Break Free

Chapter Thirty Four

"Are you going to kill me?" Chester asked quietly after they had been driving for about an hour in the car. He hadn't even as much as whimpered since he was dragged away from his friends and Mike. Just thinking about his boyfriend made him want to cry, but he was genuinely afraid of Steve and what he might do. The question eventually took him over and he had to ask.

"No, Chester. I am not going to kill you. I just wanted to scare them away and leave us be. They'll never find something val-" Steve cursed as his phone started to ring, interrupting him. He sighed, seeing it was Mike. "Hello, Mike."

"Give Chester back," Mike immediately snapped and Steve rolled his eyes. "Give him back or I'll call the police."

"I have custody over him, boy. They can't do anything."

"What about the scars? I'll tell them about that and your threat to kill him," Mike objected, trying to strike some fear in Steve, but didn't believe things would be so simple. 

"Mike, just sto-"

"What about me?! Take me! I don't care, just take me and let Chester go! Kill me, torture me, use me, whatever! Just let him go. Please," Mike begged, ending in a choke. Chester could hear everything Mike was saying and felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. He stiffened, his eyes looking around in a panic. He couldn't let Mike do this. He didn't know if Steve would agree to Mike's terms, but couldn't stick around long enough to find out. He unbuckled himself and unlocked his door. He jumped out.

~

Toby had been wrecked with worry, turning to Rob and crying into his chest since Steve took Chester. They locked themselves in their room, not wanting to worry Mike. The others had been popping in, checking in on her, but none of them had much hope. Chester getting away from Scott was one thing, it took him into the arms of a different boss, but this time it was different. There was no way to get to him and there wasn't anyone to go and get him. 

"I just don't know what to do. Is this all my fault?" Toby asked Rob, full of insecurity and worry. She was so grateful to have Rob, he made her feel not as scared as she would've been without him. 

"No, Toby. Of course not. Nobody could've guessed this," Rob ran an assuring hand down her back and pulled her close to him. The door opened and Brad came in. "Hey, Brad. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not," Brad admitted softly. "I'm so freaked out. I don't know what to do. All I've been doing is trying to see how all of you are doing. It's all I can do. Phoenix is more broken up than I think all of us though - other than Mike. He's... He's been crying his eyes out. I think he blames himself."

"We all do," Joe said, coming into the room. He sat down on the bed, next to Rob, who put an arm around his friend. "None of us saw this coming. We should have."

"There was no way we could," Rob sighed, pulling his wife and friend closer to him. He squeezed both of their shoulders, feeling out of place as being the one to assure the others. "We'll get him back."

"How could you say that?!" Phoenix snapped, coming into the room. He angrily rubbed at the tears in his eyes. "How could you be so optimistic about this? It was by chance we even got Mike back in the first place. That never should have happened. It's our fault! We didn't watch Mike at that party and it all lead up to this! I was supposed to be the one who protects Chester!"

"Phi," Brad said softly, pulling him in for a hug. "It's not your fault. None of this is. You're right, it all lead up to this, but at least we got to know Chester and Rob's right, we'll get him back, just like we got Mike."

"That was by chance, Brad. You just happened to be where Scott took him. I don't know how we'll do this. The situation seems hopeless."

"It seems that way, yeah, but it's not impossible."

"Steve said he'll kill him," Toby remembered softly, beginning to choke on more tears. She fell into Rob's embrace, sobbing into his chest. "What do we do? What do we do?!"

"Chester!" They all heard Mike suddenly scream and they all rushed out of the room and up the stairs. They saw Mike headed towards his bedroom's door, the same shirt he had kept when Scott had Chester in his hand. They pushed Mike down so he was sitting on the bed in his room. "Chester! Chester!" 

"Mike, what happened?!" Phoenix panicked and the phone fell away from Mike. The phone showed Steve's name and within it's fumble, the speaker came on and they heard tires screeching and Steve cursing profoundly. 

"Goddamn it!" Steve yelled, fumbling being heard and the sound of a car door echoed through the phone. "Get back here!" 

"Chester got away! Oh my god!" Toby gasped happily and tears sprung in her eyes. She wrapped her arms over Rob's shoulders and kissed him.

"Chester, run!" Phoenix cried through the phone after picking it up, hoping Chester would hear him. They pieced together that Steve had slipped the phone into his pocket. The call suddenly disconnected.

~

Chester skirted around the corner, he had ran all the way to the nearest town and hid in a small alley. He knew Steve wasn't far behind, he wasn't the fastest runner. He was breathing heavily, looking around the corner occasionally. He saw Steve and quickly hid behind a dumpster, covering his nose and mouth. His arm was hurting unbelievably, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment.

Steve was walking at this point and looking around. Chester was trembling in fear, but Steve finally left. Chester exhaled in relief and left his hiding spot. He started walking down the road and lifted his phone out of his pocket. He sighed and called Mike, the pain in his arm increasing as his adrenaline decreased.

"Chester?! Ches?! Are you okay?" Mike quickly asked and Chester couldn't help but smile, a tear running down his face.

"Yeah, Mike. I'm okay. I jumped out of the car and started running. I think I hurt my arm when I jumped, but I lost Steve."

"Oh, Chazzy. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I can't believe this happened. Are you wearing a sweatshirt?" Mike asked softly.

"Yeah," Chester breathed out, his hands shaking from the pain. 

"Try to take it off and wrap it around your arm and call a cab, get to a hospital. I don't want your arm breaking further. Am I still your emergency number?" 

"Yes," Chester sniffled. "Okay, I'll go. I love you."

"I love you too, Chester. I'll be there as soon as I can," Mike assured him and the line went dead. Chester went to call a local cab before a hand covered his mouth and pulled him back.