Thank you to anyone who read this story, especially to people who reviewed it. You make me very happy! :) PS. ForeverLiveByMusic, I kind of elaborate on it in this chapter, but just in case, the answer to your question is Texas!


CHAPTER TWO

It was exactly four months, two weeks, two days and seven hours since Damian had gone missing.

Exactly one week, one day, two hours had passed since Damian had been found.

Exactly one week, one day had passed since Cameron had seen Damian again.

Exactly four days, five hours had passed since Damian smiled again.

Exactly two day, six hours had passed since Damian laughed again.

There were little steps. Those little steps to seeing the Damian, the one Cameron knew, return.

Four days ago. Damian's cousin, Lindsay came to see him. When she walked into the room, a real smile spread across his face. A real smile that light up in his blue eyes like beacons of joy and hope. That had been a good day.

Yesterday, Damian found the strength to laugh, something that he couldn't do for a long time. Cameron was delighted to hear his familiar chuckle fill the room. It felt like a little more of Damian had resurfaced, just as comforting and charming as it was four months ago. Of course, Cameron reflected, he nearly passed out from the amount of energy it took for him to conjure the laugh up. But Cameron knew that to both of them, it was worth it.


Cameron had visited Damian every single day, for support and encouragement. Damian had some good days, when he seemed to be full of energy and optimism, and other days he was very tired and emotional. But the nurses told Cameron that his visits always cheered Damian up. Cameron would visit in the morning for half an hour, and after school for a couple hours. Sometimes, Damian would be awake, and Cameron would talk to him while Damian listened. Other times, Damian would be sleeping, and Cameron would do his homework and patiently watch Damian sleep.

As creepy as it sounded, Cameron enjoyed watching Damian sleep- it made him feel tranquil and at ease. There was a peaceful, youthful look to his face, when Damian slept. The pain in his eyes and movements that lingered when Damian was awake were unapparent in his slumber.

Cameron slowly sat down on the ugly green couch. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and Cameron had rushed to the hospital right after school to find that Damian was asleep. He was recovering from a special treatment he had received that morning. Cameron was delighted when the nurses told Cameron that Damian was recovering quicker than expected. Of course, it would still take a long time for him to regain his complete strength, physically at least, but it would come.

The monitors beeped and hummed. Damian lay on the bed, eyes closed and mouth open slightly. He looked the very image of an injured angel.

Cameron sighed. He had missed Damian so much. After they met at a singing convention a couple years back, the pair had become inseparable. Damian had even lived with Cameron for a couple months, back in the summer before Damian headed for university. When Cameron had been told Damian had gone missing, he was devastated. He tried to go and visit New York to find him, but everyone told him that it would be useless. So instead, he locked himself in his room for days, praying for Damian and internally yelling at himself, wondering whether he could have done anything to keep Damian safe. Of course, he knew that was unreasonable, for they lived states apart.

The police had filled Cameron in on the details of Damian's disappearance and discovery. His kidnapper, a man who sometimes went by the name of Fillips, had taken Damian - for reasons still unclear- from the park around 9:00 in the morning. Damian had been walking from his apartment to the bus stop, to catch his ride to the university, as he did every morning.

Fillips sneaked out of the state and drove all the way to Texas, where he owned a permanent residence. He kept Damian in the sound proof attic of his home as he ran a highly dangerous meth lab in his basement. This is how the police found Damian - they were busting Fillips for drug dealing and searched his house.

After thorough check up, the doctors rushed Damian to the hospital, where he is now, receiving treatment for burns, infections, dehydration, injury to the wrist and, most obviously, psychological treatment.

Cameron rested his forehead on his palm, and watched Damian quietly. Once or twice, Damian stirred, but otherwise, all was peaceful in the hospital room.


The birds were chirping even though the sky was overcast and a light layer of fog drifted around the tall buildings of New York. Damian walked briskly down the path of the park, backpack carrying his texts and his notebook. Juggling a box of juice and his bus money, Damian searched for his phone.

Shoot! Damian thought as he pictured his phone sitting on the kitchen counter. Now I have to get through the day without my agenda. On a normal day, Damian would've turned back and retrieved the phone - he was only a block away from his home, after all- but he was late (and Damian was never late). But of course, this day was as far from normal as Damian could've imagined.

The events that followed would be forever imprinted in Damian's memory. He could still feel the rough hands grasping his wrists and covering his mouth. He could smell the breath of fast food on his neck as Damian struggled to get free.

"Kid. If you even try and escape, I will kill you." a voice threatened. Suddenly, Damian could feel cold metal of a gun pressing into the small of his back. Damian froze. It felt like he was in a dream or a movie.

Why did I sing when I could've been learning karate or something? Damian cursed. I'm nineteen! I'm in first year university! I'm not supposed to die now!

"Alright. Listen closely. You are going to pick up that juice box there and put it in your pocket, and hand that money to me, quietly. If you even think about screaming or running away, I will not hesitate to shoot you." Damian's captor snarled. The hand on Damian's mouth released and Damian had no chose but to obey his orders, trembling in fear. He stuffed the apple juice in his jacket and handed the coins to the violent man.

"Now, you are going to walk to that green car over there, and you are going to get in the back seat. I'm going to follow behind you. If you cry or run for help, you are going to get it. Keep your head down!" Damian started walking stiffly to the car on the far side of the park, head down, mind racing.

Oh, fuck. What the hell should I do? Can I run? WIll he really shoot me? Do I have a chance against this guy? Where are we going? Why me? Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. He's going to kill me and dump my body by the river. Crap. I'm going to die. I'm so gonna die, die, die, die. A very painful death. Oh, shit. This is terrifying! A man assaults me in the middle of the park and threatens to shoot me. This is not good. I'm going to get into this car and never be seen again. I'm so fucked. I'm not going to finish school. Is that really important, you idiot? You're being kidnapped! Oh, shit. Mum and Dad. I'm never going to see Mum and Dad again. I'm never going to see Ireland again. I'm never going to see Cameron again. Or Lindsay or Peter or Garret or Brittany or Nael. I'm never going to see them again. Ever.

Damian's thoughts turned to the car in front of him. He slowly reached out and opened the door. A putrid smell fit his nostrils as he stiffly got into the car. The car door slammed, and he heard the door lock. He drank in the last glimpse of his home. He could see his balcony just peaking over the trees for a split second before a cloth went over his eyes and the car pulled away into the traffic. One last glimpse of a red sweater, one Damian's mother had knit for him, hung from the clothesline, flying in the foggy wind like a warning or a farewell.

Mum... Dad. Cam... where are you? Help me. Help me!


Damian awoke with a start, shaking and sweating slightly. The memory had been so vivid and sharp- it was like reliving the start of a nightmare all over again. Damian wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He wanted to go back to before the nightmare started, when nothing was painful or hurtful. When everything was beautiful.

Cry, goddamn it! Damian yelled in his mind. But he couldn't. He felt like an injured shell trapped in a soundproof cage. He couldn't make a sound, he couldn't cry, he couldn't scream. Only hot air escaped from his lips.

"Cameron." he pleaded, "Cameron, help me."

Cameron jumped up from his resting position on the couch right away, immediately seeing that Damian was on the verge of... well, a breakdown of sorts. Damian grabbed his hand and turned his tortured blue eyes up at Cameron.

"Cam... make it stop! I can't... it's too hard. Please, Cameron. Make the memories stop. Please!" he begged desperately, fear lacing his painful pleas.

Cameron's heart broke at the sight of Damian so lost and broken. Cameron gathered his friend up in his arms and rubbed Damian's back as Damian shook in Cameron's embrace. Damian's quavering chest erratically gasped for air, his jaw clenched and eyes squeezed shut.

"Shhhh. It's alright, Damo. You're safe, I'm here for you." Cameron murmured, trying to soothe the younger boy, to no avail.

"No... no. I can't, Cameron. I can't." Damian moaned into Cameron's shoulder, "It's too much. It's too much..." He gasped, sucking in air in loud gulps. Cameron placed his right hand protectively on Damian's head as the shorter boy cowered in his arms.

"Why, Cameron? Why did this happen?" Damian howled, "WHY?"

Cameron simply shook his head as he responded in his calming voice, "I don't know, Damo. But I know you will get through this. You are strong and you are brave. You can, Damo."

Cameron held Damian on the bed for another hour as Damian trembled and screamed in his protective arms. Cameron had never been so frightened for Damian in his life. He was more frightened than he was when he learned that Damian was missing, or when Cameron saw Damian for the first time after he was found, bloddy and bruised. No, those experiences were terrifying, but not nearly as scary as this moment. It was the most frightening to see Damian held captive by his own horrible memories, unhinged and howling. Not being able to help his friend through his pain, just having to helplessly stand by and watch him being tortured by his own mind.


AN: So, thanks for reading this chapter! It was surprisingly easy for me to write this chapter, I was expecting it to be more difficult to write the flashback :) I know the hospital probably would've intervened when Damian started screaming, but for the sake of the story, they didn't! The plot picks up after a chapter-ish, so please stay with me! I love all of you who review! Hugs and cookies!

-Peach