Thoughtless Bet - Chenford

Roll the Tapes

Lucy grabbed the small USB stick, inserting it to the side of her laptop. She shut her eyes for a moment, inhaling and exhaling as she waited for the screen to load.

Tim grabbed her hand, placing it on his thigh. He let her squeeze as hard as she wanted, simply interested in if she would complete the entire video.

"It loaded, Luce." Tim muttered, Lucy's eyes still screwed shut.

She finally opened her eyes, wet pools daring to escape. She reached for the computer, clicking the space bar. A small beep sounded, and the video began playing.

"4 hours, 23 minutes" Tim noted to himself, watching Lucy's expression change from fear to worry.

"Wait, are you sure you want to watch it. What if you don't like what I did?" Lucy pulled the computer to her chest, eyes beginning to push out tears.

"Baby, I don't want you thinking about me while you watch this. I'll only watch it if you want me to watch it." He placed his hands on his knees, leaning his head forward. Her heart swelled at the small word, baby.

"Okay, sorry." She mumbled, placing the computer back on the counter. "Don't be sorry." Kojo was silently asleep beside Lucy, shuffling every few minutes.

She resumed the video, squinting one eye as they watched the tape come to focus. She placed her hand back at Tim's leg, tapping her fingers.

The audio immediately caught a few sobs, Lucy's crying and sniffles as she was thrown against the bed. Her small body crawling to the headboard, only to be dragged by her feet back to the edge of the mattress. The man's smug face as he told her how beautiful she looked, how fragile.

Tim's face turned pale, Lucy hadn't described everything. Her head was bashed against the wall countless times, Anderson had made her do a number of things, including himself in her mouth and Lucy's nose and mouth covered by a pillow.

Tim gripped at the edge of the marble island, knuckles turning white as his rage grew. Lucy simply watched, no expression readable. Her eyes were dry, her lack of blinks and straight mouth suddenly causing Tim to panic.

"Lucy? Are you okay? Do you want to stop?" The sounds of sobs and begging joining with his frantic questions. Lucy shook her head, eyes still busy on the screen. Her face was blank, body still. She'd been attached to the computer's screen, attentive to the movie.

"I'm all right, thank you, baby." She reassured Tim, removing her from the computer for a second to look at him.

"I can watch it by myself. I'll be okay." She ushered, a soft whisper as she saw Bradford's features change.

"Are you sure?" Tim rubbed at his chin. Lucy nodded.

"Okay, I'll be in the room if you need me. If you need anything," He corrected himself, rising from the stool. He dragged himself to the bedroom, leaving the door slightly cracked. Tim paced for a few minutes, whistling and counting, breathing in and out as he waited for the hours to pass.

"Tim?!" Lucy finally called out, and Tim perked his head out the bedroom, immediately coming to her aid.

"What's up?" He tried to sound calm and collected, but the words came more like a high-pitch.

"I don't want to watch anymore, maybe tomorrow." Lucy sniffled, wiping a single tear from her cheek.

"Okay, yeah. That's fine." He glanced at the screen, 3 hours remaining. He assured Lucy, kneeling to her side.

"You can watch whenever you're ready. In the long run, Max Anderson is still in prison." He rubbed her arms, kissing her hands and clasping their fingers together.

"My head hurts," she hummed, eyelids heavy.

Tim arose from the floor, shuffling to the living room. Lucy followed after him, settling herself next to him, huddled in his arm. She looked up to him, catching his soft gaze. He left a kiss on her head, a sincere smile as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Your heart is the most precious thing." He spoke, watching Lucy's eyes begin to gloss again. Her heart swelled, a few tears rolling off her cheeks. She held a pout and smile both at once, reaching a hand to Tim's stubble.

She left a tear soaked kiss on his lips, lingering on longer than Tim expected.

"Timothy Bradford," Lucy giggled, a bit of pain behind the contagious laugh. She cupped his face, rubbing the pads of her thumbs onto his cheeks.

She straddled Tim, letting herself melt into his embrace. He hooked his arms around her, simply inhaling her. The cries, the giggles, the longing looks, the angry huffs, her gorgeous voice, and heart. He had noticed these early on in their friendship, she always huffed when she was upset, or went silent. She would constantly stare longer than she should, and mumble when they rode together. Hum as they would walk back from the food court, giggle anytime Tim complimented her work, or completely break down.

"Don't let go, not yet?" Lucy's muffled voice sounded, face burrowed into the crook of Tim's neck.

"I'm not letting go, Luce. I've got you." Tim croaked, voice cracking as he imagined all the things he wish he could tell her. I want to hold you here forever. I want to melt into you and mold into a sculpture displayed for the whole of Los Angeles. I want to grow old with you and tell our grandkids about the time you tried talking to a goat, tell our kids about the pranks we pulled. I want to love you until I give out.