stockholm syndrome - tracob

nine

After another couple of hours filled with restless sleep Troye woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with darkness. The spot next to him was now empty and cold; Jacob must have already left.

Clumsily, Troye stood from the mattress and stretched, groaning. He was feeling stiff after doing so little all the time. One of the perks of not being daddy's favourite was that the press sometimes seemed to forget about him, and usually Troye could walk everywhere he went without getting bothered much. It was not like he would have minded if more people talked to him; they just didn't. Now however, he barely moved all day.

Suddenly he heard some shuffling somewhere else in the room. Troye froze. Was that a mouse? Or maybe something else? It wasn't like Troye could picture much worse than a mouse in this state of mind, but whatever. It better not be a mouse, because he was certain he wouldn't close another eye if he knew those things were running around here as well.

There was a big flash, followed by some dim light and Troye squinted at Jacob who was now standing near the light switch. "Morning," Jacob said. "Didn't want to wake you up at first but figured you were awake now, so." He gestured towards the pathetic bulb hanging from the ceiling, barely shedding any light in the room. Troye didn't say anything, he just nodded. He found that he had rather not wanted Jacob to be here; every day he savoured those few precious moments between waking up and getting tied to the chair. He didn't want to lose these short lived moments of limited freedom. Although it had been nice having Jacob sleep next to him... But he favoured freedom above anything else now. Being able to move around, to swing his arms, was a new found privilege for Troye. "I um...," Jacob scratched his head. "Curt unlocked the door a bit earlier so..." He trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

"Alright," Troye said, feeling relieved. Maybe Jacob would just leave and not tie him up just yet. His heart sank to his feet however as he saw Jacob motioning towards the middle of the cold room. Troye shivered and slowly made his way towards the chair, dragging his feet, trying to stall as much as possible.

He couldn't make those few steps last forever though, and after a few seconds he slumped down in the chair, already putting his hands behind him like he was told to do so many times before. It felt like a habit to him now. The days had turned into a dull grey wall and strained shoulders. He didn't struggle or speak as Jacob tied him up, and the latter felt guilt gnawing at his heart. Jacob had originally thought he'd let the boy loose for just a few extra moments but he couldn't risk pissing off Curt again. His orders had been clear: report as soon as the boy had awoken, after tying him up. no exceptions, no excuses. So, that was what Jacob did. He didn't look back as he closed the door and locked it, unable to face Troye. He was already feeling guilty enough that he had to leave him locked up in there. And damn, it had been so cold last night! At first when he found himself cuddled up to Troye he had felt odd, guilty even because of Curt, but when he noticed how cold the room actually was he gladly stayed in his spot.

Then, after a bit, someone came over giving him Curt's orders. Jacob couldn't crawl next to Troye after that anymore so he kept himself busy, walking around for a bit or sitting in Troye's chair. He only sat in the chair for a few minutes though. Then he started to feel weird and got up again, pacing up and down the room in order to get warm.

By now he had arrived at Curt's office, so Jacob knocked on the door and waited till Curt called that he could come in. "So. The boy awake? He tied up?" Curt asked Jacob as he entered. The latter merely nodded.

"I'm going to get some breakfast," Jacob announced. Then he turned around and was ready to briskly walk out of the room, only to be stopped when Curt called his name. He turned back around and Curt got out of his chair, walking towards Jacob.