One Who Understands

Her mother began to sound desperate and Grace left her room to intervene. Shirley continued as Grace walked towards the stairs. "I need it! Jerry won't do it and you're young and have so much! Why won't you share? It's the least you could do for all the years I've-"

"STOP! I'm not a fucking cow that you get to milk whenever you want. That's how you're making me feel! Have you ever considered my feelings about this? No, of course not! Buy face cream like other women do!" Grace froze when she heard Ed's words. There was a roaring in her ears as the picture suddenly became clear.

"YOU UNGRATEFUL-" Shirley screamed then stomping footsteps and the front door slammed but Grace heard none of that as she was recalling her mother rubbing the fluid into her skin. How she'd stolen some from her mother's face. How she'd tasted it. It was from Ed.

Shirley came running up the steps and shrieked when she saw Grace standing in the hall ashen faced.

"What did you do to Ed?" Grace whispered with a trembling voice.

Shirley's expression closed up and she crossed her arms defensively. "Nothing you wouldn't have done! I see how you look at him! I know you want him!"

"You had sex with Ed?" Grace gasped.

Her mother looked away. "No... not exactly." She huffed with annoyance. "I just need his cum. It wasn't too much to ask. He got to cum so he had to enjoy it. I don't know why he was so resistant! I need it!"

Grace stared at her mother and realized she hadn't changed at all. The bright and shiny woman who came out of the pain and drug addiction was still as self centered and petty as the one she'd been before the accident. There had been a few brief moments when Grace had enjoyed the idea that her mother had found something to redeem herself from the terrible experience she'd endured. Now she saw that happiness and calm was just the product of her abuse of Ed for her own selfish needs.

"You abused that gentle man who showed you nothing but love and respect. After everything he's done for you." she said, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.

"DONE FOR ME!?! WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR HIM? AND YOU? HOW CAN YOU BOTH BE SO SELFISH THAT YOU WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE MY SACRIFICES?" Shirley screamed, her face red with anger.

Grace looked at her mother with disgust then turned and walked back into her bedroom to get some clothes. She was going to get showered, dressed, and then she was going to find Ed. She didn't know what she was going to say to him yet but she had to protect him from Shirley's abuse.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING WALK AWAY FROM ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Shirley yelled furiously.

When she left her bedroom Shirley was still in the hallway.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

Grace's eyes flashed to her mother's and Shirley took a step back when she saw the fury in them. "HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN I AM! YOU'D FUCK HIM IN A SECOND!"

Shirley rocked back against the wall and grabbed her cheek in shock, the hand shaped welt already rising on her stinging skin. Grace was shaking with rage, baring her teeth and breathing hard. "Get the fuck away from me," she growled menacingly. "We are NOTHING alike!"

Grace stepped past her and close and locked the bathroom door. She wanted to strangle the woman but that wouldn't help Ed so she proceeded with getting ready. When she exited the bathroom Shirley was gone. Off to visit Jerry no doubt. Grace felt bad for the man who, for some reason, was a little soft in the head for her mother.

She dialed Ed's cell but it went straight to voicemail so she called his office and spoke with a woman. She was told that he was on a service call but he would be returning home directly once he was done as Mr. Drakos had given him the afternoon off as he was exhausted.

Grace thanked the woman then sat on the sofa to wait for Ed's return. She hoped he wouldn't be long.

When Ed's eyes opened again he could tell by the faint light coming through the blinds that it was late in the evening. He rolled onto his back and jumped when he saw the young woman sitting on the edge of the bed watching him sleep.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello."

"I'm Sophia. Sophia Sandoval."

"Ed Walters."

"Hi Ed. Did you enjoy fucking my mom?" she said frankly as she looked into his eyes.

He looked at her warily but didn't answer. Discretion.

"Pussy got your tongue?" she smiled at her own cleverness.

Ed saw the similarities between mother and daughter now though Sophia's black hair was wavy and she didn't have large breast implants. Her nose looked natural as well but she had her mother's dark brown eyes and thick lashes.

He realized he was naked under the sheets someone, likely Zoe, had pulled over him. He looked around but couldn't see his underwear or coveralls. He knew his t-shirt was a write off.

"Uh, where's Zoe?" he asked.

"On a plane to San Francisco to speak to her house designer. She's tearing down daddy's castle and building some Spanish monstrosity," she said as she rolled her eyes. "She told me to keep an eye on you and to give you a drink of water when you woke as you'd be dehydrated."

She stood up and walked over to the end table to pick up the glass. Ed was feeling a little parched so he gladly accepted the glass and drank the cool water. He handed the glass back and went back to scanning the room with his eyes looking for his clothes.

"Looking for something?" Sophia asked innocently.

"Yeah, my clothes."

"I haven't seen them. What did they look like?" she asked with a smile.

"A pair of boxers and my work coverall." He looked at the window again and realized how late it was. "I really should be heading home." He pulled the sheet up from the mattress and wrapped it around himself. When he stood up the room suddenly slid sideways and he hit the floor with a thump. The room continued to spin and noises in the room began to sound like they were coming down a long tunnel. His vision began to fade as well. He couldn't stop the room from spinning then he felt his mind sail away into the spinning vortex and nothing.

Sophia stood next to the bed looking down at Ed. She knelt and checked his pulse. His heart was beating strong and steady.

"It's done!" she called out.

The room's door opened and two more young women came in and walked over beside her. Stacey knew Ed from the victory party for the football team but the third woman, a tall willowy blond named Helen, was a representative from the sorority headquarters in Georgia. She was in charge of ensuring the official secret initiation rituals were followed properly.

"He seems intimidating enough but how big is his cock? The new girls need to be frightened. Terrified would be better," she said.

Stacey was looking down at Ed with a hungry look. "He's got a monstrous dick!" she grinned.

"Help me roll him over," Sophia said and the three women strained to flip him onto his back.

Helen's eyes widened and she smiled. "Oh yes, he will do very well! You chose wisely. Where is Isabelle? I was under the impression that she was supposed to be here as well."

Sophia smirked. "She got cold feet about using him for this. She'll be at the ceremony tonight but I didn't want to take a chance that she'd warn him off."

Helen nodded, pleased with Sophia's planning. "Do you have the necessary bindings for him?"

Sophia smiled and pulled a bag out from behind the end table. She poured the contents onto the bed. She separated the items so they could see them clearly. Bondage gear.

There was a leather hood with flaps to cover his eyes and mouth. A leather collar with d-rings. Leather wrist and ankle straps with d-rings to attach spreader bars to or to fasten to a rack. Bondage mitts. Finally a pile of strong but light chain.

"It's time to get him dressed." Helen smiled. They got to work.

Chapter 36

Grace was going out of her mind with worry. Ed should have been home after lunch but he didn't show. She called his office and spoke to the woman again, Lydia, but she said he hadn't returned to the office and his pickup was still in the parking lot. By the time dinner rolled around and passed she'd had enough of waiting. She grabbed her keys and drove over to his workplace. She walked in as Lydia was packing up to head home.

"Any word from Ed?" Grace asked.

Lydia looked up and shook her head with a worried look. Her father walked into the lobby with a frown on his face.

"Ed didn't come home yet?" he asked.

"No and I'm really worried. He had a fight with my mother this morning, you mentioned he was exhausted and he should have come home. It's almost ten and there is no sign of him."

"A fight? Maybe he's just blowing off some steam." Drakos suggested.

Grace just frowned. "I have to go look for him. I'll go to the places he sometimes goes. If you hear from him please get him to call me."

They nodded and she headed back out to her car. A cold feeling of dread was settling into the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to be alone so she thought she'd pick up Heather who'd be finishing her shift.

She kept her eyes open for the van as she drove but she didn't see it.

Heather was just walking to the bus stop as Grace pulled up. "HEATHER!" she called out.

"What a sight for sore feet!" Heather grinned as she moved to the passenger side. She groaned as she sunk into the tired seat springs. She glanced over at Grace and saw the worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Ed's missing."

"Missing? How does someone that big go missing?" she grinned then dropped the smile as she saw Grace's eyes well up with tears. "Hey! I'm sure he's just relaxing with his friends somewhere."

"He doesn't have any friends! Aside from the people at his work but they haven't seen him since this morning."

"He has no friends? He must hang out with someone!" Heather exclaimed.

Grace froze. There was someone. One of his Drakos customers! "Thomas? Thomason? Thompson! Rachel Thompson!" she gasped out loud.

"Who's that?" Heather asked.

"One of his Drakos Heating and Cooling customers who lives in Silverton Heights. She's the mother of one of his football teammates. He made friends with her. She bought him some gifts. Expensive gifts."

Heather's eyes widened and she smiled. Grace just frowned. "Yeah, I think so too but Ed won't talk to me about her so that seems to confirm my suspicions."

"Let's go speak to this bitch!" Heather said.

Grace nodded and started the car. She looked at Heather in dismay. "I don't know which house she's in or what she looks like."

"How many houses are there in Silverton Heights?" Heather asked. "We start from the bottom and work our way up."

Grace nodded then leaned over and hugged her friend.

She put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. It was time to find Rachel Thompson.

Sophia stood at the front door of her home in her ceremonial robe and mask, welcoming the new initiates inside. There were only eight who'd managed to make it this far. Not a very large number but sufficient to keep the house going. Tonight's final test would confirm they were worthy of being initiated into the sorority.

She'd impressed Helen and that pleased her. It was wise to cultivate powerful allies. She'd thought Isabelle was going to be one of those but she'd proven to be weak.

Speak of the devil, Isabelle was walking up to the door from the parking lot next to the garage. Sophia had driven Ed's van into an empty spot in the garage and left his clothes on the front seat. When they were done with Ed tonight, they'd put him in the passenger seat and she'd drive him out to the edge of town and Stacey would follow to drive her back. Ed would come out of the drugs in the morning with no memory of the previous night.

As Isabelle stepped inside she pulled her mask down to cover her face. "Good evening Sister," she greeted Sophia. "My apologies again for not fulfilling my part of the plan."

"Good evening Sister. It's alright. Alternate plans were put into effect." Sophia said calmly as she indicated where the group was gathering. Isabelle was last to arrive so it was time to get started. She locked the door and shut off the outside lights. The house was supposed to be empty after all and the ceremony required darkness.

She headed down the hall to the large 'family room'. As they were preparing for demolition, there was no furniture in the room except for the many, tall candle stands. This gave the chamber a disturbing echo which added to the somber ambience. Cushions were placed on the floor for the initiates to kneel on and the sponsoring Sisters stood behind them. Candles lit the room and she took her position at the center of a group of Sisters facing the initiates.

"Good evening Pledges. Congratulations! To have made it this far you have succeeded in fulfilling nearly all the requirements necessary to be accepted into our house. Tonight is the final test. I will be blunt. Some of you won't pass. It isn't the last test because it's the easiest. This will prove if you have the will and inner strength needed to be considered a Sister of our house. You will be given a few moments to prepare yourselves. Once ready, you will be led one at a time down that hall..." Sophia gestured to the dark opening behind her to the left. "...where the challenge awaits. Should you... prove yourself worthy you will return to this room a full Sister wearing the uniform." She looked at the eight faces and saw nervousness, excitement, and on one face amusement. Sophia felt a wave of anger flash through her. That pledge was going to get a very special test. She looked over at Helen and saw that she'd noticed the insolent attitude as well. They shared a look and both nodded slightly.

"If you do not prove worthy, you will be led from the house and our House's interaction with you will be at an end. You will be one of the shunned until the time you leave our college." She cast her eyes over the group once more and saw the smirking one hadn't lost the look.

"I will make one offer at this time only. You may choose to leave now, giving up any chance of being a Sister but sparing yourself the humiliation of the Shunning. Look inside and make your choice now."

She waited to the count of ten but none of the initiates moved from their spot. Good.

"Prepare yourselves," she said and turned with a sweep of her robe and walked down the darkened hall, Helen at her heels, followed by Isabelle and Stacey. When they got to the door at the end there was a single candle in a tall stand casting feeble light in the space. Sophia turned and looked at Isabelle, identified by the small but unique symbol painted on the left temple of the otherwise blank mask.

"Isabelle, you will take on the role of guide. Stacey is now the inner chamber guide." Sophia instructed.

"But-" Isabelle began in shock.

"The word of the Judge is final." Helen snapped and Isabelle went quiet.

"Wait at the end of the hall for the signal then send the first pledge." Sophia said with a satisfied smile hidden by her mask. Isabelle hesitated then moved back to the other end of the hall. The three remaining women stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. They pushed through the black curtain they'd hung just inside the door and walked into another large, mostly empty room. Their heels clicked on the ceramic tiles and echoed eerily. Arranged in the center of the room was a padded saw horse with shackles attached, a small table with several small horse whips, and a full length mirror angled just enough so the occupant of the saw horse would be able to see the surprise behind them.

Against the back wall there was another black curtain hanging down from a suspended rod. It stood five feet out from the wall and was hiding something behind it. Sophia looked at Helen and they nodded. Each stepped forward and pulled one side of the curtain to open them. Chained to an x-cross bolted to the wall was their main event.

The huge man was wearing the black leather mask with the flaps closed so he was blind, partially deaf, and could only breathe through a small slit under his nose and through small holes over his mouth. Leather straps crossed his broad chest and his hands were disabled by the hard leather mitts. His body was coated in sweat and his skin was flushed. Most disturbing was the massive erection rising and twitching between his powerful legs. It seemed to be bobbing with his heartbeat, which was probably accurate as he'd been given a dose of Viagra as well as another drug to make him manageable. He was basically a zombie with a raging hard-on for the next few hours, maybe until morning. Sophia wasn't exactly sure when the drugs would wear off. But she was pretty sure there would be no lasting effects of her little drug cocktail.

"Is he supposed to be wheezing like that?" Stacey asked with a worried tone.

Sophia looked at her crossly but realized with the mask it was a wasted effort. "Pop open the mouthpiece on his mask," she snapped and Stacey rushed forward to do it. Sophia liked how quickly she jumped to her command.

Stacey reached up and yanked at the leather flap. The snaps released and Ed's mouth was exposed to the air. He took in some deep gulps of air and seemed to relax a little. He wasn't moving around a lot as the drug Sophia had given him from her father's stash made him very compliant. Just as the little blue pills made him very hard.

"His heart is still beating pretty hard. Is that safe?" Stacey whined.

"Listen, who's studying chemistry and pharmacology in college and who's taking social sciences, whatever the fuck that is?" Sophia growled and Stacey shut up. She took one more nervous look at Ed and stepped back as Helen and Sophia closed the curtains.

"It's time. Turn off the room lights and bring in the first pledge." Sophia commanded. Stacey rushed off to the door and flipped the light switch. The room was lit with the dozen or so candles. Ed's breathing could barely be heard from behind the curtain. He was breathing a little hard. Sophia shook her head. She had more important things to think about.

Grace pulled into the first driveway in Silverton Heights and went up the lane to a nice sized ranch style home. What she could see in the dark looked like it was well maintained. She and Heather got out and walked up to the door.

Grace rang the doorbell. A minute later there was a pop sound of the intercom coming on.

"Hello?"

"Uh hello! I'm looking for Rachel Thompson." Grace said.

"I'm sorry, no one by that name lives here," was the reply.

Grace was feeling a little desperate. "You wouldn't happen to know an Ed Walters or where he might be?"

"Ed? I know an Ed Walters. Who are you?"

"I'm Grace, his sister. I can't find him," she blurted.

"Hold on," the voice said and the intercom popped once more.

"Did you hear that accent? So freaking beautiful!" Heather gasped.

Grace looked at her friend with a confused expression then the inner door opened. They looked up into beautiful brown eyes. The woman was very tall, slim and her gorgeous black hair poured down her back.

"Neither of you look very much like Ed," the dark skinned beauty said suspiciously.

Heather was captivated. She couldn't take her eyes off the woman.

"I'm Grace Wilson and this is my friend Heather Connors. Ed lived with my mother and me since he was six. He's technically my second cousin. Have you seen him today?" Grace asked.

"I'm afraid not. I will be seeing him next week to set up a service contract and I spoke with him a couple of days ago. Is he alright?" she asked with concern.

"He was supposed to be home just after lunch and his office doesn't know where he'd be now. He was exhausted this morning and I'm worried he had an accident. I can't reach his cell phone. Do you know where Rachel Thompson lives?" Grace asked, her lips trembling.