Free Distorted Hope by Marissa Honeycutt

times. “Good girl.” He ignored me the rest of the night, except for a few strokes of my hair every once in a while, which I quickly came to anticipate. It assured me he hadn’t forgotten about me and for some reason, that comforted me.
    I wished I were sitting at Jason’s feet. Being even a few feet from the man I loved made my heart ache, but I didn’t dare look at him; I didn’t want to get hit again.
    Did Nathan hit his slaves often? Was I to be beaten regularly? He seemed quick to punish disobedience. I wished I knew what to expect. This kind of on-the-job-training was stressful.
    The men drank and ate for several hours. Even Jason seemed to be having a good time. I was happy for him, but my legs were cramping and I was so tired. I just wanted to go to sleep, but I had a feeling Nathan wouldn’t appreciate me asking if I could go to bed. I began to envy the girls he had sent away earlier.
    When my eyes started drooping, Nathan patted my head and stood. “I think we will call it an evening. Let me show you to your room, Jason.”
    I stayed where I was until Nathan held out his hand to me. I looked up in confusion.
    “Unless you’d prefer to sleep down here?”
    I shook my head. “Er, no, Patrón,” I said and took his hand. My legs were unsteady and tingly and he held onto my hand until I was steady. I fought the urge to glance up at Jason.
    “You’ll get used to sitting like that. It will take a few weeks.”
    When I was ready to walk, only Mark, Jason, Nathan, and I were left in the room. The other men had disappeared, though I could hear their footsteps on the tiled stairs. Mark and Jason walked up the stairs first, followed by me and Nathan.
    I hoped I would get to stay with Jason tonight, but Mark had indicated I’d be staying with Nathan. The thought of being away from Jason made my heart ache even more.
    At the top of the stairs was another set of stairs leading up to the third floor, and to the right was a small living room. Ahead of us, double glass doors were opened to a U-shaped covered patio lined with glass double-doors. We turned left and Mark stopped and opened the second set of doors. He turned a light on and stepped aside for Jason and Nathan to enter. I stayed outside by the door and looked in.
    The room was large and spacious with white walls and a dark wood floor. On the far wall, double wooden doors stood open to another room. The wall to my left had a large bed with a carved wooden headboard and flowing white bedspread. Across from the bed was a dresser and a TV on the wall. A wardrobe stood in the far left corner.
    “This will be your room,” Nathan said to Jason. “There are clothes in the dresser and wardrobe. The bathroom is through those doors.” He motioned to the opened doors in the back of the room. “We have satellite TV, but no internet. Well, not in the bedrooms.” He grimaced. “It wouldn’t do for you to try and contact anyone from home.” His tone held a firm warning. “Breakfast is at eight-thirty. My other engineer will meet you then and take you on a tour of the facilities after breakfast.” He started to turn toward the door but stopped and turned back around. “You may have any of the girls when you are not required to be working.” His eyes became hard. “You will not touch Kyra without my permission.”
    My heart fell into my stomach and I stared at Nathan.
    Jason frowned. “Why?”
    “Because Kyra belongs to me now. This is not to say you won’t be able to be with her, but you must have my permission first.”
    Jason glanced at me and growled. “Then may I have her now?”
    “No. Not tonight. Do well on your first day and we’ll see about tomorrow night. Mark can answer any questions you have. Goodnight.” Nathan turned and strode out of the room.
    I stepped back out of his way. “Come,” he said to me and walked past the living room doors, around to the far side of the patio, to a set of glass doors.
    I followed, running to catch up with