“It’s okay to be upset.” Kit couldn’t pretend he was fine either.
“I didn’t want it to go like this. I wanted him to just…I don’t know.”
“Be a decent person on his own?” asked Kit.
Riju paused. “Yeah. At first, I wanted to be on my own, but still with him. None of that was going to work after this morning, and I realized he'd probably do this to someone else, so we were supposed to go to the guardhouse on our own and report him. I didn’t plan for us to be chased down the street.”
“I know, but that’s what happened, and we can move forward without him now.”
“I’m sorry you were locked up all day.”
“If you’d tried to get me out earlier, he probably would have hit you again,” said Kit. “In fact, I think he definitely would have, and maybe he would have been suspicious that you were planning to secretly run in the night. It’s better that you waited.”
Kit wouldn’t have to suffer another unfair whipping tomorrow. It probably would have been the worst he’d felt, and he had a limit for pain. He’d busted several rules into pieces, and Trig had never been so furious with him before.
“Remember now, you’re not a slave anymore, so you don’t have to call me Master, or do what I say,” said Riju. “You’re free. The contract’s over.”
“I figured it was. Erm, can I stay with you?”
“I’m not kicking you out. I’m just saying you’re free. I think I’d rather sleep alone for a while if you don’t mind.”
Everything had been harder for Riju than for Kit. Riju and Trig had been together long before Kit came, and he’d need time to get through it.
“I can make you something to eat,” said Riju. “I know you’re starving.”
“I’ll just have bread and butter. I’m hungry, but I know neither of us feels like cooking.”
“I guess I’ll have bread and butter too.”
***
It was beyond strange when Kit awoke in the morning. He’d simply doffed his clothes and slept on the couch. He wasn’t used to waking in the sitting room, and when he went into the kitchen where Riju was making tea, he almost expected to see Trig.
“Do you want tea?” Riju appeared tired, and he hadn’t changed out of his sleep clothes.
“Yeah.” Kit was used to seeing him fully dressed in the morning unless they were having an early fuck. He hadn’t even combed his hair yet, and it was a mess down his back.
“I do need to talk to you, so sit, and I’ll bring the tea. Er, do whatever you want, I mean. You're free. I’m not trying to tell you what to do.”
“I know what you mean.”
Riju served the tea and sat in his usual spot. “You can wear clothes too if you want.”
“I left them off out of habit. I’ll put them on a bit.” Kit took his tea and blew on it.
“It’s just us now, and we’re not going to get booted out today, but we need to decide what to do because we don’t have much time left. I have no access to his personal account at the bank in Raven’s Landing. That’s what was used for business expenses and also to buy food and other necessities. He could agree to sign it over to me, but he won’t. Our relationship is completelyover. The other account, which I’m going to lock today, is under my name too. Trig said it was entirely mine if I needed it, but of course, it wasn't for me if I wanted to leave. I said I’d pay it back.”
“He said he wanted to marry you but couldn’t loan you money that you basically helped create since you’ve worked here for years?”
“Yep. He said it was strictly for emergencies, and then he turned around and said we could use a chunk to go somewhere after marriage. That was okay instead of letting me start a business and increase it.” Riju rolled his eyes. “As for the license, the last one he paid was for two years. It’s the max here in The Edge. I’m on the license, but not as a co-owner.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t simply renew it. He would have had to pay more as if buying it for the first time if he’d put me down as a co-owner. He didn’t and instead added me as a person who is able to take over the remaining time and do what I please with the store. He’s been arrested, so he can’t renew it now, and he’s lost ownership. A business is immediately forfeited here if the owner is caught breaking one of their important rules.”
“So if they find you have someone with no safety word or something like that, the person is banned for life?” asked Kit.
Riju nodded. “He’ll never be allowed to teach or work inside The Edge again. Not only has he broken their rules, he’s guilty of assault.” He took a sip of his tea and ran a hand through his uncombed hair. “To own this space, I’d have to buy a new license. It’s a lot more expensive than renewing it. It’s cheaper in the long run to buy one for a year or two, but I don’t want one for that long.”
