“What’s going on?” Justin asked as he came out to see why the yacht was shaking so much. “Go back!” Brian yelled at Justin. Justin frowned when he saw that it was raining and the wind was howling. There was a storm going on. “Shit,” Justin muttered. “Holy shit,” Daphne said behind him. Both of them gasped when they saw lightning strike the sea. It felt like they had been mere inches from it. “I said go back!” Brian yelled at them. “Why are you guys outside?” Justin asked. “James!” Brian hissed. James appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Justin and Daphne. He pushed them back down into the interior of the boat. “Can’t we help?” Justin asked. “Can’t we help?” James asked taken aback. “Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t know anything about how to handle the ship in the middle of the storm. Now go back to your rooms.” Justin bit his lower lip. “Is Brian going to be okay?” “What?” Daphne asked as she looked at Justin. James smiled. “He will be fine. Now go back.” “Are we going to die?” Daphne asked as she looked back at James. “No princess,” he told her. “It’s nothing.” “Nothing,” Daphne said raising her voice. “We’re moving from side to side. What if we turn upside down?” “Don’t say that, Daph,” Justin told her. “What if it happens now because you said it?” “You two are so weird,” James said. “Jesus.” Daphne glared at him before she turned around and left. James sighed; he was actually worried but didn’t want to let the others know his concern. “What did I say?” James asked. “You called her weird,” Justin pointed out. “So?” James asked. “Don’t worry,” Justin sighed. “She’s just scared.” “She doesn’t look scared to me,” James whispered. “She hides it well,” Justin informed him. “I see,” James replied and then went after Daphne. Justin frowned and went after the man. “Where are you going?” James didn’t answer. They found Daphne sitting with Emmett in one of the staterooms. “I’m going to get you some hot chocolate,” Emmett said getting up. “Hey Jus,” Emmett greeted the blond when he saw him. Justin nodded at Emmett. “I’m sorry,” James said as he sat down next to Daphne. “What?” Daphne asked frowning. “I didn’t mean to act like a total ass,” James informed her. Daphne gave him a brief smile. “I don’t care what you do,” she assured him but her words lacked conviction. James pushed one of her hair strands to the back of her ear. “It will be okay.” Daphne sighed. “That’s good to hear.” James slowly put an arm around her. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m talking about.” Justin frowned as he watched James holding Daphne. That wasn’t James place, beside his best friend comforting her. He wanted to be the one telling Daphne that everything was going to be okay. He turned around and left them there. He didn’t understand the relationship James and Daphne seemed to be developing. One moment she was trying to kill him because he was being an asshole and the next it was as if nothing had happened. He went back to Brian’s room. He laid there and hoped that Brian was okay. He wondered if the storm would be so bad that it would make everyone who was on deck go overboard. He knew then that they would be free to go home but for some reason he didn’t want Brian to get hurt. “Fuck,” Brain said as he opened the door. “Brian,” Justin gasped. “What are you doing here?” “This is my room,” Brian pointed out. “I know,” Justin told him. “But I thought you were going to stay on the deck.” “I’ve been out there for three hours,” Brian said. “Boris took my post.” Justin nodded and went to Brian. “You’re freezing.” “I know,” Brian replied. Justin helped Brian take off his clothes. As much as he tried he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the naked man. While Brian showered he found the man some dry clothes. “Thank you,” Brian muttered when he was out of the bathroom and Justin was handing him his clothes. “You’re exhausted,” Justin pointed out. “Yeah,” Brian whispered. The blond helped Brian dry up and then assisted the brunet when he got his clothes on. He helped Brian get under the covers and got in with him. He kept rubbing the man’s arm until the brunet was asleep. He could tell that Brian had been fatigued. The blond stared at Brian for the longest time. He committed to memory every single detail of Brian’s face and body. One day when he was finally at home he could use all those images to paint. Brian was a great subject. Justin kept telling himself that, and many other reasons why he kept staring at the brunet. He had to somehow justify his feelings or else why would he be staring at the man he hated. Justin didn’t want to face his new feeling and was in denial as much as Brian was. *** Justin was going to knock on Daphne’s room when he heard some giggling. He stood outside and wondered what was going on. He put his ear to the door. “Could you stop laughing?” James asked. “That tickled,” Daphne informed him. “God, you’re so beautiful,” James told her. Justin frowned and wanted to run inside the room. “Make love to me again,” Daphne said. Justin wanted to die. He pulled away from the door and ran out of there. When he reached the deck he was out of oxygen. He couldn’t have heard right. He had to be dreaming. He didn’t know what to think. It was his fault. Daphne wouldn’t be in James’ claws if it wasn’t for him. He was the one that wanted to make the trip to the Mediterranean. “Hey,” Emmett said. “What’s with you?” Justin shook his head and sat down. “Nothing.” “I’ve wanted to ask you something,” Emmett told him as he sat down next to the blond. “What is it?” Justin asked. “Why did Brian give you this?” Emmett asked touching Justin’s necklace. “I don’t know,” Justin told him. He shrugged. “I know that one day I just woke up with it.” Emmett nodded slowly. “I see.” “What?” Justin asked. “I think he likes you,” Emmett pointed out. “I think he wants to fuck me,” Justin hissed. Emmett frowned at the animosity in Justin’s voice. Justin sighed. “It doesn’t matter. He only needs to get his quota for the month and I guess he’ll get that once he sells us.” Emmett’s eyes saddened when the reality of what was happening hit him again. For the past few days he had been trying to pretend. “I don’t want to leave you or Daphne. If I had to be stuck in this boat for the rest of my life I wouldn’t care; as long as you guys were here with me.” Justin sighed. “I know.” “At least Daphne gets to stay here,” Emmett said. “I guess that’s better than nothing.” Justin didn’t want to think about Daphne. He didn’t want to think of the things that James was doing to his friend. He talked with Emmett for a while. Not letting the subject go anywhere near Daphne. He felt bad enough already. “I’m going to go help, Boris,” Emmett said getting up. “He likes to cook and I’m learning a lot. It keeps me busy you know.” Justin nodded, he understood what Emmett meant. He had actually enjoyed fishing with Michael and Henry. In his mind he pretended they were old friends and they were out for the day having a great time. He had to escape somehow to a world where things were perfect. “Hey Jus,” Daphne said smiling at him. “Daphne,” Justin gasped. “Are you okay?” “What are you talking about?” Daphne asked him. “What did he do to you?” Justin asked. “What?” Daphne asked. “Did he force you?” Justin asked. Daphne swallowed and sat down. “Wow. I...no.” “What?” Justin asked a bit confused. “He didn’t force me,” Daphne said. “It kind of happened.” Justin shook his head. “I’m sorry, Daph.” “I’m not,” Daphne confessed and shrugged. “Are you serious?” Justin asked her. “I think you have lost your mind.” “Oh please,” Daphne told him. “Don’t be a hypocrite.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Justin asked taken aback. Daphne pointed at the necklace that Justin was wearing. “What is it with everyone and this damn necklace?” Justin asked. “He gave it to you,” Daphne pointed out. “It doesn’t mean anything,” Justin spat out. “I think you’re fucking nuts!” Daphne got up. “I have things to do. I’m going to go do them.” Justin sighed as he watched her go. He hated when Daphne shut him out. She would walk away and that would be the end of their discussion. He hadn’t meant to yell at her. He grabbed the tooth of the shark and closed his eyes. He had thought of taking the thing off but couldn’t bring himself to do it. If he was honest with himself he was jealous. He wanted Brian to act with him the way that James was with Daphne. He wanted to be able to stay on the ship because he was scared of what they were going to do to him. But Justin wasn’t honest with himself and chose to tell himself that Brian was a horrible man and that he wouldn’t want to be with. He continued his denials by believing he wasn’t afraid of what would happen. Then he kept searching for a plan to escape telling himself that it would be perfect and they would be back home soon. For Justin, sometimes being in denial made it easier for him to get through the day. “Hey,” Brian said sitting next to the blond. “What are you doing?” “Nothing,” Justin muttered. “Mmm,” Brian leaned closer to Justin. “How is that going?” Justin smirked and shrugged. He gasped when he felt Brian’s breath hit his neck. Brian pulled back and chastised himself. He had to keep away from Justin. “Hey,” Justin said. “Why did you give me this?” Brian shrugged, he didn’t want admit the truth to the blond. Brian was torn between keeping the blond to ravish him like he wanted to and the selling him for profit like he had to. “Was it a present?” Justin asked smiling. “Why would I give you a present?” Brian asked. “It’s just something I didn’t want anymore.” Justin looked at the floor. “Oh,” he said and quickly got up. “Where are you going?” Brain asked. Justin shrugged. He hated that somehow the brunet got to him. He shook his head as he walked away. He really needed a plan to escape. *** Justin was sitting in one of the chairs in Daphne’s room. Emmett was sitting down looking at a movie. Daphne was reading a book. “We have to get out of here,” Justin told them. Both of them looked at Justin. They had been traveling for three weeks nonstop after the storm had hit them. Before they would stop for a while and some of them would swim or do something. Now everyone was looking gloomy and bored out of their minds, at least the three of them were. They were tired of it but there was nothing they could do. “Do you have a plan?” Daphne asked. “No,” Justin confessed. “I’m only saying we need to escape before we’re separated.” “I might be leaving soon,” Daphne muttered. “What are you talking about?” Emmett asked as he turned around. “James is going back to his home. And he’s taking me with him,” Daphne informed them. Justin frowned. “God,” he said getting up. “We have to do something.” “I know,” Emmett sighed. “But what?” “We stopped,” Justin said suddenly. “Fuck!” Emmett had goosebumps all over his skin. “I’m going out,” Justin said. “Jus,” Daphne whispered. “I’ll be back later,” Justin told her. “I want to know what’s going on.” He exited the room and took a deep breath. He quickly made it to the surface of the deck. The men were moving quickly lowering the sails and lifting new ones. Justin swallowed and looked around. “Hey,” Michael said with a smirk. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be hiding.” “I’m not scared of you,” Justin spat out. “Or anyone.” Michael laughed as he took a long drag from his joint. “If you say so. Do you like the view?” Justin looked around. “Where are we?” “The shores of Egypt my friend,” Michael told him. “That right there is Alexandria. We can’t get closer. That’s their sea. But it’s dark and they won’t see us sneaking in.” Justin sighed. They were really in Egypt; he was here to be sold. Once again Justin felt himself going into shock at his future fate. “Justin,” James said as he grabbed the blond by the arm. “We need to talk.” Justin let James lead him away. “What do you want?” “What happened with you and Brian?” James asked. “Nothing happened,” Justin hissed. “Oh, I see now what his pissing mood is about,” James smirked. Justin sighed. “Why did you buy Daphne?” James started a Justin for a long while. “She’s beautiful, you know.” Justin nodded slowly. “What...what are you going to do to her?” “Nothing that she doesn’t want me to do,” James answered. Justin glared at him. “Don’t hurt her.” “I won’t,” James replied. “I might even let her go.” “Really?” Justin asked. James shrugged. “If she wants me to.” Justin glared at the man again. “Stop playing with me.” James laughed. “You should go talk to Brian.” Justin watched the man walking away. He sighed and decided he should talk to Brian. He still has time to call his father and ask for help. He walked to Brian’s chambers and was happy to find Brian there. “Can I talk to you?” “What do you want?” Brian asked as he reached for a shirt to put on. Justin swallowed as he stared at Brian’s muscular back. “Uh, I want...I was wondering if I could call my father, Brian. He has money and he would pay whatever you ask for.” “I already found someone that would pay high money for you,” Brian drawled. “Sorry kid.” Justin walked closer to Brian and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. Brian turned around. “Please,” Justin begged. “I’ll do whatever you want,” he said and pressed his body against Brian. Brian pushed him away making Justin fall back on the bed, his body bouncing in the mattress. “Do not whore yourself to me!” Justin felt like he had been slapped. “Go take a shower and meet me out on deck so we can leave for shore. And you better listen if you don’t want to make things worse!” Brian shouted and left the room. Justin stood there for a few seconds. He didn’t know what to think. He thought about Brian briefly and the thought of the man scared him. He remembered the first days when he could have cared less what Brian did to him. But now it was different, one touch or look from the man and he melted. He didn’t know why but the man terrified him to no end because of the things he made him feel. *** Justin was in a state of shock. Brian, Michael and Kenneth had left during the night with Justin. They had taken one of the small boats and made it to Egypt. There were people waiting for them. Justin could hear them talking and he simply didn’t cared. He got into a car and then they drove away. Brain sat next to him during the whole trip. They stopped a few times but Justin stayed in the car at all times. He didn’t even looked surprise when he saw the firearms being loaded into the second car. He kept staring straight ahead oblivious to everything except his fate. Justin was tired but he didn’t dare go to sleep. “This is Cairo,” Michael announced after a while. Justin didn’t cared one way or another. So he didn’t bother to look. It was dark anyway and he wouldn’t see much. When they arrived at their destination they all got out. Brian guided Justin into the hotel making sure he had hold of the blond. Justin kept on walking trying to find his voice or to force himself to make some move to escape. He was completely numb as to what was going on. He was so scared of what they were going to do to him. He knew he should have jumped and made a swim for it. Kenneth wasn’t with them since Brian sent him back to the ship with their new acquirements. “This is our room,” Michael said. Justin sat in the hotel room deciding if it would hurt when he hit the floor after jumping from the sixth floor through one of the windows. They were there for a long time and eventually Justin fell asleep for half an hour. When he woke he gasped suddenly, opened his eyes and chastised himself for falling asleep. “Are you okay?” Michael asked looking up from where he was sitting. Justin nodded as he sat up quickly. He looked at Brian who was pacing while talking on the phone. Michael was in the room playing solitaire on his computer. Justin took a deep breath and hoped lighting struck him but it wasn’t very probable. “Do you want anything to drink?” Michael asked as he got up. Justin shook his head. “Come on,” Michael said walking away. When he came back he was holding two glasses. “It will calm your nerves down.” Brian was looking at them as he waited for whoever was on the other line. Justin listen to Brian say, “Yes, that’s right. How much? Okay, inform me first if anyone else makes an offer,” he hung up and sat down. “What’s going on?” Justin asked. “They started the biding,” Brian informed him. Justin swallowed. “How? They haven’t seen me.” “They did when we came into the hotel,” Michael told him still holding the glass for Justin to take it. Justin sighed and took it. He took a few sips and was thankful for the wine. He knew his heart was going to explode at any second now. He wanted to scream at them and cry but he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him loosing his composure. “I need to use the bathroom,” Justin said getting up. “Through there,” Brian told him. Justin quickly disappeared. He locked the door and looked himself in the mirror. He saw the tears making their way down. He searched around trying to find something to defend himself with but there was nothing. He wished he had jumped overboard and let the damn motors do the rest. He stayed there for a while trying to think of what to do. He jumped a bit startled when there was a knock on the door. “Justin!” Brian called. “What?” Justin asked in a harsh tone. “Get out already,” Brian told him. Justin unlocked the door and walked out. He walked back to the bed and sat down. “It’s done,” Brian muttered. “What?” Justin asked. “You’ve been sold,” Michael informed him. Justin looked at them like they were from another planet. He blinked a few times before his head lowered down. “How much did they buy me for?” Justin asked. Brian arched a brow. “You don’t need to know that.” “Please,” Justin said looking up at Brian. “No,” Brian told him sternly. “Let’s go Michael.” Michael nodded and started packing their things. Brian stared at Justin who was about to cry. “It will be okay,” Brian told him. “I got you the right person.” Justin glared at Brian. “Fuck you!” Michael laughed. “He doesn’t change.” “I guess not,” Brian drawled. He moved to Justin and grabbed the necklace that he had given Justin. “No,” Justin pulled back. “Don’t.” Brian stared at Justin a few seconds before he moved away. When they were ready Michael left first. “Brian,” Justin called. “Please. Don’t leave me here.” Brian gave Justin one last look before he closed the door. Justin sighed and looked around the empty room. He quickly moved to the windows and tried to open them but they weren’t budging. He tried every single one of them. Then he went for the door and to his surprise it did open. “Get back in,” Michael muttered in a deadly tone. Justin slammed the door shut again. He closed his eyes and opened them quickly. He shook his head as he felt the drowsiness hit him. He looked to where he had placed his glass. “The wine,” he whispered. They had surely put something in it. Justin remembered the mirror in the bathroom. He could break it and use it to protect himself if it didn’t shatter into a million pieces, that or he would slash his wrists but he wasn’t going to let them win. The thing was that he never had time to act on any of his plans since he passed out into unconsciousness.