Leslie got the call around eleven am.
She had just gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed when her cell phone rang.
The thing was the only people who ever called it were her parents and this wasn't either of their numbers.
"Hello?" she asked, confused.
"Is this Ms. Burke?" someone asked. A gruff voice.
In the background she heard someone who sounded suspiciously like Jess calling out her name.
"Y-yes." she stuttered gripping her phone.
"Ms. Burke, I suggest you come outside."
"Who this this?" she asked.
"I'm a...let's just said I'm a friend of your father's. And I have something that belongs to you right here." he said, just she heard the sound of someone being hit and crying out in pain.
"Now, now Mr. Aarons, we don't want to scare her do we?" the voice on the phone asked.
"Jess?" Leslie breathed.
"Yes, Ms. Burke. Now if you don't come outside in the next thirty seconds I have a perfectly good gun right here, finger on the trigger. And it might just slip..." Leslie felt her breath leave her.
"I'll be right down." she said, then hung up. The house was empty so no one was around to help her.
She was about to leave the front door when she remembered that Mr. Aarons kept a gun stashed under one of the floorboards. Jess had told her about it one time when he was really pissed at his dad.
She found the floorboard (Jess had drawn all over it when he was little) and took the first sharp thing she could find, easily uprooting it. She pulled the small handgun out, tucked it in her jacket pocket, and ran outside.
There, in the middle of the road was a black van. Two big men were standing outside and as soon as she was near them, they grabbed both her arms and threw her in the back. Leslie tried to scream but it was no use.
"Shut up!" one of them called out as the van sped off.
"What do you want from me?" Leslie cried.
"It's not you kid, it's your old man. He owes the boss millions. But unfortunately, you're just gonna be a casualty in this whole ordeal." one explained as if it was a normal every day thing.
"You won't g-g-get away with this!" Leslie squeaked, trying to sound tough but failing.
"Yeah, yeah, now be a good girl or I'll have to sedate you." the man who wasn't driving said. Leslie frowned.
"And how do you plan to-" but she didn't get to finish because he'd already jabbed her in the shoulder with a needle and just like that she was out.
LATER
When Leslie woke up her shoulder was burning. That was the first thing she noticed. The second was that she was in a small dimly lit room with grey carpet and blank, mold splattered walls. The third was that Jess was sitting next to her, knees pulled to his chest, staring straight ahead.
"Jess?" she asked, cautiously reaching out and resting a hand on his shoulder. He flinched.
"They want to kill you, you know." he said, his voice cracking slightly.
She was quiet before she scooted herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around him.
"I won't let them, Leslie. I can't lose you again." he whispered, she felt him shaking.
She lied her head on his shoulder. "I know you won't. I trust you." she whispered.
They sat like that for a few minutes before the door flew open and Edward Williams stood there with two of his henchmen.
"Aw, how cute." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Jess and Leslie glared up at him and held each other tighter.
"Now kids, I'm going to give you once chance to answer my question. Where is Bill Burke?"
Jess would have told them if it had meant saving Leslie, but he knew she'd never forgive him for it so he kept his mouth shut.
"I will never tell you." Leslie spat at him.
Edward looked at Jess who just shook his head.
"Well then, I think Mr. Aarons has a nail appointment right about now, don't you Hector?" he asked once of the henchmen who grinned evilly as he walked over and yanked Jess out of Leslie's grip, then threw him down in a chair. The other henchman, came over and bound Jess's arms and legs with ropes. All the while a third had come in and was now holding Leslie in the direction of Jess, holding her head in place so she had to look at him.
Edward came over, searched in a drawer for a while until he found what he was looking for. Pliers. Leslie screamed and tried to break free from the man holding her. Jess was still confused.
"Mr. Aarons," Edward started, placing the pliers over Jess's thumb, "You might want to look away."
Leslie shut her eyes and a second later a cry of pain from Jess filled the room. It broke her heart in half and she lurched forward, trying to break free but it was no use.
As soon as she heard a clinking noise, she knew what they'd done. They were going to torture Leslie by torturing Jess.
"Why, miss Burke, you're missing the show. Open those pretty little eyes." she felt a fourth henchman pry her eyes open as she looked at Jess's bloody hand. She tried to look away but couldn't because she was being held like that.
"Two of ten." Edward cooed, mock sweetly before grasping Jess's pointer fingernail in between the pliers and yanking back. Jess cried out again, despite his best efforts and Leslie felt tears pouring out of her eyes as she screamed. Their cries mixed in the air and for a split second their eyes met. Both hearts broke again.
The next hour was filled with excruciating physical pain for Jess and excruciating mental pain for Leslie. And by the time it was done, and Edward and the men left, tossing a few towels at Leslie on their way out and dropping Jess on the ground, neither of them knew what there was to say or do.
Jess lied on the ground, his hands bloody and deformed looking while Leslie slowly grabbed the towels and made her way over to him.
"Jess," she started. His eyes were closed and beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead.
She held herself over him, placing a hand on his cheek and leaning down, gently pressing her lips to his, the only indication that he wasn't asleep was when he responded, absentmindedly.
"Can I wrap them?" she asked quietly. He nodded and squeezed his eyes even tighter.
She ripped the towels into strips and dressed his hands, despite his cries of protest at the pain. But she knew if she didn't wrap them they'd get badly infected. When she was finished she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.
Jess's breathing grew heavy and she thought he was asleep so she just sat there, tears falling down her face trying to figure out a way to get out, but not being able to think of anything.
Time ticked by, silence. Just the sound of Jess's breathing. Leslie didn't know what to do but she knew that she had to get them out of there, she just had to.