Page 19 of We Own Each Other

I set the papers I had collected on the edge of my desk, trying to make room so I could rifle through the new stack.

“About what?”

“Noah Abbott, that new Dom we took in a couple of days ago?”

I paused, mid-pickup.

Images of pink cotton candy danced at the forefront of my mind.

I peered over the edge of my desk up at the guard. The guard, annoyingly, was poking through the stack of paperwork he had just set down. Those were more than likely for my eyes alone, but I had no doubt he had probably already read through a lot on his way down to my office.

I wasn’t all that worried about it, anyway. There was something else on my mind.

“Yes. What about him?”

As I waited for his response, I opened my desk drawer, sifting through it until I found Noah Abbott’s paperwork.

“He was released.”

I froze, his paperwork at the tip of my fingers after shuffling through the stack. I pulled it out and set it on my desk, mindlessly flipping through it.

“How?”

“He’s an Abbott. But that isn’t entirely why either. His fated partner was also a Griff. Talk about two titans coming together.” He crossed his arms and shook his head. “I’m surprised he was locked up at all with all those connections.”

Incredulous, I hit the last page of his packet, then watched as each sheet slowly fell back on top of the last until I was back on the first page.

“Yeah, that is… wild.”

The guard chuckled, slowly easing back toward the door.

“You should have seen it. That former Griff heir orchestrated it all. Can you believe it? And no one has heard anything about either of them since. The guy was sent off in an arranged partnership and still had the power to do all of this? Money makes the world go ‘round, my friend.”

It had probably been quite the show. But I didn’t really care about Griffs or Abbotts— well, except for one particular Abbott. I was more concerned with the Dom that had been before me that day: the Dom and his Sub, and all of the information I had yet to explore within them.

I cleared my throat, staring at the front page where Noah’s mugshots were printed in the upper right-hand corner. They were small and grainy, so it was near-impossible to make out anything beyond his bright pink hair, but I didn’t need a detailed picture. I could remember all of his features clearly.

“Yeah. Money, money, money.”

I could just barely make out the guard bobbing his head as he spoke from the edge of my vision.

I was clearly not giving him the enthusiastic responses he was hoping for. He hummed, nonchalantly, in response, and finally waved toward me.

“Well, I’ll catch you later. Have a good one.”

I didn’t even respond, which prompted a quiet retreat from the guard, punctuated by the slamming of my office door behind him.

Finally alone, I could give my full attention to what was before me: what was left of Noah Abbott.

I could still see it, that solemnity in him, until I brought up his Sub.

The word ‘monster’ was haunting me.

Something wasn’t right about any of this. I wasn’t all that invested in many of my patients’ lives or stories, since they were often so brief. People flying in or out of this office every day, coming or going, heading home or heading to prison, but there was something different about this young man, and there was a deep sense of loss taking root in my chest.

He was so sure there were monsters around his Sub, and if he was free again because of those monsters, I wasn’t so sure that was a positive thing. Sure, he wasn’t technically my patient anymore, but there was a part of me that was compelled to make sure everything was alright. Whether it was because of my own selfish desires or genuine concern, I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to find out regardless.

I took his packet of paperwork, and I should have put it in my waste bin.