Master Tomlinson

29- The Man Behind It All

The sound of dripping water brought my mind back to confusing consciousness, where it left me with nothing but questions. The water— where is it coming from? There was only one window in the metal panelled lined room, granting me no advantage to whoever would be in the darkness ahead. The light beamed down against the floor right by my boots, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. It brought back the familiar feelings of being contained in a cage. When the light disappeared, you were on your own to sense anything coming for you. So I kept staring at it. I waited, and waited. I tried to move some hair from my eyes, but I was chained to a pipe.
And it was then that I realized that there was a more pressing issue than the sound of water and my confinement.
There were groans and noises coming from the other side of what I presumed to be a door. I could see small cracks of light coming from it when my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It didn't take me long to figure out who it was.
Louis. My love. The misery that fell from his lips cut me deeper than any physical scars on my body. The way he cried out in pain, broken, with the words not forming completely— I knew that they were torturing him.

"Louis!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. It wasn't going to be enough to stop them, this I knew. But if they took me instead of him, I would be able to withstand anything they did to me. It was nothing I hadn't felt before. Not long after my screams, the cries of pain stopped. It died down to a soft whimper, and the sound of thick liquid being spit on the ground. Blood.
"Oh, he's awake," That was a voice I could never forget. The same voice that whispered those vile, "sweet" nothings into my ear as he committed unspeakable acts to me. The voice that I heard for the last time right before Louis bought me. Roy.

"Should we go get him?" His words were taunting and hostile. Despite how hard he tried to sound sweet, he wasn't fooling anyone. I heard the sound of my voice coming from the beaten man. "No.. no, Harry," Louis was struck with panic suddenly, as though he knew what was coming. I heard footsteps accompanied by his banshee screams, formed by whatever air was left in his lungs. His chair was scooting back and forth, trying to break free from whatever held him. A second punch was administered, but it wasn't from Roy. Because the door opened, and the light poured in from behind his bulky body. I could see blood glistening on his fist, and felt my vision start to blur from the rage that burned inside of my chest. "There he is, finally awake." Roy muttered. I couldn't see his face, but I guessed that he would be smirking. This fact was confirmed when he walked into the ray of light. "You've sure grown into a handsome boy within the last few months," he commented, and I spit at his feet.
"Go to Hell." My voice was raspy from my unconscious state but my voice never trembled as I spoke the words. I could hear the torture continuing behind him, and Louis was gasping for air as though his lungs had been struck. "Stop!" I shouted, beginning to become frantic now. I flailed my limbs hysterically, screaming at the top of my lungs as I tried to disturb them enough to take me instead. When I felt Roy grab me by my hair, I knew that I had succeeded. Whenever someone would get hostile like this, they would be put in solitary confinement for a period of time. I wasn't sure how many rooms this building held, but I was sure that there wasn't many. I was already confined, and there was no other place for them to take me than out where Louis was.

He unshackled me from the post and let the cuffs dangle on the pipe. Roy knew that if I was to try and fight, there was no way I could win. Or run. For now, I knew that it was him and whoever was just beating Louis here. There could be more.
Just like he would usually do, I was kept on my hands and knees, taken by the hair as I was pulled out of the room. I couldn't see anything but the ground, slowly turning bloody, until he released me with a shove. And my eyes immediately darted to him.

Louis. Tied to a chair, his face beaten bloody but it was obvious that they hadn't directed their fists just there. His shirt was ripped off of his body, showing an array of bruises forming on his ribs. The sight made me want to cry and vomit simultaneously. He would be beyond recognition by the morning once the swelling took over his features. "Oh.." I felt a tear poking at my eye as I watched him fight to stay conscious, long enough to see me.
We traded places. I was the one unharmed, and he was the one near death. I scrambled to think of a coherent plan, but all I wanted to do was run to him. Kiss him. Maybe this would be my last chance before they murdered him, and then me. Or worse— took me prisoner after I gave Roy what he wanted. But I knew that running to him would only make it worse; and he was already so broken and bruised that any contact would have been extremely painful for him. All I could do was hope that he could read my mind and see how painfully sorry I was.
Because this is my fault. It's me they want, not him. He is disposable to Roy, just like Samuel was. But I'm not. I'm the key to his only desire, and the sole boy that he took pride in destroying— inside and out.
"Are you going to give me what I want, Harry?" Roy asked with a tone that suggested as though I had no choice to begin with. He didn't directly say what it was, he assumed that I had put it together given the exchange I overheard between him and Samuel. It took me a minute to respond. I was recovering from the shock of seeing Louis in this state. "I-If you let him go," I spoke desperately, my heart green eyes going to the tall, ugly man. He stood next to a slender man, that I couldn't quite recognize right away. "Take me, spare him. I'll do whatever you want. You know that I will," I reminded him, and his eyes lit up at my words. They must've made old memories resurface.
"I know that you would." Roy purred, his grin growing at his thoughts. Probably plotting how he would rape and torture me next when I was alone with him. "But I cant let him go, my beautiful boy. He's too much of a risk." I winced at my pet name. And then even more at the realization that Louis would have to die regardless.
"Please, I know that he won't be a risk.. If I tell him not to come for me." I pleaded. It was probably useless, judging by the hint of curiosity that swam in his eyes. It was clear that he misjudged the true nature of our relationship. He thought that Louis was still just my Master, and nothing more. He took a step forward, and I leaned back, trying to inch closer to Louis. I was prepared to attack aimlessly if any more harm came upon the whimpering man. It seemed that whatever Roy was trying; his theory was correct. He knew that I was in love with him, and now there would be no way he could survive this. "You.. You love him," Roy asked, almost in disgust. "Don't you? Your own Master!" When he raised his hand, I stood to my feet in front of Louis fearlessly. His hand never budged, too shocked at what he witnessed, and it fell to his side. "Go on.. I can take it," I challenged, "But you're not touching him." I spat at him, preparing myself for the worst. Roy was too surprised still to act. It was then, that the second stranger spoke up. Almost nervously, but his accent was familiar. I had only seen him once before, and it was in Louis' home. In the foyer that day. When I saw his bloody fingers light a cigarette, I knew that it was one of Louis' business partners.
Vince.