The Struggle
A/N: Hey, y'all :D Wrote this in a day, so sorry if it's a bit rushed.
TW: kidnapping, delusional, creepy, parental whumper, cursing
Continuation of this.
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Jace woke up, slowly, as if consciousness was sand between his fingers that he had to grip tightly to hold on to. Darkness enveloped him in a tight embrace, and he had to blink multiple times before a clear image formed in front of him.
What happened? Groaning, Jace tried to pull his hands up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. His hands didn't—couldn't—move.
With that, the memories of last night came flooding in: the mugging, the car ride, the dinner, all leading up to Jace collapsing in Theodore's embrace. Panic consumed him, washing over him in giant waves. Head shooting up, Jace swirling around to get his bearings.
He was in a basement. Dusty cement floors and walls surrounded him. There was only one window—not nearly wide enough for Jace to crawl through. Stray particles of dust floating through the air caught and scattered the slim light that managed to escape through the window. And there were boxes. Lots of them, all cardboard, all varying sizes. They were on top of each other precariously, as if they'd simply been tossed into place and left to sort themselves out. Out of the corner of his eye, Jace spotted a pastel blue baby rocker. It was covered in a thick layer of dust.
In the middle of it all, Jace was stuck in a flimsy plastic chair, hands tapped together behind the back. His chest felt tight, struggling to breath under the weight of the all-consuming dread. Theodore had drugged him. Theodore had kidnapped him.
Fuck.
He should've listened to his instincts, should've chosen jail over this. At least jail was a predictable environment with a predictable jailer. Now, he was locked away in a basement, god knows where, with a man going to do god knows what to him. Theodore had seemed normal enough, but then again there were those moments he would just… stare at him. With that strange look in his eyes….
Jace certainly wasn't staying around to find out what Theodore planned to do with him. Squirming, Jace couldn't help but grunt as he tried to break the duck-tape around his wrists, the tape biting into his skin.
Suddenly, the door swung open, momentarily blinding Jace all over again. Standing atop the stairs leading to the basement, Theodore was now dressed in what looked like a sleep shirt and a pair of sweatpants, hair mused with sleep. Briefly, his eyes widened as he watched Jace hiss and tuck his head against his shoulder, shrinking from the sudden light."O—Oh! Jace, you're awake!" The stairs creaked as Theodore rushed downstairs, hands reaching out as if to pet him.
Nearly knocking himself, Jace tried to wrench out of the way, snarling out a panicked "G—Get away from me!"
Theodore froze. The younger man glared up at him, shaking like a wet dog, and Theodore's eyebrows furrowed. "Jace… Please don't be scared. I—I know this must all be a bit disorienting, but… can't you see? This—us—we were meant to be!" Nervously, Theodore stood back from Jace, wrangling his hands in front of him as Jace practically dry-heaved. "You kidnapped me…" Jace muttered in shock, brows furrowed, eyes staring at the pair of slippers Theodore was wearing. The childish star print on them seemed out of place given the current circumstance—too domestic, too innocent. "You fucking kidnapped me…"
Theodore's face twisted into something uncomfortable—a mix of shame, guilt, and violent need. "Don't say that, please don't say that," Theodore begged, "J—just think about it as a surprise adoption! That… That sounds more positive, right?"
"You kidnapped me!" Jace roared, denial and disbelief evaporating as rage took over. "Let. me. GO!" Jace renewed his efforts, squirming in his seat, hissing and grunting out curse words as the chair scraped back and forth against the concrete floor. "Fucker!"
The older man stuttered back two paces, staring with growing bewilderment and worry as Jace thrashed around like a feral cat. "I—I'll give you a moment to process…" he decided, voice hesitant. "I… I'll be back with breakfast!" Theodore practically bolted up the stairs, wincing as the sound of cursing followed him upstairs even after he closed the door shut. It was a good thing he didn't have any neighbours…
Glaring at the closed door, Jace blew the hair out of his face and continued trying to wrench his hands out of the tape's vicious hold.
The chair creaked louder in warning.
Jace's eyes widened as the chair began to tip over. Yelping, he crashed down onto the floor, smashing the chair into pieces. Jace rolled onto his stomach with a groan as pain pulsed through his wrists angrily. "Fuck…" Jace grunted. His hands were still stuck in the duck-tape behind him. Crawling into a kneeling position, he used his shoulders to lever himself upright. Then, gritting his teeth, he swung his bound hands beneath his legs and shifted them around to his front.
Ignoring how his body protested, Jace forced himself to dash up the stairs. His fingers scrambled for purchase against the wall, letting out occasional whimpers. Finally, he lunged forward for the doorknob.
His heart dropped to his stomach.
It was locked.
"Jace!" Theodore's muffled voice rang out causing Jace to tense up at the sound of thunderous footsteps nearing the basement door. "What's going on down there?"
Pressing himself to the wall beside the basement door, Jace held his breath, waiting for Theodore to come rushing in.
"Jace!" Theodore began, swinging the door open with one hand while the other clutched a food tray."Did you fall—!" Theodore grunted as something hard rammed into him. The tray holding plates crashed down with him as Jace scurried up and over him. "Jace!" Theodore yelled out once more, desperately reaching to grab a stray flailing limb, only to be kicked in the face by Jace's scampering foot.
Clutching his nose, Theodore stared wide-eyed as Jace hurried down the hall. Hot blood streamed over his lip and pooled between his teeth, filling his mouth with a rotten iron taste.
With a curse, Theodore followed in pursuit.
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