Only Yours

23

23. Will's P.O.V

When I wake up, the room is spinning.

My head hurts. My arm hurts. My entire body hurts.

The last thing I remember is Jez, James, hitting me in the nose. I watched Joseph as I fell to the ground.

I think I must have fallen unconscious, because I definitely wasn't tied to a chair in Joseph's basement before.

Suddenly, something is pressed against the back of my head. It is cold.

'Good morning, William. Sorry to wake you up like this, but I think your Daddy might react better if you don't know what's happening. I am going to call him.'

Joseph's other Dad, Seb, appears in front of me, holding a...iPad?

'I am going to type what you have to say. You read it exactly. If not, I will shoot you. Understand?'

I have never been so scared. I feel like I am going to pee myself.

Something about James Moriarty makes me feel like he isn't joking.

The phone rings as Moriarty puts it on loudspeaker. After three tones, he picks up.

'Yes?'

His voice, warm and comforting, the voice I grew up with. I start crying.

Words appear on the iPad.

'He-hello, Sherlock. It's been a-a-a while.'

'William?' now he sounds alert. I want to scream for Daddy to help me. But I'll die if I do.

'This is a surprise, isn't it? What a coin-coincidence our favourite s-sons are in the same class.'

'Moriarty.'

'Because I want to see you suffer, you have an hour. One hour before I k-k-kill him.'

'No, no, no, no, tell me where you are. Don't do this James, please, anything-'James? I wonder. Why did he switch to calling him James?

'Does it hurt, Sh-sherlock? Does it hurt? Do you remember my pain? No? Should I hurt your b-boy? Would that remind you?'

'I swear, if you have hurt him-'

'Not yet, d-d-d-d' I can't get the word out. The gun digs into my scalp. 'Darling. But I can-'

Something sharp slices down my leg, releasing a wave of agony so intense I almost faint.

I manage not to scream.

'Oh, this one is t-tough. But what will happen when-'

I notice my chest is bare when the knife is dragged along it.

I thought the leg wound was painful. This is a thousand times worse.

This time, I can't stop myself screaming.

'William! William! Someone- William!' he shouts at me. 'Daddy's coming, William, I'm coming!'

'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!' I sob. I wait for the bullet. But it doesn't come.