Inaya's POV

I begin to roam the house, not on purpose, but because I literally cannot find my way back to my room.

Each door or each pathway leads to somewhere else, my already exhausted mind cannot comprehend what's where.

At times, I couldn't tell if I had already passed through this hall or if it's new.

I haven't had breakfast, my stomach is grumbling and I'm feeling extremely lightheaded from hunger and dehydration. In fact, I don't think I had anything to eat or drink in over 24 hours.

"Ya Allah, please, please help me." My head begins spinning and my vision blurs.

"Woah there, Princess!" Nick's voice slightly brings back some conscious. "You don't look so good."

My words don't come out, it feels like as if I'm slowly becoming paralyzed. Fainting is not fun.

Nick quickly grabs me, putting my hand over his shoulders and walks me over to the nearby chair.

"Water." I manage to whisper.

"Yes, of course!" He fills up a glass and gives it over to me.

As the ice cold water runs down my throat, it feels like someone breathed new life into me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." I apologize.

"Not a problem! When was the last time you ate or drank something?" He asks.

"Maybe... a day ago?" I answer, honestly.

"Are you kidding me? My brother didn't send anything to your room? Angela?" He furrows his brows together.

I tell him Angela sent me downstairs but Dominic told me to go back to the room.

"Dom can be such an asshole all the time. This is no way to treat a princess. Give me five minutes, I'll have something for you to eat." He slides an apple across the counter. "Eat this in the meanwhile!"

"I can't thank you enough, Nick." I smile at him.

My heart feels this warmth from the way Nick is caring for me, knowing it'll upset his brother. And also, the fact that he's only met me yesterday, yet genuinely being so kind to me.

Not in a million years would I expect someone like him to come from a violent background.

Maybe he's not involved in the... business.

Nick doesn't disappoint as he somehow whips up an omelette with a side of salad and a glass of juice within 5 to 10 minutes.

"This is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much. I really can't thank you enough. How can I ever repay you?" I smile.

"Will you agree to anything?" He smirks.

"Yes, as long as it doesn't involve a gun." I giggle.

"Far from using a gun, Princess. I would never make you do such a thing." He smiles, making my heart flutter. "Will you go on a date with me?"

I abruptly stop smiling.

"Okay, we won't call it a date, then. Will you spend a day with me? We'll do fun things! For example, watch a movie, go out to eat, go to a autumn carnival, the possibilities are endless." He tries convincing me.

"I don't know, Nick..." This would not settle well with Dominic, I think to myself.

"I promise you, no guns involved." He says.

"I..."

"Please." He gives me these puppy eyes that make my heart melt instantly.

"I'll go." I agree.

"Really?" He grins.

"Really. Only if it's to just hang out." I say, knowing full well he'll consider it a date.

But in the last 24 hours, he's been a major help, I do owe him this much.

Maybe he doesn't have many friends his age that he can hang out with and needs some company.

"Great! Next week, I'll come pick you up and don't worry about dressing up! Casual is fine with me!" He grins like a boy. "I'm glad I ran into you like this or else you would've never said yes." He winks.

I turn my head to the side to avert my gaze, but the sudden rosiness of my cheeks gave it away that his comments are making me shy like a schoolgirl.

• • •

It's been about three days since Nick's asked me to hang out with him and I've been restless because it feels like I haven't seen the outdoors in years.

I've finally figured out how to get from my room to the kitchen and back.

I've also figured out that Dominic's room is nowhere near mine and he's not home for most of the day.

And when he does come home, he retreats to his chambers with a women or two (or three).

Once I mastered his schedule, I sneak away to the kitchen to feed myself and retreat back to my room.

Dominic still hasn't said what he'll do with me so maybe he just forgot. I wouldn't mind if I'm forgotten, in fact, I'd be over the moon.

There's something about tonight that just isn't sitting right with me though. I'm sitting at the counter in the kitchen, eating an orange but the food isn't sitting right.

It's about 10 PM, Dominic doesn't come home until after midnight.

It's been like this everyday. That's his schedule and it never changes.

I have nothing to worry about.

I clean up and head to my room to read my prayers and unwind for the night.

Just as I slip into the comfort of my blanket, I hear erratic noises coming from downstairs.

It's none of my business. It's none of my business. It's none of my business.

There's muffled cussing but not angry ones... it's the ones that come out when you're in extreme pain.

"What if Dominic's hurt..." I shake my head. "He can't be... right?"

My inner voice is pestering me to go downstairs just to check if everything's okay but I'm scared.

"Fine!" I lose the battle with my conscious. I couldn't sit still without checking.

I quickly walk downstairs, and follow the sounds of Dominic's pained moans.

I finally find myself in a very large living room, with Dominic sprawled on one of the couches, crouched into fetal position.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" I ask as I walk closer.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice is weak, yet has the bite.

My heart drops when I get close enough to see him. "You're not okay. You're bleeding from... everywhere. Should I call the doctor? Is there someone else I can call? Do you—"

He grabs my wrist, only to not be able to keep his grip on long enough. "Shut up."

"First aid kit. You at least have a first aid kit." I panic.

"I said shut the fuck up!" He yells with his strained voice again.

I cover the wound on his arm, which is gushing out blood. "No! You're bleeding out! Are you crazy?! At this rate, you'll bleed to death!"

He just stares at me at first. Not having any energy to fight back, he says, "Upstairs. Master bedroom room."

"I don't know where that is. Can you give me directions?" I ask.

He doesn't have the energy to answer.

"Dominic, can you please do that for me? Please." I know it'll be tough but I don't know where his room is!

I put his arm around my shoulder as he tries to get on his feet.

I just pray he'll be able to carry most of his weight until we reach his room.

Why doesn't he keep a first aid kit everywhere in his house, knowing he'll end up in these situations all the time?

His rooms turns out to be on the opposite end of the one given to me, I've guessed before. Completely on the other side of the house. This relieves me a little, having him too close every night would only bring me more problems.

Once I enter his room, I'm taken back at the size of it. It's as big as my uncle whole house, I swear, maybe even bigger. I almost stumble back from how shocked I was! The room is absolutely gorgeous, I would never leave, if I were him.

We finally reach the couch in the room.

"Give me a second." I lay my cardigan on it to help it not to stain. I shouldn't have been thinking about staining the couch at that time but I couldn't help it. It looked expensive.

"Hey, hey, Dominic... look at me..." I fall out softly to him, trying to keep him conscious. "Where's the kit?"

He points at the drawers beside the bed.

This is gonna be a long night.

- - -

A/N: I'm in dire need of money. Where my sugar daddy at 😤😂😭

On a more serious note, jeez, I wish I was wealthy so my parents could retire and I could stop working & only focus on school. Life's getting more and more expensive. 😞

Next Update: Friday, September 27th, 2019