Going Home

"N-no," I stammered. I wasn't shivering because I was cold.

He pulled me out and dried me off, then helped me into a new pair of yoga pants and a tank top. He carried me to the living room where half a dozen faces eyed me curiously. They all heard my punishment, obviously. There was another football game on the TV. So glad I brought that home. Rally eased me into Grams chair and I winced and immediately rolled to my side. He fitted my air cast back onto me as I gritted my teeth. He brought me a plate with an omelet on it, smiling at me. "Luis is a great cook, try it. I will be right back." I held the plate but couldn't eat, I hurt and my heart hurt. He brought me two pills and a bottle of water. "Take them both and eat. Not a request Princess."

I took the pills, then tried to eat. It was good, but I had no appetite. I was miserable and my body hurt so badly. Rally fixed himself a plate, then stood and watched me as he leaned against the end of the wall. As soon as the plate started slipping from my hands, he was there, taking it. He carried me to my bed and tucked me in, then kissed my forehead and whispered, "Sleep Princess. You'll feel better when you wake."

I slept. My dreams were dark memories, murky and hazy. I dreamed of Rally and his clan. Who were they? I dreamed of the basement.

I woke in the night, aching, hungry and full to bursting with the need to pee. I sat up and cringed, then cried out when my foot hit the floor.

"Easy Princess, I'm right here. What's wrong? Let me get the light." The light came on and Rally looked me over. "Forget your foot was broke? Come here babe, I got you."

He pulled me across the bed and carried me to the bathroom. "This is what you want, right? You got it from here?"

"Yes," I whispered hoarsely. "Can I have a bottle of water please?"

"Sure babe, take care of what you need, I'll be right back."

He left and I quickly used the restroom and washed my hands. I hopped to the door. "Is there a banana or something in there?"

"Yeah Princess, hold on. I am making you a sandwich. You get peanut butter and banana."

"I like those," I answered, wondering if I could hop to the chair. I tried and made it to the living room before he appeared from the kitchen.

"Don't hurt yourself, hold on." He set the plate down and picked me up again. I was getting tired of being carried around, but I did not complain as he set me down and put the plate in my lap before opening the water for me.

"Thank you Rally," I said staring down at my sandwich. I sat and ate in the dark while Rally hovered close. "What time is it?"

"O' dark thirty. Who the fuck knows? I didn't look. You done? Feel like you could sleep more or no? Need another pill?"

"I think I can sleep. My head hurts and my body aches. Would... it bother you to hold me a while?"

"Not at all Princess. I will get you half a pill, just for the pain. Here you go, drink your water. There you go baby, come on." He carried me back to bed and held me, curling around me to spoon me when I turned on my side. I pushed away all of the thoughts about how much he'd hurt me, how much I wanted to get away and just let myself feel how wonderful and warm his arms felt. Despite everything, he felt safe. His arms felt safe. Part of me knew that he would protect me and keep me safe, so long as I did not push him over the edge. Even then he didn't see it as anything but putting me back in line. Something that had to be done. Was I making excuses for him? Maybe, but I didn't really care. His arms felt good. He felt good. When I fell asleep, my dreams were normal.

When I woke, it was daylight and I was alone. The door was shut and it was quiet. Were they gone? Was Rally gone? I held my breath as I went to the door to listen. I heard nothing. I grabbed clothes so that if he was out there, it would look like I was going to take a shower. I was hobbling, but able to move fairly quickly and I slipped out silently. I peeked around the doorway to the living room, then gaped. Everything was changed. Everything. There was a large sectional that divided the long room and another couch across from it that was smaller. The TV on the 4th wall. The sectional ended at the end of the wall from the kitchen, creating a whole nother space. That space held my desk, my bookcases and equipment. There was a huge dining table in the dining room and part of me remembered ordering it. There was a coffee table as well and gaming systems set up on the entertainment center.

Rally was sitting on the stool at the island, a laptop open in front of him. It wasn't mine, it must have been his own. He had his head cocked at me, eyeing the clothes in my hand.

"Feeling better Princess?"

"I'm sore and my ankle hurts, but I feel better, thank you. Where did all this stuff come from?"

"You ordered it the other night."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days?"

"I ordered game systems?"

"No, the boys got those. You ordered quite a bit though, as we discovered. It had to be a pretty penny. We left a few things in the boxes, in case you wanted to return them. I don't know what your financial situation is, but you were pretty out of it when you ordered. I should have paid closer attention."

"It's fine. Unless I got a yacht. I'm going to take a shower."

"Alright Princess," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

I paused, looking at him. He was waiting and I knew he was. "Will you join me, Rally?" I asked, blushing.

He smirked and stood, closing his laptop. He crossed the living room giving me his heated, sexy look. He bent to kiss me and put his arms around me to lift me slightly off the floor. He kissed me as he carried me all the way to the bathroom. He flipped the water on and pulled my clothes off quickly before pulling his own off, then lifted me again and drove me into the shower wall, closing the door with his foot. He held me there, pinned high enough to kiss him without having to bend until the water got hot. Finally, he let me down and turned me. We both showered quickly and he carried me to the bedroom again before he let me dry off. He tossed me on the bed and I giggled as I bounced. He followed, bearing me to the bed to kiss me again, sliding his fingers down between my legs.

"Oh fuck baby, I love how fucking wet you get for me. Tell me what you want Princess."

"I want you to fuck me," I whispered, not caring how embarrasing that sounded.

"Again," he grinned.

"Fuck me Rally." He laughed, a throaty chuckle as his eyes danced with promises. He caught my knee and pulled it high to his waist as he reached down to guide his hard cock to my wet and waiting cunt. He slid it up and down, getting it wet and toying with me. "Please," I whispered. "Fuck me!"

He pushed in, excruciatingly slow and I could feel each bearing as my skin slipped over it. He went as deep as he could, pressing against my wall, then slowly pulled back out, watching my face as he did. He did it several slow times, watching the pleasure wash over my features, then he started to move faster. "Oooh!" I cried in shock. Pleasure vibrated through me with each thrust. He was smirking as he watched my face go slack with need and pleasure. It climbed rapidly, sending me soaring as I screamed his name and begged him not to stop.

When I came, it surprised both of us as my walls clamped down on his cock with the first wave. My limbs locked up and I could hear my own keening wail of pleasure as he roared and his hand tightened painfully on my thigh. I felt him coming inside me, throbbing as I was squeezing, shooting hot cum deep inside of me. Wave after wave cascaded over both of us until we both collapsed into each others arms.

"Fucking hell Princess. Warn me next time. Fuck. That was fucking perfect baby." He chuckled. "And now we both need another shower."

"Mm. Five minutes. I need to relearn how to breathe. And move," I panted, still blissed out.

He rolled slightly and pulled me into his arms. I lay thinking that making him complacent was going to be more enjoyable than I had imagined. I also knew I wasn't fooling myself. I was no longer sure I wanted to go anywhere. I kissed his shoulder and snuggled closer and he stroked my arm.

When we got back in the shower, I took time to enjoy the hot water and enjoy the feel of his hands wandering over me. If I was going to pull this off, I wouldn't be able to fake my feelings, so I could let my body react to him. That is what I told myself, but even I knew I wasn't that good of an actress. I wanted his hands on me... his mouth.

When I was finally dressed and he took me out to the living room again, there were two men sitting on the couches, playing video games. I had seen them both the first day, but I had not met them.

"Jinx, Reaper, this is Princess."

"Teague," I said quickly, scowling at Rally as he sat down with me in his lap.

"Princess, this is Jinx and Reaper. They both work nights at the factory. This is like their evening."

"Hi," I offered looking at them. "Which one is which?" I asked Rally quietly as the two men ignored me and stared at the TV and their game.

"Shaved head with the spider ink is Reaper. Jinx is the hairlip."

"Fuck you Rally," Jinx said without turning.

Rally laughed. "I will introduce you to everyone over the next few days. Everyone works different shifts so we are never all here at the same time. You hungry Princess?"

"Please Rally? My name is Teague?"

"I know your name Princess. No one here goes by their real name. No one. You included. Will that be an issue for you?"

"No," I said quickly. "Just wish you had picked something less derisive."

"It suits you. You hungry or not? Luis is at work so you get a bowl of cereal or a pop tart."

"Are there any apples left?"

"You do like your fruit, don't you? Anything to drink?"

"Coffee? Please."

"Sure baby, hang tight."

Rally left and Reaper sneered over his shoulder at me. "What happened to your foot, Princess?" he asked nastily.

"Broke my ankle, high heels and I don't mix well."

He eyed my foot again, then the rest of me. "Nice tits," he said, then turned back to his game as if I no longer existed. Jinx turned though, after he'd said it and eyed my chest. He gave me a learing smirk before turning back around.

The doorbell rang and I jerked. "Got it!" Rally called. I heard the door open and lowered voices. A moment later, Rally brought in several boxes, giving me a flat look. "How much shit did you order, Princess?" he asked as he set them in front of me.

I shrugged. "I don't remember. I sort of remember the table, but nothing else." I opened the top box and it was full of books that I'd had reserved for their release dates. The second box held more books, all new releases, most I don't remember ever looking at. The third had an almost industrial sized deep fat fryer. I stared at it with a scowl. "I am fairly certain I did not order this. I don't really eat fried food."

Rally came back in with an apple and my coffee, looking it over. "More fucking books Princess? That makes about six boxes that big. You don't have any more shelf space, we've been putting them in the hall closet. Nice Fryer, Luis will love that. He liked the other kitchen stuff you got too, especially that special blender. You got a lot of fancy kitchen shit, even Luis didn't know what all of it was for until he looked it up."

"Why would I get all of this?"

"Baby you were high as fuck. You asked Luis what else he needed for the kitchen, he named off a couple things. Looks like you went click happy. He asked for a colander, something called a compost bin to use with the garden in the summer and a pepper grinder. You got all that and so much more. He liked the griddle and the convection oven. Says he can bake us anything we want. He is already making grocery lists. Princess, maybe I should show you around... You know you set up that extra room as the girls room, right? Only Ginger and Tempest are staying in there, Mika sleeps next to Deuces for now and Wraith is bonded to Bayle. You got them beds, bedding. You even got bunk beds for the sunroom so the day sleepers could sleep in the basement in the day in peace. No one understood where it was all coming from. Apparently you were in the family spirit that night. And in case you think about getting more, you already got entirely too many bath towels. Some of the shit you got is just useless stupid. We left the cappuccino machine boxed, along with the cameras, video camera and tripod, the four laptops, two printers, one for pictures... babe. Seriously. If I had known what you were doing, I would have taken that damn thing from you before you passed out on it."

"Umm, yeah. I think all those things can go back," I answered, embarrassed. "The boxed things I mean. The rest can stay. I'm glad the girls have some privacy. And the daysleepers can sleep. Umm. Would you mind handing me my laptop so I can look?"

He laughed and handed me the laptop. I was a little afraid to even look. I opened the site and looked at everything. Yikes. "Umm. I ordered new appliances, they will be here and installed on Thursday. What is today?"

"Wednesday," he answered, laughing. "Luis will be happy about that too. He complained that old oven cooked unevenly and the stove only has two working burners."

"A few things are still out for delivery. Curtains, rugs, wall art. I guess I was feeling like the place needed a facelift. Well, it could be worse, I guess. I mean, I did intend to update the kitchen anyway, so that is no big deal. None of it is as bad as I feared. It's fine, but yeah, all that useless and redundant stuff can go back."

"I'll buy one of those laptops from you," Reaper said without turning around. "How much were they?"

"Me too," Jinx said. "Fuck you Reap! Stop popping up the fucking turret!"

"Deal with it bitch."

I shrugged at Rally. "I guess hold those and see if anyone else wants to get them. If they do, use it for groceries."

"I will handle groceries," Rally said mildly, but I could see the look in his eye. There would be no argument on that point.

"Ok. There is a second stub downstairs. I got a new washer and dryer, the two in there could be moved downstairs now that there is water and electricity."

He shrugged, looking down at me, his eyes calculating. "Princess, maybe you should ease off a bit. Part of our way is to live more off grid. You are turning this place into a luxury resort."

"I thought it was my house, I could make it as comfortable as I wanted, but if that's what you want. Tell me where the line is. Is the TV too much? I have to have internet to work. I don't know your ways, you haven't really explained it."

"No," he said, dropping into the couch next to me. "Reap, Jinx." That was all, just their names, but they both got up and left, turning the TV off. He stared at me, looking me over. Then cocked his head as if debating on what to say to me. A full five minutes passed and I jerked again when the front door opened.

"RalLEE!"

"Right here Gene," Rally answered, still staring at me.

"Hey man. So this is the girl. The Princess. I'm Gene."

I turned and looked at the boy and blinked. I had never seen a true albino, not in person, but I knew he was. He was wearing wraparound sunglasses like he was blind and he was even more pale than I was. Chalk white with long white hair. The black tattoos jumped out vividly on his skin. It was a very striking effect.

"Nice to meet you Gene," I offered, trying not to stare like an idiot.

"Hey Rally, we need words my brother."

"What's on your mind Gene?" Rally asked as Gene sat on the coffee table, leaning in close.

"Mika is stirring some serious shit about your new claim. Saying you are going soft, coddling her, treating her like a real princess. She is talking shit about her too, saying she isn't one of us and never will be. She's also saying your girl is going to get us all done in. Talking to cops, slipping out notes, bringing attention to us. She is spewing a lot of vitriol, she really hates this chick. She is saying you are too weak to lead now. Trying to talk Deuces into stepping in since you aren't leading us anymore, you are always with her. She says you don't even come downstairs anymore, you live up here with her like a prince. I know it's bullshit, every man goes AWOL when he claims a new woman, at least for a few days. It's like a fucking honeymoon. She also says the girl is off her nut. Like certifiable."

"Thank you, Gene. I will take Mika in hand. I appreciate you letting me know, though Torque and Tiger already told me. I am waiting for my moment. Is Deuces biting?"

"He tells her to shut her mouth when she brings him into it, but he lets her talk shit."

"Thanks. Go get some sleep. Hey, Princess ordered an extra laptop, did you need one?"

"Nah man, Those screens hurt my eyes. Ginger is saving for one though. Luis was talking about getting one too. Maybe one of them. Later man. Your girl has some nice tits."

Rally laughed as Gene left and I blushed, crossing my arms. "Can I wear something over this tank top, please?"

"You look good Princess. Take a compliment. Sit back babe, we need to talk. I need you to tell me what has you all fucked up. I know something happened, I know he's dead, but I need to know what triggers you."

I stared at him, swallowing hard. "He... did things to me. Here. Downstairs. It just... sometimes... seems to overlap. I don't know..."

"Easy Princess, settle down. I'm right here and there is no judgement. I need to know, I can't help if I don't know."

"He hurt me. A lot. He made me... do things. Please. Don't make me talk about this Rally? Please?"

"I know it's hard baby, but I need to know. He raped you?"

"Yes."

"Molested you?"

"Yes."

"Hit you?"

"Yes."

"He rape your ass?"

"Not with his... penis. With... things."

"He make you use your mouth on him?"

"Yes."

"He cut you? Burn you? Break bones?"

"Broke several bones. Not the other two."

"And your dad didn't ask any fucking questions?"

"He worked two jobs. My basketball coach asked about my broken ribs."

"He do anything about it?"

"He... checked my ribs and groped me and jacked off while fondling my breasts."

"Holy fuck babe. A little surprised you came back here."

"I thought I had moved on. Therapy. I loved my Gram, not everything here was awful, just him. I thought I could just locked the downstairs and never have to see it."

"But you came down anyway. Why?"

"The front door was open, I was checking the whole house."

He sat and stared at me for a long time, just looking over my face, his eyes full of concern. "Ok Princess. A little about the clans. We reject grid life. Yeah, we work, we make money, but we don't pay into the system that is designed to keep us in a perpetual state of paying out more than we make. We reject the american dream of everyone having their own house. We stay together, work as a unit. We are mostly rejects, people cast out by society and not accepted. So we don't accept society. We survive off the land, mostly, at least that's the theory. Solar power, gathered water, wood heat. No rent, no mortgage. Not when so many places sit empty. There are several clans like ours, we sort of stay in a circuit. Trade off members when disputes arise. We all stay midwest. We keep locations close, on standby, ready to move out on a minutes notice. As a rule, we don't accumulate things, just our clothes, burner phones, no contracts. We all own our own motorcycles. Once you sign yourself over to clan life, the rules are strict. If you fuck up, you have to pay to get back in."

"How much?"

"Not in money Princess. We live for experiences, camaraderie, joy."

"But if you are in a situation like this one, where you are in a place that already has power, it's fine to use it?"