adam couldn’t shake the feeling like something was wrong. there was something he was missing, pieces of a puzzle that weren’t quite connecting. of course, trying to get a straight answer out of lexi would be about as easy as pulling teeth, and it was better to let it go in the meantime than risk turning it into a blow up. [@farmerstrength]
for most of the night, he finds himself in the corner of aj’s game room, feet propped up on a table and a vintage NES controller in hand. his compromise and way to stay occupied while aj himself got lost in the world of his stream for a few hours, sharing space in a way that was comfortable.
between levels of super mario, adam checks his phone periodically, catching up with beth and stepping out of the room briefly to talk to his daughters and tell them goodnight — a daily routine for when he didn’t have them. privately, a knot of anxiety twisted in his stomach as he scrolled through his texts, hovering briefly over alexa’s contact before just locking his phone and stepping back into aj’s sanctuary. if she wanted to tell him what was going on, she would, but he wouldn’t push her into it.
settling back into his chair, adam watches aj for a few minutes, a smile pushing to his face over how intense and focused the other man was on his game. having already won a few matches, it was clear that he was in a good mood, and the energy was contagious. picking up his own controller, adam unpauses the game and jumps back into another level, allowing the distraction to carry him away.
“you useless little shit,” his father growled at him, grabbing a fistfull of jihun’s hair and dragging him out of the room, despite the tear-filled protests from the boy. and his father didn’t stop, pulling the wailing boy down the stairs to the basement of their home, uncaring as he practically threw him down the last couple of steps into a crumpled heap on the floor.
jihun whimpered as his body smacked against the hard concrete, tears blurred his vision as he pushed himself weakly up off the ground with his hands. but he barely got a chance to stand before his father had grabbed his ankle and started dragging him across the floor, careless of what he might be bumping into on the way. and no matter how much he wiggled or kicked made any difference, the hard ground scratching against his back as he was pulled along, shirt riding up as he wiggled.
“can’t even do as you're told and follow simple orders,” his father continued in that harsh tone of his as he pulled jihun after him, heading to the corner where a heavy duty barred cage sat against the wall. it might have been meant for a larger breed of dog, but the family didn’t have a dog. these days it was used as jihun’s personal prison, a place he was locked for sometimes days at a time with no food and no light. it was only big enough for jihun to fit into, he couldn’t sit up on his knees without banging his head on the ceiling of the cage and if he stretched both his arms out he could easily touch the sides.
“you’re a fucking disappointment,” it was just one more insult as his father finally stopped walking, bending to grab a fistfull of the front of jihun’s shirt, yanking him up onto his wobbly feet. “look at you,” his father practically hissed in his face, taking in the tear-stained and blotchy face of his youngest son, “what did i do to deserve a son like you?” jihun could see his father’s top lip curling as he shook his head before pushing jihun backwards, forcing him through the door of the cage.
jihun stumbled over his feet as he was pushed, toppling backwards as his back hit the bars at back of the cage. but he didn’t stay still for long, scrambling forward to try and stop the inevitable from happening. although he was too late, the door of his hell slammed shut in his face, his father easily securing the padlock through the bars to stop his son from escaping.
“father,” the boy wailed, fingers weaving through the bars, tear-stained face pressing against the cold metal trapping him. “please don’t leave me here. i’m sorry, please let me out,” but no amount of begging and crying was going to change anything. he knew this, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming out, anything to try and make him change his mind.
but, his father didn’t even spare him a glance as he stood up and turned away, making quick strides back towards the stairs. but he did pause at the bottom of the stairs, turning to look back towards his son, nothing but disgust written across his face. “you can stay there until you man up,” his final words before he was gone, climbing the stairs out of the basement and slamming the door closed, plunging jihun into complete darkness.
alone. trapped. scared.
he felt the fear rising up in him, the darkness eating him alive, hands shaking as he hiccupped on his tears. already he could feel his heart banging against his ribcage, small fingers finding the edge of the small prison he found himself locked in. shakily he managed to shuffle back a couple of inches until he back hit the bars behind him, pulling his knees up to his chest as he hugged them there, teeth pulling on his bottom lip to try and stop himself from crying. crying wasn’t going to help him now, not down here in the dark with no one to hear him.
no matter how much he pressed himself back into the corner of the cage he knew he wasn’t going to get out. his whole body was shaking, squeezing his eyes tight shut as his nails dug into his legs as he hugged them close. he wanted to wish himself away from here, imagining that he was somewhere nice and bright, a big open space before him. but he couldn’t even think it, all he could feel was the cold metal pressing into his back, the coldness creeping up his spine and the absolute fear eating him from the inside out, chest heaving with every breath as he hyperventilated.
he could feel his head starting to spin, squeezing his eyes shut even harder as his hands snaked from around his legs, pressing them firmly over his ears, desperately trying to stop the sound of his own heartbeat roaring in his ears. “please,” he whispered, struggling to get the words out as he curled into a tighter ball, “please let me out. i’m scared.” but there was no one to hear him, on the inky blackness and silence of the basement to listen to his words.
