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Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
I scoff loudly in response, turning my head in the opposite direction. Refusing to look at him.
“I had anticipated we may have some difficulties in changing your mind. It’s a good thing I had the foresight to put contingencies in place.”
Shaking my head slightly, I roll my eyes, but then seemingly out of nowhere, the room is filled with screams.
“No, no, no, please don’t do this.”
No…. No….
I turn to face Cyrus, jerking my head so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. He stands beside the bed, holding an iPad in his grasp, and what’s playing on the screen shatters my heart into a million tiny little pieces. It’s Cole. He’s shirtless and being chained in a dark, dirty cell by four men.
He stops screaming, but I can hear him whimpering, pleading with them to just stop and that’s when one turns an industrial hose on him, spraying him with such force that I can actually hear him choking.
“Stop. Stop. STOP!” I scream as I yank my limbs, violently tugging at the restraints.
“Gladly, I’ll stop when you come to work for us.”
I pinch my eyes closed trying to erase the images of Cole in that cell from my mind and that’s when a loud crack fills the air.
Another.
Another.
They are whipping him.
I can’t take it, my insides are on fire, and it feels like I’m burning alive. How could this happen? How could I have done this? It’s all my fault. The thing is, Cole has seen and experienced too much, they aren’t just going to let him go if I agree to work for them. I know how these assholes work. So what the hell am I supposed to do?
“Fine. But only if you give me him. Don’t fucking touch him again.”
Cyrus pauses the video feed and furrows his brow as though he’s actually considering my demands.
“You know what? Fine. I’ll give him to you. But not here. You want him, you join him. Maybe then you’ll change your mind. I do not negotiate with prisoners Mr. Adams. You will learn that soon enough.”
My legs smack against every concrete step on the way to the cells as two guards drag me by my upper arms with a bag over my head. I try to regain my footing, but each time, they catch on and jerk me forward, causing me to stumble and misstep all over again.
Creaking from a heavy door fills my ears and as I’m pulled across an even surface, the door slams so loud behind me, I nearly leap from my skin. Metal clinks and grates, and before I know it I’m being shoved to my knees, where I don’t dare to move until I hear the cell door slam behind me. Even then, I leave the hood in place until I’m sure they’ve locked me inside.
With shaky hands, I grip the thick burlap and yank it off of my head.
“Zeke? Oh my god!”
A wave of emotions crash over me as Cole scrambles from the lumpy mattress against the wall over to me, throwing himself into my arms. He immediately begins to sob, pressing his face into my neck, and I instinctively wrap my arms around him, but as my fingers graze his open wounds, he yelps out loud.
“I’m, shit, I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
This time my words come out with the tears that I can’t hold back. All of this is my doing. In my quest to repent for the mistakes of my past, I threw everyone I loved into the line of fire without a second thought. Pain sears through my chest, when I lift my hand and rub my index finger and thumb together, feeling Cole’s blood on my fingertips.
“Cole, you have to… I need to see…”
“No, please no, don’t look,” he whimpers as he clutches the front of my hooded sweatshirt. He wraps his legs around my waist, and I carry him over to the mattress where I sit with my back against the cold, cement wall.
“Where’s your shirt? Your pants, they are drenched.”
“It’s drenched too, over in the corner.”
I simply nod as I run my fingers through his damp hair. “Are you ok?” I whisper as I nuzzle my cheek against his, and he only hums in response. This isn’t our normal dynamic. Cole and I don’t touch this way, but seeing him on that video broke something inside of me, and when he threw himself into my arms? Whatever it was that broke? It shattered into so many pieces, I don’t think I’ll ever be whole again.