Main Master

I f I had learned anything about being , it was that the Gardens never slept. There was never a dull moment. Catastrophes. Were. Common. Masters died. Mistresses manipulated. Couples fucking killed themselves. Slaves murdered. Blank slates…well, they were the only ones I could rely on these days. Their upgraded training and dedication to me as their made them the safest presence for me to be around. Seeing Allison, Braddock’s slave, walk into the session with him instantly put me in a good mood. Her intense stare as Melissa went through the questions was comforting. Her continuing smile at me every time I looked her way promised protection. Not that I needed it, but the air sure felt lighter. Especially being in Mistress Two’s office. I hated this place just as much as I pondered my embedded disdain for my old friend. It didn’t make sense. One minute I felt bad for my ‘teacher’, the next, my mistrust had me wanting to strangle the life from her.

Learning how she was handling this case didn’t help. Each question she asked ‘Brad’ made me even more agitated. She’d had no guard presence when she had gone to check in on him on auction night? And now she was giving up, wanting me to kill him but continue his line? My mind wasn’t clear enough to process what the fuck was happening. Every time I was close to Melissa, my thoughts became muddled. It took everything I had to answer questions or even think, which was concerning given Braddock’s condition. It was too close to what was happening to me, and I didn’t like it. I had to increase my sessions with watching my own recordings. I had to cover all bases and protect myself, even if it was for no reason. Isn’t that what I decided on only yesterday? I controlled me. No one else. Me.

Back and forth my eyes went between Melissa and Brad. My head shook, and I walked closer to my friend. Kill him. Kill Braddock? “It’s not that easy, Melissa.” My head tilted as I closed the distance, kneeling to study him as he sat on her loveseat, deeply hypnotized and under her spell.

“Why isn’t it that easy?”

“Jake Princeton is dead. I can’t have another elite with a child on the way coming up dead too. People will ask questions. Now is not the time for suspicion. Besides… Braddock’s my friend. This has to work. We’ll fix him.”

Melissa closed her eyes for a few seconds, nodding as she finally opened them.

“I’ll keep trying. Maybe if…” Her head quickly shook. “Never mind, I’ve tried that.”

“Tried what?”

“Everything. Everything , Elec.”

“Then we try again.”

“I’ll have to start over. I have a method I’ve been using. It seems to be working a little.”

I stood. “Not good enough. We have to think outside of the box. You’re worried about what will happen if he negatively reacts to the treatment. I get it. But if we worry over the episodes, we’ll never free him of them. He’s come far, but we need more. Maybe…we reverse the usual. I want to try something. Instead of him taking the lead and us trying to cover or force the new information, the truth , let’s get the upper hand first. I want to weave his worlds.”

“ Weave? That could be dangerous.”

“It might be…We don’t have a choice. You were ready to throw in the towel anyway. May I?”

An array of different emotions swept Melissa’s face. Anger. Impatience? Seconds passed before she nodded as her arms crossed over her chest.

I turned to face him. “Brad, it’s time to wake up.”

A deep inhale sounded from Braddock. His head bobbed, but he lifted it, opening his eyes and looking at me.

“Very good. I want to tell you a story, and I want you to imagine everything I say. See it in your mind. Let it soak in. Imagine . Do you understand?”

“A…story….Yes….”

“Perfect. Now, close your eyes. The darkness around you is your friend. Imagine it as a blanket, hugging you. Comforting you. You can feel it, soft and even slightly fuzzy under your fingertips. Can you see it?”

“Yes, .”

“What color is your blanket?”

A few seconds went by before Braddock answered.

“It’s blue.”

“Blue is a nice color. Imagine the sky. You’re lying in the grass, and you’re looking up at the blue. You’re outside of a house, but I don’t want you to focus on that right now. Let your blanket calm you. Keep looking into the sky. Tell me what you see. Are there clouds?”

“…yes.”

“What else?”

“…Tree limbs. Leaves. Pears.”

I smiled as the smallest amount of relief fluttered in.

“Pears. I knew you were still here. I know exactly where you are. I went there to visit you. You’re at your grandfather’s plantation in Virginia: Pierce Hall . You spent your youth there.”

“I was…nine.”

Melissa’s head jerked to me, and her eyes went wide. My smile grew but didn’t quite last. Something in her expression only added to the walls I had around me.

“Very good, Brad. We were young, and we had so much fun running through the gardens.”

“…I…”

“Don’t imagine that yet. Only focus on what you see. Do you see those pears? I want you to stand and pick one for me. Can you do that?”

Braddock’s leg bumped into Allison’s through the hesitation. The blank slate glanced at him, but she still stared up at me.

“I like pears.”

“Do you have one?”

“Yes.”

“ Imagine you’re taking a bite. Tell me how it tastes.”

His finger twitched. One tap against his leg. Two. My brows narrowed at the rhythm that started. I knew that tap.

“It’s good. Really good.”

“Hold to the pear,” I continued, watching his fingers. “When you feel ready, take another bite. While you do so, walk around and tell me what you see.”

A low sound left Braddock.

“I’m at the entrance to my grandfather’s gardens. There’s…no one here. Just me.”

“Perfect. That’s good. You’re holding your blanket. Imagine putting it over your shoulders. Hug it to you as you walk around and eat your pear. You’re safe. You’ve never felt so at home. Can you feel it? See it?”

“Yes.”

Again, I looked at Melissa. She had to see he was still here. He wasn’t too far gone. With one memory, we could work on fixing him. On rebuilding. How had she not tried taking this path? Or did she just not want to?

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

“I want you to keep exploring. Walk out of the gardens and tell me what else you see.”

Time passed as Braddock’s face drew in.

“I’m in front of a house. A large brick house. But…it’s not Pappy’s house…I don’t like this. I…I don’t want to go inside.”

Not Pappy’s? Had the memory been altered? He shouldn’t have left the location we were anchored into. Not without my lead.

“You don’t have to. Take a deep breath. You’re safe. Tell me what this house looks like.”

“It’s brown brick. It’s big. Really big.”

“Brown brick.” My fist rose to my mouth as my mind raced. “Is it possible that it’s your parent’s house? It used to be brown.”

“I…don’t like it.”

“It’s okay. What else do you see? Does the house have shutters?”

“…yes. They’re a…off-white color. Like a cream. And.” Braddock’s hands started shaking in his lap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap. “He’s looking at me through the window.”

“Who is?”

“I don’t want to see him. I want to leave .”

“Soon. You’re safe here with me. Hold your blanket. Let it comfort you. I want you to take in this person at the window. What does he look like? Who’s looking at you?”

Braddock’s head shook hard. “He’s covered in blood. He’s…angry. Fuck. Oh, God. No. I want to leave.”

“Brad, who’s at the window? Look into his face. Who is it?”

“You know who it is.”

“No…I don’t. You have to tell me. Who is it?”

“It’s…him. It’s Braddock .”

The room went silent. I turned to Melissa, lifting my hand as her mouth parted to say something. He was under too deep. He was too stressed to hear two voices. It would confuse him. It would add stress to his already unstable mind.

“Tell me about Braddock. Why is he angry? Why’s he covered in blood?”

Back and forth Brad’s head shook. “I-I-I?—”

“ Elec, don’t do this. You’ll do more harm than good.”

My hand pulsed towards Melissa to get her to stop talking.

“You’re perfectly safe, Brad. You have no reason to be afraid.”

“He will have reason if you continue.”

“ Melissa. ” I threw her a glare, going back to Braddock who was nearly hyperventilating. “What do you see, Brad? Why are you covered in blood?”

“I-I don’t…I don’t—” He yelled, slicing his head to the side as his lids squinted, squeezing shut.

“Force the answers, Braddock. You can do this. Why are you covered in blood? Whose blood is it?”

“…I—No. Mine? Me. I think I. She’s—” Another yell. Words were rushed, but I couldn’t understand them with how fast and jumbled they were becoming.

“That’s it. Face the fear. You’re safe. Do you hear me? I’m here with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I—S-She. She?—"

“ Enough .” Melissa surged forward. “Braddock, I’m going to walk you back.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Melissa threw me a look. “Hear my words, Braddock.”

My jaw clenched as I lowered my voice. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“The other you is gone. The house is gone, Brad. You’re beginning to feel a little lighter.”

“ Melissa .”

“No.” Braddock yelled out again. “I’m bleeding. I…the blood.”

More unrecognizable words. Melissa’s voice deepened, holding a tone that nearly had the floor dropping out from under my feet.

“There is no blood, Braddock Amell , because you don’t exist. That reality doesn’t exist, and if it’s not real, neither is that version of you.”

Full lips parted but nothing came or went. Not words. Not air.

“What did you do?” I lunged forward, moving in closer to assess him. “What the hell did you do, Melissa?”

“Nothing. I’m waking him up.”

Red blossomed across Braddock’s face, and I didn’t think. I couldn’t with the way my mind kept growing foggy.

“Breathe, Brad. It’s time to wake up. Wake up! Breathe!”

Whack!

I slapped his cheek with enough force to snap his face to the side. He gasped, coming to. Knowing he was going to be alright had my temper exploding.

“What the hell was that?” I yelled at Melissa.

“I don’t know what you mean, .”

“Yes you do. Yes. You. Do.”

“I told you it was too far .”

“And you clearly saw I had it under control. You interrupted and took over. We were getting somewhere. You ruined it by inserting yourself. Why would you do that? You know better, Melissa.”

Braddock was sucking in breaths, clearly out of it as he attuned to being awake. His blank slate female was getting him water, but I could see Allison watching everyone in the room. She was on high alert at my yells.

“Brad.” I kneeled, waiting as he tried to collect his thoughts. He was delayed. It was expected. “Brad.”

“Elec.” He cleared his throat. “.”

“Elec is fine. You don’t have to worry about titles right now. We’re friends. We’ve always been friends. Brad, how do you feel?”

He took the water, drinking it down until the glass was finished.

“I feel…tired. I can’t think very clearly.”

“It’s normal to feel that way after you’ve been under as deep as you were.”

He wiped the sweat from his face.

“Who was screaming? I heard…I think.” He reached up to his head, wincing. “Someone keeps—Fuck.”

“That was you, Master.”

His lids cracked as he lowered his hand from his head and took the second glass of water from Allison.

“What do you mean?”

The slave seemed to catch herself, glancing at me before continuing. “You were the one screaming. It was you.”

“ Me? No, I’m hearing them in my head. That wasn’t me . ”

Allison didn’t speak as she once again looked to me. It had Braddock’s gaze locking to mine.

“Was I screaming?”

“I would say yelling,” I said, calmly. “They weren’t screams. And we couldn’t make sense of what you were saying, so it’s hard to know.”

“I was yelling.” He paused. “Are we done? My head hurts. I’m ready to go back to my apartment.”

I glared at Melissa, throwing up my hand so she could answer him.

“I want you back in a few days. We need to address some things discovered today. I’m pretty busy, but I’ll call you when I have an exact time and date. It’s imperative we get you in.”

He didn’t wait. Braddock took off, his slave following at his side. The moment the door shut, I could barely contain the fury that was blistering inside of me.

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

“You better start talking right now, Melissa. What the hell is going on, and don’t tell me nothing. What just happened was not a normal session and we both know it.”

Her shoulders dropped and a deep breath left her. When she peered up with round eyes, I felt the floor shift beneath my feet again. Her mouth was moving, but I couldn’t make sense of what she was saying. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap . I felt like I was falling. Fading. I was moving. My legs were stepping. Pressure. My arms were coming up. I knew that, but all I could do was sense my behavior. I couldn’t make sense of my actions. Panic. The blackout was disorienting. One second I was aware and fighting a nothingness I couldn’t grasp, the next, gone.

Gone.

Here.

Void.

“!”

The jolt that sent my heart igniting in my chest was electric. My entire body tensed tightly, locking in defense. Colors bled in, and Allison came in blurry in the doorway. It was the quickening breaths against the side of my lips that had my face turning. The top half of my body was lowered, and struggling pulled against my arms, trying to break free.

“ , please . Master Braddock isn’t well. My Master?—”

My arms loosened. Melissa scrambled from my hold, pulling down the skirt she wore. My lips were tingling. Wet. I’d been… standing there. Yelling at her…and her eyes. They’d changed. She— And the dress on auction night. And then, now.

“.”

“Yes, I’m coming.”

“Elec, wait. I can explain .”

My index finger came out, and I pointed directly at Melissa. For seconds I was too angry to speak. “Not another word. Not one .”

Sickness infested my gut. My mind . I knew I wasn’t hiding the shock. The horror. The rage. I couldn’t as I tore my gaze from Mistress Two and stalked from the room. Everything was spinning. Each step was uneven, making me off balance.

Me and Melissa? Melissa. Kissing? God, I had been kissing her?

I knew I had, just as deep down, I knew I hadn’t had control in that decision. Kissing. Melissa. I nearly gagged. But that question only added to a tidal wave of more. Were these acts recent? Ongoing? For…years?

A blinding flash of her torn dress on auction night nearly had me stumbling. This was bad. Worse than her wanting to overthrow me. This was personal, not business. Feelings of desire were the root of the most venomous destruction. And I knew Melissa. She was as cold as she was calculating. I had to process. To think. But first my friend. As soon as I got Braddock back in his apartment, I was going to figure this out. Melissa didn’t want my position as … she wanted me.