Eventide (Her Father, My Master) (13 page)

the leash time, I think,” he said, nodding slightly. “Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't ask for this sooner. I was considering offering you time to yourself, but I didn't want to presume.”

I stared, unsure of what to say. This was slightly out of character, and I felt the illusion of our play

melting somewhat. He was treating me like an equal, and I found it disconcerting, to say the least. But he was right. I needed time to myself. I needed time to go out into the real world, and have interactions with other people. In the past few weeks, I was painfully aware of how closed off I was from society, in my

position. I missed working at the coffee shop. I missed Derrick. I even missed Kat and Suz.

Nodding slightly, I said, “Yes, I think you're right. Sir.”

Mr. Hendricks rubbed his chin in thought. He had a day's worth of beard growth on his chin, and I

loved it when he let it grow out. He looked so masculine, and the stubble provided another interesting

sensation in our play. “All right,” he finally stated before going back to his chair, sitting down, and

staring at the monitor again. “Let me think on it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Of course. Now, have you finished everything you needed to do today?”

I shook my head. I wasn't even close to finished. I was still behind on Friday and Saturday's chore

list, thanks to Maddie's surprise visit. “No, sir.”

His lips curled upward slightly. “Be a good girl and finish your work by the end of the day, and there

might be a treat for you.”

My eyes widened ever so slightly. “Yes, sir.”

I ended up finishing my chores in time, and as a reward, Mr. Hendricks put on my leather collar and

tied me up in my room for over an hour. It was a deliciously agonizing wait for him, and I savored every

moment of it, like I usually did.

It was amazing how much I craved being restrained, yet how much I yearned for freedom. There must

be a good balance for me, for us. Somehow. I hoped this little bit of freedom that I was going to get

every Saturday would work out. I desperately wanted this to work.

And I was going to get the freedom. It still had limits – I would still be bound by my master's

commands, but every Saturday, from twelve in the afternoon until six in the evening, I was free to go out

and do as I wished. The only stipulations were that I inform my master where I was going, avoid my

parents and friends, for obvious reasons, and not tell him what I did. I wasn't certain why he didn't want

to know what I did, but I didn't question it. He was my master, after all.

My first Saturday out was simple. There wasn't any deeper aspect of play involved other than the fact

that I was being naughty for wanting this. Mr. Hendricks implied punishment upon my return.

Clothing still felt alien on my skin, but I had to wear it, for obvious reasons. I pulled the thin t-shirt

over my head, then my jeans. To my relief, they fit perfectly. My harsh exercise regimen kept me in good

shape, that much was certain. I then wrapped a jacket around me. Fall was beginning to bite through the

air now with more than a hint of coldness, and I didn't want to freeze.

I crept down the stairs, and then through the kitchen and towards the garage. Part of the play was that I

truly was sneaking out, like a naughty school girl. And another part of the play would be the punishment

when I return. But for now, he couldn't see me leave. I had to sneak out.

I safely made it to the garage without making a peep, and firmly shut the door behind me. Some

element of the play would be ruined by the fact that I would have to start my car, which made a lot of

noise, and the fact that it was the middle of the day outside. It wasn't exactly easy to sneak around with

the noonday sun beating down on my head. Maybe I could talk to him about sneaking out at night on

occasion as well.

For now though, I backed out into the driveway, quickly turned around, and dashed out of there.

My heart was racing, and I felt the giddy thrill of exhilaration that came with being disobedient. I

knew it was part of the play, but it still made me feel so alive. And the fact that I was getting out of his house for the first time in over a month excited me, and scared me just a little bit. This was something

I've never done before. My hands would have shook, if they weren't tightly gripping the steering wheel of

my little blue car.

I wasn't even certain what I wanted to do right now. I drove aimlessly about for a good fifteen

minutes. I could go to the mall, though that was a bit of a drive, and I didn't have much money to speak of, just what I'd earned over the summer at the coffee shop. Or I could go to a park and just walk around,

enjoy the fresh, cool air and the fact that I was actually outside for a change. I always forgot how much I missed being outside. It just wasn't something I got a lot of when I was with my master.

In the end, I settled for the park. For one, it was close, and as much as I wanted a little freedom, being

away from Mr. Hendricks also scared me a little. This was new and different, and I wasn't certain it was

good for me.

The park was large, but not so large that I'd get lost in it, and most of it was wooded. I picked a good

time to go, too – the trees were in full fall foliage, with violent red and orange searing my eyes. The air was crisp and cool, cool enough that I needed my jacket, and the sky was a brilliant, deep blue. All in all, it was a perfect autumn day.

I could see spending six hours here, though perhaps not today. I needed a book to read, something to

occupy my mind. For now, I settled on walking, taking in the sights and smells, and the people.

The people.

There weren't many, thank goodness. I didn't think I could take a large crowd at this point. I'd been

too far removed from society in the last few weeks. But a few people, I could handle. There were kids

on playgrounds, screaming and shrieking and running around like miniature banshees, moms watching

them, joggers with dogs. I was reminded of civilization once more. I was reminded of how much I

needed to be around other people.

The emptiness and silence of my master's house was just too much, sometimes. Being alone all the

time wasn't something I could handle very well, I realized as I walked through the park. And it was a

difficult realization for me, because I was admitting that my master couldn't provide everything I needed.

I had food, shelter, anything and everything I asked for, but not this. Not a walk through the park on a fall day. Not a stimulating conversation over a cup of coffee.

I knew that my relationship with my master was special, but it was also shallow. As time went on, I

couldn't help but find myself craving something more.

I was pulled out of my musing by a familiar voice.

“Krystal?”

With wide eyes, I froze, unsure of what to do. Mr. Hendricks had stressed the importance that I not be

recognized by anyone in town, or else the fact that I wasn't attending the college I said I was would

become apparent. But it was too late. I slowly turned, and looked the caller in the eyes.

It was Derrick.

“It is you,” he said, waving and smiling happily. I was even more uncertain of what I should do now.

Why was he here, of all days? I thought he was supposed to be at college, too. What a horrible

coincidence. I wished I could just run away, but I couldn't. There was a part of me that didn't want to. I wanted to have a real, human interaction with someone else today, and Derrick could be that person.

Besides, my feet felt like they were glued to the ground at the moment.

“How's it been? Are you on fall break now? How are your classes?” he asked, completely unaware

of how nervous his barrage of questions was making me. But in his questions, he gave me an excuse to be

here. I could say it was fall break at my college. Of course. I mentally slapped myself for not thinking of it earlier.

“Yeah, it's fall break. I guess it is for you, too?” I replied, smiling slightly as I spoke. I didn't want to chase Derrick away with any strange behavior, but I felt strangely like a puppet or a character in a play,

though. I didn't feel like myself. I felt like I was trying my damndest to behave like someone else.

I realized it was because I
was
trying to be someone else. I was trying to be the Krystal that went to college, took classes like a normal person, went out and partied at night. I was trying to be the Krystal

that had friends and was in a sorority, not the Krystal who was a slave. I flushed slightly at that thought. I was so strange. If Derrick knew my real living situation...

I would have to make sure he didn't find it out.

“Yeah,” he said, still oblivious to my weird inner monologue. “I've got to go back on Sunday, though.

Super lame, right?”

“Right,” I replied. “How are your classes?” I asked him before he could ask me another question and

force more information out of me.

“They're all right. I'm wondering about whether I should switch my major, though. I'm not terrible

interested in the one I picked.”

“Which is?” I prompted. I really didn't know very much about him, despite all the time we'd spent

together over the summer. But that had been for work.

“Oh! Sorry,” he said sheepishly, ducking his head downwards. He really seemed like my dad, in that

moment. And nothing like my master. “Computer Science.”

“That sounds... boring,” I finished lamely, but truthfully. Computers didn't really interest me beyond

what they could do for me. “What about you and Maddie?”

“Oh, that.” There was that sheepish smile again, and the head duck. “She broke up with me before we

went back to college. Said she didn't want to be tied down in a long distance relationship while she was

in college.”

My lip curled upwards in a look of disdain. “Of course.”

“I should have never kept going with that relationship. I swear. I'm such a doormat.”

I had to agree with him. I would never have let myself be dragged along by someone else, but Maddie

could be pretty dominating at times.

For the first time in a long time, I found myself thinking about Joey again. What if she'd steamrolled

him into sex and a relationship as well? Not that this completely absolved him of responsibility, but after what I saw her do to Derrick, I could see it having happened to Joey as well. Maddie was a bit like her

father, after all. Dominant and assertive.

“Seriously, why didn't you break up with her?” I asked, honestly curious now. I just couldn't imagine

continuing a relationship with someone I wasn't wild about.

He shrugged. “I like making people happy,” he said. “And apparently I made Maddie happy, when I

was with her.”

“But she didn't care about your feelings when she broke up with you,” I pointed out.

“She did what she needed to do for herself. If I'd broken up with her at the beginning of the summer, it

just would have made things horrible at the coffee shop, you know that. Why do you care so much about

what I did or didn't do with her, anyways?” He looked at me strangely now, and I felt a flush slowly rise,

my cheeks burning in the cool air.

“I don't know.”

Derrick sighed. “Look, I know she did some pretty shitty things to you, but you need to stop obsessing

about her.”

“I'm not obsessing!” I said defensively. Though I probably was. Why did I care what Maddie did

with her life? She was free to do what she wanted, and so was Derrick.

“I think you are,” he said simply. I turned away from him, making to walk towards my car. The park

suddenly seemed like a very bad idea, now. “Wait up,” he called after me jogging to catch up to me. He

couldn't seem to take a hint.

“What?” I said more coldly now. My desire to talk to him was waning, fast.

“I'm sorry I said that, okay?” he said, panting slightly from the effort of keeping up with my fast pace.

He really was soft.

“But you still said it, which means you're thinking it,” I said, still walking fast. The parking lot was

looming close. Soon, I could escape him, and his uncomfortable statements.

“True,” he conceded. “But I don't have a right to tell you what to think, or who to think about. Please,

Krys,” he pleaded as he grabbed my arm, tugging me to a stop. It was the most aggressive thing he'd ever

done to me, and I instinctively stopped. My master had trained me well. I looked back at him, and for

just a moment, for the first time, I saw a real fire in his eyes. A real potential.

“Please what?” I asked. I was feeling a little confused at the moment. I didn't know what Derrick

wanted of me. I didn't even know what I wanted of him.

“I just want to say I'm sorry.” He abruptly dropped his hand away from me when I stopped moving,

and lowered his head again. “You know how I am. I don't want people angry with me. I just want you to

like me.”

I nodded curtly. If nothing else, I could appreciate the straight-forwardness of his response. “I don't

dislike you,” I said. “You just said some heavy things. And maybe you're right. I don't know. But I need to do some thinking.” He didn't follow me as I made for my car once again.

When I got to the safety of my metal cage, only then did it occur to me how rude I'd been to him. He

was only trying to help, after all. But help with what? I didn't need help. I didn't need to get over

anything, I
was
over it. As my hands draped over the steering wheel though, I knew that wasn't true.