by Drew Sera
“Um…sorry,” she said.
“What made you upset, baby?” I asked her.
Sydney is holding onto so much. Despite writing in her journal and talking with Chris, there’s still a lot that is buried. It’s the same with Anthony too.
“Gina and I were talking and she asked me how you guys were doing. I mentioned that Anthony wakes up a lot and that I didn’t think he was sleeping very well.”
Sydney reached out and ran her hand over Anthony’s hair and pulled strands here and there. His lips formed a tight line and he closed his eyes briefly.
“She said that Matt thought that Anthony was probably having nightmares about what happened in the woods,” Sydney said, her voice quivering.
An audible cry slipped out and I squeezed her against me as Anthony wrapped his arms around Sydney’s legs and rest his chin on her knees. His eyes were red and he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. As Sydney cried against my chest, I made eye contact with Anthony. I could see a world of hurt floating in his eyes and I felt so bad for him and Sydney. Anthony looked like he was practically begging me to calm this situation. I had an idea that I hoped would work.
I stood up, pulling Sydney to stand with me and I tugged on Anthony’s sleeve. I led them to the loft and guided Sydney to sit down on the bed. I crouched down and took her shoes off and toed mine off as well. I began pulling my clothes off and gave Anthony an upward nod, hoping he’d get the drift. I stood in my boxer briefs and slowly took the hem of Sydney’s shirt and pulled it off, followed by her jeans. She sat on the big bed in her bra and panties, and I climbed on the bed then pulled her to the center of the bed. Anthony lay on his side next to her and his hand instantly went to her abdomen. He knows how to settle her down.
Just like it is when we go to bed at night, Sydney started to move into her usual position of resting her head on Anthony’s shoulder and chest while I spoon her from behind. I wanted this to be a little different.
“No, baby. Roll over and face me. Let Anthony hold you from behind.”
If there was a fail-safe way to calm Sydney down, Anthony was it. He instantly molded his chest and stomach against her back as she pulled her legs up. Being physically close to Sydney, I could see the fire in Anthony’s eyes begin to calm too.
With my foot, I grabbed the throw at the bottom of the bed and pulled it over the three of us. I placed my hand flat against her chest and kissed her forehead.
“Rest, baby. Anthony and I aren’t going anywhere, sweetheart.”
I hoped that the two of them would find this relaxing and comforting, even if just for a little while.
Chapter 54
Wednesday, February 19th
Anthony
The three of us woke up from our nap in the late afternoon. I hoped that the nap would have helped Sydney’s mood some. Colin and I rubbed on her and helped her get dressed. Her expression told me that her head was full and she was bottling it up. Knowing how much she enjoys our walks, I suggested it.
“Sunshine, wanna go for a walk on the beach with a sexy man?”
A smile appeared on her pretty face as Colin piped in with his attempt at humor. And I’ll admit, it made me laugh.
“Anth, don’t you want to go with Sydney and I, too? I mean, let’s face it, Batman is sexier.”
I nodded at him to show my respect for getting Sydney to laugh, right before I threw the pillow at him.
“You guys go for your walk and I’ll work on dinner,” Colin said as he pulled on some shorts.
Sydney and I walked along the damp sand eastbound with the sun at our backs. Our walks have become very special to us. It’s kind of a little thing between us and I really enjoyed them. We usually talk about difficult stuff, but it’s good for both of us. I had a feeling that I knew what was on her mind, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to talk about the woods without Colin.
“Quarter for your thoughts, Anthony?”
I smiled when she turned my signature line around at me.
“Sydney, I don’t regret pulling the trigger.”
“Had you ever fired a gun before that?” she asked so quietly that I could barely hear her over the waves.
“No, never had.”
I wasn’t feeling very brave, at least not to let this conversation go much further.
“Were you standing up?”
I shook my head and felt her eyes on me. I told myself that we needed to end this conversation…but she kept asking and I kept answering.
“You guys were on the ground?”
“I was on the ground. He…”
That fucking asshole had me pinned under him. Quickly, I was catapulted back to the night, and I swear to god that as I walked alongside Sydney, I could feel the pressure in my chest from the bullet that he put in me.
I suddenly felt Sydney’s hand shaking mine. Fuck, I needed to pull it together.
“Anthony?”
We had stopped walking and she was looking up at me.
“Sorry, sunshine. I was on the ground and he was sitting over me.”
Messing around with me and reiterating how much he hated me and had wanted to knock me around the entire time he had known me. I was breathing hard and turned to look in the direction of the beach house. It was maybe sixty yards away.
“Anthony, are you okay?”
“Yes, but we should head back.”
Sydney nodded and we turned to make our way toward the beach house. When we got inside I sent her to help Colin finish getting dinner ready, but she wouldn’t let go of me.
“Will you hold me while we’re waiting for dinner?” Sydney asked quietly.
I nodded.
“Of course, sunshine.”
I sat down at the kitchen table and Sydney sat on my lap, resting her head against my shoulder. While Colin moved effortlessly around the kitchen, he asked how our walk was. As I opened my mouth, Sydney’s hand came to rest on my stomach.
Chapter 55
Thursday, February 20th
Anthony
I woke up ice cold, but I was sweating, I think. I put my hand over my chest to feel my heart pounding. Fucking nightmare. I swallowed and winced when I felt the dry desert my throat had become. My pillow was soaked, as was my hair.
Images filled my head that had just occupied my mind during sleep and I had to get up and shake it off. I kissed Sydney’s forehead and slipped from the bed so I wouldn’t disturb them. I was so cold that I was shaking. What the fuck was wrong with me?
I could barely pull my pajama pants on without toppling over, and I felt like I had a huge weight on my chest. Oh yeah, I fucking do. I needed air. I quietly opened the balcony doors and went outside to lean on the railing. I tried taking a deep breath, but couldn’t. I coughed so hard it vibrated in my chest. Fuck, it hurt.
Guilt has been eating away at me. Colin was trying to be patient with me and I’m not making it very easy. I need to knock it off. He was trying to protect Sydney and I and give us time to ourselves for a while. He cares about us. Every time I see him look at Sydney I can see how much he loves her. Us. He loves us. I need to talk to him but I don’t know how.
The cool wind whipped through the air and now I was shaking even more. I need to go back inside and warm up. I think I’ll sit in the shower for a little bit to get the chill off.
I quietly shut the bathroom door hoping that it would dampen some of the noise the shower was going to make. The steam began to fog the mirrors, so I stripped and stood under the hot water. The water felt really good on my body; this is what I needed.
I felt weak and decided to crouch down for a few minutes until I was warm. Soon my thighs started to burn and I sat down on the floor of the shower and leaned against the wall. This was exactly what I needed. As I sat there letting the water warm me, an unpleasant thought skated through my mind. I thought about how Sydney used to sit under the water of her shower in her rundown apartment after Howard would leave. She knew not to face the drain otherwise she might
see blood. It still makes me angry that she and I have that in common, but I try not to get bent out of shape over it because I can’t do anything about the past. Like Colin says, I can only help mold her future. And it was going to be an awesome future. She had Colin and I, and no one would ever cause her pain again. I’d see to it.
The steam started to make my chest feel heavier and caused me to cough hard again. I wasn’t able to keep it inside, it just bellowed out of me and left a horrible ache. I was sitting there enjoying the warmth and concentrating on my breathing when I heard the bathroom door open and Colin calling my name. I knew he could tell I was sitting on the floor through the fogged glass. He opened the shower door and looked down at me.
“Hey,” he said and crouched down in front of the open door. He was frowning, yet looked sympathetic. Shit, I needed to explain because I hated the way he was looking at me.
“I woke up cold. I...it feels good in here.”
He nodded and said that he understood. I knew he meant that he understood far more than I was verbally telling him. I appreciate how patient he’s been with me and I want to meet him halfway, but I can’t seem to get there.
“That cough doesn’t sound good, Anth. Do you feel sick or does your chest hurt?”
Fuck yeah, my chest hurt. I want to tell him everything that’s been crammed in my head for weeks now and vomit all that shit from my head. It’s not healthy to store all this. I recognize that and am trying to resolve it, but it’s more difficult than I had imagined. Of course, he was asking about my chest in the sense of my lungs and that sort of shit.
“It feels heavy. My chest vibrates when I cough like that.” He sat there looking at me and I felt like a child that just got caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Anth, I am worried you’re getting a cold.”
“I haven’t had a cold in years. I don’t get colds.”
“I know, but you’re also used to drier weather. And you’ve been swimming in that ice cold ocean for several days now.”
Fuck me. Matt said I couldn’t get sick because it’d lead to possible complications. Fuck.
“I’ll stay out of the ocean.”
“Yes, you will. But I think we should find an urgent care tomorrow and have you looked at. Just in case, and before you say no, think of Sydney.”
Think of Sydney. Doesn’t he know that’s all I do? I constantly think of her well-being over anyone’s. I nodded and got out of the shower and used Sydney’s hairdryer to dry my hair before going back to bed. Colin was changing my pillowcase when I got back in the room and he had spread out a fleece blanket where I had been sleeping. He opened up a throw and set it on top of the sheet. Sydney was still asleep so we couldn’t change the sheets. I stared at the blanket clad side of the bed as he set my pillow down.
“Everything okay?” He asked me.
“Yeah, it’s just...you didn’t have to do that. I could have managed.”
He walked towards me and kept looking at me with his hands on his hips.
“I don’t do anything that I don’t want to do, and I wasn’t doing it because I didn’t think you weren’t capable. You and I are both Doms and in this V together but, you’re my responsibility, just like Sydney is. The three of us watch over each other.”
The phrase “responsible” rang in my head. I was responsible for that night with Victor. The guilt of not talking with Colin about that night is killing me. He set his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it and then coaxed me back to bed. He pointed to some ibuprofen on the nightstand and water. I took them in hopes that this potential cold would go away.
Hours later I woke up face down in bed breathing hard. I was trying to get my bearings and realized my hand was between my body and the sheets and I was holding my dick. My hard dick. I raised my head and realized I was alone in bed. I rolled over so I was flat on my back. My heart stopped beating for a second when my bare ass came into contact with a wet spot.
“Fuck, no,” I said under my breath and sat up on my knees looking down at the wet spot from my morning erection.
What the fuck had I been dreaming about? Think, Anthony! It wasn’t Victor, was it? I quickly thought. No, no I don’t think it was. It was probably Sydney. Had to have been. We were playing on the deck yesterday. It certainly wasn’t Victor. I wasn’t aroused by that. Not one bit. Possibly it could have been the friction too. That was most likely it. I sat back on my heels and wiped the sweat from my forehead while I tried to calm down. I took myself to the bathroom and stood in the shower under the ice cold water. There. This would take care of that erection.
Chapter 56
Thursday, February 20th
Colin
Sydney and I were eating breakfast out on the deck while Anthony slept. He woke up with the chills last night and instead of waking me up he sat in a hot shower. I was scrolling through my phone trying to find an urgent care that was close. It was probably nothing, but given his health right now, I wasn’t taking any chances. The urgent care wouldn’t have his history or know what had even happened lately. So, chances were they’d send him home and tell him to rest.
I walked along the sand with my coffee mug and dialed Matt. It was going on 10:00 a.m. and he’d be at work and hopefully not with a patient. He answered quickly and I explained about the cough and chills. I also told him my apprehension about taking him to urgent care.
“His immune system hasn’t regained its strength yet. Didn’t you say he was swimming a lot?”
“Yeah. Every day in the morning he swims and jogs a little.”
“Okay, stop him from the swimming and jogging. Text me the name and location of a drugstore or pharmacy close to you. I’m going to call in a prescription for an antibiotic. If anything is starting to brew in him, this should kick it.”
“Thank you.”
“Colin, I’m going to call him in some amoxicillin. Keep his time under the direct sun limited though because the sun fucks with antibiotics and their potency. Other than the cough, is he doing okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. Last night was the first I caught wind of the chills. I think the cough just started yesterday morning.”
“Keep the ibuprofen on hand.”
“Thanks, Matt.”
Once I hung up I found the nearest pharmacy and forwarded the info to Matt. By the time I made it back up to our deck, I got a text from Matt saying he called the antibiotic in and it’d be ready in thirty minutes.
Anthony emerged from the house looking tired and like something was on his mind. Sydney brought him some juice and a plate of pancakes with fruit. He laughed when he looked down at the plate of food. Sydney had arranged the food to look like a face. She put two pancakes side by side for the eyes and a banana slice for its pupils then the rest of the banana slices were in the shape of a smile and it had a strawberry nose with bacon hair.
“That’s fabulous, sunshine. I’m going to eat his face.” He kissed her forehead and she went inside for her phone call with Chris.
“How are you feeling?”
“I think you’re right, maybe we should find the urgent care today. I don’t want to run the risk of something being wrong and then Sydney gets a cold from me.”
“I called Matt. He already called something in for you at the pharmacy down the street.”
“Fucking fantastic. Maybe it’s poison or something lethal that I’m allergic to. Then it’ll look like an accident,” Anthony said sarcastically before shaking his head and closing his eyes. He set his silverware down and leaned back in the chair, rubbing on his head. Anthony is so tired and his body and mind has been through hell. “I didn't mean that.”
“I know you didn’t. It’s amoxicillin. I told him not to give you that shit that had you sick each time you took it.” I knew that deep down Anthony understood that Matt cared about him and would do anything he could to make sure he was okay. Matt has always been like that with Anthony. “Anth, Matt cares about you. I’
m pissed at what he did with the whole Victor situation, but he did it to find out what happened so he could help you. I know we’ve said this before, but you’re our little brother. We’d go to great lengths for you.”
“I know you two care and love me, but I’m a grown man.”
“Doesn’t matter. Matt and I will be ninety and you’ll be eighty-four. You’ll still be the little brother. No way around it.”
He smiled and laughed. “I will thank Matt for the amoxicillin.”
I told him not to do anything he wasn’t ready to do yet. I know that cut from Matt is still very fresh. Anthony took the car and went to the pharmacy and came back with the medicine and a bag of M&M’s. He took the pill and then lounged on the couch inside for the rest of the day.
We stayed in for dinner and Sydney made soup for Anthony because he wasn’t feeling hungry enough for the spaghetti Sydney and I had. I think the antibiotic will take care of the cold and he’s been resting and napping off and on all afternoon. I had only heard the terrible cough a couple of times this afternoon, so I thought that was good. I’m hoping he feels better for tomorrow. We have an appointment up in Hollywood with Jay’s studio.
Chapter 57
Friday, February 21st
Colin
We headed up to Hollywood around lunchtime. Traffic can get downright ugly over here, so I wanted to allow ample time to get there. I was impressed by the studio once we arrived. Jay showed us around so we could see various stations set up for photos. There were a lot of dungeon furniture pieces, beds, cells, classroom and just about anything else a kinky mind can come up with.
My head was as chaotic as a kid that was set loose in a toy store. I only knew for certain that I wanted black and white, raw images for the playroom. Anthony walked around with Sydney ahead of Jay and I. I knew Anthony was working on keeping Sydney calm and making sure that she was ready and willing to take some pictures. She was strong enough to get photos done all on her own for Anthony and I for Christmas, but a lot has happened since then.
