Page 9 of Blade

Eloise

“I’m sorry you had to stop what you were doing to take me to Elliot’s,” I said, feeling really guilty. She was probably missing hours at Daddies Ink. I wondered if she did tattoos there. That would be so cool. I’d always wanted a tattoo, but one time when I mentioned it to Billy… it hadn’t gone well. I shivered with the memory of his harsh punishment.

“Are you still cold?” Rogue asked, reached over and turned my seat warmer on. “Let me know if it needs to be turned up more. This car is new and I’m still getting used to all the buttons.”

“It’s really nice.”

“Thank you. I rode a pretty bicycle to work before I moved in with Leland. Now it’s too far, so he bought me a car. It’s kinda big, but he said it’s super safe.”

“Thank you for taking me. I’m really sorry for messing up your day,” I apologized again.

Rogue waved me off with her hand. “I wanted to take you. Sometimes the men aren’t so great with communication. Elliot’s family dynamic is a bit different than most.”

I nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“You asked if Leland was my Daddy Dom and you found out he is. Well, most of the men you’ll meet are Daddies too. Elliot has a Little girl, Tinsley, he shares with their partner, Tyler. Tyler is also a Daddy Dom. They’re very open with their relationship, but they will make sure you’re okay with it first. If you aren’t, you can one hundred percent say so and they will understand.”

“Oh, anyone is welcome to be whoever… whatever they need to be. I would never want anyone to try and keep the way they live secret around me. That’s so sad. Everyone deserves to be loved however they need to be loved. Elliot, Tyler, and Tinsely have my full consent to be open around me. And anyone else does too. You and Leland and any other kinky friends you may have.”

Rogue tipped her head back and laughed. “There’s so many of them.”

“Really?” I laughed too.

“Yes, Blade, Bash, Smoke, Kay, Paisley, and so many others. You haven’t met Smoke or Paisley yet, but I’m sure you will soon. They will come by and visit.”

“That’s really nice,” I said, lacking much to add. They didn’t know me. Why would they come by and visit?

“I’m sorry I never talked to you when I saw you around town. I wish I had helped you sooner.”

“That’s okay. You were nice to me when you did see me,” I said with a shrug.

“I know, but I remember what it was like living on the street and I wish I had done more. It’s just so hard because…”

“You see people abuse the system a lot and it’s hard to know who actually needs help,” I filled in.

“Yeah. And I never really met any other good people when we were... uh... homeless. I only saw people who were dishonest and scammed people to get their money. I think I accidentally formed a bias in my head and I didn’t realize it until now.”

“You were homeless too?” I didn’t know anything about her other than what Blade had told me.

“Yeah. My sister and I were raised in a cult. I still struggle to talk about it, but I was a child bride and my sister was arranged to be one as well. We ran away before they could force her into marriage. I’d tried to escape before, but they found me and... Anyway, once we escaped we were homeless for a while. It was really hard,” she explained.

“I was raised religious too. It was really terrible, but not as bad as what you’ve been through.”

“My parents created the cult, and then abandoned my sister and me there with the horrible people they’d recruited,” Rogue explained.

“I’m really sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”

“Yeah.”

“You made me feel human. You smiled at me, made eye contact. One time you held the door open for me at the donut place downtown,” I said trying to distract her from the heavy memories filling her mind.

“I did?”

I laughed. “You did. Treating me like a person meant a lot to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so many people just… glare, like they really think the worst about me. Or like if I walk by their car in a parking lot, they lock their doors. It just makes me feel like I’m nothing. It’s hard.”

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