alison nods her head.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." She gives me a knowing look before disappearing to go clean for the day.

"You have a nice home." Alison states, looking around the kitchen. She looks so innocent right now.

"Thank you."

"Are you like a millionaire or something." She jokes.

"Something like that." I pull out the chair and gestured for her to sit down so we can eat. She gladly sits down and stares down at the food in front of her, hungrily. She is a little on the thin side. I wonder what went on in her home. But that's for another time.

"Thank you. I appreciate this." She looks away the moment her eyes meet mine. For someone as gorgeous as her, I can't see why she is the shy type.

"You are welcomed to stay here as long as you like." The words come out of my mouth before I can try to stop them. She immediately shakes her head, making my heart frown.

"I don't want to be a bother."

"You could never be a bother, Alison. I promise you that." She gives me a small smile.

"I wouldn't mind staying a few nights. Just to get away from my house."

"Of course."

If only she knew she will be staying longer than just a few days.

**

"This is the guest bedroom." I have been showing Alison around the house since she is going to be here. "You will be sleeping in here until you decide to leave." She nods her head at this as her eyes curiously look around the rather large room.

"Thank you for letting me stay. I really needed to get away from there." Her eyes go from curious to sorrow in an instant. Here is the perfect opportunity to ask her about it.

"Where is there, exactly?" Her eyes look into mine before looking down at the ground.

"My dad's house." Her voice is barely above a whisper. I can tell she is ashamed.

At least he wasn't her boyfriend.

"That was your dad?" I need to know for sure. She nods her head, finally looking up at me. "Why is he so angry?" And I crossed a line. Alison looks around before speaking.

"Can I shower?" Her voice cracks but never once does her eyes water.

"Absolutely. It's down the hall to your left." I remind her. She nods her head before heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"You know I can cook, right?" Alison asks with a smile on her face as I toss the salad around in the bowl. "We don't have to eat salad for dinner."

"Salad is good for you." I tell her without thinking. "That's what we are having." The moment the demanding words slip out of my mouth, I regret it. I stop what I'm doing and look at Alison who is already looking down at her hands, upset. "I'm sorry. I can be demanding sometimes."

"It's okay." Her voice is small so I know it's not.

I walk over to the table and sit down in front of her before grabbing her hand because I know she won't look up at me, otherwise. Just like I thought, her eyes shoot up to meet mine.

"It's not okay. If I say something that hurts you, I want to know. I take stuff like this very seriously." She nods her head. "Alison."

"I understand."

"Good."

"Why do you take it seriously?" Her eyes are full of curiosity as I stare into them.

"I don't like hurting people."

Unless they disobey me.

She nods her head and looks down at her hands again. The room is filled with silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why does your dad treat you the way he treats you?" I ask gently. This time she doesn't seem to mind me bringing him up.

"I guess I'm not good enough in his eyes." She shrugs her shoulders. "He's probably right."

"He isn't right, Alison. The way he treats you isn't right. And you are more than enough. You just have to let the right person in to show you that you are everything." My eyes never leave her as I say this. Alison's eyes drift down to my lips for a few seconds before she clears her throat.

"I'm sure he got hit by a bus." She jokes but I don't laugh. The fact that she said he, bothers me.

What if she is as straight as a ruler? Am I wasting my time on her?