Judas has arrived.
I know he has just by the shift in the air – something taints it – and from the moment I’ve awoken for the first time in these past sixteen hours, not entangled in Levi’s limbs, I know. He’s here. He has to be. Why else would Levi miss an opportunity for sex?
The thought makes me snicker for a moment; light humor that makes me smile more than I have in these past few years. I cherish it for a moment as the sun beams through the window of a bedroom Silas has deemed good enough for us, and far away enough from him so he doesn’t hear our vigorous fucking as he likes to put it.
I stretch, not wanting to leave the comfort, and relaxing illusion this room has begun to provide for me, but I know reality will come to a reckoning. I’ll be forced from its blanketed safety. Sighing, I pull the covers off my legs and climb out of bed. My feet touch the wooden floor and I decide to clothe myself for once, in a pair of sweatpants and Levi’s t-shirt. It swims on me. I love it.
I move through the house, recalling how to get back down to the first floor without getting lost, but just as I reach the stairs, a sound catches my attention from down the hallway; a loud thud.
“Levi?” I call softly, it’s probably too quiet to grab his attention, then again, I’m nervous. This isn’t exactly the friendliest environment. It hasn’t been since I got here, and as I probably will always feel, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I know I should just proceed to the kitchen for some coffee and breakfast, but my curiosity is what forces my feet toward the suspicious sound. The hairs lining my body stand on end, and my pulse quickens.
I creep closer to the door, and once I’m outside of the thing, I hold my breath as I reach for the door and yank it open. I gasp when I spot Judas sideways on the floor, attached to a chair that’s been tipped over. His mouth is duct-taped, his face bloody and swollen. Levi’s concerned eyes roam my face.
“Levi,” I rasp, anxiously, and he crosses the room quickly, pushing himself between me and Judas, so I can no longer see the grotesque face of the man who has betrayed Levi the most.
Levi places his hands on my shoulders. I frown down at them, aware of how his knuckles are bloody and bruised. He pulls them away from me and clears his throat.
“What are you doing?” I question. Levi glances over his shoulder as Judas’s muffled screams barely take flight in the room.
“I duct-taped his mouth so you could sleep in,” Levi replies, chuckling at the odd expression on my face.
“How thoughtful of you,” I respond, crossing my arms over my chest. “I thought he’d be dead… when Jesse delivered him,” I admit. I was hoping not to have seen him, since the last time I did, things were out of control.
“I’m sorry,” Levi apologizes, before cupping my chin and pressing his lips to mine. I melt in the softness, flicking my tongue out against his bottom lip before I bite it. A lust-filled whimper escapes his lips and I swallow it, just as I’ve learned from him; Take any signs of obedience and submission and devour them to make them yours.
“I’ll be finished with him shortly,” Levi states. I shiver as he steps back. He nods to the hallway behind me. “If you go downstairs, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Will he be dead?” I question, flatly.
“Yes.”
Judas squirms in his seat. Levi huffs angrily, and turns around, marching toward Judas. Levi scoops Judas's chair up like it’s nothing and slams it back upright. The wood groans beneath the force but remains intact.
“Be fucking quiet!” Levi snarls. The anger within him oddly turns me on. It’s the protectiveness of me that commands my body to melt within its presence. Levi has always had that effect on me. Judas continues to groan muffled words that I can’t understand.
I clear my throat and make a suggestion. “Pull off the duct-tape. I’m awake now. I want to hear what he has to say,” I urge. Levi’s shoulders tense. He shakes his head, casting me a firm stare.
“No. Absolutely not.”
I frown and step into the room.
“Please? For me? I need… closure.”
“Anything this prick has to say isn’t worth it.”
“Levi, please,” I press, frowning at Levi’s reluctance to remove Judas’s duct-tape. Levi’s fists tighten down at his sides.
“I said no,” He states firmly.
I begin spinning around to leave the room, the obedient version of myself presenting before the defiant one has a chance to possess me, but just as I move through the door frame, something compels me to turn around, stalk back into the room as Levi readies a knife sitting on a cart.
“Sasha!” Levi calls as I get to Judas and rip his duct-tape away. “What the hell are you doing? You don’t fucking listen.”
I step backward, my hand with the tape stuck to it is useless down at my side.
I expected Judas to scream, to beg for mercy or something normal for a man whose life won’t exist past this dusty room, but what he does surprises me.
He laughs. The maniacal, twisted sound fills the room and tears run down Judas’s face.
“Fucking hell, Sasha,” Levi hisses before I hear him peeling more tape off the roll to slap back onto Judas’s mouth.
My mouth is agape as Judas’s laughter dies down enough for him to speak.
“What's wrong, boy?” He says through his laughter. “You afraid she’ll realize she’s looking at her future?”
Levi growls as he stomps over toward Judas. He raises the duct-tape, but I yell.
“Stop! Levi, I said stop!”
Levi curses and halts with the tape raised in the air.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I question Judas. His laughter has died down enough for him to speak, but a shit-eating grin is on his lips as he utters his next words, and I feel consumed with nausea.
“I guess it’s always been easier to pretend I’m not your father, huh, Levi?”
Father?
No fucking way…