Family Line

It was hot in the city. End-of-July hot. The worst thing, your flat had no air conditioning unit to help you escape. You laid on your mattress hoping that two things would happen: one, not moving would allow you to cool down; and two, you would drift off to sleep and away from this boiling hell you found yourself in. You were almost there when a consistent banging noise came through the wall — your roommates are having sex again. You can’t blame them, but you just wish they would do it quieter.

Attempting to block it out, you closed your eyes and tried to focus on the fan circling warm air throughout the room. It might have worked if not for their vocalness; banging you could take, but you refused to hear their moans. Already irritated by the heat, you got up and marched to their door and with a heavy fist, knocked on their door. They weren’t the worst roommates, but they definitely were not your first pick. They left their shit everywhere and left you to do all the chores, which was exhausting as you were the only one of them who didn’t work from home.

Your roommate poked her head out the door. It was clear that she was still naked (you did interrupt them).

“Yeah?” she said, annoyed.

“Could you just be a little quieter? I can’t sleep.” In your defence, you were trying to be reasonable.

She laughed and slammed the door in your face, causing you to bang your nose on it. Blood rushed down and you brought your hand up to stop it. Great. The worst part was, they were even louder than before.

Probably just to spite me you thought.

On the verge of a breakdown, you grabbed your keys and left the apartment, headed for the roof.
You approached the edge as you looked over the city. It was so beautiful at night when everything was lit up. That’s when the tears started coming out full force. You placed a hand over your mouth to try and quiet them, but it didn’t work. You winced as you felt the pain in your nose. You just hoped it wasn’t broken. You had no insurance and the medical bills alone would surely set you back months. The wind whipped through your hair as you craned your head downwards, allowing yourself full view of the street below you. You gripped the ledge to steady you as you leaned over slightly to get a better view. In the late night, cars lit up the streets below as they passed through. You wondered who they were? What were their stories? Why were they up so late? How would they react when you eventually let go? How would their lives be changed when your skull cracked and brains splattered on the sidewalk?

You lost your job about two months ago. While it was not perfect, it provided you with more comfort than the minimum wage job you desperately took recently, both financially and emotionally. Although your former employment did not pay as well as you would have liked, it allowed you to reside comfortably in a private room of a flat with good roommates. Now because of budget cuts, you found yourself scrambling to find a cheaper place to live which landed you in another private room in a mouldy flat with several inconsiderate roommates. Even considering the decreased cost of living, you were still paycheck to paycheck, and after student loan payments, utilities, internet, you barely had money left to eat. You were constantly exhausted now working on your feet for eight to twelve hours a day at some busy restaurant nearby. You had dropped some weight in the past months due to your inability to afford food — sometimes whatever you stole from the kitchen was your own meal that day. You were hungry, tired, and all around miserable — all of which drove you to climb the stairs to the roof and consider falling to your death. You had applied to more jobs in your field, however none of them had gotten back to you, leading you to add hopelessness to your list of constant feelings. You just wanted a break, but the city did give you that.

You could leave, but where would you go? Your family was not an option. You had struggled for so long to get away from them there would be no way of putting yourself back in that position again. You had no friends as your busy lifestyle had pushed them all away. You were alone.

You climbed up on the ledge and sat down with your legs dangling over the edge. All you would do is give yourself a slight push and it would all be over. Would it hurt? While death is what you craved in this moment, a part of you was scared. Where would you go after?

“What are you doing? Get down from there,” a voice called from behind you. For some strange reason, all your mind can think of was getting down from the edge no matter how much a part of you still wanted to jump.

When you got down, you spun around to see the owner of the voice. A man dressed in a purple shirt with nice trousers; clearly he had money so what was he doing in this death trap?

“What were you doing?” he asked.

“I was gonna jump.” Why did you say that? As soon as it came out of your mouth, embarrassment rushed through you causing heat to spread in your cheeks. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I just told you that.” God, you hope he doesn’t section you. That is the last thing you or your credit score needed.

“No need to be embarrassed, honesty can be refreshing. So tell me, why were you going to jump?” To your surprise, he didn’t seem phased by your near suicide attempt. Maybe he had gone through the same thing? You didn’t have time to ponder the subject for very long as your brain soon focused on nothing but answering his question.

“Because I’m suffering.” I guess that basically summed everything up.

“Isn’t that an understatement.” You were surprised as his face never panicked, only remained curious about the whole situation. “Come here, let me get a look at you.” He beckoned you over with his hand and just as before, you followed his orders, coming closer until you were less than a metre away from him. Being closer allowed you to get a better look at him; handsome, well done brown hair with brown eyes to match, and some slight stubble. You shouldn’t feel this way as he was a total stranger who could murder you at any second, especially given how strange he was responding to the whole situation, but you couldn’t deny that he was attractive and his accident didn’t help.

“Gorgeous, even with a bloody face.” He brought his finger up to wipe some of the dried blood away. “What’s your name?”

You told him your name and he repeated it back with a smile and then gestured towards your bloody nose.

“How did that happen?”

“My roommate slammed the door in my face?”

“Why did they do that?”

“They were being really loud during sex and I just wanted to sleep, so I asked her to be quiet.”

“What a bitch! People these days have no manners.”

You smiled slightly and let out a small snort in agreement.

“Isn’t that an understatement,” you repeated his words back to him. He smiled and was about to respond when your stomach let out an intense growl.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No, I don’t have any food.”

“Well lucky for you I know a great place where we can get some. You like italian.” He held his hand out for you to take. “Come on.”

Having no other choice, you took his hand and followed him down the stairs; although, if you were being honest with yourself, you would have gone on your own free will.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

Does he not know what he’s doing? you thought.

“The mind control thing.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. All you have to worry about is what you want to eat.”

And you complied, the thought about how he was able to do this to you completely slipped your mind. On your way down, you passed your flat which you started at for a second. The man caught on and suddenly came to a stop.

“Is this your place?” he motioned towards the door.

“Yes.”

“Is your roommate still there? The one who did this to you.” He gently cupped the side of your face with his hand, his thumb ghosting over the forming bruise.

“I think so.”

“Give me your keys.” You complied and watched him as he opened the door. “Wait here, I won't be long.”

You waited as you watched him disappear into your flat and shut the door behind him. After about five minutes, he came back out with a wet rag, dabbing it across your face to clean all the dried blood off of it. You winced when he brushed over the sensitive part of it, but you were grateful for the action nonetheless. The butterflies returned to your stomach as his fingers made contact with your face. You tried to think back to the last time someone displayed this level of gentleness with you. When you come to think of it, you could not recall a time in your life when someone showed you such care.

“What’s your name?”

“Kilgrave.”

Odd name, but he was the one who saved you from yourself so, who were you to judge?

“Thank you, Kilgrave.” He made eye contact with you and you saw his expression morph into a mixture of shock, confusion, and happiness, as if no one had ever spoken those words to him before.

He finished and disposed of the now bloody rag on the floor and reached for your hand again.

“Come on, I know you're hungry.” You followed him downstairs and exited the building on a mission for food. “Your roommate won’t be bothering you anymore.”

You were going to ask why, but figured it didn’t matter and honestly you were so grateful, so you let it go with another thank you. He would never get enough of hearing those words from you.

You came upon the restaurant and you stopped in front of it. He brought you to a five-star Italian restaurant, definitely something you couldn’t afford. He noticed your sudden halt and stopped alongside you.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…I can’t afford this.”

He smiled again and let out a small laugh, not at you but at your mistaken assumption.

“Don’t worry about that. Like I said, all you have to worry about is what you want to eat. Besides,” he wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side, “I’m a gentleman. A woman never pays on the first date.”

Did he think this was a date? Not that you were complaining, but it was rather fast. But you decided that it was a free meal and you were starving and he was good looking so, what did you really have to lose?

“You're not a serial killer are you?” you laughed nervously.

He chuckled in response.

“No, are you?”

“No” you laughed back.

“Well, alright then. Let's go in!”

He ordered the hostess to seat you and him in the best seat in the restaurant to which the hostess brought you a private table in the back. To your surprise, the table was occupied by a bunch of men in suits. Unnerved by the way these men looked at you, you hid behind Kilgrave, hiding yourself from their view. Kilgrave seemed to take notice of this.

“Don’t look at her. Didn’t anyone tell you that starting is rude?” he ordered to which they immediately complied and looked down at their plates. “You don’t have to be worried darling, I won’t let them hurt you.”

He encouraged you to step forward so he could wrap his arm around your waist again, to which you leaned in. His protectiveness flared up that feeling in your stomach again. No one had ever been so protective over you and you were taking great pleasure in it.

“Now,” he ordered to the men, “you are all going to leave and take your meals with you.”

The men did as told and walked out of the establishment with their plates still in their hands, leaving the table empty. He then ordered the hostess who was standing there with a shocked look on his face to clean it up, which he did. While the mind control wasn’t the most comfortable thing to experience, you couldn’t deny it had its perks. Soon enough you were seated at the clean table and handed a menu.

“Order whatever you like,” he told you and you did. You received the fastest service of your life and as soon as you were able to, scarfed down the food in front of you.

“I’m sorry,” you said after a few bites, realising that you hadn’t said anything to him in a few minutes, “I haven’t eaten all day.”

“It’s alright love.” he reached for your hand to give it a comforting shake. “Just happy you are here with me.”

“Me too,” you admitted honestly and his eyes lit up at your words.

You finished your meal and the two of you walked out, telling the waitress that your meal was free. Once you got outside, you were sad that this night was going to come to an end. Even though he told you your roommate wouldn’t bother you anymore, you were not excited to go back to your non-air conditioned flat and suffer in the heat.

“Tell me the truth,” he said, turning to you, breaking you out of your thoughts, “do you want to go home?”

“No.”

This seemed to please him.

“Follow me then!”

He took your arm for the third time that night and you two walked to the nicest building you had ever seen. Entering the building, you felt completely out of place as you noticed everyone was wearing high class attire and you were in a ratty t-shirt and baggy jeans. You took the lift up to the penthouse and you were amazed by the beauty of the place.

“Let’s have a drink,” he said as he walked over to the minibar, pouring two glasses of some expensive wine. You sauntered over to him and wondered how you got here. Two hours ago, you were ready to end everything and now here you are, sitting in luxury.

He passed you the drink and you both took a sip. Maybe it was the liquid courage that had set the mood or the fact that you really had nothing left to lose, but you reached up and kissed him. This took him off guard for a moment, but he soon responded and took dominance. Still kissing you, he took the glass from your hands and placed it on the table along with his own to allow him to thread his hands in your hair, cupping your face to deepen the kiss. Your hands reached up and grasped his shoulders trying to pull him closer to you. His tongue darted out and swiped over your bottom lip, a sign to you to allow his tongue further entrance to your mouth which you did. Your tongues met and the kiss intensified tenfold. After what seemed like ages of deep snogging, he pulled back allowing you to catch your breath.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom.”

Placing his hands on the back of your thighs, he assisted you as you jumped up into his arms and walked you both towards the bed, still snogging. When he arrived at the desired location, he let go and you fell back, bouncing on the bed.

“Undress.”

You compiled, because you had no choice but also out of lust, until you were naked on the purple silk sheets. He towered over you and smirked before running his index down your cunt, applying just enough pressure to get the blood to rush to your clit. You let out a moan and closed your eyes, leaning back on the bed. Suddenly, he removed his finger and you whimpered at the loss of contact.

“Patience is a virtue.”

He sank down to his knees and spread your legs giving him a better view.

“You are absolutely soaked darling!” he praised. He went to work immediately, sucking on your clit and applying pressure with his tongue. You arched your back in pleasure as he continued to get you off, eventually bringing you to your climax where you revelled in the heat spreading through every part of you. He pulled away from your cunt, kissing his way up your body until he reached your mouth in which you kissed him back, tasting yourself on him. He ran his tongue up your cheek before he pulled away, leaving you breathless.

He slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt before ridding himself of it and the rest of his clothing, revealing his impressive size; thin but long. He leaned back over you, connecting your lips once again and you slid your hand down his chest, stopping at his penis. You lightly grabbed it which earned a moan from him. Leaning back from you, he rolled over so he was on his back with his hands behind his head.

“Kneel,” and you did, right between his legs, eyes fixated on his erection. He was definitely a grower.

“Suck.”

He didn’t have to tell you twice. You did what you were ordered and took him in your mouth. You had never given head to a man with his size, so you couldn’t fit him all in, but you did your best. You shut your eyes and slowly moved up and down his shaft, using your tongue to apply pressure and swirl around the tip. He let out a string of moans; some unintelligible and others calling out your name.

“Look at me.”

Your eyes met his while you continued your motions, bringing him further to his climax. He placed his hand on your head, not to control your motions, but rather to give you wordless praise as he traced his fingers through your hair. Right before he reached his peak, he told you to stop. Saliva drooled out of your mouth as you backed away from him and he motioned for you to come closer. Now leaning over him, he leaned up to kiss you before grabbing you and flipping you both over so he was now on top. He grabbed your feet and dragged you so that your entrance was at the edge of the bed and your feet were wrapped around him. Lining himself up, he entered you and began trusting, alternating between moans and calling your name once more. With him already primed and each of his trusts hitting your g-spot, you both came to your climaxes together and he released his fluids into you, panting as he came down.

Laying next to him, you silently went over what had happened. While the sex was good, in fact the best you had ever had, the control thing was very annoying.

“Are you aware of when you do your mind control thing?”

“Most of the time, but sometimes I slip.”

“Can you turn it off?”

“Why would I? How else would I survive?”

“Like during times like tonight?”

“You seemed to like what I did tonight.”

“I did, but being controlled isn’t the best feeling.”

He pulled you closer until your head was on his chest and kissed your head.

“It’s hard when you are so distracting.”

“Are you aware of when people are acting on their own free will?”

“Not all the time. Sometimes I’m not sure. Are you not happy to be here?”

“No, I am.”

“Good.”

You leaned up, supporting yourself on his chest as you looked at him.

“How long have you been like this?” His eyes shifted. He was clearly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

“Since I was a child.” Well that would explain his lack of understanding of free will. You doubted he had ever had to experience true rejection and now doesn’t understand the concept. “But enough about me, tell me about you.”

“There’s not much to tell.”

“Oh sure there is. Do you have special gifts?”

“Gifts?”

“You know, a superpower?” You rolled off him and stared at the ceiling, not wanting to look at him when you told him.

“It’s not a superpower, it’s a curse.”

“Of what kind?”

“I can distort people’s reality, but it doesn’t last long and I have to focus.” You turned back to face him before he could compel anymore out of you. You thought it would be easier to show him. You placed your hand to rest on the side of his face, your finger gently pressing on his temple and did what you did. From his perspective, both of you are lying in a field instead of on the bed. Not wanting to freak him out too much, you stopped and his eyes readjusted on you, true reality setting in.

“Why would you ever call that a curse?”

“Because it’s not always nice what people see.”

“Go on,” he encouraged.

“My step-father, he was very…he wasn’t very nice. I didn’t mean to hurt him , I just wanted to confuse him enough so I could leave but I was just so angry that I sent him to such a dark place.” Tears gathered in your eyes but you pushed them away, not wanting to look weak. “I gave him a brain aneurysm and he fell down the stairs. My family blamed me. They would lock me away and call me a monster. Thank god they believed in education or else I would have never gotten into college and would still be there.” Kilgrave’s chest clenched in anger at your family’s poor treatment of you. He knew what abusive was. He remembered how it felt to have parents who treated him like a monster – a freak. What is it with parents inflicting barbaric treatment on their children? If he ever came across your lot, he would no doubt inflict on them the same punishment he dreamt of giving his own parents.

“He deserved it.” He laid a kiss on your forehead. “There is nothing I hate more than abusive parents.”

“He probably did. Where were you back then? Your mind control could have come in handy,” you said, smiling up at him.

“No one will ever hurt you again now that I’m here.” He kissed you softly before pulling away. “I’ll always be here.”