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“Oh.” Carter pauses, licking his lips. He meets Nathan's gaze. The man looks relaxed, his lips having softened to an easy smile, his eyes warm and kind. It's enough to give him the confidence to ask, "Do you think I'll ever see him again?"
"Yes. With his new owner, you'll see him again."
"You know who’s buying him?"
Nathan’s lips twitch. "In a way."
Carter really wishes he could demand Nathan stop being so fucking cryptic. He would never, though. Not just because of the punishment it'd earn him, but also because he doesn't want Nathan to stop answering his questions. He still has so much to ask.
Turns out, Nathan has questions too. "How do you know Casey?"
"We were in the cell together."
"The cell?"
"Yes." Carter focuses on the blanket beneath his fingers, not allowing his mind to drift back to that place. "The cell the man who took us kept us in until the auction. Or, well, not in my case, but I think everyone else stayed there until they were sold or whatever."
"You two were cellmates, then?"
Carter scoffs. "Well, us and, like, 15 others."
Something complicated passes through Nathan’s expression before his face goes deceptively blank. "All in one cell? 15?"
"The numbers were always changing, but yeah."
"How big of a cell?"
"I guess like a jail cell? I've never been to jail, but that's what I'd assume they're like. It had metal bars like a jail cell, but we weren't at a jail. We were… I don't even know. Somewhere damp. Dark." Carter shudders.Don't think of the dark."There was a light bulb that hung in the hallway, so not…dark."
"Yes, I saw that cell. He kept you all in there the whole time? That wasn't just where he kept everyone during processing?"
Carter flinches. He can't help the betrayal that seeps into his voice when he asks, "What do you mean yousawthat cell?"
When Nathan hesitates, Carter forces himself to look at the man. He wishes he hadn't. It takes a lot to make Nathan look guilty, and right now, he looks downright remorseful. "He sent pictures of you."
"Oh." Carter tries to swallow, but his throat refuses to work properly. He remembers pictures being taken of him. The bright pops of light bursting at him in between traumatizing moments.They had sent those pictures to Nathan?"You got them when you - when you bought me? Like a… gift?"
"No. They were a part of your advertisement."
Carter doesn't so much as flinch this time as he recoils. He can't look at Nathan. "Anadvertisement."
"You must have known something like that happened, Carter. Men didn't just show up and get the pleasant surprise of finding out you were for sale. Hell, even normal auctions have advertisements. There are encrypted websites the sellers set up. It shows each slave's profile, including background, pictures, videos -"
"Stop," Carter begs. "Please stop."
Nathan does as asked, going quiet. The heavy silence is almost worse.
Carter squeezes his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus. Casey. They're talking about Casey. If he wants more information on his friend, he has to answer Nathan's questions.
"I met Casey in the cell. We bonded over helping a little boy who missed his - his m-mom." Carter laughs dryly at himself as he digs the heels of his hands into his eyes. He's going to cry again. He's so fuckingsickof crying. Carter growls in frustration as the tears force their way out regardless of his fruitless attempts to keep them away.
"Carter?"
"Never mind. I can't - I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Did you say a little boy was with you?"
Carter breathes out angrily through his nose. "I just said I don't want to talk about it!"
