A/N-Again thank you all for your great patience in waiting for new chapters. And thank you for the glowing reviews so far. It helps me to continue on with the story at a faster pace, well hopefully. Work can still get in the way. :) Greg can't simply catch a break, as you will see in this chapter.
Greg woke up before Nick. He was having trouble sleeping as he kept having dreams about the fetish club. He kept dreaming of having a whip in hand and bringing it down on an unknown person's back, until he drew blood. He was worried about his extreme rage he had in his dreams. He thought about what the Observer had said that he thought he had issues. If he only knew the issues he had.
He got up quietly, so not to wake Nick. He walked out into the kitchen area and got a drink of water. He took the bottle of water with him and picked up his laptop from the table. He took it with him to the sofa and sat down. He opened it up and waited for it to start up. He gazed out the window a moment. It was only 3pm in the afternoon. Usually they both slept at least another hour or two before getting up and ready for their graveyard shift. It seemed like odd hours to everyone else but those that were so use to working that shift it was second nature.
It seemed a bit dreary outside, which was somewhat usual for this time of year but didn't help Greg in feeling any better. He could have used a sunny sky to wake up to. He focused back on his laptop and opened up his internet to check on his email first. He saw one came from js at jmslavemail. com again. He felt his tension building already.
He opened up the email and only saw a link this time. The link was titled "Slave Justice." He wasn't sure he should open it. He had a feeling it would be another video of him but his morbid curiosity got the better of him. He clicked the link and it opened to some porn/BDSM site. There were various videos on it and one featured on this page was titled "Slave Justice". The still of the video was blurry but you could see four people in the still, one on his back, and the other three around him. He pressed play and the video started with blackness again then some sleazy sounding music started playing and the scene changed to focus on Jasper. He was shirtless and wore black jeans. He pointed down and the camera went to Greg, on his back, completely naked.
Greg started shaking as he once again saw himself bruised and bloodied. His hands were tied underneath him and his mouth was gagged with a gag ball. The camera zoomed out and showed the others in the room. Rex, standing completely naked over Greg's upper half with a bottle of liquor in his hand and Jasper over his lower half, unzipping his pants. This video the audio was blocked out by the music. Greg watched Rex lift his own head, remove the gag ball from his mouth and before he could say something, pour some of the liquor down his throat. He didn't remember any of this…it must have been another time he was drugged or drunk.
He watched as Jasper lifted him enough so he could enter him and then Rex went down into his mouth. He was about to stop watching before he threw up again, when he saw the man, which he was sure now had to be Brad Jamison. He was dressed in his black pants and black t-shirt. He wore the full black hood. In his hand he had a whip. He raised his hand and then brought down the whip on Greg's chest.
Greg clutched his chest, almost as though he felt the whip hit him again. Tears started to blur his vision. He stopped the video. He couldn't watch it anymore but then he noticed a comments section below it. Already there were five comments. It suddenly struck him that this video was on a public site and others had seen him. His hand shook as he clicked on one of the comments.
That is one hot fuck. I would love to have my chance with that hot ass. I'd love to whip him into shape.-Anonymous
Greg slammed the laptop shut and threw it on the sofa next to him. He picked up his water bottle and throttled it at the bookshelf, with an agonizing scream.
Nick sat straight up in bed, after being wakened by Greg's scream. He looked beside him and saw the bed was vacant. He jumped out of bed and ran into the main room, only to see Greg hurtling a pillow across the room as tears streamed down his face. He let out another gut wrenching cry. Nick wasn't sure what happened but he had never seen Greg like this before.
He walked up closer to him. "Greg, what happened?" He asked as he tried to reach out to touch him. Greg moved away from him quickly. "Don't touch me. Stay away." He looked at him wildly with his tear stained face.
Nick was very worried for him. He didn't know what triggered this latest episode. "Babe, what's wrong? Talk to me, please!" He pleaded with him as he watched him pace the room like a caged animal.
"They all know. Everyone will know now. Oh God! Oh God!" He started hyperventilating.
Nick had no idea what he was talking about but he rushed to his side, forcing him to sit down. "Remember your breathing skills, Greg…trying taking slower breaths," he repeated to him, trying to calm him down.
Greg was trying to push Nick away but he wouldn't let him. He kept his grip on his arms, forcing him to stay seated. "Let…me…go," Greg gasped between breaths.
"Not until you calm down and tell me what's going on," Nick said to him.
Greg tried struggling against him but gave up finally. He felt drained of all energy suddenly. While his heart still beat rapidly, he had evened out his breathing. Tears had stopped flowing as he laid his head back onto a pillow, staring straight up at the ceiling. "I can't take this much longer," he said quietly. Nick wasn't sure what he was talking about but it bothered him to hear him say what he said.
"Tell me, please Greg. Don't keep me in the dark," Nick pleaded with him again. Greg rolled his head, wearily to the side to look at Nick. He looked broken as he pointed to his laptop on the other end of the sofa.
Nick turned around and saw it and then began to realize what must have happened. "You were sent another video," he said as more of a matter of fact. Greg closed his eyes and rolled his head the other way. Nick slid over and grabbed Greg's laptop. He opened it up and plugged in Greg's password to open it from hibernation. He saw the website and immediately realized that this was a public site. He glanced over at Greg and saw that he had his head turned away. He was staring out the window.
Nick went back and pushed play on the video. He got sick to his stomach watching it, having to once again see Greg go through that abuse and torture. When the video ended, he thought about what Greg had said earlier, that everyone will know. He realized what he meant now. It was on a public website. People had already left comments. He picked one randomly and read it.
I'd love a slave like him. He seems to like it rough. What I would give to ride that boy!-Panther
Nick quietly closed the laptop after reading the sickening remark and slid back over to where Greg slouched on the sofa. "Hey, we can get them to remove that video from that website. Once we tell them it is part of a criminal investigation they have to pull it."
Greg remained staring off at the outside world. His life was never going to be the same again. "It doesn't matter. People have already seen it and probably downloaded it. It will be all over in no time flat. I'll be a fantasy that BDSM fans masturbate to. My anonymity is over as we speak. What's the purpose?"
The tone and finality in which Greg spoke scared Nick. He never heard him sound so ready to give up. "Greg, you can't go…" The phone rang, interrupting what he was about to say.
Greg got up to answer it, which surprised Nick. "Sanders," he answered with no emotion. Greg listened to the voice on the other line. Nick watched his expression turn even darker as he seemed to be agreeing with whoever was on the other end.
"Okay, I understand. Yeah thanks for confirming it….yes, I know I have to. I will. Bye," he said before slowly hanging up the phone and putting it down on the counter. Greg walked around the kitchen counter, without saying a word and picked up his pills. He put them into the palm of his hand and then just stared at them.
Nick was very worried at his weird reactions. He stood up slowly and walked towards him. "Who was that on the phone?"
Greg continued staring at the pills. "I'll have to tell Catherine now for sure." He lifted his eyes. Nick felt tears come on as he saw the haunted look in his boyfriend's eyes. "Doctor confirmed my final blood test showed I have HIV." He looked back down at the pills. "Can today get any worse?" He mumbled before popping the handful of pills into his mouth. He opened the fridge and took a swig of juice out of an open container. Nick would normally have yelled at him for doing that but he could careless today. He knew Greg was in an incredibly fragile state right now, but seeing him still taking his pills gave him hope. If he was really self-destructive he could have not taken the pills.
"You don't have to go into work tonight. You can skip it. I'll tell Catherine you still aren't feeling well," Nick told him.
Greg shook his head. "No, I have to tell Catherine I have HIV and I need to work. I need to take my mind off all this shit. I need to find the asshole who is trying to ruin my life even more than it already is. I can't go around feeling sorry for myself. That is what this asshole wants. He wants to break me, I know his game now. I'll show him I'm onto his game." He knew this was Brad Jamison messing with him but he wasn't ready to let Nick in on this knowledge.
Nick wondered what made Greg take this turn around so suddenly but he was happy to hear it. "Well that's the way to deal with this. I hope you continue to feel this way, although I think we need to set up a session with Dr. Warren again."
Greg frowned and walked away. "I'll be okay, Nick. I don't need to see the shrink."
Nick caught up with him and stepped in his way. Greg stared at him, tiredly. "I don't have the energy to fight with you Nick."
"I understand that but at least think about seeing her again. You haven't been in weeks. I think you need to, too much has happened lately," Nick told him, worry creasing his face.
Greg sighed heavily. "I'll think about it, okay. I just want to get ready for work and forget about the latest video."
"Fine, as long as you think about it. I won't force you into anything. We'll talk more about this after work, okay?"
"Sure, okay. Can we just get ready for work now?" Greg said, waiting for Nick to step out of his way.
"Yeah, you can go ahead if you want to in the bathroom. I'll make us something to eat," Nick offered.
Greg just nodded and stepped around Nick and headed for the bathroom. Nick watched him close the door to the bathroom. He chewed on his lower lip. He was worried about him. Too much was happening too soon and he wasn't sure Greg was dealing with everything well.
They decided to take separate cars to work in case Greg decided to leave early. Greg felt uneasy as he walked into the lab with Nick. He stopped before reaching Catherine's office. "I want to do this on my own," he told Nick.
Nick frowned. "You don't have to. I can be there for you."
Greg shook his head though. "No, I want to tell her on my own. I need you to go to Archie and see about that latest video. I can't deal with that right now. I can deal with telling Catherine I have HIV."
Nick sighed but let it go. "Okay, just let me know how things went after you are done. I'll take care of the video. You're right you don't need to deal with that right now."
"I will. I'll see you in a bit," Greg said to him. Nick nodded and walked towards the A/V lab. Greg turned towards Catherine's door and knocked on it. She had it closed at the moment. They had arrived a little earlier than normal just so he could have time to tell her.
"Come in," he heard her say. He walked in the door and closed it behind him. She looked up at him and immediately realized something was wrong. He looked pale and extremely nervous.
"Greg, is everything okay? You don't look so good," she asked out of concern.
"May I sit down?" He asked her.
"Of course you can. What's going on? Do you need to take more time off?" She asked him.
He sat down in a chair across from her and sighed heavily. "No, not right now anyway. I, uh, I have something I need to tell you. It's something I figured in our job you should be aware of." He paused, suddenly feeling his heart beat quicken, his anxiety worsening.
"Greg? Are you sure you're okay?" Catherine asked as she stood up and started walking around her to desk to take the seat next to him. She saw that he was starting to shake a little. She sat down and placed her hand on his knee. "Greg, honey, what's wrong?"
He took a couple deep breaths before looking at her. She could see whatever it was, it was haunting him. "I have HIV and since we don't seem to have the best luck around here with accidents and such, I figured you needed to know."
Catherine didn't know what to say. She was in shock. She couldn't believe that he had endured so much to have to have this happen to him. She looked at him and he had turned his head and was looking down at his hands in his lap. She noticed a tear drop from his eyes. Her heart broke.
"Oh Greg," she finally said and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
He rested his head on her shoulder. He was trying to stay strong but the day had been too much for him already. He started sobbing. She held him tighter, rubbing his back. She let him get it out.
He finally pulled himself together and felt like a total fool afterward for crying in his boss' shoulder. "It's been a rough day," he said as an excuse as he rubbed his eyes.
"When did you find out?" She asked him.
"Last week actually but it was just a preliminary result. Today my doctor called me with the final blood test results. I've been on meds since last week though."
"What about Nick?" She asked, knowing they had been intimate again.
"He was tested, he's clear for now," he told her somberly.
"Where is he now? I would have thought he wanted to be here with you," she wondered.
"Yeah he's here but I told him I wanted to do this on my own. Besides, I said it's been a rough day. I got another video today too. He's with Archie looking into it." He looked away again and sighed.
Catherine closed her eyes and shook her head. She couldn't believe the horrible luck the young man had in the last year. "The video was sent to you via email again?" She finally asked him.
He kept his head low. "Yeah, but I was sent a link. It's on a public website."
She turned to look at him, with shock. "What? It's posted on a website? Not YouTube!"
"God, I hope not. No some porn and BDSM type site. People have seen it already, there were comments." He stood up and started pacing. "It has to be this other guy that I remember being there. He's the only one that can be doing this. He's trying to torment me."
Catherine stood up and stopped him from pacing. She placed her hands on his arms and forced him to look at her. "Now listen Greg, we are going to find this guy but in the meantime you can't let him do this to you. I can see that you are barely holding on right now. If you want to take tonight off you can, everyone else is on tonight."
He shook his head. "No, I have to at least try to work. Focusing on work helps me forget. If I go home I will just think about it all night."
"Okay then but if you can't handle it anymore, you need to go home. Now as for the HIV, you've disclosed it to me, although you were not required. Are you going to tell the others?" She asked him.
He sighed heavily and then looked at her. "Do you think I should?"
"It's up to you. We don't run into too many situations where the others have to worry about it," she told him.
"I'll think about it but I guess I won't tell anyone else right now. It might be too much for me today."
"Well I wish you the best. You said you already started on the medication?"
"Yes, a week ago. They sometimes make me a little nauseous but nothing too bad that I can't work. The doctor says that if the drug protocol works and I can still live a long life," he told her.
"That's great to hear. I have no doubt you and Nick will have a long life together," she smiled at him, hoping to get his spirits up. It didn't seem to work.
"Yeah, I guess. I better go catch up with him now and see if they got any news on that video and maybe where it came from. Thanks for letting me use your shoulder, Catherine," he smiled meekly.
"Anytime, Greg. You take care of yourself and remember what I told you, if you feel you need to go home tonight, go ahead. I will understand." She gave him another hug. She watched him carefully as he left her office. She was really worried about him but didn't want to let on. She could see he was barely holding it together. She hoped Nick would be there for him again when he needed him.
