Brian

Jimmy’s words chase each other around my head as I climb the stairs to the nursery where I can already hear Zacky ordering Bianca about, trying to fix up the crib for the little girl that he holds so dear downstairs. I can’t help but feel a little guilty about treating her like this, though I’ll admit, I never really saw things from her point of view. When we first started to bring slaves into the house they were to be seen not heard, did what I told them to do and got on with their working lives. But now…one of them was helping the child that belonged to us, she was almost the mother figure in the household. Jimmy had been right all along, telling me to bump her up the hierarchy a little.

However, I was in no position to ask her to be mine. From what I could tell, she was in no position to agree to be my slave, nor for me to become her lover, and though it was something I’d wanted to do ever since I’d worked out she was going to be with us, I had to remain focused. I couldn’t let my feelings get in the way of her jobs around the house. Just like before, as I walk into the nursery, Bianca drops whatever she’s holding and falls to her knees, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as her hands begin to shake slightly. Vengeance offers me a look, almost one that says ‘are you mad?’ and I shake my head. He pouts slightly, because I know better than anyone that if there’s anything Zacky likes doing more than fucking his own girl, is punishing the other ones. He’s a little bit of a sadist in that sense, but we don’t question it.

“Stand up Bianca. Come with me” I say as I hold out my hand and without a word, she takes my hand and pulls herself up, not letting go as I walk her through the corridors of the house until we reach my bedroom, really the only place that I can relieve her of her duties. The wooden door swings open and shut, and as I lock it behind me, I look back to see Bianca is standing dutifully beside my bed, glancing over at the large structure in the middle of the room with a slightly fearful look in her eyes. I don’t say a word, just take a step forward and brush her hair behind her ears. She looks cute this way, but I notice how she freezes under my touch, almost silently begging me to stop something I have no intention of starting.

“Don’t worry Bianca, I’m not going to make you do anything” I say assuringly and she relaxes, hands falling beside her hips as I glance her up and down, first noticing the anklet around her feet, the cuff on her wrist, the collar around her little neck. Lord only knows how long she’s had these things on for- we can certainly be evil when we want to be.

“Sit” I murmur and she falls down onto the bed like a trained dog, eyes staring up at me. I kneel down and carefully unclasp the gold charm from around her ankle, tucking it into my pocket as I glance up and gently pull the cuff away, placing it on the bedside table opposite me. Finally, I produce her collar key from my pocket and unlock it, pulling it away from her skin with a softness I’ve never seen myself carry before. Her hands touch her bare neck softly as I lay the collar on the floor, and her mouth opens in sheer disbelief.

“You…you’re freeing me?”
“Not exactly. You still have the rest of your sentence to carry out, to pay off your debts. But…you won’t be a slave anymore. It was pointed out to me that you are part of our family now, you’re taking care of one of us. Therefore, you shouldn’t have to kneel for everyone, or call everyone Master. You are now at the same status as Vee and Alex- an equal to us” I explain, and I can’t help but feel a warm rush flow through my veins when she smiles at my words, looking like she could almost kiss me in happiness.

“Wait…I don’t have to sleep with you do I? Is it a price for being freed a little or…”
“No Bianca, you don’t. You won’t have household chores, unless you ask for some, and you’ll have freedom throughout the house. You can address everyone by their first names, except around other slaves. I would prefer for you to sleep in this room, so you can be within hearing distance of Athena. I can…um…crash on a couch or something if you don’t want me here…” I bluster through my words, feeling my cheeks turn strangely hot as I speak and for a moment, she stares at me as though I’m crazy, and then giggles- a sound that to me is like a chorus of angels in my ear.

Dammit, she’s so beautiful…

“It’s OK Brian, you don’t have to go anywhere. Who else is going to protect me if someone tries to kidnap me?” she smiles and I can almost feel my heart melting as she laughs, and when she places one small hand on my arm, I swear electricity bursts through my veins like I’m a power line.
“Go and get your things, Bianca- you’ll move in here now. If you want, I can take you shopping sometime, if only to get you up to standard with the other two” I smile, hoping that she doesn’t see my offer as a bid to get closer and then eventually seduce her, but she laughs again and nods, a slight spring in her step as she walks.

“I’d love to…Brian” she smirks, using my real name for the first time, and disappears out of the bedroom, leaving me a melting mess of gooey cuteness and a strange feeling of warmth filling my veins. She’s free- and one day, maybe she’d see how much I really like her. Like really, really like her.
“GATES! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!” Matt’s booming voice fills the large house and I nearly trip over my own two feet in my haste to get to the living room. Matt only ever yells if we’ve got a highly important job to get a move on with, or if something terrible has happened, and as I jump down the stairs two by two, I can feel my heart rate getting faster and faster as I run. Is it something to do with Athena- is everything alright?

When I finally make my way into the living room, the other four members of Avenged are standing there, each wearing a more worried expression than the last, and in the corner I spot Jimmy still holding Athena very tightly, his hands rocking her backwards and forwards as she sleeps peacefully. Obviously not even Matt yelling for me can wake her up- she’d probably sleep right through a fucking tornado if it ever ripped through the city.
“What?” I say dumbly and Matt glances up at me, pointing to my friend in the corner, whose eyes have gone very wide and extremely scared.

“Talk to Jimmy- he was the one that was close to having a damn meltdown when I found him” Matt mutters, flopping down onto a nearby couch and taking a deep breath. I’m not surprised that he’s fed up, the amount of drama that surrounds our gang is almost enough to rival any soap opera in the whole country.
“Jimmy?” I ask softly as I walk over to my old friend, who’s hands are shaking as he stares at me. Acting as though he’s a small child who’s just been punched repeatedly by someone, he tries to cower away, but I kneel down and grab his hands, collecting Athena in my arms as I try to calm him down.

“I didn’t know what to do Brian, it was right there staring at me! I’m scared for her, and I’m scared for us- because we’re in so much fucking trouble if anyone ever finds out. If they find out we’re all going to be killed in our sleep…” he stammers, quivering as I get him to take another deep breath, wondering what on earth he’s talking about.
“Jimmy- tell me what’s wrong” I say.

“Look- underneath the babygro. Right on her chest” he whispers, and slowly I pull down the pink outfit she’s been dressed in that morning. Right across her chest is a carefully inked tattoo of a skull, an evil smile across it’s strange little head. Who puts a tattoo on a baby, I think incredulously as I glance up at Jimmy and offer him a sympathetic smile before my gaze drops back down again and I notice something. Something that makes my stomach turn and shreds my nerves to pieces.

“MV…” I whisper as I stroke over the letters with my fingers, staring at the skull. I know exactly where this has come from.
“Brian?” Matt asks slowly and I turn around, the tattoo now clear for all to see.

“That skulls- it’s Bullet For My Valentine’s skull”