Savage's

CHAPTER 32

*Daisy*

After Gray came to wake me, I quickly got ready for the day. I threw my hair into a messy bun, brushed my teeth, and changed into clean clothes. I walked back out of the room, and heard voices coming from the kitchen. As I wandered in, I noticed Alexa was in a heated conversation with Gray and the others. No one noticed me walking in, and that's when I heard their topic of conversation was me.

"You think that's going to help her?!" Alexa growled, snarling at Gray.

"I think it's going to prevent something worse from happening, yeah." Gray remarked, his voice irate.

"I can't believe this!" Alexa growled under her breath.

"There's no good choice," Gray added, sighing heavily, "It just outweighs the alternative."

"Good morning, Daisy." Alistair greeted me, smiling warmly.

Everyone else turned to look at me in shock, or with embarrassment. I'm not entirely sure what they were talking about, but I know I was involved. I joined them in the circle they were forming, standing in between Gray and Rome. Alexa was standing across from me, and I noticed her eyes were wet... she had been crying, but why?

"Hey, sweetie." Alexa said, as a forced smile emerged.

"Hi... what's going on?" I asked, looking around at everyone, perplexed.

"We were just talking about the plan for today," Gray mentions, "I thought it might be good to role play... so you have an idea of what to expect. Also, practice for the rest of us."

"Okay." I nodded, waiting for more information about it.

"That means, we have to pretend to treat you poorly..." Gray said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah," I nodded, remembering how they brought it up just the other day, "You said you told your mom that your friends were 'sharing' me."

"That's right..." Gray nodded, glancing at the others, "I want you to remember though, that none of us would ever dream of treating you like s**t, okay?"

"I know." I smiled, aware of their intentions.

Gray glanced over at Alexa, who was rolling her eyes, and then back at me with a pleased grin. I smiled back, momentarily, and graciously accepted the cup of coffee that Caz offered me. There was tension amongst the group, but it was starting to settle.

"Fran and Boyd will be here soon," Gray announced, "I thought I could unpack a little before we start role playing."

"We can help." Alistair offered, walking over to a box and tearing it open.

"You guys don't have to do that-" Gray started, until interrupted by Rome.

"We're happy to help, plus we've got nothing better to do." Rome joined in, opening a different box.

Soon everyone was unpacking, starting with the living room. Alexa began decorating with things the rest of us were unpacking, but I didn't know anything about decorating, so I remained emptying boxes. With all of us, it really didn't take too long, and soon all of the boxes that sat in the living room were now empty.

Fran and Boyd arrived, with a few more boxes of their own. Once they were settled, they began unpacking the kitchen. Alexa was prancing all around the living room, decorating like a mad woman, and creating a beautiful enviornment. There were already some lit candles, adding a lavendar aroma to the air, a calming scent to my nerves.

"Alright, everyone, let's gather in the living room again for the role play." Gray announced, grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen.

"I'm watching to make sure nothing goes too far." Alexa grunted, with her arms folded tightly against her chest.

"No one wants to do this, Lex, we have to." Gray grimly noted.

"Whatever." Alexa rolled her eyes, glancing away from Gray.

"To give some background," Gray takes a deep breath, "My parents bought Daisy for me, it's a disgusting family tradition. In the past, my relatives have treated the women bought for them terribly, and it's come to be expected. They were abused in the worst of ways, sexually assaulted, and degraded until there was nothing left. My family is evil, twisted, and I have to pretend to match up... at least until I can determine a way out."

"Alright, you already shared with your mom that we 'use' Daisy as well... so we'll have to prove that." Alistair grimaces.

"Unfortunately, yes." Gray respondes, and everyone looks over at me.

"Looks like I'll be getting a lot of attention." I commented, blushing, causing a few of them to chuckle.

"I think we should also be a nuscense to your mother, she'll kick us out sooner." Caz adds, smirking.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, what if she kicks just us out?" Rome counters.

"True." Caz nods, rubbing his chin deep in thought.

"Alright, let's practice a little." Gray says, standing to his feet.

Everyone stands in a circle, except for Alexa, who is sitting on the couch behind us. I can feel her heavy gaze on my back, and I know she's concerned for me. There's only one difference with what we're doing, and it's the only reason I agreed to it... it's fake. I know they wouldn't actually treat me like they're about to.

"From the moment we walk through the door, all eyes will be on us." Gray says, walking over to me with a soft gaze.

He faintly smiles, grabbing my elbow, squeezing tighter than normal. I give pause, and instead of smiling up at him, I cringe. Falling into his grasp, I limp behind him like the abused animal I am. Gray pretends to walk a little, while the others act like menaces behind us. Caz smacks my butt, which catches me off guard, but I don't react to it. Gray on the other hand, raises an eyebrow.

"Gray, you're reacting." Alexa calls out, and everyone suddenly stops to look at her.

"That's actually perfect, she can tell us when someone is f*****g up!" Caz hollers with a wide smile.

"I reacted?" Gray asked, biting his lip.

"Yup." Alexa nodded, still upset with us.

Gray glanced at me with a crooked smile, until he got back into character. We rehearsed for another hour, while everyone attempted to get comfortable treating me like a slave. Though I could tell everyone was struggling, everyone but me. They're going easy on me, and I wonder if I should say something... I wouldn't want to get busted by Gray's mother.

"Get over here!" Gray pretended to yell at me, and I scurried near him, afraid, but it wasn't enough.

"Can I say something?" I asked, pausing the role play.

"Anything." Gray smiled.

"Alexa, you're going to hate me for this but..." I paused and took a deep breath, "This isn't enough... trust me. I've been through the actual worst, and this doesn't even come close. If we really want them to believe us, then we really have to go for it. I have a minor suggestion, and trust me, I'm fine... Instead of pretending, actually get rough. Grab my wrist harder, you'll leave a mark, something to prove you're hurting me. I can take it, I promise--"

"WHAT?!" Alexa barked, jumping out of her seat and beside me, "Are you crazy?!"

"She's right, Alexa..." Gray sighed, rubbing his face, "If she knows, then my mother will too."

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Alexa, who stood by seething in anger. This time, they actually got rough, and it did hurt, but I wasn't going to say anything out loud. I knew I would rather this, then the alternative. Though I won't lie, watching Gray act like his family was kind of scary. I'm glad he doesn't act like this on a normal basis.

After another hour, we decided that was enough, well Gray did. I was already starting to bruise, and everyone felt bad. Boyd and Fran served lunch, and things went back to normal... for the most part. I noticed everyone acting weird around me, like they were too embarrassed to show their faces. I would have to prove to them that this has no bearing on our friendship, not to me anway.