5 She Belongs to Me

Danny rocked on his heels as he squinted at the Ashton's face. His friend seemed like he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle, but Danny was not sure what it could be. When had Ashton ever looked at him like that before?

"Trick him. He can replace you," the voices hissed in Danny's ear. Danny waved his hand, turning to stare at shadows cast on the wall.

"Shut up," Danny hissed, his jaw tight and his shaking fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Ashton blinked in disbelief and frowned, craning his head to follow Danny's line of vision. "What?"

Danny's head snapped back towards Ashton. He offered a sheepish grin. "Ah sorry, it's just those damn..." He thumped his fist against and wall as he raised his voice. "Noisy *ss neighbors. Shut the f*ck up!"

Ashton stepped back; his brow furrowed. He awkwardly coughed. "Danny, you look exhausted. Are you sick? If it's the stress of the show I can move it back it...."

"No! I am perfectly fine!" Danny snapped, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his bare feet sticky with sweat against floor.

Ashton defensively raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just worried." He glanced around before resettling his attention on Danny. "I've never seen you like this." His nose wrinkled in distaste. "Listen, go take a shower and change, I'll take you out for dinner."

Danny looked down at himself before looking up at Ashton with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, sure. I can Nicola and maybe she can meet us."

"Yeah." Ashton pursed his lips together and stiffened. His expression quickly shifted to a reassuring smile. "Sure, I'll just hang out." Every surface in the apartment was covered in some sort of indiscernible debris.

Danny hurried into the shower, turning on the water and sliding into the stream without paying attention to the temperature. Icy water cascaded down as he worked the bar of soap into a lather against his wash cloth. He winced as he rubbed soap over his bruised body.

"How long has this been going on?" Ashton's raised voice was muffled by the sound of the shower. Danny paused, straining to hear who his friend was talking to.

Danny could not make out the response to the question. Perhaps Ashton was on the phone.

"He's not going to last much longer at this rate."

Again, there was not reply that Danny could hear. The water had his teeth clatter but he couldn't be bothered to change the temperature, he wanted to he alert for whatever it was that Ashton was saying in the other room.

"God d!mn it. You promised!" Ashton's voice raised to a bitter shout. What had the promise been? What would make Ashton so angry?

Danny stared at the swirling ring of red, brown soap lather at his feet. 'Is Ashton talking to Nicola?'

"No. You are right. I am sorry. How long? Right, see you in 5 minutes." Ashton's voice was shaking but calmer than before.

Danny turned off the water, running a hand through wet but tangled hair. 'What was that about?'

"Daniel." One of the voices returned, a feminine voice that curled around his ear like velvet. "You should ask him about Nicola."

"Why would I do that?" Danny stared dumbly at the shower wall, unsure of what he would ask Ashton that he would not ask Nicola herself.

"He introduced you," the voice reminded Danny, shifting to his other ear, circling him like the ghastly apparition was teasing him.

"So what? Ash knows a lot of people. Nicola is an artist." Danny rationalized. Ashton was a gallery owner and art broker; he knew everyone in the city art scene. It is how Ashton introduced Nicola to Danny.

"Did you hear how upset he sounded?" The voice teased. Danny considered the tone of Ashton's voice and why he might be upset. 'How has this been going on?' is what Ashton had said. There was a jealous tone in Ashton's voice.

How dare he poach his Nicola! Is that why he called her, to accuse her while he was not looking? For how long had Ashton been with Nicola then? Has he been with Nicola this entire time?

"Yeah." Danny wrapped a towel around his waist and shuffled into his bedroom. He grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt from the dresser that seemed clean. He could not remember the last time he did laundry or anything other than paint or feed Nicola.

The voice tickled his ear and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Do you want to share her? Nicola belongs to you."

Danny's eyes widened. The statement echoed. 'Nicola belongs to you.'

An image of Ashton with his neat appearance and charming smile leaning down to kiss Nicola flashed in his mind. His stomach turned and his mouth went dry. Was Ashton seeing Nicola without his knowledge? The thought tugged on him until his calm unraveled. He forcefully pulled on his clothes and stormed out of the room.

'No! Nicola is mine. Only I can feed her!' He stalked into the dim living room to see a smiling Ashton standing next to an amused Nicola wearing a black dress with a plunging neckline that accentuated all her curves. Her bared pale skin was smooth and flawless. When had all of scars disappeared? He remembered the sensation of exploring those shallow valleys as he was permitted to explore her body. His brows knotted together as he stared at them.

Nicola looked over to Danny with a charming smile, her emerald eyes meeting his dark brown ones. All resistance and anger faded from Danny as he embraced her. 'I'm overreacting. We are okay. She's not interested in Ashton.' He glared over Nicola's shoulder at a perplexed Ashton as he hugged his liver tighter.

"You've been working hard," Nicola soothed as she rubbed her hand against the small of his back. "You deserve a break, come, it's time for dinner."