DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 37 - Cheater

Joe had no idea how long he has been stuck inside the closet, but he was not allowed to do anything else. All his noise was drowned by the thick soundproof walls, and Jamie made certain that there was no escape route for Joe. That he was stuck with only his thoughts for hours at a time, in that closet.

The persona Jamie had now, was one Joe had never thought could ever be possible. His eyes were so narrowed that he wondered how he could have possibly seen any love within them. Even worse, the way he entered the closet with his appearance disheveled all the time, as if he hadn't slept in ages, made Joe wonder how he had been able to maintain the cleanliness he frantically upheld.

He had been waiting for any sign that he was going to be freed, but Jamie was not giving him any indication that was going to be the case.

Every morning, Jamie unlocked the closet door and handed him a tray of food with multiple options. Usually he tried to converse with Joe, but Joe had not been giving him any time of day. Rather simply brushed off his compliments and smiles, gripping the tray and eating far away from him. At first, Joe did not even eat the food and threw it onto the ground, but it did not last too long; his stomach started growling by night time the first day and he begged for food, knocking on the closet door to the point that it annoyed Jamie and he was forced to cook something to shut him up.

But Joe needed answers; he had not spoken about his kidnapping at all and Jamie was not mentioning it. Rather, he acted as if they were friends, and spoke to him as if nothing was wrong, which Joe hated. Even worse, Joe had had feelings for him, which he couldn't help but still feel. He still looked forward to the next time Jamie visited, just to get a glimpse of the handsome man he had once craved.

Enough was enough; he needed answers for everything that had happened. Was it all a lie? Did Jamie ever have feelings for him? Was he planning on killing him?

He heard the lock from the closet door, and seconds later, it was pushed open. Jamie closed the door behind him, and entered the room with a tray; the options for tonight were steak with asparagus and mash potatoes. He had a glass of apple juice, another with wine, and the last one with water. He set it on the island and waited until Joe approached to grab it.

Joe had not spoken to him for days, ignoring anything and everything he said. Hence why, it was a surprise when Joe muttered, "I'll kill you."

Jamie paused for a moment, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his pants. The glare on Joe's face was almost comical and he raised an eyebrow. The way his shoulders broadened was pitiful. "Kill me?" When Joe nodded his head vigorously, Jamie snorted. "And how would you do that?"

"I don't know yet," Joe growled, sharply grabbing the tray of food, almost causing all the food to fall onto the floor. "The minute I have a chance to get out of here, I'm shoving something in your throat."

"You know," Jamie smirked, "I've given you the chance to do so, Joe. Every time I hand you food, I always give you a metal spoon, fork and knife, and you hand all three of them back to me." When Joe seemed taken aback, Jamie added, "If you wanted to kill me, you would've already taken your chance—"

"Because it took me a moment to let go of what I felt for you, Jamie!" Instantly, Joe saw the humour in Jamie's gaze slowly begin fading; he knew Jamie was now seriously listening to him. "I thought we had something—I trusted you."

"Hold on," Jamie was taken aback, "what we did was real." His fingers had clenched into fists and he hissed, "My feelings at one point had started being real with you. Longer than Connor's feelings had been for you, that's for sure—"

"What is this?" Joe threw his arms in the air. "Why do you always mention Connor? You know so much about him, even about our marriage." When Jamie stayed quiet, his eyes darting away and eyeing his clothes instead, a light bulb suddenly flickered in Joe's brain, almost causing the tray to fall from his hands by how much he was in shock. "This...this isn't about me at all, is it...this is all about Connor."

Jamie's eyes blanked. "Eat your food, I'm leaving—"

He knew he had figured it out, throwing his tray of food onto the island's surface. "You just needed ammo against Connor."

"You know nothing about me to make assumptions, Joe."

"Connor is the one you're after, isn't he?"

His fists clenched. "I would shut up if I was you."

Joe's eyes turned away from him, losing himself in his thoughts. "But what did he do to you?" he whispered to himself, his finger on his chin. "We we're together for seven years; I had never heard of you before." Joe finally returned his gaze towards Jamie as he spat, "What did he do to you that was so wrong that made you use me during my most vulnerable moments?"

"I never used you."

"You made me fall for you, when to you it never meant anything. It was part of whatever scheme you're plotting against him and that was not fair to me!"

Jamie fell quiet, swallowing hard. The hurt that evoked behind Joe's gaze was enough to make his heart begin to ache, but before he could respond, there were knocks on the door. They sounded faint since the entire room was soundproof, but he had been lucky since he kept the closet door open and had heard them.

The instant confusion that contorted Jamie's features was enough for Joe to know that this was his moment. Instantly, Joe darted past him, storming out of the closet and heading for the bedroom door.

That was when he heard the next series of knocks and they were loud.

"Police!" They banged on the door. "Jamie McGollony, we have a valid warrant with the right to search your apartment! Open this door or we will forcefully enter!"

Before Joe had the chance to escape the bedroom, Jamie tackled him to the ground, tussling with him for a few seconds before finally being able to pin him down, holding his palm over Joe's mouth.

But Joe knew that regardless, these officers would search this entire apartment and find him, and he continued to resist, struggling against Jamie's grasp. Jamie was fighting back, squeezing him onto the floor, but since he had not intention on hurting Joe, he knew eventually he would have to force him unconscious.

But it was too late for that; he needed to find another way to make him comply.

Which was why he said what he said and instantly Joe stopped all his movements.

"Connor cheated on you throughout your marriage; that's why he divorced you." Joe's eyes widened. "He fell in love with someone else."