Wren

Part 5

Wren shivered in the floor of the chilly room, alone and afraid. His mind was cloudy and he couldn't think straight; it felt like his head was filled with cotton. He was freezing. He wrapped his arms around himself as he rolled onto his side, feeling wetness between his legs. 

He realized he'd accidently relieved himself in his fever-induced sleep. (A/N: sorry, there was no better way to say he'd peed himself.) 

He couldn't reach a bathroom because of the short chain attached to his ankle. . . All he could do was wait for someone to come help him, and hope they wouldn't hurt him. He spent the time by taking in his surroundings. 

He was in a huge square room, chained in the corner farthest from the door. The bed was roughly seven or eight feet to his right. Big bay windows were covered by black-out curtains, the room dimly lit by warm rustic chandeliers above. Straight ahead from him was a living room type area, Wren was facing the back of a soft black sofa that faced a large TV mounted on the wall. Looking to his right and over the king sized bed, he could see to closed doors that he guessed lead to a bathroom. 

There was no way he could reach it. It must've been at least thirty feet away.

Pieces of furniture scattered the room, along with potted plants and Matteo's belongings. Books on the coffee table in front of the couch, a pair of shoes that'd been left out, a pile of clothes yet to be put away in the spacious closet that was along the same wall as the bed, between it and the bathroom. 

Wren curled back into a ball, fearing his punishment. All he could do was hope that it wasn't Matteo that found him.

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Matteo stormed to his room, angry at his father. Why did he have to deal with the little bitch? He didn't want to have to take care of it. It should've been his father's responsibility, since he was the one who'd accepted the stupid proposal in the first place. 

He slammed his door shut behind him and marched to stand menacingly over Wren. He seethed when he saw the mess on his sweatpants. Wren cowered away from him.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, terrified of what Matteo would do to him. "I didn't mean to--"

He was cut off by Matteo suddenly reaching out to grab his ankle. He fished the key from his pocket and jammed it into the lock in the cuff and ripped it off. His grip on Wren's ankle grew tighter as he started to drag him across the room to the closed doors. Wren continued to apologize and beg as he was hauled across the room, weakly struggling and getting carpet burn on his bare upper body. 

Matteo closed the door behind him and flung Wren onto the cold tile floor of the huge bathroom. He glared down at him for a moment. "Strip." He commanded.

When Wren hesitated, his mind still hazy from fever, Matteo got angry. He shoved Wren as he grabbed the cuffs of his sweatpants and yanked them off his body. He threw them aside and did the same to his underwear. 

As Matteo left him for a moment to go turn on the shower, Wren scuttled to the corner, wrapping his arms around himself. His breathing was shallow and he trembled in fear.

Matteo turned and saw him hunched in the corner. "What the hell are you doing? Get over here!" He stomped over and grabbed a fistful of Wren's hair, pulling him to the shower. He threw him inside and stood over him. 

The water was freezing, as Matteo had intended. Wren's trembling grew to uncontrollable shivers as he was instructed not to move from the cascading water. Matteo would have fun watching him suffer.

"You move away from there and I'll kill you," He said as he jerked his thumb to a bar of soap on the shelf. "Clean yourself up."

Wren obeyed, ashamed. Matteo's cold gaze didn't leave him the entire time he was in the shower. Once he'd rinsed off, Matteo shut off the water and grabbed him by the wrist. Matteo took him back to the corner in the main area, and threw a pair of black boxers at him. He watched Wren slip them on, then roughly snapped the chain back around his ankle. He was dripping wet and shivering violently. The room was cold. 

Matteo examined his work with an amused gaze, then walked over and plopped himself down on the couch. He turned over his shoulder to face Wren.

"Face the wall. You turn around before I say so and you're dead." He flipped on the TV.

Wren cowered with his forehead against the wall, freezing. Icy water dripped from his hair and ran down his body. The cuff around his ankle dug into his flesh. His wounds hurt and his head swam. Would this be his life forever? He would have to escape. He couldn't live like this. 

Matteo tried to focus on the show he was watching, turning every now and then to see if Wren was obeying him. He was. Matteo sighed, pushing back the thoughts in his mind. How long would he have to put up with the worm until his father took him away? Its not like he wanted to be mean, he just wanted to be left alone. No reason to feel bad for the little bitch. 

He heard muffled whimpering behind him, and became aggravated. "Stop that sniveling. You're interrupting my downtime."

The noise immediately stopped. Satisfied, Matteo smirked. This was going to be fun. 

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In the workers' quarters, Leo and Dace were in the spacious room they shared. It had a small living area, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a bedroom with two beds. They were in their pajamas, absentmindedly watching TV and chatting. Worried about Wren.

"Do you think he's back now?" Leo asked, wondering how Matteo had treated him when he got back form being scolded by his father.

"I'm sure. I hope the kid's okay. . . I feel like Matteo getting in trouble just made him hate Wren more."

"I know. I'll check on him tomorrow. I need to go over some things with Matteo about Wren-- not that he's interested." He snorted. "To think he'd treat a kid so badly just because he's angry at his father. I get that he's hurt from Elena leaving him, but she was so horrible to everyone behind his back. She was just using him for money and stuff. I don't understand what's going on."

Dace looked at him. "Really? Seems like the Boss wants the kid with Matteo to get him back to his old self. Like I said earlier, I just hope he doesn't kill the kid in the meantime." 

Leo nodded, the anxiety growing. It left a pit in  his stomach. He knew Wren had to feel so much worse. . .

                      Part Six Coming Soon