We Are Broken • Geetrick

7

Patrick's sent to bed about an hour later, whiplashes on his back and places where Gerard beat him with the belt on his wrists.

Patrick orders himself extra salt with his dinner that night, and it comes in a shaker just as he had hoped.

He doesn't put the salt on his food. He angered Master Way, he doesn't deserve to eat at all after what he did. So no. The salt doesn't go to his food.

The salt went to his wounds.

Afterwards, he throws away his dinner and sends the salt shaker back down, then heads to the shower where he turns it to the coldest temperature and gets in. His fists clench but he doesn't dare make a sound as the water burns his wounds. Only a single tear escapes his eyes.

He doesn't even deserve that.

***

"Patrick, wake up."

The slave boy opens his eyes almost immediately, and when he sees Gerard, he rushes to his knees with his arms behind his back on the floor.

"Let me see the scars." Gerard demands.

Patrick is hesitant, but he still turns so Gerard can seen the wounds.

They look horrible. Not ugly, but unhealthy. Really unhealthy.

Almost infected.

"Holy fuck," Gerard breathes. He begins to back away and eventually turns all the way around, "Doctor! We need a doctor! It's serious!"

***

The next hour is spent with Brendon cleaning up Patrick's wounds and bandaging them while Gerard stresses from afar, eventually just going back to work. He just bought this slave, he can't let Patrick just go to waste. He has much more use for him.

By the time Brendon is finished, Gerard is fuming. He slaps Brendon hard on his way out and immediately goes in to see Patrick bandaged up with his eyes staring blankly at the dresser.

"What the fuck did you do last night?"

Patrick doesn't reply at first, but it comes soon enough.

"I poured salt on the places you whipped me and took a cold shower, Sir. I also threw away my dinner. I'm severely sorry, Master. I just felt like I deserved it. I shouldn't have let the maids do that to me, Sir." Patrick replies quietly.

"So you punished yourself...? Even after I beat you?"

Patrick squeezes his eyes shut, "The beating wasn't for the maids, Sir, it was for your stress. I felt like I deserved worse than what you did, Master. And I should be punished again for skipping my meal like you said you would."

Gerard's breathing hitches and eventually he just shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Patrick, I would punish you for that, but your wounds need to heal." Gerard replies, "I want you to rest, and then we'll talk about your punishment. I don't want any more of this... self-harm either, do you understand? I'm the only one who can punish you."

There's silence for a moment and Gerard's about to leave, but Patrick stops him.

"Master?"

Gerard turns, "What?"

Patrick clenches the bedsheets, "Why are you so nice to me? Why do you show me mercy?"

"What do you mean?"

"You... you call me Patrick. And you make sure I'm healed before you issue another beating. And you answer my questions. And you let me speak and you let me cum and you dislike that I punish myself, Master. Why is that?"

Gerard squeezes the door frame and sighs.

"I'm really not sure."

Because he really isn't.