Fiftieth chapter! Meaning this is going to be different from the previous ones, so just bear with me here.
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Praise Jesus
Moo: yo has anyone heard from Evan or Lucas lately?
Moo: Scott?
Four07: nope, sorry
WildHoe: it's been a week since I last heard from them
Lui: yeah I hope they're okay
ChokingIsMyKink: I miss the good ol days, when this chat first started
DaithiDeNoPrivilege: yea that was fun
Four07: I totally remember that
BasicallyIDoWrk: yo anyone know a lot about American history
DaithiDeNoPrivilege: wtf we were just having a nostalgic moment
BasicallyIDoWrk: bitch I don't want to fail my class
Lui: one of us needs to take one for the team bro
Moo: hey remember when I needed help with calculus
WildHoe: yeah cuz ur a NERD
DaithiDeNoPrivilege: a racist nerd
Moo: why has that joke been the one thing that stuck
ChokingIsMyKink: remember my old name
Moo: oh yeah mr SexIsMyCountry
WildHoe: remember when Logan Paul was a gigantic meme
Four07: yeah until we realized he's a dumbass and dropped him
Lui: seriously, where is Evan and Lucas
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O N E | W E E K | P R I O R
LOCATION: EVAN'S APARTMENT
TIME: 10:42 PM
Lucas groggily blinks his eyes open, lifting up his head, still fuzzy from having been unconscious. He groaned, confused on how he got to this point.
Ugh, what happened? I thought I was going to Evan's place?
At this point, he realizes that he can't move. Panicking, his eyes adjust quickly to his surroundings, tugging at his arms, causing the rope that was binding them together to cut further into his skin, digging trenches of red into his flesh. He curses under his breath as he observes more of his surroundings, giving up on the bindings for now.
Yes, he was in Evan's apartment, but where was Evan? And why did his place look so trashed? Papers covered the floor, broken bits of glass littered the carpets, pictures were uneven- something that Lucas knew would upset Evan.
What happened, then?
Beside him, there's coughing, and his head whips around to see the small form of his boyfriend, Evan. From what Lucas can see, he was unconscious, ropes also tied around his wrists, red marks around the knots signifying that the rope had already burned his skin.
Lucas tugged harder at his bindings at the sight of blood stains on Evan's cheek. Looking around, Lucas realizes that they are in the guest bedroom, the room that Evan had used for storage.
Somewhere else in the apartment, a door opens, Lucas already knows that it's their captor, and debates internally whether he should try to see who it is or pretend to be asleep.
As the footsteps draw nearer, he chooses the latter.
The footsteps are heavy, who they belonged to was most likely wearing boots. Because the room was dark, Lucas could see the shadows of their shoes as they stood right outside the door. His heart rate quickened as he ducks his head down, letting it fall limply onto his chest. He purposely slows his breathing as he listens to the turning of the doorknob. Lucas could swear that his heart stopped for a few agonizing seconds, the only comfort he had was the realization that Evan was right behind him, but that wasn't much comfort when you took into account that they were both in this situation.
Whoever walks in let's out a sigh as they do, closing the door behind him as he draws nearer to the two captives. He walks around Lucas, almost directly behind him, in front of Evan.
He crouches in front of the boy behind him, Lucas could tell by the quiet cracks of his knees as they bend.
Behind him, Evan stirs, letting out a few more coughs until suddenly his body jerks forward, away from Lucas.
"Morning sweetie, you think you could tell me the password to Lucas' phone?"
Lucas' blood turns ice cold as recognizes the voice behind him.
Jonathan.
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P R E S E N T | D A Y
Praise Jesus
WildHoe: I'm fucking sick of this chat name
ChokingIsMyKink: honestly same
Moo: it's a dead meme at this point
Four07: it's been a couple weeks, Evan and Lucas not being here is actually worrying me now
WildHoe: Evan texted me a couple days ago that him and Lucas were in Canada and since they have US phones they can't contact us
WildHoe: visiting the snowman people
Four07: but y didn't he text me :(((
BasicallyIDoWrk: becuz ur horrible when it comes to looking at your phone
Four07: says you Mr. I'm getting a college degree so I don't need to talk to my friends
BasicallyIDoWrk: all these peasants out here just jealous smh
Moo: drag his ass babe
ChokingIsMyKink: babe?
Four07: BABE?
WildHoe: B A B E ?
Lui: B
Lui: A
Lui: B
Lui: E
Lui: ?
DaithiDeNoPrivilege: hell yea Brock go get you sum of that DICK
ChokingIsMyKink: only the finest dick for my boi moo over here
Moo: there are plenty of people like you in Hell
BasicallyIDoWrk: oh yea I forgot to tell u guys that we're dating
Four07: hOW DO YOU FORGET
BasicallyIDoWrk: idk probably the same way you three forgot to tell us
Moo: D R A G HIS ASS BABE
DaithiDeNoPrivilege: get shit on
Lui: bitch I STAN
Four07: I never asked for this
BasicallyIDoWrk: next time don't dish out what you can't handle
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WildHoe: me and Alex broke up :(
Lui: awww, Tyler, what happened?
WildHoe: he still had feelings for his ex....
ChokingIsMyKink: he didn't deserve you anyway
BasicallyIDoWrk: how are u and Sami Craig?
ChokingIsMyKink: good, we got a dog, his name is Mochi :)
WildHoe: I'm happy for you Craig
ChokingIsMyKink: I'm sorry Tyler I'm being insensitive
WildHoe: it's fine, hearing happy news makes me feel better
Four07: Lucas finally texted me!!!
Four07: he says he's fine, explained the whole Canada thing, and he said that they're going to be staying longer cuz Evan's mom just passed away :( wish I could be there for him
WildHoe: that sucks, Evans already been through a lot
ChokingIsMyKink: at least he has Lucas with him
Four07: I know, too bad I can't afford to go rn because I have a ton of student loans
Lui: wish I could help you out but I have those too and me and David are planning a trip soon
Four07: no it's totally fine I'll just be sure to save up to get him something for when he comes back
Moo: awwwww you're such a good bf
Four07: ikr, I hope whatever I get him cheers him up
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LOCATION: EVAN'S APARTMENT
TIME: 6:48 AM
"J-Jon, could you loosen this rope a little? It's hurting me...." Evan's voice was weak, burning pain shooting through each of his arms. He looked up at his captor, praying that his request would be made. If he looked innocent enough, he could get away with it.
He had been separated from Lucas a few days ago, once Jonathan had gotten his phone password. Evan hadn't seen him since, but was foolish enough to trust Jonathan when he had said that he was fine.
Speaking of Jonathan, he stops what he's doing, walking to the scared boy and crouching down. He gently grabs his face, smiling at him. "I know it hurts, babe, but I don't want you leaving me. But, don't worry. Soon, Brian will be out of the picture, along with Lucas, then you and I can be together, okay?" His voice scared Evan, so much that he began to shake, and Jonathan's eyes turned sad. "Don't be afraid, babe, I don't want you to be scared of me."
"What happens when Scott and the guys come looking for us?" Evan's voice was barely above a whisper, fear lacing his words as he realized how much trouble an outburst like that could get him. The cut on his cheek still stung from last time, and faint pain appeared in the area he was stabbed- he wasn't harmed, but remembering the pain as Jon let go of him.
"Don't worry about them, babe. As far as they're concerned, you and Lucas are spending some time in Canada, attending dear old mom's funeral." Evan's eyes widened.
"I-Is she really-?" Tears well up in his eyes as he thinks of the last time he saw his mom.
Jonathan crouches in front of him again, cupping his face with both hands. "Oh no, Ev, she's not, I promise, she texted you a couple days ago, asking how you were. She's fine, Evan, okay? Don't cry, please don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry." Evan nodded at Jonathan's words, but couldn't help his tears from spilling.
To calm him down, Jonathan pulled him into an embrace, or at least the best he could manage since Evan was tied up, kissing the top of his head. "You're okay, Ev, I promise."
--
Lucas hears crying through the wall, he tugs on the ropes, their material sighing further into his skin, yet he continues to struggle against them, despite their tight protests.
"That bastard," Lucas growls lowly, giving his confinements one last time. "How dare he make Evan cry." Thoughts of what he wanted to do that psychopath once he was free danced through his head.
In the small amount of time he had been there, a couple weeks at most, although most of it he spent with Evan in the other room, he was able to piece together a rough idea of what had been going on.
Shortly after the airport incident, Jonathan must have done something, posing as Evan in the chat in order to create a distraction until he managed to get the hang of impersonating him, once he had figured it out, he played it off as he lost his phone and someone had hacked into his account.
That's why he didn't want me to come over.... Lucas had thought to himself, knowing that Jonathan must have feared he would ruin his plan to keep Evan all to himself while the rest of his friends believed him to be fine.
That's how he had found himself in this position, tied up in what used to be a closet, stuck listening to the muffled voice of Jonathan as he spoke to a completely terrified Evan.
Jonathan hardly ever came to check on him, knowing that there was nothing in his surrounding area that he could use to escape. All he did was bring him food every once and a while, usually served on a napkin or something else that was easily disposable.
He had managed to hear bits and pieces, usually of things Jonathan said to Evan as he left the room- often calling him 'babe' and telling him that he'll be home later, completely delusional. Lucas had also heard Brian's name come up several times, so he assumed that Jonathan was trying to keep up the facade that because he had Brian, he would leave everyone else alone.
The only thing that didn't make sense to Lucas was why Jonathan would stage all those conversations that 'Evan' had with Brian? And even stage a conversation with himself? It didn't make sense to Lucas, but he assumed that Jon was crazy enough to find some bizarre reason.
Somewhere around him, he assumed it was to the back of him, the door opened, signaling that Jonathan was leaving the room where Evan was. As the door opened for a split second or two, Lucas could clearly hear Evan's weak cries from inside the room, his heart broke completely in two from the sound.
He didn't know what Jonathan had said to him, but it didn't matter, all that mattered was that Evan was suffering when he didn't have to be. It made Lucas' blood boil just thinking about it. About how much one decision affected Evan's life, it angered him.
Slowly, the sound of Evan crying grew louder, and Lucas could now hear them more clearly through the walls. Once again, he tried to break free of the restricting ropes, feeling an overwhelming need to comfort the hurting boy. Jonathan was long gone, most likely going home to Brian, who he would just lie to. He was a liar, a filthy liar.
He probably lied to Brian, that's the only way he would've stuck with him this long. Either that, or fear. It was highly likely that Brian also feared Jonathan, but didn't have enough will power in him to pose a threat. So, he acted like an obedient animal and stayed.
Frustrated, Lucas scooted closer to the wall, banging his head against it. Like magic, the crying grows softer.
"L-Lucas?" Evan calls, making sure to keep his voice at the highest possible volume he could. "Is that you?" By the sound of his voice, you can tell he was still crying, tears slipping down his cheek rapidly as he awaited a response.
"Yeah, it's me, Ev. I'm gonna find a way out of here, okay? He doesn't check on me much, he won't notice if I'm gone." Lucas tried to be reassuring as he called out, hoping his voice would travel through the wall like Evan's had.
Evan opened his mouth, about to answer, when the front door opened once more. Lucas scooted back to his previous position, meanwhile Evan began to shake, having heard the clear slam as the door was closed.
The door to the room he was in was thrown open, revealing Jonathan holding a terrified Brian, blood running down a cut from his forehead, nearly as big as the one running along Evan's cheek.
Quickly, Jonathan had Brian tied up beside Evan, giving his bindings one last tug to make sure they were tight before standing up. "You two, play nice." He says as he storms out.