Dour et Doux

Chapter 7

You cried out and reached for his body as it went limp and fell to the floor. Brandon's face went white as he watched his boss and one of his closest friends collapse under an intruder he should've protected him from. Brandon's left eye has swollen shut and he tastes the blood rolling from his nose and swollen lip into his mouth. Harry's body crumples into a ball on the bare ground and he emits a groan. Your scratch and claw at the man holding you, calling out to Harry to get up. The man claps a filthy hand across your mouth and you bite him, drawing blood and causing him to curse out. He throws you away from him as you kick at shins and finally make solid contact. You run to Harry and fall beside him, tears pouring down your face. He groans loudly and weakly puts his hand on the back of his head. You see the blood dripping from his hair and your heart wrenches into a thousand pieces. The first man curses at his partners. "Dad said to bring him alive!" The tears sting your eyes as Harry tries to sit up and collapses back down. The largest man laughs and stare down at the two of you. "He's alive. He's gonna have one hell of a headache, but he's alive." You tuck Harry's hair behind his ear and try to hold back the sobs threatening to break through as you watch his face grimace as his brain registers the pain, confusion, and fear he is feeling. His eyebrows are heavily furrowed and his mouth is in a straight line. His eyes are shut tight and his cheeks a horrendously pale color. He lies silently aside from the occasional moan and you whisper loving nothings at him. The first man jerks Brandon to his feet. "What'd you do with the other two?" The man grinned evilly and looked at the other. "They've been taken care of." Your heart sunk to you feet and you prayed they just meant they tied them up. The first man jerked Brandon along and nodded his head at the two of you. "Grab them and let's go before someone comes to check on the house. The men lunge toward you and you cry out as your gagged and your arms are tied behind your back. You watch in horror as the largest of the men picks Harry up and throws him over his shoulder. You flinch in pain as Harry cries out. His body limp and in total agony. The three men pushed forward and took you about a quarter mile down the trail to a van hidden in the brush. You were all tossed in the back of it and you winced as your hip slams into the hard flooring. Your mind races, wondering who they are, where they're taking you, and what they're going to do with you. Brandon large body slams down next to you and you want to cry again when you realize he's passed out, presumably from the pain from his beating. You scooted so your back was against the seat and closed your eyes to avoid seeing Harry's face crumple in pain as he was thrown in with you. The groan that escaped his lips as his body hit the hard flooring cut you to your core, churning your stomach. The wrenched his body around and tears streamed down your face as they bound his hands behind his back and shoved him further into the van. They slammed the door and narrowly missed his foot. You leaned your head against the seat back, begging for a miracle. You heard them crawl into the front seats and their bitter muttering. "This'll teach him to open his mouth about our big brother. Dad's going to tear him limb from limb." Your tugged your wrists against the ties on them and tried to break free. As the car started and travelled down the bumpy road. Your tears eventually dried, your body unable to produce any more. The van reeked of sweat and old fast food and was dingy and dirty. After what you could only assume was a couple hours, Harry began to stir. His head had long ago clotted and the dried blood had matted in his hair. He groaned and rolled around, trying to sit up. You stared at him, hating that they've gagged and bound you. Hate that you cannot speak, cannot tell Harry to lie still and rest, cannot tell him you love him, cannot reach out and help him. Your concern is multiplied by the fact that Brandon's still unconscious. Harry finally manages to sit up and lean against the door. He stares groggily and confused at your tear-stained face. His brow furrowed deeply as he registered the pain in his head, his own bound hands, and your and Brandon's condition. His breathing was heavy and labored as he frowned and tried to adjust his sore shoulders. He spoke, wincing at the reverberation of his words, "What the fuck happened Y/N." Your heart felt torn in two as he tried to process, with you unable to speak. He moved and adjusted so he could sit beside you. Your eyes bored into his, begging him to understand. He rested his forehead against your temple and whispered. "It's okay, I love you too. You will make it out okay, I promise you." You took a shaky breath and calmed slightly at his skin on yours, always comforted by his presence. You felt the van turn down a bumpy road, presumably gravel, and slow to a stop. It turned off and the doors opened. You had no idea how long you'd been in it, but weren't sure if you should be relieved to get out of it, or terrified of what was to happen next. The back doors flew open and you felt blinded by the bright sunlight. The three men peered in at the three of you and reached in to grab you. The nasty, large one grabbed Brandon's lifeless body and drug him out of the van, slinging him over his shoulder and carrying him off. You whimpered as they reached for you and Harry. Harry furrowed his brow. "Fuck off, we can at least walk." The men shrugged and gestured. You could tell they were the nicer of the three. The two of you managed to get to your knees and crawl out of the back. The men helped you down and held onto your elbows, leading you to a creepy barn-like house. You searched around for any sign of life, but swiftly realized, there was no sign of life anywhere. You were taken into the house and met by the largest, most intimidating man you'd ever seen. The glare glued to his face caused the men holding your arms to quiver slightly. "What the FUCK took you so long?" The men stammered and tried to explain, but were cut off. "I raised a bunch of fucking idiots. One good son out of four and the asshole that threw him in jail is not only still standing, but he's looks like he's just come out of the fucking spa." You screamed against your gag as the dad reeled back and punched Harry square in the jaw and then uppercutted his gut. You lunged against the other man's grip as Harry collapsed to the floor. The man holding you, dug his nails into your arm and hissed. "Shut up or you'll get it too." Your eyes widened and your body quaked in fear, still whimpering. The dad turned to you. "And his bitch too, why the fuck is she in perfect condition, at least your brother had the decency to work over the bodyguard." He back handed you and you felt it bruise almost instantaneously. You fell silent, tears filling your eyes at the searing pain in your face, and stood still realizing that this man's hatred knew no bounds. The brooding dad stormed off, screaming obscenities, and slammed a door. The largest of the brothers was nowhere to be found and your prayed Brandon was okay, you really did care for him and knew just how much he cared for Harry and even you, you saw the self-hatred in his eyes when he believed he had failed you. The other two men standing with you, stepped into action immediately. The one holding you, released you and he and his brother knelt down, picking Harry up under his arms, and looked to you. "Let's go." You looked at them confused, but followed quietly. They took you through winding corridors and down stairs to the sketchiest of basements. As you climbed down to the clammy, damp room, you saw Brandon slumped at the bottom of the stairs. Harry could walk, but was shaky. One man released Harry and grabbed Brandon, dragging him gently over to a cot. He laid him on it and untied him. Harry was led to a chair and sat down. The man turned you around silently and undid your ties and gag. His touch was gentle and he spoke softly. "We are so so sorry miss. Our brother and dad are angry, mean people. We're going to do our best to keep you safe. The only reason we're here is because we know how much they're capable of. Dad's the meanest cuss around and we know firsthand how violent he can get. We know that our oldest brother deserves to be in jail and hold no grudge against your friend here. We promise we're going to get you three out of here as soon as possible. We have to treat you worse than we ever would in real life in front of them so they don't get suspicious, but we promise, we want to help." The other brother nodded in agreement and they both focused on cleaning and dressing Harry and Brandon's wounds. You sat silently, and watched, wondering just what their father had in store for them and how they turned out so nice, when their dad and brothers were so evil. You surveyed the sparsely furnished room. There was two cots, a table with four chairs, a couple gallons of water, and a five-gallon bucket in the corner that you assumed was for any restroom needs. You took a shaky breath and watched as Harry came back to full cognition under their gentle care. He looked over at you weakly and hated himself for being so weak and for getting you into this mess. Hated himself because he could see the mark on your face and felt it was his fault. A tear slipped down his bruised and swollen face and he whispered a gentle "I'm sorry love, I'm so so sorry."