~Tuesday 2nd January 2018~
"Nnn..." Alwynn groaned when he finally mustered enough strength to force some movement in his body. Not that it had much effect. In his mind, he was speaking in full sentences, his eyes open and his hands reaching out to touch Vant. In his mind, they were laid in bed together, in some beautiful house far away from everything in that goddamn town. In his mind, Alwynn was happy.
"I was thinking we don't get married in a church," Vant was babbling on about their wedding, had been ever since Alwynn agreed to marry him, "maybe a beach, that would be nice, with the sun setting behind us," Alwynn was smiling, grinning even, at his fiance, seeing the light in those dark eyes that hadn't dulled for months then.
"Wherever you want, I don't care, as long as you're waiting for me at the end of the aisle," Alwynn didn't mind listening to Vant muttering away, even if he was so tired. He had been tired for a while, why was he so tired?
"Fuck..." Alwynn felt his lips move, felt the word roll off his tongue and the sound of his own voice pulsated in his ears. That was real. The illusion in his mind wasn't. God, what was going on?
Alwynn focused on the little things, since opening his eyes seemed like the most arduous task in the world. He flexed his fingers, each one at a time then all together, although even then, they didn't move much. They kept getting caught on something, something hard and wooden, the same material that was pressed up against both of Alwynn's forearms. In fact, the same material that was sending chills through Alwynn's entire body.
No, that wasn't what was sending chills down his body. That must have been his mind playing tricks. How would he be able to feel the material all over his body if he was clothed? If he was still wearing his jeans, and the jacket he had slung over his shoulders before he had stepped out into the bitter night, he wouldn't be able to feel the wood on his skin.
Alwynn heard his teeth chattering before he realised he was shivering, an odd, out of order, situation he seemed to be in. He had to open his eyes, had to look, had to find out where he was. He could call out for Vant, yes, but if Vant wasn't there... No, that would be a stupid idea. Stay silent.
Alwynn took several deep breaths, slow ones that were completely inaudible before he forced open his eyes. They stung when the dim light hit them, sent a throbbing ache right around to the back of Alwynn's skull, one that pounded at the bone as though it would crack it. Alwynn narrowed his eyes, blinking enough to cause the tears to fall. He had to stop that, had to be strong.
Alwynn was sat at a dinner table, he could just about see that. In a house with bare walls and floor, no discernible features, simply bland and old. To his left, an open archway through which he could see the front door, a flight of stairs and a closed door on the opposite wall. To his right, a fireplace with smouldering coals and logs trying it's best to remain alive. Something in common with the boy tied to the chair then.
"Evening, sleeping beauty," Alwynn tensed at the voice crooning behind him, "hey, why are you crying?" a thumb brushed over Alwynn's cheek gingerly, wiping away the tears that stained his skin.
"Bad dream," Alwynn whispered, his voice cracking, revealing the fear swelling within him. He had to calm down, had to play into whatever his captor wanted, and he was pretty sure of what that was.
"My mother always used to say if you told someone what happened in your nightmares, they would never come true," Alwynn flinched at the floorboards that creaked under foot of the man. He didn't shift his gaze from where it had settled, the closed curtains that concealed a broken window behind, at least, Alwynn believed it was broken judging by the strange patterns the light made as it passed through.
"Why don't you tell me about your dream, baby?" Alwynn tentatively met Brodie's eye when he had finally sat in the chair next to him, having to bite back the scream that clawed at his throat. Alwynn took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to think of nothing other than escape and what means that would take. Alwynn felt Brodie's hand slip under his own and abruptly squeezed the man's fingers, a smile ghosting his lips.
"Um, OK," Alwynn's eyes fluttered open, training on the content expression on Brodie's face, "you were gone," Alwynn whispered, "someone took you away from me and I-I was all alone," Alwynn let another tear fall, not having to act to force those.
"Who, baby? Who took me away?" Brodie didn't seem entirely convinced, although Alwynn could see the concern swirling in his eyes, he was getting through.
"Vant," Alwynn let out a brief whimper when Brodie rose from his chair suddenly, his fist hitting the wall next to him, "I-I'm sorry, it was just a dream," Alwynn blurted out swiftly, the tears uncontrollable by that point, expectant of one hit landing on himself. However, Brodie just stopped, sitting back down and clasping Alwynn's hand tightly in his own.
"God, baby, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Hey, stop crying, baby, I'm sorry," Brodie leant closer, wiping away Alwynn's tears once again, a sad smile on his lips, "you've got nothing to apologise for, baby, you never have to apologise to me. I just... I get so mad thinking about him, he took you from me," Alwynn knew Brodie was talking about Vant, he didn't need to say his name for that to be overtly evident, "he's not gonna be a problem soon, baby, I'm gonna have someone take care of him and then I'll take you far away from here and we can be together without any interference," Alwynn nodded meekly, forcing his expression to remain calm, to display not even an iota of fear. He had to make Brodie believe he wanted to be there with him.
"That sounds nice," Alwynn whispered, tensing when Brodie moved closer, covering the boy's mouth with his own. Despite the nausea it caused, Alwynn tried his best to respond to Brodie, tried to further the lie he was spinning.
"I love you," Brodie murmured, cupping Alwynn's cheek, staring intently into the boy's eyes, "I love you so much, baby."
"I love you too, Brodie," Vant. Alwynn was sure the only way to make those words pass over his lips was to imagine he was saying them to Vant instead. Not some psycho that had kidnapped him and was living in a delusion he had created. He had to keep Vant in mind, just think of him, think of getting back to him.
"Brodie, can I ask you a question?" Brodie chuckled, settling back more comfortably in his seat but never relinquishing his grip on Alwynn's hand.
"You just did," Alwynn's feeble smile faltered, "I'm joking, baby, of course. You can ask me whatever you want."
"I-I was just wondering if there was a reason you, um, undressed me," Alwynn couldn't help following Brodie's gaze down to the tight, black boxers he adorned, the only item of clothing that had been left on the boy, "because it's kinda cold in here and-"
"Oh, shit, I'm sorry, baby, I didn't even think about that," Brodie almost leapt from his seat, collecting a blanket from somewhere behind Alwynn and draping it over the boy's shoulders, "I'll go get some more wood from the back and get the fire going a bit more, you should have told me you were cold, silly," Alwynn turned his head, rubbing his cheek gently against Brodie's hand that was still on his shoulder.
"Thank you," Alwynn smiled weakly, knowing Brodie would be able to see his expression.
"You're welcome, baby," Brodie placed a tender kiss to Alwynn's matted, dishevelled hair, his footsteps growing quieter as he walked away. Alwynn let one single shiver roll over him, allowing it to tremble over every muscle before he adjusted himself to sit up a little more straight in the seat. He looked down at the ropes binding his wrists, seeing the same around his ankles too. There was no way he would be able to break those, the rope was far too thick and tight enough to be cutting into his flesh. He couldn't escape by force, he had to continue with his original plan.
Alwynn remained quiet whilst he watched Brodie stoke the fire, encouraging the flames to grow, bringing the life back to the tiny inferno. If only his ankles weren't bound, then he could kick the man in and watch him burn away with the kindling. A sadistic thought but, nonetheless, only a thought. Not something Alwynn could achieve whilst tied to the stupid chair.
"You look like you know what you're doing," Alwynn commented absently, a smile sitting on his lips when Brodie glanced over his shoulder, "I wouldn't have a clue myself, maybe you could teach me someday."
"My dad always used to have me help him with the fire when we'd go camping, it's easy once you've gotten the hang of it."
"Did you go camping often?" Brodie had given the perfect insight into his mind, the perfect start for Alwynn to start asking more and more questions, getting to know the man, maybe finding a weakness to exploit.
"All the time," Brodie said with a faint smile, returning the fire poker to the rack and sitting with Alwynn once again, "you getting a bit warmer now?"
"Yes, thank you. Would you ever take me camping? I've never been," Brodie's smile flourished, Alwynn was sticking to the right topics, thankfully, keeping the man happy.
"I'll take you wherever you want, baby, we can travel the world if you'd like."
"I'd love that. Paris, Rome, Sydney, anywhere with you," Alwynn traced his fingertips over Brodie's palm, his eyes following the paths they coursed, "where would you want to go? If we could live anywhere in the world, where would you pick?" Brodie was quiet for a moment, looking mesmerised by the movements of Alwynn's fingers. Alwynn nearly lost it, nearly slipped out of character when he thought of how much Vant liked when he traced over his scars, how he would be able to feel the man chuckle through the healed flesh. God, where was he? Was he even looking? Of course, he was. He had to be.
"I'd buy an island, name it after you, we could live there. Just the two of us, no distractions and no interference," in theory, that was actually a beautiful notion. However, in the context, the idea terrified Alwynn. Stuck on an island all alone with Brodie. That was nightmare fuel.
"That sounds amazing," Alwynn murmured, trying his best to sound awe-struck, not petrified, "would you ever want kids?" Brodie smiled, pushing a few strands of hair back out of Alwynn's face, his eyes darkening as he edged closer to the boy, "not anytime soon, obviously, in the future, I mean."
"Maybe one day, not right now," Brodie murmured, one hand splaying out over Alwynn's bare stomach and the other tilting his head to the side so his neck was further exposed, "I'd much prefer to spend some time practising though, theoretically, of course," Alwynn bit down on his lip when Brodie's mouth latched onto his collarbone and his hand slipped into the boy's boxers. He wasn't too sure he could act through that, it was too much. Forcing a moan out of his parted lips, Alwynn imagined Vant in Brodie's place, knowing if he didn't respond physically then his plan would crumble.
"Untie me, Brodie," Alwynn whispered, fear spiking in his chest when the man stilled, "I want to touch you, Brodie, please, I can't make you feel good if I'm tied down," Alwynn exhaled shakily, "please, daddy," he pled in a whisper, forcing a smile when Brodie lifted his head and their eyes met. Brodie stared into Alwynn's eyes for a long moment, before he leant down and untied the boy's ankles, rubbing the flesh where the rope had bitten into it.
Alwynn remained very still whilst Brodie untied his wrist, beginning with the left before moving to the right. The second the rope fell to the floor, Alwynn rose, straddling Brodie's lap. He peppered soft kisses to the man's neck, sucking deep marks there too, caressing his skin with one hand and searching blindly for the fire poker with his other.
"Fuck, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this, baby," Brodie murmured, rutting his stiff member up against Alwynn, kneading the boy's ass roughly, "God, I've thought about it every night since I met you," Alwynn kept his attention trained on distracting Brodie until his fingertips finally brushed over the cold metal of the fire poker. In the quickest he had ever moved, Alwynn swung the poker back, striking it hard against Brodie's cheek, the force of the blow causing the chair to topple backwards. Alwynn scrambled off Brodie, sprinting to the front door and trying the handle.
"No, no, no, no," panic grew within Alwynn when the door didn't budge. It was locked. Of course, it was locked. Why hadn't he thought of that? Alwynn let out a soft whine, tears filling his eyes when he glanced back into the dining room and saw Brodie was gone. Wait, the dining room, the window!
Alwynn darted back through the archway, raising the fire poker to smash the window. Cuts from broken glass would heal, death wouldn't. Alwynn screamed when the poker was wrenched from his grip, the noise cut off as a hand clamped around his throat, pressing him up against the wall.
"Now, that wasn't nice, baby," Brodie seethed, a deep gash over his left eyebrow seeping blood down onto his cheek, "we were just getting somewhere and you had to go and fuck it all up," Alwynn struggled in Brodie's grip, choking on his own breath when the man's hand tightened around his airway, "why couldn't you just be happy with me? Why aren't I enough?!" Alwynn whimpered weakly when Brodie bellowed in his face, the man's voice beginning to grow distant the longer he starved the boy of oxygen, "I wanted to give you the world," Brodie whispered, tears in his eyes, actually looking miserable as he choked Alwynn, acting as though he was the victim, "but if I can't," Alwynn stilled suddenly, a strange sensation in his abdomen, a wetness dripping down his bare skin, "then no one can," Alwynn gasped when Brodie removed his hand from around the boy's throat, but he didn't move. Instead, his gaze drifted down to the fire poker protruding from his stomach, his trembling hands trying to pull it out.
"You want it out?" Brodie whispered bitterly through gritted teeth, wrenching the metal from Alwynn's abdomen and plunging it back in a little higher just as fast, the boy's howl of agony clearly falling on deaf ears.
"I guess that's the closest I'll get to being inside of you, if only it could have ended differently," Brodie muttered mournfully, stalking from the room. Alwynn slid down the wall, clutching his stomach as the blood seeped through his fingers, sobbing from the pain yet no noise leaving his lips. Through the haze rolling into Alwynn's mind, he heard the door open, but not close. Brodie had left. Or at least wanted Alwynn to believe so.
"Ninety-nine... One hundred..." Alwynn murmured after what seemed like a lifetime, finally knowing Brodie wasn't coming back. He whimpered, dragging himself from the corner of the room, out of the pool of his own blood, the door a mere blur in his vision. He grunted and groaned with each movement, every fibre of his being wanting to lie down and just die. Everything but his heart.
In his heart was Vant, and Alwynn couldn't just leave him. Not like that. Not when they had had so little time. No. He would get back to Vant. Even if he had to drag himself all the way back to his front porch. Alwynn tasted blood, and knew that wasn't good, but he was so close. So close to the doorway.
"Please..." he sobbed weakly, gripping the threshold, pulling himself just a little further, feeling the freezing air on his skin. There, his body gave out, his arms no longer listening to the screaming commands from his brain. Instead, his head fell back against the cold stone of the step just outside the building he had been held in and he braced himself to take his final breaths.
That was, until he heard the voices, and the hope swelled within him. Maybe he wouldn't die that night, maybe he would live to see the sunrise.