Cutter lay behind Otis that night, kneading his neck and shoulders.
"Oh, god...Right there..." Otis moaned. "Yes...Oh my god..."
"Little angel, be careful makin' them sounds..."
Otis whimpered in pleasure.
That night, Otis's nightmares peaked.
It started with light whimpering, which woke Cutter.
"Shhhhh...Shhhh, Otis...You're okay..." He stroked his hair.
He seemed to settle for a moment, but then it changed to soft begging.
"N...No...Please..." He squirmed slightly. "It's...not my fault...Why are you hurting me..." He began to shake. "No...Not anymore...please..."
"Otis, wake up...It's just a dream."
"No...No! Get...Get away from me!"
Cutter tried to shake Otis awake, but he withdrew and shook worse.
"P...Please don't hurt me anymore...Please..."
Cutter shook him harder, which only made Otis recoil more.
"Little angel...Come on..." He sat up, holding Otis close to him.
"NO! NO GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Otis fought wildly, elbowing Cutter in the stomach and narrowly avoiding his face. Cutter had never seen him flail like this, and had desperate trouble keeping him from tumbling on the floor.
Otis nailed him in the balls, and Cutter gave up, letting him fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Oof...Goddammit..."
Otis came to, picking himself up off of the carpet. "What happened?"
"YOU. ARE FUCKING TELLING ME WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT NOW!" Cutter screamed, breathless.
Otis shrank away.
"Ohhh, no mother fucker." He grabbed Otis by the arm and threw him onto the bed. Otis yelped in fear, clamoring away. "Tell me what happened to you while you were away. NOW!"
"N...No..." He shook, terrified of Cutter's wrath. "W...Why...Why are you so mad...?"
"Because it's a good goddamn thing I already have a daughter, because you just bashed my fucking balls in!"
Otis shook, blue eyes brimming with tears, absolutely petrified.
"TELL ME NOW!"
"I...I...I c...Can't."
"YOU FUCKING WILL, OTIS!" He shook his finger in Otis's face. "YOU FUCKING WILL RIGHT NOW!"
Otis sobbed. "I did it for you!"
"What the FUCK are you talking about?!"
"Y...Y...You owed them drug money...I...I was collateral..."
"Y...You were...You were what?"
"They tortured me...They tortured me because you owed them money...My suffering was payment..."
"Th...That whole time?"
"They..." Otis sobbed openly, still trembling. "They beat me...a...and...and they fucked me...they...everything hurt...I was so cold...They...They hit me and whipped me and...And they showered me with a pressure washer...a...and they fucking mocked me..." He sniffed. "B...But I did it for you...I did it so you wouldn't have to pay, because I know you can't..."
Cutter stood, bewildered.
"A...And they...they forced me to...To give them blow jobs...a...and they...They were always so dirty...so disgusting..." He ran a hand through his hair. "A...And they...they were so rough and cold when...when..." He sobbed. "They raped me...They fucking raped me over and over and over and it hurt so much...I...I bled...and I bled...And I begged them to stop...b...but they wouldn't...They wouldn't fucking stop...A...And I...I didn't get fed...Un...Unless I listened to them...A...And I tried to fight...B...But...They chained me down...And they beat me..." Otis broke down into sobs, bringing his knees to his chest and curling in on himself.
"Shhhh...Shhh..." Cutter stroked his back gently, and Otis cried out in fear, withdrawing. "You're okay...It's just me...I ain't gonna hurt you."
"N...Nn...Y...You were s...So mad...a s...second ago..."
"I know...I know...but...You hurt me...and I got mad...But...I'm so, so sorry..." He stroked Otis's hair. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"B...Because I...I d...Didn't want you to g...get mad...Because I cheated on you..."
"Otis, Jesus Christ. How many times do I have to tell you that being raped is not cheating on me? It's not. Because you didn't want it." He pulled Otis's head close to his, kissing his temple. "Shhhh...You're okay...Calm down...Calm down. It's all okay."
"Y...You're not mad?"
"No...Not at you, no. At them? Yes. At myself? Yes."
"I...I didn't want you to f...feel bad, either..."
"I know, little angel...You're okay."
Otis shook for at least another hour until he had exhausted himself, finally settling back into sleep.
Baby came again the next morning. "Hey. How's it going?"
"Alright..." Cutter sighed, rubbing his face.
"What's wrong, daddy?"
"Uh...Otis told me what happened last night..."
"What? You got him to tell you?"
Cutter nodded. "He was kidnapped by someone I owed drug debts to, and beaten and raped for payment. They used his suffering as payment."
"Oh my god..."
"I feel horrible..."
"Daddy..."
"Don't try and comfort me and tell me it's not my fault. Because it is."
Baby fell silent. She couldn't argue with him.
Cutter wandered back upstairs and to their room, Baby following.
"Hey, little angel." He stroked Otis's face, sitting beside him. "You hungry?"
Otis nodded.
"Okay." Cutter helped him sit up, then sat the plate of food in his lap.
"Thank you..."
"Sure."
"How're you feelin' today, Otis?" Baby questioned.
"I'm okay...Tired."
"I bet...It's gonna take you a while, huh?"
Otis shrugged. "Yeah..."
"You've gotta let me change your bandages again."
"Nn...They'll be fine another day. I'm too tired today."
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
Otis glanced at Cutter. "Er...no..."
"Neither of us slept well last night..." Cutter murmured. "Not after I got him to talk."
Otis glanced sharply at Baby, somewhat warningly.
"Don't worry. I didn't get details...Otis...Are you okay?"
"...No." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I will be. Had a lot worse." He shrugged.
"Can...Can we do anything?" Baby asked.
Otis shook his head.
"Otis...W...Where were you?"
"I don't know...All I could see was the room around me...It was always dark...I think it was like a basement, because I could see a little light coming through a window every once in a while...But...It was cold...So cold...And damp...But...But there were other people there, too...I...I could hear them screaming..."
"W...Why did they cut your hair little angel? And shave you...Just to humiliate you?"
Otis glanced at Cutter, silently begging him to stop. He didn't want to discuss the details of his torture in front of Baby.
"Come on...It's okay..."
He shook his head, burying his face in Cutter's neck.
"Shhhh...You can tell me."
Otis paused, drawing away for a moment to look Cutter in the eyes, then averted his gaze once more. "Th...The lice were so bad...That's why...Didn't want to have to deal with me...us...getting typhus..."
Baby stared, horrified. "Oh my god..."
"They didn't want to kill me...They...They just...wanted to make you pay..."
Cutter drew Otis closer, kissing his head. "I'm so sorry..."
Otis fell silent, and Baby simply sat with her mouth gaping open, unbelieving of the horror her brother had gone through.
Once Baby left, Cutter and Otis sat on the bed together.
"Come here, little angel..."
"Hn?"
Cutter gently placed his hand on the back of Otis's head, pulling him close and kissing him gently, then with more fervor as Otis returned the kiss. One large bear-paw hand caressed Otis's cheek.
He began to push Otis back into the bed, not breaking the kiss until Otis's head rested against the pillow.
"J...John..."
"Relax...I just want to make you feel good, okay?"
"Y...You'll get mad if I want you to stop again."
"No...Shhhh...Come on. Don't you trust me?"
Otis nodded.
"Okay. Then just relax." He began to kiss Otis's neck, hearing the younger man moan underneath him. Cutter worked Otis up to a fever pitch, kissing up and down his chest, leaving bruises on the other man's flesh from nibbling the tanned skin until Otis was whining underneath him, practically begging for more, bucking his hips up to meet Cutter's.
The older man pulled Otis's sweatpants and boxers down, exposing the bruises that littered Otis's hips. He ventured his eyes open, keenly monitoring Cutter's ever move. He gently placed a hand on the purple flesh, stroking circles lightly with his thumb. Otis flinched, gasping lightly.
"Shh...Does that hurt?"
Otis lightly shook his head.
Cutter claimed Otis's lips once more, snaking his hand behind Otis to grab his ass, squeezing just the way Otis liked, making him groan into Cutter's mouth.
"I love you..." Cutter murmured. "Think you're ready?"
Otis didn't have time to answer before Cutter had begun, but he wouldn't have denied him.
"J...John..." He moaned, digging his fingers into the flesh of his back.
Cutter began to kiss Otis's neck as he continued, other hand still on Otis's ass. He continued until Otis screamed, Cutter soon following.
Pulling away, Cutter rested his hands on Otis's hips. He again flinched away.
"Hey...Why do you do that? You are in pain, aren't you?"
"N...No..."
"I didn't know you didn't like that."
"You never did it..."
"W...Why don't you?"
Otis paused. "D...Daddy broke my hip a couple times...last was...When I was 12 or 13. Never really healed right. Just...sensitive, I guess...Been hurt there so many times I don't know how to act otherwise."
Leaning down and kissing his hips, Cutter smiled softly, paying special attention to areas that were particularly dark purple. Satisfied, he cleaned them both up and held Otis close, stroking his hair.
"Don't ever keep something like that from me again."
"Hope it never happens again..."
Cutter sighed. "Yeah...me too."