Hi, everyone. Here is the next chapter of Heart Stopping Comeback. :) It's not quite as long as I hoped it would be, but I hope you all like it regardless. :)

Trigger warning for abuse.

Kendall had never been a huge fan of dark places, and not because he was afraid a hand would suddenly reach out to grab him from within the shadows, like when he was five. He had outgrown that fear a very long time ago, when he'd realized real monsters weren't just a figment of his imagination.

Looking back on it, he can pinpoint when his fear of monsters had vanished – instead being replaced by the fear of being caught by his father, who, whenever they were left alone, would hurt him in unimaginable ways. That is when his fear of the dark became more focused on what would happen once he was caught, and not on what might appear from within it.

Growing up, there had been countless moments in which his father had locked him in dark compartments. His closet, a kitchen cabinet – they went from being safe places where he could hide from his father's vicious fits of anger, to places where he would be punished. Sometimes Kendall didn't even know why he was being punished. All he knew was that he must have done something wrong to make his father so angry.

After he was rescued and taken away from his father, he thought that he would never find himself in a situation such as this one once again. The fear didn't vanish immediately. For months, he had awoken in a cold sweat, shaking and hyperventilating, convinced his father would find him after having yet another nightmare about him. It had taken several years for that fear to be diminished and for him to feel like maybe he would finally be safe. Maybe his father would never find him.

But the universe had a funny way of conspiring against him, because just as things were starting to look up, he found himself face-to-face with his father once again. He wasn't safe anymore, and neither was anyone that he loved, and that is what he hated more than anything.

Feeling bile rise up his throat, he swallowed hard, blinking rapidly, hoping the tears in his eyes would stop falling. His father's words kept ringing in his head. His mom and his sister were gone, probably forever, and even though he knew it was his father's fault, he couldn't help but blame himself too. If it wasn't for him, the two most important people in his life would be alive right now. They wouldn't have had to suffer at the hands of a cruel monster, such as his father.

He stared into the bleak darkness, his hands formed into fists on either side of him. His cheeks were damp with tears, his body still feeling shaky from the sobs that had wracked his body just minutes before. There were no sounds coming from outside the door, no sign that there was anyone on the other side. He knew, however, that he wasn't alone. He had heard his father leave about half an hour before, saying something to Trey about finding a fast food place nearby. He knew that Trey was on the other side. There was no way he would leave him there alone, even if there was no chance he could escape.

Suddenly, he heard the door to the motel room burst open, and not long after that, the doorknob of the closet he found himself in started to jiggle. Light flooded into the small, cramped space as the door was yanked open. His father stood in the doorway, wearing a blank expression on his face.

"You hungry?" he asked.

Kendall shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was to eat, especially something that he had brought him.

Frowning, his father stepped inside, grabbed onto the back of the chair, and pulled it out of the closet.

Kendall made no sound, instead opting to close his eyes, hoping this nightmare would somehow be over once he opened them again. He could feel his father walking around the chair, the sound of a paper bag filling the eerie silence, before the smell of a hamburger wafted through the air.

He froze as he felt a hand at the back of his head, the presence of his father too close for comfort. It took him a moment to realize what he was doing – untying the bandana from around his head.

"Open your eyes."

Kendall made no move to do as his father said.

"Open them," he said, his tone harsher than before.

Glaring at the face in front of him, Kendall reluctantly obeyed. Kenneth was holding the hamburger about an inch away from his face, making the nausea that Kendall felt intensify at the sight of it.

"I spent money on this," his father said through gritted teeth. "You're going to eat it, whether you want to or not."

"Why should I?" Kendall's voice came out hoarse, his throat feeling painfully dry. "It's not like you care if I eat or not. You'd probably be satisfied watching me die."

For a moment, Kenneth stood frozen, as if being taken aback by Kendall's words. However, that didn't last long, because he regained his composure in a matter of seconds.

Kendall watched as he threw the burger on the ground before stepping on it. Pieces of tomato and lettuce spilled from the burger's edges, the bun and patty being reduced to something that looked like a squashed pancake.

For a moment, Kendall couldn't help but feel satisfied at seeing his father so visibly upset. But the satisfaction was soon replaced by regret as Kenneth threw a punch towards his face with no warning. Kendall didn't even get a chance to attempt to duck his head out of the way.

The impact caused his head to snap back, dizziness temporarily taking over. His nose was bleeding again and throbbing painfully.

In front him, his father smiled and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. Kendall wanted more than anything to punch the smug grin off of his face.

Kneeling down in front of him, Kenneth grabbed Kendall's chin with his thumb and index finger, inspecting the wounds on his face. The smile that he wore never vanished. If anything, Kendall could have sworn it grew in size.

"Those are gonna leave some nasty scars," he said with a click of his tongue.

Kendall tried to squirm away from his touch, but he could barely move. He was stuck to this chair, against his will, with a headache that refused to go away.

His eyes hurt. His nose hurt. Everything hurt. He just wanted the pain to disappear somehow. He wanted to be back at the apartment, with James, Carlos and Logan. He wanted his mom and Katie back. He wanted things to be okay again, but he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that things would never be okay again. Even if he were to miraculously escape, things would never go back to the way they once were.

If his father was right and his mom and Katie were gone, he would never forgive himself. He would never be able to escape the guilt that came with knowing that he was the cause of their deaths.

"What are you planning to do with him?"

It was Trey's question that pulled him out of his thoughts, his eyes moving to where the man was sitting on a chair next to the bed. His gaze was locked steadily on Kendall.

"Still trying to figure that out," Kenneth said as he stood. "We could still get some money out of him."

"After what just happened, they're going to be searching for you."

"You think I don't know that?" his father snapped, glaring in Trey's direction. "Which is why we can't stay here. Not for long, anyway. We'll have to leave, probably by morning."

"Where will we even go?"

His father let out a heavy breath through his nose, clearly annoyed by all the questions Trey was asking. "Wherever, as long as it's far away from here."

Trey nodded, not saying anything in response.

Kendall had no idea what time it was, but he knew he had less than a day to figure out how to get out of there. Coming up with schemes was easy when he was doing it to get himself and his friends out of a sticky situation. But when it came to life and death, and when it involved only himself, coming up with a way out wasn't as easy. It didn't help that he was constantly being watched, by either his father or Trey. There was no way he'd be able to escape, at least not in a matter of a few hours.

He needed more time. He needed a clearer head.

Carlos trudged back into the hospital, behind his dad, James and Logan. His limbs felt heavy, and it took all the strength he had in him not to collapse on the floor at that very moment.

Seeming to notice his absence, Logan stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at him. He pressed his lips into a tight line and took the couple of steps towards him. Without saying a word, Logan looped an arm over his shoulders and pulled him close, his expression one of sadness and pain.

Leaning most of his weight against Logan, Carlos allowed him to pull him back towards the waiting room, which had become less crowded during the time that they were gone.

With a sigh, he took a seat beside Kelly, who almost immediately reached for his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him, her voice only slightly above a whisper.

Not knowing what to say, Carlos shrugged his shoulders, looking down at the white tiles on the floor. "I don't really know," he said and looked up at Kelly, his eyes filling with tears. "This is just… too much."

He felt a hand land on his shoulder and looked to his right to see Logan giving him a tight smile. He tried to smile back, but his lips refused to stay in that position for more than a second.

"They're gonna find him," Kelly said, her thumb rubbing small circles against the back of Carlos' hand.

Carlos nodded back, unable to do much else. He wanted to believe that Kendall would be found safe, that nothing bad would happen to him, but he knew better than that. His father was a monster, and there was no telling what he would do now that there was no one around to stop him.

"Family of Jennifer Knight?"

Carlos felt the hold Kelly had on his hand tighten as they all stood.

A man who looked like he was in his late thirties stood at the front of the waiting room, his eyes scanning the room. When his eyes fell on them, he walked to where they were standing and gave them all a sympathetic smile.

"Good afternoon. My name is Doctor Williams. I'm guessing you're here for Jennifer Knight?" he said.

"That's correct," Antonio said, from where he now stood behind Carlos. Both of his hands came to rest on top of Carlos' shoulders. "Is Jennifer alright?"

Doctor Williams nodded. "The wound was luckily a clean wound, which means no bones were broken or fractured by the bullet. We were able to clean it and suture it. Jennifer is currently in recovery, but she should be waking up from anesthesia soon," he said, a small smile coming to his face. "We'll be keeping her overnight for observation, since often, bullet wounds can lead to infection. But, as long as everything goes well, she should be able to go home by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank God," Kelly breathed out.

"Can we see her?" It was James who had asked the question, his eyes looking teary as he waited for a response.

"You may," the doctor said after a moment of consideration. "I'll take you to her room."

Carlos started walking forward, along with the others, but he stopped after taking a few steps and turned back to look at his dad. Unlike the rest of them, he hadn't moved from where he had been standing behind him.

"Papi, aren't you coming?"

"You go ahead, mijo," he said, giving Carlos a small smile. "I should probably stay here, in case someone comes by to give us any news on Katie."

Carlos looked hesitant to move forward, but after a few seconds he nodded his head and followed the others. The doctor led them down several hallways, and then took them up to the fourth floor, where the recovery room was located.

When they arrived at Mrs. Knight's room, the three boys stood together in front of the closed door, none of them moving an inch.

"I have to tend to other patients, but I'll be back in a bit to see how she's doing."

"Thank you," Kelly said, her eyes only briefly landing on the doctor before they were back on James, Carlos and Logan.

Once the doctor was gone, she took a step towards them and reached out for the boy that was closest to her, which happened to be James.

"You don't have to go in yet," she told him. "Only if you boys are ready."

Beside her, James swallowed, his shoulders tensing. "She's like a second mother to us," he mumbled. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."

"Me either," Carlos said, letting out a heavy sigh. His hands were shaking, his knees wobbling slightly from underneath him.

"The doctor said the surgery went well."

All eyes turned to Logan, whose gaze was locked on the white door in front of him.

He turned towards them slowly, a hand moving to rub at the back of his neck. "I know none of us are ready to see her in the kind of situation she's in," he said, his words being directed at James and Carlos, "but we should probably go in and sit with her. That way she won't be alone when she wakes up."

"That's true," Carlos said quietly.

James nodded his head in agreement. He was the one to reach out and push the door open, allowing Logan and Carlos to step inside, before following closely behind.

The boys stood in the middle of the room for a moment, without moving. Their eyes were locked on Mrs. Knight, who was laying on a hospital bed, crisp white sheets pulled up to her chest. She lay motionless in the bed, looking smaller than she ever had.

Carlos felt his stomach churn at the sight of her.

He was somehow the first one to move, taking the few steps towards the hospital bed. He reached blindly for the chair closest to him and took a seat. His hands shook as he reached for Mrs. Knight's hand, his fingers curling around hers. The tears came to his eyes before he could stop them, spilling down his cheeks in only a matter of seconds.

He tried to avoid looking at her bandaged leg, which poked out from underneath the sheets, but his eyes kept being drawn to it.

"How could he do this to her?" James asked, his tone sharp.

"I don't know," Logan said as he moved around the bed and took the seat opposite to Carlos. "Some people are just… cruel."

"I don't feel well," Carlos mumbled as he let go of Mrs. Knight's hand and wrapped his arms around himself.

"What's wrong?" Logan was by his side in an instant, James only one step behind him. He bent down in front of Carlos, who now had his eyes closed tightly.

"Nothing, I'm–I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" James asked. "You don't look fine."

"I just… I feel sick."

"Sick how?" Logan asked. "Sick like you feel like you're gonna throw up?"

Carlos nodded wordlessly.

Logan shared a worried look with James, who looked like he didn't know what to do.

"Should I call your dad?" James asked, but Carlos shook his head.

"No."

"Come on," Logan said, pressing a hand to Carlos' lower back. He guided Carlos to a door that was connected to the hospital room, which led to the bathroom.

James had to tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of him, starting to feel nauseous himself.

"Is he okay?" he asked after about a minute had passed, his voice shaking.

Instead of answering him, Logan stepped out of the bathroom, guiding a shaken up Carlos back to the chair he had previously been sitting on.

"I think so," he finally said, his eyes still scanning Carlos for any sign that would indicate that he was wrong. "I think he just panicked."

"Litos, are you okay?" James asked, because he felt the need to hear it from Carlos himself.

Slowly, Carlos looked up, his eyes red and watery. "Yeah," he said, his voice barely reaching James' ears. "I'm okay."

James nodded, even though he was unconvinced, and moved to where Carlos was. He squeezed his shoulder lightly, hoping the small gesture would bring him some comfort, because he wasn't sure what else to do. There wasn't much else he could do, after all.

Mama Knight and Katie were hurt. Kendall was missing, and it was all out of their control.

So, first of all, I know Katie wasn't really included in this chapter, but she will be in the following one. What do you all think will happen with Kendall? Do you think he will actually find a way to escape before they change locations? He could… maybe. He could not…

Thank you for reading. :)

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)