Always and Forever
by Star Kindler
Chapter Five
UPDATE! I will no longer be continuing this fic. My friend, Blink Falcon, shall continue it for me! I give him *all* rights to this fic. It now belongs to him! Every chapter thus far, and every chapter to come – his! So whatever evil deed is bestowed upon Duo in the upcoming chapters is entirely Blink's fault! As much as I love Duo torture, I no longer claim this fic as my own. ~Star Kindler (AKA Eternally 1x2)
Disclaimer: I don't own GW, never have and never will
~~ I want to thank Duo's Chick for taking time and editing this chapter! ~~***
Mrs. Reinhard pounded on the door impatiently. The previous night, she planned on confronting Darrell on the strange and very distressful sounds she had heard. Unfortunately, on the way to his apartment, another tenant, full of complaints, had stopped her. Now, the next morning, she stood before his door waiting for him to answer. She was still surprised that not another person in the building had informed her of the noises in this particular dwelling. Even the people next door to Darrell made no note of them. The walls were as thin as paper; they had to have heard them. But for Mrs. Reinhard, the mournful and scream she had heard was bothering her; try as she might, she could not relieve the wail from her mind. God knows what could have been going on in that apartment. Just as she was thinking how eerie the whole thing was, the door swung open, revealing a very disgruntled young man.
With an annoyed groan, he muttered, "Can I do something for you?"
She was struck silent for a moment before nodding her head. "Uh…sorry to bother you, Darrell, but I'm just here to question you on some…oh, how should I put this? …Screams…I heard screams coming from your place last night. Could you possibly explain them?"
He stared at her blankly. 'Oh god…she's going to find out…' Calmly, he shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am. Perhaps you heard something else?"
"No." She blurted unsteadily. "No, Darrell, I distinctly heard a human scream coming from this very apartment."
He shifted uneasily. "No ma'am, I'm sure you're mistaken…"
That was it. What could she do? Maybe she was just hearing things. Maybe she was mistaken. There was absolutely no use to push the subject matter anymore. The disheveled young man before her was not going to tell her anything.
Nodding, she muttered an apology and turned away. But something just didn't seem right. The door shut loudly behind her and she walked away, defeated.
***
Stephen turned in his sleep, half-conscious. He heard something rather distant; something that seemed to be a sick cough. Still not fully awake, his eyes slid open and instinctively shot to the other side of the bed where Duo was supposed to be lying. Much to his surprise, the injured boy was not there at all – or anywhere else in the room for that matter. Stephen sat up quickly. His first thought was that Duo left – ran away sometime during the night. But as he thought about it, the more he realized that was almost close to impossible. After all, the longhaired boy had an injured leg; then Stephen remembered the cough that woke him. Immediately, his eyes shot to the adjoining bathroom. He chuckled and quickly climbed out of bed; underneath the bathroom door Stephen could see a light – someone, namely Duo, was in there. He inched his hand toward the doorknob almost breathlessly and turned it. A smile played across his lips as Duo's thin body appeared behind the door. It seemed the boy was asleep – he was curled tightly in a ball.
Stephen's small smile faded and was replaced by a sneer-like grimace. He bent over and grabbed a handful of the matted hair that flowed around the small form. As roughly as he possibly could, he pulled Duo from the light colored tiles. The longhaired boy awoke immediately as he realized he was being lifted from the cold floor. His scalp burned as if it was on fire. With a whimper escaping his throat and a confused look in his eyes, he came face to face with Stephen. Not wanting to look at the man that had hurt him so completely, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried in vain to relieve the intense pressure capturing his body. His feet soon hit the cold floor just as Stephen decided to free the fistful of chestnut locks. Seething pressure was placed upon the weak ankle and in a desperate attempt to brace his being Duo's hand flew to the countertop. Weary and debilitated, the young man swayed uneasily, his eyes sagging with fatigue. He knew of Stephen's presence in the room, and yet he didn't. He could feel the heat of the man's body so near to his, but yet his mind somehow shut out the world around him. Perhaps it was due to the abomination committed against his body and soul.
Stephen glared into Duo's glazed eyes, unable to read the blank expression that masked his face. In this state, he knew Duo would not give an answer to the question that crossed his mind. 'Why was he lying on the cold floor of the bathroom?'
Stephen raised a hand, intending to slam his palm against the smaller man's face. He knew he had crossed the line. He didn't want to hurt Duo anymore than Duo wanted to be hurt. But it was too late; he had no choice other than to show the longhaired boy that he meant business. He never understood the concept of using peace to get what you want. All through life he had to fight for what he wanted – he knew nothing but hate. No one had ever uttered 'I love you' to him once…no one had ever truly loved him. So why even bother hoping someone would love him for who he is; that just didn't happen. He wanted Duo; he believed he loved Duo; Duo, however, obviously did not love him back. Before this whole ordeal took place, he wanted to win Duo's love, but in his mind he knew he would most likely be rejected. Not only because Duo was deeply involved with another person, but also because no one could love Stephen. Even if Duo broke it off with Heero, the chances were he would never give Stephen the time of day. That was just the way it was. He had to force Duo to love him; he needed it so badly. The boy was amazing – his happy, carefree personality and looks that surpassed those of every other human being on the planet. He had to have Duo from the first moment he laid eyes on the gorgeous boy…now he had him and there was no way he was going to let him go…even if it did begin with rape. No, he didn't want to hurt Duo at all. How he wished he could stop, but it seemed that he had to continue using the violent methods. For if he withdrew the violence, he would lose his control over Duo.
A loud slap against already throbbing flesh echoed across the tiny closed in room. Duo was knocked out of the trance that engulfed him and was now staring into Stephen's angry and bloodshot eyes. The same eyes he had known before Stephen had hurt him…the same eyes of the man he had called a friend. Those days were over – now he could expect nothing but pain in the future. Still gripping the washstand tightly, he felt a single tear form in his eye, then cascade down a reddened cheek. All thoughts of the life he lived only a few days before vanished – all thoughts of Heero were relinquished. Now all he could see were the two angry and what could be considered wicked eyes before him.
His other hand reached up and cast the single tear from his cheek. Tears were for the weak – he himself had said boys don't cry…he was not going to weep any longer. Thoughts of power and anger overtook him…no longer did he feel weak; he was not weak. He couldn't let Stephen dominate him anymore. All knowledge that he was indeed injured and presumably did not stand a chance against the stronger man had abandoned him. With incredible balance, he put all weight on his uninjured leg and lifted his hand from the countertop. With all the strength he could muster, he shoved Stephen away only to surprise himself as the taller man's body toppled over.
Stephen didn't know what hit him; he fell back onto the matted carpet of the bedroom floor with a loud thud. Shocked at the hidden strength that Duo had encased, he glared at the longhaired boy with utter spite. The young man stared down at him defiantly, his eyes almost daring Stephen to retaliate. And that he intended to do. He knew the only way to win Duo was through violence – the boy had just proven that to him. Though pain shot through his lower back, he stood and towered massively over Duo.
The feelings of power and superiority Duo had felt only moments before had now also abandoned him, only to be replaced by meekness and fear. He was now totally terrified; he knew Stephen would not let him get away with the heinous act he had committed. What would it be now? More painful rape? More battery? Or perhaps a mixture of both? His hand flew back to the faucet's countertop, trusting it to almost save him from Stephen's wrath. It seemed to lull him into a false sense of security.
Of course the brace was not a savior. It could not defend him from Stephen's wrath. The bigger man was fuming – his eyes almost bulged and his nostrils flared. Nevertheless, though frightened, Duo was prepared for any torturous agony that awaited him.
Stephen no longer felt that twinge of love for the longhaired boy – anger had raped him of that emotion. Duo had also proven that he did not want Stephen's love. And still, the only thing Stephen knew was violence, so that was how he would lash out. With an angry growl his hand flew and his fingers encircled Duo's throat. Duo's hands left the countertop and immediately grasped Stephen's wrists.
"What were you thinking, Duo?" Stephen demanded.
A fearful choke was his response.
"You shouldn't have done that…you really shouldn't have." His voice sounded almost demonic.
Duo gasped for air – his lungs cut off from the precious oxygen supply. All pain was forgotten in the rest of his body; he tried in vain to remove Stephen's death grip from his neck.
"Pl-please…" he gasped. "I'm s-s-sorry." He wished he hadn't felt so brave.
"No such luck, Duo. You're not going to get off that easily." But Duo wasn't as light as he looked. Stephen's biceps bulged as they supported the smaller boy. His arm began to feel weak. He knew he should release his grip, but a voice in his head told him Duo would not learn if he just let go…he had to be more forceful.
Before another moment could pass, Stephen propelled Duo forward and released his grasp. With a hoarse scream, Duo flew backwards directly into the glass door of the shower. The glass snapped at the force of his weight and shards of the sharp debris scattered across the room in all directions. A crash echoed throughout the entire apartment. Duo's body hit the wall of the shower and slumped to the floor leaving a bloody trail as he slid down.
Surprised and shocked, Stephen stood dumbfounded for several seconds before returning to reality. He hadn't meant to do that…he didn't know he was throwing Duo into the door. Anger had blinded him. With a few cautious steps over the broken glass, he gazed at Duo. The boy's body was mangled; blood trickled from every inch. He did not stir.
'Oh fuck…I've killed him…' Stephen stooped down and gazed at the nude body now streaked red. Scared to touch him, the man lightly squeezed his fingertips against Duo's bloodied wrist. There was a slight pulse.
"God oh god…Stephen! What happened?" Stephen looked over to the doorway where Darrell stood, a terrified look across his features. "Oh god…oh shit, what did you do?"
Stephen stood and backed out of the shower. "I-I don't know. I didn't mean to hurt him like this. I didn't mean-"
"The hell with what you meant!" Darrell screamed. "Look what you've done. Look what you've done…oh shit, I'm going to be sick." Grasping his stomach, he backed over to the bed and sunk down. "Is he dead?" he asked fearfully.
Stephen was silent for a moment. "No…no not yet."
"Well fuck, we've got to get him to a hospital."
"No!" Stephen turned and stormed over to Darrell. "Are you kidding? They'll know what I've done. They'll know and I'll be arrested!" He ran back to the shower, paying no mind to glass beneath his feet.
"What are we going to do then? He's losing blood and if we don't do something, he will die!"
"Shut up, just shut the fuck up! I've got to think." Stephen bellowed. After a moment of pondering, he reached to the shower knobs and turned the cold water on. It sprayed over Duo's motionless body and swept the blood away. The water, now red, pooled around the almost lifeless body. Yet more and more drops of red liquid seemed to seep from the dozens of cuts across Duo's body.
"What is that going to do?" Darrell yelled.
"I'm trying to wash the blood away!" Stephen replied.
Darrell stood and walked over to the other man. "You know damn well that will not help, Stephen. He needs stitches…he needs to see a doctor."
"Enough of that! He's not going to any hospital. They'll question us, then they'll know." He paused. "Got any first-aid?"
Darrell's mouth dropped open. "Are you insane? For god's sake, what will that do? He needs professional help, he's going to die!"
"No…no, he won't die; he can't. C'mon, if you don't have anything to patch him up with, then we need to go get something."
"We? We need to go get something? You can't leave him here alone…you just can't…"
"Of course we can. He's not going anywhere. And what good will it do if one of us stays with him? We'll just leave the water running, and everything will be fine." Stephen said hopefully.
Darrell knew he was defeated. "All right…I'll go…" 'I don't want to get in trouble…but that man will die if we don't do something. I don't want a man's death on my shoulders…'
"Good. Let me get dressed and we can go." Stephen replied pushing Darrell out the door.
"Just hurry up."
Darrell approached the front door, and there he waited impatiently for Stephen to emerge from the bedroom. Finally, after several agonizing moments, he did.
"Stephen," Darrell whispered as the left the apartment building, "my landlady was just at my door this morning. She heard Duo's screams…she was questioning them."
Stephen shrugged the statement off. "Let her, she can't do anything."
That didn't comfort Darrell. He didn't know how he was going to explain the broken shower door. And now, what if Duo died? What were they going to do?
***
Heero's eyes shot up and cast an alarmed glance across the room.
"Duo." he muttered.
Quatre looked up from a book he was reading, shocked. Heero hadn't spoken one word all morning. "Heero, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
The Japanese boy jumped up. "Duo's been hurt…I can feel it." He muttered.
Quatre set his book down and stood by his friend. "No Heero, you're just worried." He laid a hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure Duo's fine."
"No…no, I felt something. He's been hurt badly."
Quatre was getting annoyed. The whole ordeal and worry over Duo's disappearance had left him shaken. It was tough trying to calm Heero at the same time. "Just sit down. I'm sorry Heero, but there's nothing you can do. The police said they would contact you if anything turned up. Now all we can do is hope."
Heero couldn't just wait. He was terrified at the thought that Duo could be in pain. All he wanted to do was find him and rescue his love from whatever evil force held him captive. But Quatre was right. With a sorrowful sigh, Heero sank down onto the sofa.
"It's so hard, Quatre. I don't want to wait…I don't want to wait for bad news."
For the first time, the Arabian boy didn't know how to comfort his friend. His heart ached for him. Sadly, he sat down and pulled Heero close to him. There was nothing else he could do.
***
Mrs. Reinhard hurried down the hall to Darrell's apartment. She heard the crash and the sickening thud. She reached the door and pounded on it.
"Darrell, open up right now!"
No answer.
She knocked loudly on the door once more. "Come on Darrell, this instant!"
Still no one answered.
"Mrs. Reinhard, ma'am?" She turned and saw another tenant behind her. It was the woman who lived next door to Darrell. "He isn't home. I heard a crash from his apartment; it sounded like glass shattering. I was going to ask him about it, but just as I opened my door, I saw him leave with another man."
"He's not home?" The landlady asked.
"No."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. She knew it was wrong; she shouldn't enter his home, but something happened in that apartment and she had to find out what. Finally finding the key she pushed in the lock and turned. Carefully, as if not to disturb anyone, she opened the door and peered in. It was empty and silent except for the roar of water in the back.
"There is someone here…"
"No ma'am." The tenant answered. "He left."
"Tell me," Mrs. Reinhard motioned for the woman to follow her, "have you heard any strange noises from this apartment lately?"
The two crept to the back of the apartment, peering into each room as they passed. "Actually, I believe I heard a bit of a struggle last night. But I was assuming it was just a TV or something." the tenant answered.
They reached the bedroom. The two saw that the bathroom door was open. "Hello?" Mrs. Reinhard called out. "Is someone there?"
No answer, just the low roar of the shower spitting out water.
"Hello?" The two women crept closer. Something wasn't right at all. Both gasped as they saw shards of broken glass in the opening of the bathroom entranceway. Mrs. Reinhard cautiously peered in the bathroom. There was broken glass everywhere and blood…so much blood. Curious after seeing the strange look on the other woman's face, the tenant peered over her shoulder. As the women took in the horrific scene, they both let out a bloodcurdling scream.
***
One last reminder…this is now Blink Falcon's fic…I wrote this chapter, but Blink shall continue it for me. ~Star Kindler (AKA Eternally 1x2)
