Broken Toys

Chapter 09

Joshua had finally let him be in the room alone with TK, with the excuse that he was going to prepare the antidote for TK. Carlos didn't even know why he had believed him. He knew Joshua Klein was a real manipulator, but when he had told him that he had poisoned TK, the very thought that TK was in danger had clouded his mind.

Joshua knew it and had used it to lead him down the path he had wanted to get his plan to work.

Carlos sat up in bed. TK was still asleep and he wondered if Joshua had done anything else to him besides drug him.

He shuddered at the thought of everything Joshua could have done to his boyfriend after he had knocked him unconscious, and worst of all, it had all been done to him before. He had promised himself that no one would ever go through that again at Klein's hands.

But it seemed like that guy always won. No matter how bad things went for him, no matter how much time he spent in jail, Joshua won and Carlos lost.

That was the way it had been in that cabin twelve years earlier.

Carlos had been the last of the boys who had stayed with Joshua, the last who had trusted him blindly. Back then he would have followed him to hell itself, though what the teenage Carlos hadn't realized then was that Joshua couldn't take him to hell; Joshua was hell and that cabin the last bastion of his kingdom.

TK stirred in bed and groaned.

He slowly opened his eyes, but as soon as he saw Carlos, he opened them wide and tried to sit up to hug him, but he fell back on the bed with a moan of pain.

"Don't try to do anything."

"Baby... What are you doing here?" TK looked around without recognizing the place. "Wherever here is."

"Joshua..."

Carlos bit his lip, he didn't want to scare TK about the poison, but he had to tell him so he knew how things were.

"Shit, Joshua... Yes, the...he followed me home and ran me over to kidnap me."

"He did what?"

TK put a hand to his ribs, he was sure he had some fractures, but now that Carlos was there everything seemed less serious.

"I was going home, I wanted to take a shower before I went to see you at the clinic, but as soon as I got out of the cab, he ran me over. I don't think he wanted to kill me, just knock me unconscious to bring me... Where are we? Have the police already taken care of Klein?"

Unfortunately for Carlos, TK knew his every expression very well and he noticed him turning pale, pursing his lips and biting his lower lip. That was never good.

"Carlos?"

"TK, I'm sorry. I thought..."

TK smiled sadly and reached up to cup his boyfriend's cheek.

"What did that son of a... What did he say to make you come here?"

"He showed me a video of you, here, unconscious and told me that...he made me think he had poisoned you." TK nodded without saying anything, he was sure that what was coming now was going to be much worse than before. "The bastard told me he'd kill you if I didn't come, he wouldn't give you the antidote, and I know what he's capable of, I know he's capable of that and much worse. I couldn't take that risk."

"So we're in his hands and the police don't know where we are or what's going on?"

Carlos shook his head; he was shaking all over, but he still didn't want to scare TK, not as much as he himself was.

"What are you not telling me, Carlos?"

Carlos grabbed both of TK's hands and squeezed them tightly as he tried to find a way to tell him everything. He looked into his eyes and caressed his cheek.