A/N- Thanks to anyone who has reviewed the story so far. I'm glad you want more. I have more for you on day one of 2011. This chapter brings Greg's first real flashback, so be prepared for some serious stuff.
Greg had woken up feeling groggy and achy still. He was almost afraid to open his eyes until he remembered that he was in the hospital. He opened his eyes and saw the sun streaming into the window and quickly shut his eyes. He was still sensitive to the light after being in the dark of the basement for so long. The only time there was some light was when he were in the room with him and those were the times he wanted to forget.
He cracked open his eyes again when he heard the door open. He saw Nick come in. "Hey," Nick said to him.
"It's bright in here," Greg said to him through squinted eyes. Nick looked at him oddly but went over to the window and closed the blinds, leaving the room in a more suitable light level for Greg.
"Thanks. I guess my eyes have not adjusted yet," he tried explaining to Nick. His voice still sounded weak and rough.
Nick nodded in understanding and took a seat. "How are you feeling today?"
He shrugged a little. "Glad to not be collared in that basement anymore, I guess."
Nick thought that he sounded a bit too nonchalant. It worried him a bit, but he shook it off. He had to ask him the important questions so they could catch who did this to him. "Greg, did you know who did this to you?" He noticed the expression change on his gaunt face. He looked a bit shaken suddenly.
Greg looked away from Nick and stared straight ahead instead. "Yeah, I do. It was my…my ex-boyfriend, Jasper Marks. I think I mentioned him once to you."
Nick noticed that he almost looked guilty for knowing who had kidnapped and assaulted him. "We got DNA results on semen found that it was him and two others, besides yours. Did you know the others?"
Greg closed his eyes briefly as he pushed down the bile that rose up in this throat. He could still smell and taste them and it made him sick. "No, not until mmm…he brought them."
Nick didn't want to continue. He could see Greg seemed to be looking sicker the more he talked about it. He did not know all of what happened to him but he had a good enough idea and knowing his beautiful boyfriend had to go through that made him so sad and yet so furious with the men that did it.
"Could you identify them if you saw them again? Do you know their names?"
Greg opened his eyes again. He seemed to have broken out in a sweat. His was breathing rapidly and was shaking. He seemed to start having a panic attack. Nick got up and tried to put his hands on Greg to calm him down, but he pushed him away, screaming "Don't touch me!" He was grimacing in pain too.
Nick stepped back and watched as the man he loved kept him at bay while he went through his panic and suffered in pain from his broken ribs.
Greg managed to calm down after a few minutes. He had been sitting up in his bed and then he lay back down, resting his head on the pillow. He slowed his breathing so that it wouldn't be so painful.
"Are you going to be okay for now?" Nick asked him and then scolded himself for asking such a stupid question.
"Can you leave please? I can't do this right now, I'm sorry," Greg said to him, without making eye contact.
Nick didn't want to leave him in the state he was in, but he also did not want to cause any more problems for him. He sighed as once again he had to leave him. He wanted to stay with him, never let him out of his sight again for fear he may disappear again. His rational side realized he could still sit outside his room at least just to make sure he was safe.
"Okay, but I'm going to be right outside the door."
"Thanks," Greg said to him, still avoiding any eye contact with him.
It hurt Nick that he could not look at him but he had no idea what was going on in his head and perhaps his presence was upsetting him for some reason.
"Bye Greg. If you need me, just holler." He walked slowly out the door. He sighed as he closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall. How was he going to deal with Greg now? He didn't know what to do. It seemed he upset him every time he was around. If there was anything he could do, it was to catch the creeps who hurt him.
Sara came down the hallway towards him. "Why are you out here?" She asked him.
Nick woefully shook his head. "He threw me out. For some reason, my presence seems to upset him."
Sara sat beside him a moment. "I'm sorry, Nick but I am sure it is not about you. He knows you love him and would do anything for him. You just have to be patient with him."
"Maybe he will talk to you. He told me it was his ex-boyfriend, Jasper Marks but he didn't know the other men but I think he could ID them if we asked him."
"Well I would like to see him anyway. I'll see what I can do," she paused and laid a hand on Nick's knee. "He loves you, you have to know that."
Nick nodded slowly. "I know. I just wish I knew what they did to him. I swear if I find them, I'll kill them."
"Don't do anything irrational, Nick. Greg is going to need you. He doesn't need you ending up in prison too."
Nick sighed. "Yeah, I know. You are right. Why don't you go see him now?"
Sara smiled and got up. "You'll be here when I come out?"
"Of course," he smiled.
She smirked and then proceeded to prepare herself to see Greg. She had only seen the photos of him since they found him. She hadn't had a chance to actually see how he was in person.
She nervously opened the door to his room and walked in. She bit her lower lip to hold back showing too much emotion. His looked almost as bad as he had when he was beaten by the gang of kids a few years back. Only major difference this time was the noticeable weight loss.
He saw her walk in and couldn't help the overwhelming emotion that came over him at seeing her. "Sara," he said in a soft whisper.
She saw tears come to his eyes and she went over to him. "I want to hug you but I don't want to hurt you," she said as she stood awkwardly by him.
He blinked back tears. "It's okay, just hold me lightly. I never thought I would see you again."
She gave him a light hug, careful not to aggravate any injuries. "I'm just so glad you're alive. I was so scared," she said, now letting her own tears come. She let go of him and sat down, looking somberly at him. "It's really you, isn't it?"
He chuckled softly. "I was about to say the same thing to you."
She took his right hand in hers. "You know, we never stopped looking for you. Nick wouldn't let anyone give up."
He looked down at the mention of Nick. "Yeah, I heard."
She cocked her head, wondering why he seemed so different when it came to Nick. "Nick feels bad that you made him leave."
He sighed tiredly. "I just…I don't know how to deal with him hovering over me. My mind is a jumbled mess. I know he is only doing it because he cares but…I just can't deal with him yet. Plus, he might think…no never mind." He shook his head a little at a thought that occurred to him.
"What? What might he think?" She asked him.
"It's nothing, forget I said anything. I'm too drugged up to think clearly," he said as an excuse.
"Greg, he's not going to think any less of you because of what happened, if that is what you are worried about. None of this is your fault." She told him out of concern.
"Hmm," he thought, if only they knew the truth. "Did he tell you it was my ex-boyfriend who did this?"
"Yes, he did but just because he was your ex does not mean you deserved any of this," she could see where his thoughts were heading. She noticed he had not made eye contact with her since she brought up Nick and what happened.
"Do you want to tell me how he got to you?"
Not really, he thought but he knew they would keep asking until he said something. He uncomfortably shifted in the bed. The catheter attached to him made it difficult to get comfortable. "I'll talk a little but not for long, the morphine will be kicking in again soon." He figured it was his best and truest defense in not having to say too much.
"I understand. Nick said the last he saw of you was when he left for work the night of June 27th. He said it was your evening off and sometimes you went out to the movies or something. Did you leave that night to do something?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I headed out to the House of Blues to catch a band I like. Everything was fine until I got back home…well I did not exactly make it through the door. I felt a presence behind me but before I had a chance to turn around, I was knocked out. Next thing I knew I woke up with a throbbing headache in that dark basement, chained to the wall."
"When did you first see him then?" She treaded carefully as she spoke.
"Uh, I'm not sure how long it was, honestly. I lost all track of time while I was there. I mean, Nick said I was gone about four months…feels longer to me," he shrugged.
She studied him a moment, staring at the bandage around his neck from where the collar had been. "Nick said you had a bad relationship with Jasper in the past."
Greg seemed nervous suddenly. "Uh, yeah, we did but I broke it off. Then he went to prison shortly after."
Sara knew the truth about how Jasper ended up in prison. She had got access to his case file and read it. She was hoping Greg would say it but for some reason he was not. She wondered if Jasper had twisted the truth and somehow brainwashed Greg into thinking something different while he held him captive.
"Greg, I know you testified against him. Is that why he came after you?" She noticed his eyes widen in what appeared to be fear.
"You already found that out? I thought that was buried deep, they told me it would be," he exclaimed.
"Yes but when it came to finding out he did this to you and it was motive, they released the records," she told him.
"Does Nick know already?" He asked fearfully.
She was not sure why he was so scared about this information coming out, but she didn't know the details of the case, only that Greg had testified against Jasper Marks. "No, I only found out before and didn't feel the need to add to Nick's fury against the man, yet anyway. But I have to fill him in soon because he will find out sooner or later."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he said.
Sara noticed he seemed to be in deep thought. "You know, why don't I let you get some more rest? We can talk more later on. You'll have to look through mug shots to see if you can identify the other two who were also there."
"Their names were Chris and Rex, and I think Rex was in prison with him at some time," Greg said in a daze. He was remembering the first time he came down with Jasper. It had been what seemed like a few days. He remembered the gleam in Rex's eyes that totally creeped him out when he saw him.
Rex grabbed Greg roughly by the jaw and pulled him up to his feet. "Jasper said you were a pretty boy. I bet you do some pretty things with that mouth of yours too." He licked his lips in anticipation. Greg shuddered in his grasp.
"My boy can do wonders with that mouth of his and wait until you bury yourself in that sweet little ass. I just get hard thinking about it," Jasper laughed in his rough voice.
Greg saw him over Rex's shoulder and glared at him. He never hated anyone as much as he hated that man. He couldn't even believe he gave himself willing to him in the past.
"I would love to test his skills right now." Those words had shaken Greg out of his hate for Jasper and replaced it with new fear and disgust.
He was forced down to his knees. He tried struggling against him but Jasper held him down. He looked down at the ground and heard the sound of the zipper going down. Rex roughly grabbed his jaw again, lifting his head up.
Greg's eyes widened when he saw how large Rex was. "Open up, pretty boy," Rex said to him with lust in his eyes. Greg knew he wouldn't win out but he still had to fight it. He clamped his mouth shut. Suddenly he felt a hard slap across his face.
"Open up, bitch!" It was Jasper speaking to him this time. Greg still refused. He felt a hand grab his hair and yank hard. He opened his mouth to scream in pain but it was suddenly filled with Rex's girth. He almost choked as Rex deep-throated him but he managed to control his reflexes when he heard Jasper say behind him, "you know what happens if you bite or try to fight it anymore."
He did know, Jasper had already shown him several times, so he worked his mouth on the new cock. He shuddered a bit when he felt someone rubbing his bare ass. Then he felt a finger slid into his hole. He closed his eyes and wished he would die.
He heard moaning coming from the man he was sucking. "Such a good boy," Jasper said as he slid another finger in his ass. Then he felt another hand grasp his cock and squeeze. He started hyperventilating.
"Greg? Greg! Snap out of it!" Sara stared at him in fright. He had been staring out into space when he suddenly started gasping for air. "Greg, you're not there. Stop it." She was grabbing his arm and trying to shake off whatever memories he was reliving.
Nick ran in at hearing her yell. He saw the sheer terror on Greg's face as he sucked in air. "He's having another panic attack," he yelled at Sara.
"Greg, ease up on your breathing. Slow down, you're hurting yourself," he said as he could see the pain on his face.
Greg pulled his arms out of their grasps, thinking he was being held down again. "No, let me go!" He cried between gasps.
"Sara, just stand back," Nick said to her quickly. He figured if they gave him space maybe he would calm down.
It worked. He had managed to slow down his breathing after a little time. His chest hurt something fierce and he felt exhausted. He rubbed off the sweat that had broken out on his forehead, with his right hand. He then looked over at the two people in his life who meant so much to him, one his best friend and the other the love of his life. They looked scared for him.
"I'm sorry…I…I just…," he was at a loss for words. His memories were still so fresh in his mind and he couldn't express how he felt. It was like it was happening all over again.
"It's okay Greg. We don't expect you to be all recovered and back to normal, not after being gone for four months. Perhaps we'll let you get some sleep. You need rest still," Sara said to him.
"Yeah, and you should rest before your parents get here. They will be coming tomorrow," Nick told him.
Greg closed his eyes. He wished he would not have told them but he guessed being missing for four months, they would be frantic. How was he going to deal with them too when he could not even deal with his own reactions?
"Yeah, I need some sleep." He pushed the button for more morphine to enter his blood stream. He was hurting and just wanted to be knocked out for a while.
"I'll stay outside the door and again if you need anything just yell," Nick told him.
"Yeah and you know how to reach me too. Take care, Greg. We'll catch those creeps that did this to you," Sara told him.
Greg nodded timidly.
Nick took his hand and squeezed it. "I love you. Get some sleep."
Greg just stared at the hand holding his, trying to soak up the warmth it brought to his chilled self. "OK."
Nick let go and walked out with Sara. Greg stared after them and then suddenly changed his mind. "Nick!"
Nick spun around. "Yeah, What?"
"Can you stay here, actually?" Nick smiled and walked back into the room.
"Sure, anything you want," he grinned as he sat down.
Greg reached out his right hand for Nick to take it. Nick never felt happier to hold his hand.
"I think I can sleep now," Greg said to him and closed his eyes, after feeling that familiar warmth return to his hand and body.
"Good." Nick looked upon him lovingly.
Sara smiled, knowing that was what Nick was wanting and knowing that Greg would have someone there next time he had a horrible memory. She left the two to head back to the lab.
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