(Trigger Warning:

Third Person Point Of View

"What's all that study material for, anyway?" Nate questioned, busying away typing on his laptop. It had been five hours and the two had mostly sat in comfortable silence, the library now empty.

"My introduction to animal behavior test," Aurora exhaled with exhaustion, her bleary eyes unfocused from sleepiness. She rubbed at her eyes.

"Don't rub your eyes, they'll hurt. And if it's just an intro class, why are you so worked up about it? You'll probably be fine," He soothingly assured, eyes glued to his computer.

Aurora softly giggled at his command and dropped her hands from her eyes. She stifled a yawn covered by her small hand.

"My professor said I needed a tutor. It freaked me out, I've never needed a tutor. You probably don't understand because your'e super smart, Mr. 3.7 GPA," She poked. "You seem to have a million assignments and aren't even stressed," She noted at all his paper work around him. "But I just want to make sure I do well."

"I can't let myself get stressed. If I let myself think 'oh wow, this is all super stressful', I'd fall into that pit and not be able to crawl out. I just gotta block it out."

"Hmm..." Aurora absentmindedly hummed, flipping a page of her textbook.

"So, I never really got to ask, but where were you on ThanksGiving? It seemed like Beck wanted to know."

Aurora couldn't help the pink coating on her cheeks when Beck's name left Nate's lips. It was weird to hear him say it and she couldn't help but be reminded of her little school crush.

"I saw my foster sister, Dacie. She actually got adopted, and her family's really nice. Do..do you have any siblings?" Aurora hesitantly asked. She was curious and trying to make conversation but also worried about potentially making him upset.

Nate's fingers immediately paused at his laptop and the silence that filled instead of the keyboard clicking made Aurora tense. It confirmed she shouldn't have asked. She felt so stupid, she probably made him really upset. She noticed the opalescent light of his caramel eyes dim to a duller shade of brown, the crease of his forehead showing distress. Why would she trigger him like that? He was in the mafia, he probably had no family. Or if he did, he'd lost them years ago through joining the mafia.

"I did," He melancholically confirmed after a long and tense hanging of silence. He swiped his knuckle under his nose and rolled his shoulders. Softly did his eyes peer up to meet Aurora's. "I had an older brother, eight years older than me. His name was Jake."

"Nate...I'm really sorry,"-

"It's okay," He quickly assured Aurora as her deep empathetic senses were coming through. He didn't need the pity, it had been four years.

Aurora remembered seeing a new Jake tattoo on Arlan's left shoulder blade many times in the past few weeks, and suddenly wondered if there was a correlation. When Nate noticed Aurora looking slightly confused, trying to piece something together, he spoke further.

"You've probably heard about him from Arlan."

"I haven't," She replied quietly and honestly. "But I saw, on his shoulder, he has a new tattoo that said Jake." Aurora felt disgusted, not even wanting to think of Arlan or his tattoos. She suddenly became aware of the Dove necklace adorning her neck, and tried to ignore it.

Nate nodded at the demure girl.

"He was very close with my brother, and honestly only keeps me around for a reminder of him, I'm sure of it.

Jake had been in Obsidian Wrath for six years before Arlan and I. I was just a kid, I was six, I had no idea about crime or violence or anything besides from the comic books I read. He ended up forcing me into it with him when I was six. I resented him for it, I still do, but in my heart, I know he was a good brother. A good person. My parents weren't around, and he had to find a way to support us, keep us safe, otherwise we'd be on the streets. In my kind of neighborhood, that's what it was. You either become a criminal, or die by one.

That's how Jake found Arlan, on the streets. He was eight years old running in the streets away from his abusive father. Jake and I watched from his car, we usually sat in his car as he looked for people to recruit. He told me in an urgent voice, 'someone's in trouble, I'm gonna go help. stay here, stay here, I'm gonna go help him'. you hear me, Nate? Stay here, don't move, I'm locking the doors, don't move.' I was six, I was scared, I was confused. And with that, my brother thrust open his drivers seat door and ran out for Arlan.

I remember twisting around and palming at the window trying to see what was happening in the pitch black dark. I heard so much screaming, I prayed everyone would be okay. I was so scared, six years old in the dark, in the car alone, my brother telling me he's gonna take us somewhere. And then Jake rushed Arlan to the car, and slammed the doors shut and Arlan was whimpering and panting and breathless and confused but above all, relieved. I think his father had a weapon on him. Jake had saved him, and when Arlan and I were just kids, he brought us into the mafia with him.

He drove us in the dark, he gave us both comic books but we were both too shaken up to read them. And then into the mafia we went, as just children.

Jake was very much a protective figure of Arlan, above all the other men in the mafia. He had a brotherly bond to him like he did with me. He coddled Arlan when he had nightmares, he taught him to ride a bike and use weapons. Arlan was sensitive and only showed it around Jake, and Jake comforted him. We were in the mafia with Jake for twelve years.

When Jake was twenty eight and Arlan was twenty, our headquarters got attacked by another mafia. They stole from us-money, weapons, files. And they fired at us," Nate gulped, his face stoic. He was silent for a few moments. "Things happen, that's life," He curtly concluded, not delving into the pain of saying his brother died.

"Nate, I'm so sorry," Aurora felt her heart clench. She couldn't even imagine such unbearable pain. "I-I shouldn't have asked,"-

"It's okay, Aurora, really," Nate insisted. "But after that, my dynamic with Arlan changed. Jake had promised Arlan that if anything happened to Jake, Arlan would become the boss. So he did. Arlan and I went to becoming friends, to me being his right hand man, to him slowly becoming more bitter and abusive and degrading me to his dog. He only keeps me around for the sake of Jake's memory, I'm sure of it."

"That's terrible."

"To say the least," Nate frowned, brows knitting together. "I'm not mad at you for asking, so don't beat yourself up," Nate gently assured at her distressed face. "Please, I promise."

"Okay," Aurora said softly, nodding.

The two resumed to their study session, intently reading along the notes for their upcoming exams. Aurora managed to memorize every kingdom, phylum, and class of most animals that would be on her exam. She even highlighted them by different colored neon highlighters to help her differentiate. Her work ethic and dedication made her proud of herself and feel exhausted but accomplished.

"He's here," Nate announced in a forlorn tone, the text alert from his iPhone signaling Arlan was here to pick her up.

Aurora's cerulean eyes pealed up from her textbook, visibly upset, a pout tugging her lips downward and dread pooled in her stomach as she'd have to go back to her abuser.

"Already?" She mumbled, disheartened.

Nate exhaled a grudging sigh as he got his belongings together.

"That motel is sounding real nice right now..." She murmured.

"It's a little late for that, Aurora," Nate pointed out gently. "We were meant to go there before he got here, not while he's here. We could get caught." He slung his backpack to his shoulder. "You know that, smart girl."

"I know," Aurora agreed quietly, not lifting herself from the table.

She blankly stared at the crimson carpeting of the library floor. A bitterness clawed at her heart knowing how much Arlan mistreated Nate. She had first thought Nate to be a cruel man, but now fully and completely understood that Arlan had twisted him to be so and it wasn't who Nate was at heart. Nate was an innocent child at the wrong place with the wrong people, he was an avid, hard working student involved with his academia; He deserved a better life with better circumstances.

Arlan was the most merciless man she had ever known. Though learning of the profound impact of Jake's death on him helped piece together for Aurora how Arlan became the way he is, it didn't excuse his ways. She still despised, loathed, and among all, feared him; It was a core startling fear. He had no guilt, no limit to his abuse. Her eyes softly peered to Nate as he stood with his backpack and gave her a pointed look.

She reluctantly stood up and began packing her books and study material into her mint backpack. Nate came forward and gripped her small shoulder which made his eyes meet his startled ones.

"Please, for your sake, don't give him a hard time. He let you stay late and that's big for him. You're going to want to be grateful. Not because the cruel bastard deserves it, but because I don't want to see you get hurt again," Nate forewarned empathetically in a hushed tone.

Aurora felt chill-inducing, icy shivers parade over her arms remembering Arlan's insufferable physical abuse. She had teary eyes throughout the day when sitting down from his belt and did not want to make that worse. A relaxing, warm bath with Elise would probably alleviate some physical and mental stress. She hoped she could see the kind maid when they got to the estate.

Aurora nodded a small nod at Nate in agreement and the two made their way out of the library. The outdoor campus was dimly lit with the white, glowing bulbs of streetlights, one of them flickering slightly. The bite of late November air was unforgiving to the skin as Aurora's teeth chattered. Though, they were already chattering when they were leaving the library, from anxiety. She wished that Nate could just drive her home, but Arlan was already here, and Nate had advised Aurora not to give Arlan trouble.

Nate waved off a goodbye to Aurora as he headed for his car and meanwhile she couldn't bring herself to wave goodbye back, her sympathetic nervous system kicking in. Tears pricked her eyes and she whimpered seeing Arlan's black Lamborghini parked, and she wasn't even with him inside yet. But the dread of seeing him was all-consuming. She hated him. He was a monster. And on top of that, he was unpredictable, which shot fear to her core. He could hurt her the moment she entered his car, or he could be kind. It was a toss up. Her feet softly padding against the pavement of the sidewalk echoed in the silence of the night as she shivered. She approached his enormous car, smelling its familiar nicotine smell and already feeling so small.

Gripping the car door, she opened her passenger side as an inexorable anxiety filled her, clambering into her seat and shutting the door. In the dark, silver wisps of cigarette smoke clouded the drivers seat and she was relieved to not see Arlan's face. After Aurora clicked her seatbelt on, she gripped her backpack on her lap for some sense of comfort. Confusion settled in when the car did not move forward, her eyes softly peering to Arlan. Neither spoke and it made an eery, uneasy feeling settle into her. Usually, they drove away the moment she got into his car.

"Do you take me for a fool, Dove?" His voice cross-examined calmly, imposingly dark and full, startling her senses. She gulped as she now knew a storm was brewing, her fears affirming what she had dreaded, tears poking her eyes.

"What?" She inquired just above a whisper, bewildered.

"Do you think your little studies are more important than me?"

Her lips parted ajar as her bottom lip trembled. So it was a trap. He let her stay late to study just so he'd have an excuse to punish her, just to provoke her, just to say she was pushing his kindness. Another thing to guilt her over. She exhaled in disbelief.

"I,"-

"DON'T FUCKING SIGH AT ME," His ring-covered hand struck across her cheek as her face flew to the left and she cried, her nervous system triggered as she struggled with shortness of breath. She didn't realize what had happened until it was over and she brought a hand to her bruised cheek in shock.

Horrified, she peered up through tear-leaking eyes, body vibrating. He hit her. He hit her face. She was in disbelief he could have the audacity. He always said she was precious to him. How could he?

His face came to light as the smoke disappeared, his disgruntled eyes a terror-stricken green as his chest heaved. He gripped at her hair and yanked her face closer to him, she gulped uncomfortably and whimpered.

"In your head, you should've had two options. Number one, decide against my kindness and come home like the sweet little girl you are and suck my dick after a long day. Number two, be a greedy little deceiving bitch and actually stay after. And you chose the latter."

"I'm sorry," She moaned in fear, her breaths skipping with sobs. "I-I had a test t-to study for,"-

"Stop your stuttering and crying unless you want to get hit again. You're avoiding me, I KNOW IT!" She whimpered and jumped at his screeching as his grip tightened on her hair, "And why, Dove?" He tilted her head to the side with her hair in his hand and met her sideways face with his eyes up to hers, "Hm? Are you into pain just as much as I love inflicting it? You defy me on purpose to get pain, horny thing. I could just save that shit for the bedroom, you know how much I love pleasing you. But instead, you defy me so I have to hurt you outside the bedroom. You take advantage of my kindness. When I said yes to letting you stay, I was hoping you'd be a good girl, grateful for my kindness, and choose to come home instead. That was the right choice."

"O-okay, I-I didn't know,"-

"That's right, you didn't know, you know nothing, because you're stupid as hell. I had a hard day, what about me, Dove? Do you think about me? All I do is think about you, care for you, dote on you, protect you. I'm obsessed with you. You don't think of my needs at all. You disgust me, I don't even want to fuck you tonight. Take a bath and then get in our bed but don't even touch me, you hear me?"

She nodded.

"A verbal response would be appreciated, Dove," He snarled.

"I hear you, I-I won't touch you," She agreed breathlessly. Which wasn't hard for her to agree on. It sickened her to even be near him. He had hit her on the face, something he'd never done before. Nate had better figure out a plan to get them out of there, and figure it out quick.

"Elise, I've tried everything," Aurora wept in the bath, her head between her knees as she sobbed and Elise gently rubbed her back. "I-I've tried defying him, I-I've tried hurting him emotionally, I've tried saying I love him, submitting to him...," Aurora gulped as she lowly said, "sleeping with him.."

Elise gasped softly and Aurora looked to her, finding the sweet maid to have sorrow all over her face.

"You two...had sex?"

"I think? I mean, I don't know that much about it, but I think it's what happened. At first, I just wanted to feel needed. But then, the more it happened, us being intimate, he was kinder. But now he's just horrible regardless."

Elise bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut, sighing deeply and shaking her head. She looked back to her friend with pity, forlorn and sadness.

"What can I do?" Aurora sobbed helplessly, looking back to her knees.

Elise gently raised the ice pack again to Aurora's yellowish purple bruise in hopes to alleviate her cheek swelling and pain. She softly caressed the crown of Aurora's hair to relax her. Even with Elise's gentle care and the soothing hot water of the bath, Aurora felt no comfort. Suddenly, Elise gasped, looking to Aurora.

"I've got it, Aurora," Elise proclaimed.

"What?" Aurora questioned, tilting her head and sniffling heavily, sad but intrigued.

"Arlan is always looking for attention. He's lacked attention since he was a child, neglected by his parents. He seeks any sort of attention, be it negative or positive. At first, he liked your positive attention. How you would laugh at his jokes and feel protected by him, watch movies with him. And even when you grew to resent him, he liked seeing you frustrated, upset, fearful. It was still a form of attention to him, he was still managing to reach you, he was still satisfied, he still felt needed. He longs to feel needed in any sense after feeling so rejected. You have to be completely neutral. You have to shut off any reaction. He will long for and crave your attention again if you withdraw it from him, and he will learn he will only receive it if he is kind."

A sort of epiphany reached Aurora as she knew Elise's words rang true.

"You really think it will work?" Aurora questioned.

"I'm certain. I once took psychology courses before I was forced into the estate to pay for my father's debt. I am aware of how people like Arlan operate."

"I'm just so exhausted, Elise," Aurora lay her head back and closed her eyes. "I have tried so many things that don't seem to work. But..you have a valid point. He is very attention seeking. I will try it. Thank you, truly."

Elise offered a warm smile.

"Between this, and school, and..." Her voice trailed off thinking of Peyton and Beck.

"What?" Elise questioned innocently, not gauging why Aurora trailed off.

Aurora's head rolled to the side of the tub as she peered at her friend.

"There is a...boy," She whispered discreetly and Elise's eyes widened and brows raised as she smiled.

"A...boy?" She repeated in an equally hushed tone.

"I met his twin sister in a class of mine, and then met him. His name is Beck. And oh, Elise, he is just so kind. I feel so comfortable around him. From his eyes, and tone, and demeanor, he is so sweet and gentle and soft, like red velvet personified. I feel so safe with him, so free, like a paper boat on a smooth lake. He is so charming, but he thinks I have a boyfriend. And lately he has been hanging with this girl...Peyton. She's so pretty, and s confident with her body, and so smart. I think she is his girlfriend, and I have been feeling so jealous, because I just wish so badly that were me. He is my first crush. Between everything going on, I just need a break. Hey," She peered to Elise. "I have an idea, to thank you for your advice. There is an event going on at my school called the Fallback. You are always stuck in this estate, you are almost twenty, you deserve to have fun. You're permitted to leave the estate when you please, yet you never do."

"Aurora...but...I won't know anyone there. I left all friends of my age behind when I left high school."

"You know Nate," Aurora pointed out.

Elise's cheeks tinted with a candy apple red.

"Nathaniel is...going?"

"Yes, you and Nate will go to the Fallback with me and my friends, I can introduce you to them. Come on, we both need it. I'd love to have you there. Say yes?"

Elise softly bit her lip.

"What will I even wear?" She questioned, looking down to her conservative, Edwardian styled maid outfit and shyly tucking a loose curl from her bun behind her ear.