Fragmented Love

A new crisp white shirt by Armani, a slim fit, anthracite grey suit by Zegna, black leather shoes by John Lobb, a Chanel belt, and a pair of mother of pearl cufflinks. The best of the best, thought Andy as he fluffed up his hair for the third time.

"Dressed to kill, Sir. If I do say so myself."

"Yes, Kellin, I must say, great job with the suit, I wasn't sure about this, you were right." He bowed his head slightly in gratitude at the compliment.

"Everything is in order downstairs, Austin is waiting for the first cars to enter the driveway before he pours the champagne. The music is all set up, the chefs are just finishing preparations and five of the guest bedrooms have been set up, just in case." Andy smiled and patted his young manservant on the shoulder.

"Good work. Thank you, Kellin. I'd best be getting ready for the speech."

"Of course Sir, oh, and Sir?" Andy turned round.

"Happy birthday." He smiled and left for his office, chuckling slightly.

Dan fought back a cry as he was thrown into the back of a large van, then the men behind him proceeded to argue.

"What the hell are you doin' man?! Franceschi wants him in the best possible condition! Get him strapped in the spare seat in the back, don't be rough you moron, I'm not gettin' skinned for your fucking mistakes - and make sure the cuffs aren't too tight, don't want marks on him." Dan was almost grateful to the dark haired man, even though he knew the small act of kindness wasn't for his benefit. He was strapped in the back by the larger man.

"There. You happy now?"

"Hey, watch it. You're the one that'll shit your pants if Franceschi's not happy, or worse, if Biersack's not happy." Dan's heart stopped as he overheard the two men talking. So, he wasn't just being sold. He was being given as a gift. Being passed onto two different people in one night would be exhausting, Dan was sure of it. As the two traders climbed into the van and set off at a high speed, Dan began to feel queasy. He'd never been too good with car journeys, much less when every little movement felt three times worse strapped to the mini fold-down seat in the back of the van. He was too frightened to be sick though. He knew the cruelty the men were capable of, however that wasn't his reason for being scared. He was so, utterly terrified because of their fear not only of the man who had purchased him, but of the man he was being given to.
Another sharp lurch jolted him out of his thoughts and his heart rate picked up as the realisation that the car was slowing to a stop hit him. He tried to even out his breathing, and rationalise with himself along with keeping his mouth clamped firmly shut to prevent from being sick, as the two men jumped out and spoke to someone before opening the doors and pulling him out. Dan swallowed back bile and the long haired man looked at him narrowly.

"Look, kid, if you're gonna hurl do it now cause it ain't gonna be a good idea to do it in his car." He gestured over Dan's shoulder and he shook his head. He didn't want to look any weaker than he did right now. They pulled him round, and a shiny black Bentley came into view, with a big bodyguard standing outside the car. He opened the door and a man stepped out, Dan swallowed again and kept his eyes trained on the ground as the man walked up and jerked his chin upwards. Dan flinched and tried not to look too afraid.

"Do you know what to do? Have you been thoroughly trained?" Dan's mind wandered back to the first slave trader he'd been taken to, he'd been whipped when he didn't do or say things right, Dan could almost feel the strips of skin burning as the hard leather instrument was brought down onto his back, ass, chest, legs, anywhere that was accessible. He cleared his throat before replying.

"Yes, m- sir." He corrected himself. The other man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So you've figured out that I'm not to be your master then."

"Yes sir." The taller man nodded.

"Fine. You're thin, too thin." He glared at the two traders who practically shrank in size.

"Sorry sir, we could only do so much with him, he was in a much worse state when he came to us you can be sure-" The rich man held up one hand.

"Stop babbling. Max, give them the money. You...you're just lucky that your face saves you, you are attractive, even Andrew will be able to see that. Now come, we're already late." He snapped once more at the traders who accepted the money and practically ran back to the large, rusty vehicle. Franceschi, the businessman, grabbed Dan by the arm, making him flinch and pulled him into the car with him. Dan felt leashes of panic begin to wrap tightly around his chest as painful memories of the last time he was pulled into a car came flooding back. He was frightened, and he knew he was past controlling it now.

"...happy birthday to you!!!!" The guests finished the short song and applauded as Andy opened up a fresh bottle of champagne, the cork ricocheting off a wall, and the thick bubbly foam spilling down onto a few of them from where Andy stood up on the top of the large, marble staircase.

"Thank you!! Thank you very much! Now, the cake has been cut, everyone dig in, and cheers!!!"

"Cheers!!" Everyone chorused before turning towards the vast and elaborate birthday cake. Andy took a sip of the rich champagne, embracing the deep flavour as he turned to Kellin.

"The speech went well, I think."

"As do I, marvellous job Sir." Andy nodded and walked down the steps to rejoin his guests as the music began. A constant flood of people wanting to talk to him distracted him to the point where he didn't see Kellin trying to get his attention. It was five minutes later when his manservant finally reached him and tapped his shoulder. Andy spun around with an expression of slight disbelief and irritation.

"Kellin, I'm having a rather important conversation here-"

"I'm very sorry to interrupt you sir, I've just had a report from Austin, apparently Joshua Franceschi's car has pulled into the drive, I got that message several minutes ago so he's probably here-" As he uttered the words, the large double doors opened and Josh Franceschi walked in, followed by his two bodyguards and a fourth person of whom Andy could only see their hair. His blood began to boil and he ignored Kellin's quiet plea to keep his temper and excused himself before storming up to the shorter man. The guests all went quiet as they watched the events that were about to unfold.

"The hell are you doing in my house, Francheschi?!"

"Oh c'mon Andrew, no need to be like that. Look, I know we've been through some rough times-" Andy practically growled at the other man and he flinched back.

"Rough times?!! You stole thirteen million dollars from me!!"

"I didn't mean to! It wasn't like that and you know it! I needed to borrow the money, you know I couldn't repay it-"

"Don't play innocent! I lent you that money because you were my friend, no other reason. You have the means to pay me back now, but you managed to get the debt written off, and even now you've still never made an effort to repay me. You're pathetic. At least own up to it. Now get out, you're not welcome here." Josh took a step forward and Andy shoved him back.

"Hey, hey! Look, I know what you like, remember? Remember the good old days back at the bars and clubs? I watched you look at people, I know your type. So I bought you a birthday present, just to...begin repaying you." Andy frowned in angry confusion.

"What are you talking about?" His stomach churned as the other man clicked his fingers and the bodyguards pushed forward the fourth man. He was skinny to the point of looking breakable, he had a scrape on his shoulder, but besides that he was untainted. He had dyed, white blonde hair and when Franceschi pulled his chin up, Andy realised that the only phrase able to describe him was an abused angel. His bright blue eyes flicked up to Andy's, before returning to the ground the moment Franceschi let him go. Andy's nostrils flared as he attempted to control the anger raging inside him.

"What....is the meaning of this?" Franceschi's light smile quickly disappeared as he realised Andy's silence wasn't a happy one.

"L-look, I was trying to start making it up to you!! I thought you'd like him-" Andy grabbed the man by his suit jacket and slammed him up against the door frame, his bodyguards started forward but Josh called them off.

"Like him?! Make it up to me?! You've bought an abused, starved sex slave into my home like a second hand toy!!"

"No! No, he's never been used! He's new, he's all yours-"

"You think I care about that? You're disgusting!! This is sick! Get out of my house, now!!" Andy pushed off the hands of Kellin, but was shocked when he dragged him back.

"Sir. I need to point something out-"

"Not the best time, Quinn."

"If you reject the young man, then he'll be punished." Andy stopped struggling.

"What?" He asked whilst looking at the man, hands still cuffed, standing there visibly shaking with fear.

"Franceschi will punish him. Then, if he sends him back to the traders, they'll beat him within an inch of his life for not doing his job."

"What job?!"

"Making you want him, Sir." Andy felt sick and pulled himself together, putting a hand up as Franceschi grabbed the slave's arm.

"I've reconsidered. He stays with me. You and your bodyguards however, are still most unwelcome. Please do not cause any further disturbances for me, Josh." The man looked almost relieved and nodded, pushing the skinny man towards him, and handing Andy the key to the cuffs, which he unlocked immediately, inwardly cringing at the protruding bones of the slave.

"Umm...happy birthday, man. And I am sorry." With that, Josh was gone. Andy was about to take off his jacket and hand it to the shaking man, when Kellin stopped him.

"There are rules, Sir. You can't treat him like a free man in front of certain people here." Andy felt anger spark up again but nodded and simply reached out for the man, who flinched heavily. Andy looked at him, slightly confused, and gestured instead for him to walk up the stairs. The silence was thick as the skinny man attempted to walk up the stairs and his entire body shook violently with the effort. Andy walked diagonally behind him, one hand out ready to catch him if he fell. It felt like hours to get to the top, when they did Andy gestured to Kellin to help him get everyone dancing and talking again. The music started again, even louder than before, and he was grateful for the noise, the distraction so he didn't have to deal with the guests.

He didn't know what to do, he had no plan for once they got into his bedroom, he was panicking. He was just trying to get the two of them away from the three hundred gossiping guests downstairs. He shook his head and opened the door. The man looked absolutely petrified as he saw the large bed and Andy shook his head.

"Hey, don't worry I'm not gonna....don't worry. I just didn't want you to have to stand there in front of everyone like this...I.." The man's eyes flickered between the floor and his own.

"What's your name?"

"What do you wish it to be, Master?" The title felt like a sharp pinch and Andy sighed.

"I'm asking you your birth name, the name your parents gave you." The blonde man looked up.

"It's Dan, Master." Andy nodded.

"Ok, Dan, look I wasn't prepared for this. I don't...are you alright?" Dan frowned slightly.

"My welfare doesn't matter-"

"It matters. Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" The exhale that came from Dan's lips was halfway between a breath and a laugh.

"No, Master. They did not. It would have lowered my value." Andy frowned.

"What do you mean?" The question pushed Dan back into his even more frightened state and his eyes did not leave the ground as he replied:

"They wanted me to look my best for you." Andy closed his eyes for a minute.

"There is a bathroom through here, have a shower, go to the loo, do whatever you need to, when you come back out I will have something for you to eat and drink - you look half starved." Dan looked confused but nodded.

"T-thank you, Master." He walked into the bathroom silently and closed the door behind him. Andy noticed he didn't lock it.