Savage's

CHAPTER 10

*Gray*

I pulled up the long driveway, past all the bright green shrubs. I threw the gear shifter into park, and lunged out of my car, headed straight for the front door. Pushing my way through, past the butler, I went straight for the dining room. My father was at the head of the table, as per usual, with my mother beside him. They had the whole family over for dinner, and now they have me.

"Grayson!" Mom screeched, surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here," I growled, standing at the entrance of the dining room, "We need to talk."

"How about you sit for dinner first, you're just in time." Mom smiled, the same smile that meant she had something to hide.

"I'm not hungry." I grunted, "Now tell me, why the f**k were you in my home today?"

"Watch your language." Dad growled, his deep voice that used to strike fear inside my gut, no longer had the same affect.

"No," I scoffed at my dad, looking back towards my mother, "Tell me, mother, why you felt the need to cut Daisy? You already whipped her the first day you met her, was that not enough?"

"Tell me why you're so upset?" She countered, arching an eyebrow.

"Because, I have my own house for a reason. It's mine, not yours. I have my own set of rules within my house, mother, and I need you to abide them. If you're unable to do so, you're no longer welcome." I calmly stated, feeling a sense of zen, as this is the first time I've stood up to any of my family members.

"We bought you Daisy, I'm just making sure she's being treated as such, a purchased item." Mom sneered, sipping her wine.

"I'm treating her the way I see fit, thank you." I said, lifting my head high.

"That's a lie." Kellan snorted, his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"Kellan told us how you short circuted today, Grayson." Mom said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah?" I snorted, "Did he fail to mention how he slammed my head into my car, and that's why he got his ass kicked?"

"That's enough!" Mom roared.

"You're right, it is enough. I want you all to back the f**k off." I demanded.

"We can take Daisy away just as easily as she was given to you, son. Remember that." My dad noted, defeating everything else that could be said.

I stood there, wide eyed, staring at everyone. Their laughter began to fill the room, and I left almost as quickly as I entered. I just made this whole thing worse, by exposing my own weakiness. Now they're really going to be checking in on us, and I have to make sure Daisy looks the part.

I drove away from my familys house, and knew exactly where to go. Her name was Alexa, and she was a makeup artist. We met a couple years ago, at a runway show. We actually tried dating, but realized we were better off as friends. It's been a while since we've talked, but I knew I could trust her. She already knew how my family was, and I could trust her to keep my secret.

Alexa didn't live too far from my house, and I arrived within fifteen minutes. I pulled up out front, and dialed her number on my phone. I didn't want to show up out of nowhere, at least wanted to give her a heads up.

"Gray?" She answered, shocked, "I haven't heard from you in a while..."

"I need your help." I said, hoping she'd offer her assistance.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm sitting out front of your house, can I come talk to you?" I asked, sounding more sketchy then I meant to.

"Uhm... Sure." She reluctantly responded, and we hung up.

I got out of my car, and jogged up to her door, quickly slipping inside. Alexa had long curly brown hair, with light brown eyes, and beautiful tan skin. She smiled, and shut the door behind me. Without words, she helped me out of my jacket, and I sat in her kitchen with her.

She looked me up and down, taking in my body language. I watched as she put a pot of coffee on, and sat at the table with me. Her eyes were gentle, there was never any judgement from her, and that's why we remained friends. Alexa is a decent, genuine person, and I needed that in my life.

"What's going on, Gray?" Alexa asked, tilting her head with concern.

"It's a long story, but I'm going to try and make it short." I said, taking a deep breath. "My parents have a tradition for their sons on their thirtieth birthday... they buy us a woman... a slave. I know it's f****d up, and I wanted nothing to do with it, but you know my parents. Now that this girl is in my life, I feel obligated to protect her from them. The only way I can do that is by pretending to harm her, to make my parents happy, and get them off my back..."

"That's where I come in?" Alexa asked, smirking.

"Yeah," I nodded, "I need fake bruises, cuts, whatever you can manage, just as long as it looks realistic."

"I can do that." She smiled empathetically.

"What?" I asked, knowing there was a lot of thoughts that came attached with that smile.

"It's just such a wonder how different you are from your family..." Alexa shrugged, "It's like one of the many mysteries of the world."

"I have some similarities..." I muttered, glancing away.

"I'll help you, Gray, and I'll help you protect this girl." Alexa reached her hand across the table, and we shook on it.

"Thank you, Alexa." I smiled, "I'll need you to live in my house, though."

"I figured," She nodded, "I'm okay with that."

I was lucky to have a friend like Alexa, especially because that'll be someone to keep Daisy company while I'm gone. Now that I have that under control, my next move is going to take a lot more time. It might even be time to move out of the penthouse, into something with a little more privacy.

I left Alexa's house, and headed back home. It was getting late, and I didn't want Daisy to wake up without me. Though I planned for her to be sedated all night, I still knew there was a chance she could wake up.

I didn't know what was happening to me. Why did I feel so passionately for Daisy? I just met her, we hardly know each other, yet I'm bending over backwards to protect her. It's not even a full cognative thought, but one of instinct. I don't understand it, but I do know I can trust it.

So I want to protect her, that doesn't mean I'm falling in love with her... right? That would be a little too fast, especially for me, so I doubt that's the case. Maybe it's just because of where she came from, and the fact that no person deserves to treated like a slave. I want to give her a better life.