Author's Note: I just wanted to yet again thank you for all the kind words regarding my father. It really warms my heart

CHAPTER 23

His instincts screamed at him to run, run as fast as he could and not look back.
Neal had been stupid enough to believe that his father would be out of his life for good.
The boy looked around the room, looking for a way out but he couldn't escape.
All those nightmares he had about Keller and his father were coming true but unlike his nightmares this was very real, this time he couldn't just wake up and get comforted by Peter and Elizabeth.
This time he was stuck, he was alone and he was terrified.
The man reached Neal and crouched in front of his son. The strong alcohol smell on his breath was all too familiar to Neal and he knew all too well what just the tiniest amount of alcohol did to his father.
His father reached out for Neal and the boy flinched, but the man didn't hit him instead he just wiped away some of the blood on his face.
The touch was gentle and if Neal didn't know better he would have described it as caring.

"Aw, looks like you got a boo-boo"

His father said in a mocking voice before wiping the blood away from his hand on Neal's t-shirt.
The man chuckled and the sound sent a chill down Neal's spine, he remembered all the times his father chuckled after beating him or his mother.
As if his dad could read his thought he suddenly smirked.

"How's your mother? Oh right, she killed herself that weak, stupid bit-"

Yet again Neal's fist flew out and this time connecting with his father's nose, interrupting his insulting words.
The man was frozen in place, shocked by the kid's action.
From the second the man looked at him again, Neal knew that he had messed up big time.
He cursed his impulsiveness and his inability to control the anger.
Before the boy even got the chance to think about defending himself, he was picked up by the hem of his shirt and thrown onto the floor.
He cried out as his body connected with the cement floor for the second time that day.
Neal was lifted up again but before his father had the chance to do something else, Keller stopped him.

"James!"

His father turned around, glaring at Keller who had dared to interrupt him.

"We need junior to be conscious"

For a second Neal actually thought that Keller had intervened because he had some humanity in him but of course that wasn't the case.
Neal was dumped on the chair again and he did his best to hold back the tears while he discretely pinched his arm, just to be totally sure that this wasn't just a nightmare.
It wasn't. He was wide awake.

Keller and his father were talking quietly to each other and Neal feared what they were planning, putting these two together would not lead to anything good.
He heard footsteps behind him and soon Kate came into his line of view.
She crouched in front of him, just like the two men had done, and just like her father she reached out for the now dried blood on his face.
Her fingers lightly traced the blood up to his wound, located on the top of his forehead.
She examined it carefully before giving him a warm smile.

"It's not that deep, you should be fine"

Neal didn't answer, instead he just glared at her. He was never going to forget her betrayal, and he would never forgive her.

"Neal, I'm so sorry for this I-"
"Get away from the boy!"

Kate quickly stood up at James shout and she walked over to the men.
Neal frowned in confusion as his father put his arm around Kate's waist and pulled her close to him.
He would have spent more time thinking about if it meant something, if it weren't for the name that left Keller's mouth.

"Good day, Mrs. Ellington. My name is Matthew Keller"

Neal shook his head as Keller laughed into the receiver.
He didn't even want to begin to imagine what the man could do to the old woman. How had Keller even found her and what did he want with her?

"Oh you're feisty"

Keller said in an amused voice before adapting a more serious tone.

"I have someone here that wants to talk to you"

The man walked over to Neal and held up the phone to his ear but Neal shook his head and kept his mouth shut.
He desperately wanted to be saved, but not if it meant putting other people in danger.

"Talk to her or I'll send someone over and kill her right now"

Keller whispered and Neal scanned his face, trying to find any sign of the man lying but not finding anything.
He couldn't risk it, if Keller wasn't bluffing he was hurting June anyways.

"Hi June"

He could hear an audible gasp from the woman.

"Neal, honey are you okay?"
"Yes. I am with Keller, it looks like a warehouse or something please tell Peter"

Keller took the phone away from him before he could say anymore.

"Ok that's enough of that"

He told Neal before he walked over to James and Kate again.

"Now Mrs. Ellington, I know you can contact our dear friend Mozzie"

Wasn't it enough that June was in danger, now Mozzie was too. Neal wished he could do something but in this situation, he was completely helpless.

"Ok let me put it like this. If you don't contact Mozzie, the boy won't see another sunrise"

Keller was quiet for a minute before he grinned.

"Thank you, I knew you would come around"

The man hung up before looking at Neal, grimacing at the kid.

"He's all yours James. Just take him out of my sight, I'm sick of looking at his face"

Kate gave him a worried look, but she didn't do anything to stop James from grabbing Neal's arm and dragging him away.

Neal was thrown into a small room, much similar to the one he'd been trapped in the first time he was kidnapped.
He expected his father to hit him or yell at him or anything but instead the man just closed the door and locked it, leaving Neal alone.
Being trapped in this room was horrible, but it was way better than being used as his father's punching bag.
He didn't know how much time that had passed when the door opened up again and James stepped into the room.
Neal was given a bottle of water and a plate with a simple sandwich on it.
He took a bite of the sandwich and immediately regretted it. The bread was hard, the butter tasted way too salty and the cheese was way too old to be eaten.

"What? The food is not good enough for you?"

His father questioned and he took the sandwich from Neal and threw it on the ground before stepping on it, making it completely uneatable.

"It's that couple you lived with, they spoiled you."

Neal's mouth watered at the thought of Elizabeth's food, he would give anything to be served it now.
His father looked furious, he had always told Neal that he hated spoiled children and that his son should appreciate the small things in life and Neal had never had any other choice than to do that.
While Neal and his mother ate the same cheap stew everyday, his father ate nice food and drank until he could barely stand up straight.

"Good thing you're not going back to them"

His father added casually and Neal froze, what did the man mean by that.

"Peter will save me"

Neal said in a quiet voice. Peter would show up and save him, just like he had the last time.

"Peter won't save you, you are not his son Neal. You are my son, you belong to me"

The kid shook his head. Peter would save him, even if he wasn't his son. He just knew it.

"I already talked to the social worker and you're mine again"
"You can't do that"
"Of course I can. I am your father, of course they gave me custody"

James smiled at him and Neal had to blink away his tears.
His father must be bluffing, he just had to.
There was no way they would give him custody, but then of course it wouldn't be the first time the system failed him.
Neal wiped at his eyes, he really didn't want to cry in front of his father.
James laughed at him and Neal hoped to God that the man was just trying to scare him, because the thought of never seeing Peter or Elizabeth was just too painful to even think about.
The door opened and Keller popped his head in, wearing a huge smile.

"Mozzie called me"

James patted Neal's head in a condescending way before he left the room, leaving Neal all alone again.