Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I really hope you guys like this update. A new character is introduced in this chapter, though you all may not be very pleased with him, lol. Regardless, I hope you enjoy. :)
The first thing Kendall noticed when his eyes cracked open was that the light in the room he was in was no longer on. The room was surrounded by total darkness, which, for a minute, caused his breathing to pick up and his heart to start pounding at least twice as fast as normal.
Then, everything came flooding back and it all got so much worse.
He felt a cold shiver run through his spine as the memories from earlier made their way back into his mind. He felt the ropes dig into his wrists as he tugged and pulled at them, his breathing coming out in sharp, deep gasps that made him feel like he was rapidly running out of oxygen. He couldn't see his surroundings, but he could feel the room spinning and was sure that if it wasn't for the ropes keeping him in place, he would have dived headfirst into the pavement below his feet. Bile threatened to rise up his throat, but he swallowed it down and did his best to calm his racing heart. He couldn't panic – not here. He didn't know where his father was, but if he was to hear him, he was sure he would regret it.
As if on cue, he heard the sudden click of the door in front of him and straightened up quickly, swallowing back a whimper of fear. He watched like a deer caught in headlights as the door slowly opened to reveal a shadow standing in the middle of the doorway.
"I see you're awake," the person spoke, but to his surprise the voice did not belong to his father. He didn't know whether to be relieved or not; wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad one. All he knew was that he didn't want to be here. He wished more than anything that he was back home with Katie, his mom and his friends, or even at the studio, having a petty argument with Gustavo, while Kelly tried to calm them down. Really, anything would be better than this.
Without warning, there was a soft click, which Kendall presumed was the light switch, as light flooded the room a millisecond later. He closed his eyes tightly, not having expected that, and only opened them again when it no longer felt like the light was digging into his retinas. That is when he saw him.
The man stood at about 6'5" with a pale complexion, dark brown hair, and icy blue eyes that caused Kendall's stomach to drop. He had broad shoulders, and Kendall didn't doubt that this person could knock him out in a matter of seconds if he wanted to. He felt himself cower back in fear, his back pressed tightly against the back of the chair, until it almost felt like the chair would tip over.
"Who-who are you?" he asked, his throat feeling raw and dry as he spoke for the first time in what felt like forever.
The man grinned, took the few steps to reach Kendall, and just stood there for a few seconds, towering over him. "Name's Trey," he said in this deep voice that reminded Kendall too much of a student from the Palm Woods' school, named Ozzy, who used to bully Logan. "And I," he said as he inched his way closer to Kendall, "work for your father."
Kendall raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything, too afraid of what would happen if he did. His eyes grew wide as the man kneeled down in front of him and started to untie the ropes around his ankles. Though he desperately wanted to kick the guy's face in, he stopped himself from doing so and watched as he started to work on the ropes around his wrists as well.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked before he could stop himself, fear almost paralyzing him as Trey's blue eyes stared up at him.
"None of your business."
"But–"
"Look, kid." Trey sighed loudly, his nails suddenly digging into Kendall's skin. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. It's your decision."
Kendall didn't say anything, didn't even make a sound as the man's grip tightened. A moment later, the ropes around his wrists were untied too, no longer tied to the chair's arms. He almost sighed in relief, but it wasn't long before Trey grabbed one of the ropes and used it to tie both of his wrists together like handcuffs. Not even ten seconds after that was done, he was forced to stand on both feet, his legs feeling like gelatin as he tried to keep his balance.
He felt a hand wrap tightly around a fistful of his hair and held back a scream as he was shoved forward. For a moment, his feet did slip away from underneath him and he was almost sent crumpling to the floor, but before that could happen, Trey caught him.
"Walk." The hand was back at the nape of his neck, causing a shiver to run through Kendall's body. All he managed in response was a nod of his head before he started to walk forward, praying his feet wouldn't give out from underneath him once again.
"Hurry. I don't have all day," Trey hissed into his ear and tugged at his hair, hard.
This time, Kendall did cry out, his eyes scrunching up tightly as he waited for Trey to release it.
"You wouldn't want to make your daddy angry, would you?"
Kendall's stomach twisted up at those words, not only because he was afraid of what his father would do if he were to make him angry, but also because he was suddenly hit with the realization that he hadn't called his father "daddy" in years. And now, looking back on his younger self, he could not fathom it. He couldn't recall a time in which he felt genuine admiration for his father; could not recall a time in which he wasn't completely paralyzed by fear on the inside whenever his father was near. His heart ached, as if someone had suddenly taken it into their hand and started to squeeze it mercilessly, sharp nails digging into it. He felt tears well up in his eyes, his surroundings morphing together to create unrecognizable blurs of color.
Without warning, his body lurched forward and he heaved as if he was about to throw up, but nothing came out. Everything around him was spinning, even as he closed his eyes shut. He didn't register when his knees gave out, but he did feel the soaring pain that travelled up his legs as they collided with the pavement. His hands instinctively reached out in front of him, in a futile attempt to stop the fall. He breathed out sharply, and then tried to inhale a huge gulp of air.
Why did it suddenly feel like he was seven years old again; helpless, alone and terrified out of his mind?
"Get up."
Kendall looked up, into the eyes of the man in front of him and did nothing.
"I said, get up!" This time the shout that came from Trey was followed by a hit that caused Kendall's head to snap back, a groan slipping past his lips. It took him a moment to realize that Trey had punched him, right underneath his left eye. He reached up with his tied hands to touch the sore spot, but before he could do that, Trey took ahold of his arm and hauled him to his feet.
His feet practically dragged against the floor as he was pulled out of the room and, to Kendall's surprise, into a hallway. The hallway was very dimly-lit, with only one small yellow lightbulb in the middle of it. To the left of it there were two doors, one of which was open and one that was closed. To the right, there was only one at the end of the hall, which happened to be right in front of the one that was open.
"Move."
Kendall felt Trey's warm breath against his face and felt himself go stiff. His brain was screaming at him to move, to run, to do something, but his feet remained glued to the floor underneath them.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Trey pulled Kendall along once again and did not stop until they were in front of the closed door at the end of the hallway. Trey kept a strong grip on Kendall with one hand as he dug around in his pants pocket for what Kendall presumed was a key.
As Trey finally fished out the key and started unlocking the door, Kendall's eyes traveled to the other room. From what he could see, it looked like an office, as there was a desk in his line of vision and the light was turned on – much brighter than the one in the room he had previously been locked in.
Without warning, Trey shoved him forward, but just before the door was shut behind them, he caught sight of dark blond hair and green eyes.
"Mama Knight is still not answering," James said as he took a seat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. "It keeps going straight to voicemail."
"Have you tried Katie?" Carlos asked, joining him. "Maybe she'll answer."
"Maybe," James said quietly and looked down at the phone in his hand. "Let me try." He looked through his contacts in search of Katie's number, clicked on it, and then raised the phone to his ear. For a moment his expression looked hopeful, but it wasn't long-lasting.
"What's wrong?" Carlos moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
James just shook his head and tossed his phone to the empty spot beside him. "Voicemail," he said quietly, before he let his head fall into his hands.
"Something's not right here," Logan spoke from the other section of the couch, his eyes staring off into space.
"Nothing is right here," James said in frustration.
"He probably has them too," Carlos whispered to himself and drew his knees up to his chest. He then looked up at Logan, his eyes filling with tears. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know." Logan's voice wavered and he did not look at Carlos. His hands were clasped tightly on his lap, but from where Carlos was sitting, he could still see them shaking. Then suddenly, a pained look took over his features and he shakily got to his feet. Before Carlos could ask if he was okay, Logan had bolted out of the room and in the direction of the bathroom.
Carlos turned to James then, and realized he was staring in the direction in which Logan had disappeared to.
"I'll go check on him," was all James said.
"I'll come with you."
James opened his mouth, as if to protest, but closed it before any words could come out. They both rose to their feet at the same time and headed towards the bathroom, where they found Logan dry-heaving into the toilet.
"Logie?" Carlos knelt down beside him, his hand running small circles against Logan's back. "Logan." The tears were back, only this time, they were rolling down his face freely, dampening his cheeks. "I'm-I'm sorry."
At Carlos' apology, Logan looked up, his bottom lip trembling and eyes glassy. "Not your fault," he managed to say as he sat down on the bathroom floor, looking absolutely miserable.
"Are you okay?" James asked as he stood over the two of them.
From where he sat, Logan nodded, not looking up. "Yeah, I just… I just don't feel great."
"Come on." James stretched out a hand, which Logan took gratefully, still feeling a bit unsteady on his feet. He then stretched out the other to Carlos, who was hunched over, his back quivering as he tried to steady his breathing. When Carlos made no move to take it, James let go of Logan – after making sure he wouldn't topple over if left on his own – and pulled Carlos up by his underarms, a look of worry appearing on his face when he had to hold up most of Carlos' weight.
"Come on, Litos," he whispered into his ear, maneuvering the both of them in the direction of the living room.
After forcing Logan to lie down on the couch, he took a seat along with Carlos, Logan's head on James' lap.
"I feel so helpless." Logan suddenly sat up, pulling the orange blanket James had handed him just minutes before around his shoulders. "Just knowing that Kendall's in danger, and possibly Mama Knight, too, and Katie… and knowing that we can't actually do anything."
"We called my dad," Carlos said quietly from beside James, his eyes shifting between the two boys.
"I know that, but… it's not the same, you know?"
Carlos sighed, his body slumping against the couch cushions. "Yeah, I know."
"Maybe we could–"
Whatever it was that James was about to say was cut off by the sudden beeping of a cellphone nearby.
"That's my phone," Logan said and stood up, pulling the blanket along with him. He found his cellphone on the kitchen counter and returned, his eyebrows scrunched up together as he looked down at the screen. "It's a message from an unknown number."
"Aren't you going to open it?" Carlos asked.
"Wait!" James stood up abruptly and snatched the phone from Logan's hand. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Why not?" Logan asked in confusion.
"It could be Kendall's dad," James said, his finger hovering over the message. "I don't know if we should open it."
"But what if it's about Kendall?" Carlos asked, rising to his feet. Before James could step away, Carlos had taken the phone and clicked on the message. James and Logan both watched as a look of dread came to Carlos' face.
"What is it?" Logan asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"It's a video."
"A video?" James questioned, feeling his heart plummet to his stomach. "Don't play it."
"But–"
"Carlos, I mean it."
Carlos frowned but handed the phone back to James. "What should we do, then?"
"Show it to your dad."
"He's right," Logan said. "We don't know what's in it, and considering the circumstances, it probably is from Kendall's father. Maybe he can trace it and figure out where they are."
"I don't see why that means we can't open the video…"
"It's better we don't," James said, even though like Carlos, he wanted to know what was in it. He locked the phone before he could change his mind and placed it on the coffee table in front of them. "Nobody touches it until Carlos' dad gets back from the station, got it?"
Beside him, Logan and Carlos both nodded without a word.
"I see you've met Trey." Kendall's father smiled as he entered the room, his hands hidden behind his back. "Trey, you are dismissed. I'll take it from here," he said, his footsteps echoing around the room as he neared Kendall.
Unlike in the other room, Kendall was no longer tied to a chair, but Trey had made sure to tie his ankles together after forcing him to the ground. Kendall wasn't really sure this was any better than before; the ropes were still digging into his skin, causing it to feel like it was burning.
Once Trey had exited the room, Mr. Knight crouched down in front of Kendall, pulling out what it was that he had been holding behind his back the whole time. It was a brown Burger King paper bag. Kendall scrunched up his nose at the sight of it, but his stomach growled in hunger.
"I brought you a little something," his father said, before pulling out a burger from the bag, as well as some fries. "I figured you'd be hungry by now."
Kendall glared at the bag, and then for a moment at the man in front of him. "I want nothing from you," he managed through gritted teeth, his hands forming into fists in front of him.
The smile on his father's face vanished and was instead replaced by a scowl in the matter of a second. "But you will," he said certainly. "Just you wait."
Kendall said nothing in response to that, just continued to glare at his father despite the anxiety that seemed to be crushing him like a tidal wave. His head was throbbing, and his heart was pounding in his ears. He didn't know how, but he had managed to keep his breathing steady for the past couple of minutes, even though it felt like there wasn't enough air in the enclosed space.
The man in front of him seemed unphased by the look his son was giving him as he stuffed the burger and fries back into the bag. "I sent the video to your friends, by the way," he said after a moment, looking victorious at the look of horror that came onto Kendall's face at his words. "I don't think they'll be too pleased when they watch it."
"Leave them out of this," Kendall hissed, his nostrils flaring. "They've done nothing to you."
"That's where you're wrong." His father stood then and started pacing in front of him, his eyes not leaving Kendall's. "They are part of the reason I went to jail."
"They were kids!" Kendall shouted, his anger and protectiveness of his best friends taking over. "They didn't do anything!"
His father scoffed and shook his head. "You're such a foolish child if you really think I'll spare them," he said, his feet coming to a stop in front of Kendall. "And next time you're upset, you may want to keep your voice down."
Kendall was about to respond, when his father's boot-clad foot connected with his ribs, knocking him to a heap on the floor. The pain was unbearable, soaring up his entire body and completely knocking the air out of him. He stared up at his father with dazed eyes, his mouth open in what appeared to be a pained gasp, but no sound came out.
"Maybe that'll teach you a lesson," his father said, before turning around and exiting the room.
Well, Kendall's father is a horrible person; I think we can all agree on that. And Trey really isn't any better.
What did you guys think of the chapter? What do you think will happen with Kendall? Do you think they'll find him soon, or do you think it won't be that easy? Feel free to let me know your thoughts. And once again, thank you for all the support you all have given this story. It truly means a lot. :)
~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)