Behind Closed Doors
This story has been prompted by Sun Dried Tomato and the prompt was Sandy has a new love interest who abuses Jason either sexually or violently? Maybe drugging him? Basically just getting so bad that Jason isn't Jason anymore, He is the new boyfriends puppet. Obviously at the end the brothers catch Jason being abused and Jason gets better
There are some differences between this prompt and the story for two reasons.
The first reason is because I try to make sure my oneshots don't go over 10,000 words and if I included all aspects of the prompt in the story then it would be just too long and may mean that certain parts of the story were unrealistic, so it's mainly mental and physical abuse that I've included.
The second reason, and some of you will have already realised why, is because this prompt is incredibly similar to a storyline done in The Roscoes by Charlotte Pendragon. Now abuse is incredibly common, so there will be a few factors in both our stories that may possibly overlap (but I've done a lot to make sure it's as little as possible), but the big thing I haven't included is the drugging.
That was a big part of her storyline and it's a rare occurrence in child abuse, so I felt like I was just copying her, which I don't want to do, so I then didn't put it in the story.
I hope that the prompter and everyone else enjoys this story, and you understand why I haven't included every aspect of the prompt itself.
Warnings : As you'll have gathered, this oneshot focuses around abuse and if anyone thinks they'll be affected by it (because of personal reasons) then please don't read it. I don't want to trigger anyone and make them remember things they are uncomfortable doing.
The abuse that is in this story is mainly mental, though it does grow into physical in the second half. Although the rating on the story as a whole hasn't changed, this one chapter, I would personally rate an M.
Sorry for the long Authors note guys, happy reading!
Alan Roscoe had been a loving husband and a doting father. He didn't have a bad bone in his body and was instantly liked by everyone he met. When he had been diagnosed with cancer and told he only had months left to live, everyone on the entire street had been devastated.
The whole family had stuck by him and when he was only days away from death he had made Sandy promise that she would move on, that she would find love again. She'd promised him, through the sobs that had wracked through her whole body, not believing it would ever happen, Alan had been the love of her life and there was no moving away from that fact. But as the weeks merged into months, and the months into years, Sandy's heart slowly began to start healing and she soon started dating once more, though no-one ever took her breath away like Alan had done when they had first met.
By the time she moved up to Hollyoaks village, almost seven years after Alan had died, she'd had a handful of relationships and was ready to find something a little more... serious. Her boys were all supportive of it, knowing that she needed someone and they normally liked the boyfriends she had introduced in the past.
When she met David just weeks after the last box had been unpacked there was an instant connection. She'd been at the Dog, having a rare night to herself, catching up with Jack (an old friend from her college days that she hadn't seen in years) and getting to know her neighbours a bit more. She'd felt his eyes on her and every time she turned around he was unashamedly watching, though he never seemed to be embarrassed that he was caught, in fact, his smile would only grow every time she saw him.
"Enjoying the view?" she asked when he made his way to the bar for another drink.
"Immensely," he said, dark brown eyes sparkling with mirth and something else. "Though you can't really blame me. Let me buy you a drink?" They'd spent the rest of the night talking, about nothing and at the same time everything.
She learnt he was an accountant and had divorced from his wife the year before. In fact, he hadn't had a relationship since. He didn't have any kids though he did have a brood of nieces and nephews who he doted on.
She told him that she was a nurse and new to the area. He didn't even seem put off when she told him that she had five kids. "And still in such good shape," he had merely joked, pouring her another glass of wine. When the night was over, they'd exchanged numbers with the promise of going on a date later that week.
They went to a small restaurant only days later, nothing overly fancy but still formal enough for a first date. It was very similar to their first meeting and they spent the whole night talking, simply enjoying each other's company, though no-one could deny the chemistry between the pair. They only went their separate ways when the waitress told them that they were closing and had to leave.
David had called Sandy a taxi and waited until it came, though she told him he didn't need to bother.
"And leave a beautiful lady alone on a dark night like this? I could never forgive myself if something happened." Just before she climbed into the cab, she turned back and they shared their first kiss.
It was breath-taking and only confirmed the chemistry between them. When Sandy pulled away her cheeks were flushed and she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She hadn't felt anything like that since Alan and as she was driven away, watching David make his way to the train station, she couldn't help the smile that took over her whole face. Maybe there was hope after all.
When they had been together for a month, Sandy told David that she wanted him to meet her boys. "I get if you don't though," she murmured, linking her hands with his, pulling the duvet up higher round her body.
"Of course I do Sands," he whispered back, not breaking the bubble they had entered together. She sighed, relief flooding through her, so many relationships had done well until she had asked whether her partner wanted to meet her sons, that was when it faltered.
Five children, all sons who were incredibly defensive of their mother was more than enough to put people off and had done so. He kissed her head and she lay back, resting it on his firm chest. "It means so much that you want me to meet them."
They arranged that he would come round for dinner that Friday, see how the others reacted to him and if all went well, then he could start spending weekends over, something which had David incredibly excited.
"We can finally spend a whole night together," he had explained, pouring both of them a generous glass of wine before Sandy had to leave.
That Friday Sandy was full of nervous energy. Though David had promised that he would be there, she couldn't help but worry. What if he didn't turn up? What if her boys didn't like him? Or worse, if he didn't like them. She kept going through all the possible scenarios in her head and soon they began picking up on it.
"You okay mum?" Freddie asked, as she relaid the table for the third time. "You're looking kind of... on edge."
"I'm fine love," Sandy promised, sighing in relief when he shrugged and went back to watching the tv, though she didn't notice the odd look that Lindsey was giving her. About ten minutes later, her future daughter in law cracked and made her way to the kitchen, where Sandy was simultaneously doing her make-up and working on dinner.
"You're looking a bit fancy for a family meal Sands," she commented, smiling when Sandy blushed. "And I couldn't help but notice the extra place set at the table. Something you're not telling us?"
Sandy's look said it all and Lindsey couldn't help the excited squeal that she made. "Who is he? Is it serious? How long?"
"His name is David and we've been seeing each other for the past month, it's why I've invited him round tonight. We're getting pretty serious and I want him to meet everyone." Before she could continue the doorbell rung and Sandy laughed at the excited noise Lindsey made.
"Go on, go on, answer it!" Lindsey urged, pushing Sandy to the front door before anyone else could get there. The mother of five couldn't help but laugh when she saw David on the other side of the door, looking slightly green around the gills and clutching at a bottle of red wine like it was a life line.
"Come in love," she said, taking pity on him. "The living room's just here." She pointed him in the direction, rolling her eyes at the approving look she got from Lindsey, though she felt pleased too. Her future daughter in law was difficult to please and if she approved then hopefully the others would too. "Boys, I need to tell you all something."
All five of her sons groaned, not taking their attention off of the television set. "If you've burnt the food then we can order Chinese," Ziggy remarked. "Actually even if you haven't can we still do th-" His voice died as he spun around and spotted David, who was still looking nervous.
Noticing Ziggy's sudden silence, the others all turned around, clocking David instantly and all giving him odd looks.
"Urghh mum," Robbie began. "Not to alarm you, but you seem to have let a stranger in. Did you never get that talk? Even if he was offering sweets, or in your case, fancy wine."
Narrowing her eyes at Robbie as the others all laughed, she took David's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Haha, very funny Robert. This is David."
"And is David here for any specific reason?" Freddie asked. All five of them had realised why David was there, but they all enjoyed nothing better than winding up Sandy when she was trying to impress her boyfriends, especially when they were meeting for the first time.
"He's here to meet you," Sandy replied, trying to keep calm, though they all knew that the other's were slowly but surely riling her up. "We have been seeing one another for about a month now, and I wanted him to meet the five respectable sons that I always talk about. Unfortunately I only have you lot."
The oven timer beeped and Sandy stepped away, taking the wine bottle from David's other hand. "I'm serving up now, so everyone get seated. And you lot," she finished turning to her children, all of them with faux innocent looks on their faces. "Behave yourselves."
Fortunately and surprisingly her five sons were on their best behaviour for the rest of the night. They took interest in what David had to say and asked him relevant questions about his life, in turn he respected what they had to say and didn't patronise them, like a few of her former partners had been guilty of. In fact the whole evening went incredibly well and before she knew it, David was getting ready to head back to his.
"Come over tomorrow? You can even spend the night?" She asked coyly, between farewell kisses.
"I'd love to," David replied, kissing her once more before leaving, the darkness swallowing him up soon after he was off the path.
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The next three months passed in a similar fashion, with Sandy and David's relationship only strengthening. He got on well with the whole family and ended up spending most weekends at the Roscoe household.
"Move in?" Sandy asked one Saturday morning as she cracked an egg onto an already boiling frying pan, wincing at the desperate tone in her voice. She hadn't meant to ask him like that, though the thought had been running through her head for a while. She really liked David and did want him to move in, though she had been planning to ask later on in the week. Over dinner. In a fancy restaurant. Away from her children who would no doubt appear at any moment, unintentionally ruining the moment.
David was silent for a few moments and Sandy cursed again, great, she'd scared him off. He probably wasn't looking for anything serious, she was his first relationship since his divorce. Before she could apologise and tell him to forget it, he had stood, chair scraping on the floor, echoing through the now silent kitchen.
"Do you mean that?" he asked her, staring intently. She nodded, scared that if she let herself talk, she'd just say something stupid. "Then yes, yes I'll move in,"
Sandy couldn't believe it, she laughed, pulling David into a hug and celebratory kiss. They lost themselves in the motions, the rest of the world melting around them, until they were the only two things that mattered.
"Oh gross," Jason's cry of mock disgust interrupted them and they parted reluctantly, cheeks blushing for both of them. "I did not need to see that this early on."
"Oh hush you," Sandy scolded, though her words held no heat, too ecstatic at what had just happened to be truly annoyed at her youngest. "David's moving in! Isn't that great?"
Jason was silent for a few moments, looking mildly shocked at what he had been told, though he managed to shake it off, plastering a smile on his face and congratulating both his mum and David. As he went to leave the kitchen and Sandy turned to try and save what was left of the eggs, no-one saw the little glare that David shot Jason's way.
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"I'm just saying that it's all happening a bit quickly," Jason pointed out as Robbie grabbed his trainers to the side. "I mean they only got together a few months back."
"Just leave it yeah bro," Robbie sighed. "Mum's a bit older now and well, oldies always rush their relationships, never know how long they've got left do they."
"Crude as ever Rob, well done," Jason replied, restraining himself from hitting Robbie. "Mum's not even that old though."
"She's old enough. You coming down town? I'm meeting up with Callum and Josh."
"Nah, chemistry's killing me at the moment, I really need to catch up,"
"Nerd," Robbie scoffed, grabbing his jacket and leaving quickly. Chuckling at his twin's dramatics, Jason turned back to his chemistry folder, pulling out his coursework and last week's test. He'd been working for less than five minutes when he heard the bedroom door open once more. "What'd you forget this time Rob? I swear you'd-" he was interrupted by a hand slamming on the desk, making him jump.
"I don't appreciate you talking about your mother's relationship like that Jason," David growled, picking up the papers that had been under his hand and rifling through them. Jason gulped, he'd never seen the older man so angry before, and for such a small reason.
"What? I wasn't-"
"Don't lie to me," he snarled, his voice impossibly soft which frightened the young Roscoe even more than yelling would. At least he knew where he was with yelling, if David was shouting then he knew that he was mad at him, but this? "I heard everything you and Robbie were saying,"
"Then talk to him about it," Jason snarked, determined not to be intimidated in his own home. In his own room for God's sake.
"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you Jase? You must think I'm stupid or something. Don't think I didn't see that look you gave me when your mother told you that I was moving in, I've never seen a boy look so angry before. And then the first thing you do is go to Robbie. Will he protect you? Make the mean nasty man go away?"
David's tone was mocking, though he made it sound childish for his last few sentences, warping him even more. "Everyone thinks you're the innocent one, the one that can do no harm but I know better. You were trying to turn Robbie against me, turn them all against me until Sandy dumps me. You're doing it all to get her attention, I bet you do it with all her boyfriends."
"What? No, I wasn't doing that-" But David wasn't listening anymore, reading through the papers, a twisted smirk on his face.
"A C Jason? Really? And they call you the smart one." The sudden change in conversation left Jason reeling and he didn't know what to say. How to reply. "You're never going to get anywhere in life with a C. And this is just a class test, think about how you'll cope with your actual exams. Not well I bet.
"You really should study more, instead of running around with your brothers trying to act like the big hard man. After all, we all know you're not, you're just a scared little boy trying to impress his brothers and show everyone that you belong."
Still trying to wrap his head around the sudden change that had occurred in his mum's boyfriend, Jason didn't even notice David leaving until the door slammed shut behind his retreating figure.
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Not a lot happened for the next few weeks and Jason began to think that he had imagined the whole incident, not realising that David was playing a much larger game and hadn't even started. He started off slowly at first, if he continued acting towards Jason the way he had done, then people would get suspicious. Jason may even go to someone to talk about it, no David knew he had to do this smartly.
He also knew it would take time, the worst thing of all. The other four were all okay, Joe, Freddie and Ziggy were all adults and despite living under the same roof, had very different lives, meaning they were mostly out of his hair. Robbie and Jason though, they were always there. Everywhere he looked, one of them would be in the corner of his eye. It irritated him, he only wanted some time for himself or with Sandy, but it was something that was never there.
Robbie was okay though, so he got into trouble quite a lot, but he was bearable. He had a backbone, he could stick up for himself in a fight and he was a lot more likeable. He was also a lot more trusting than his twin.
Jason however, Jason made David's blood boil. His holier than thou attitude, the fact that he was the goody-two-shoes of the family and could do no wrong, irritated David more than words could say.
He also didn't seem to approve of his relationship with Sandy and whilst David could put up with all the other stuff (hell, the kid would be off to uni in a couple of years), he could not let that slide.
If Jason spread his concerns to the others, they may get annoyed too, and it would only one of them to say that they weren't happy with him for Sandy to end the relationship. No-one could fault her loyalty to her kids and it was one of the things that David had fallen in love with.
He needed to get Jason out of the picture, but he needed to do it well. Luckily, David was nothing if not a perfectionist. Over the next few weeks, he would let comments slide. Nothing major and nothing that would raise suspicions, but enough to slowly chip away at Jason until he had completely withdrawn.
"Where you going Jase?" He'd ask one morning as he watched Jason come down the stairs, school bag in hand.
"School. Like I do every Tuesday. And Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Monday." He would snark and it would take all of David's self-restraint not to deck the little git right there and then.
"Dressed like that?" He would say instead. "I know sixth formers can wear casual clothes but you're looking like you're going for a shift at the garage instead of getting ready for your a-levels. Get changed yeah?" And Jason would sigh, roll his eyes but ultimately turn around, pushing past a surprised Robbie to change himself into something a bit more 'presentable'.
He'd pluck Jason's test scores straight out of his hands, painting a concerned look on his face when he saw the falling scores. "You really should start working harder," he'd comment, waving the paper around so everyone could see the big fat D inked on the front. "You may have been able to breeze through the lower years with no effort but A-level is a lot harder and you need to work for it."
"David's right Jase," Sandy would sigh, looking over the test paper herself. "This really isn't good enough." And Jason would nod, the disappointment written all over his face.
"I'm sorry, I'll do better next time." He never did.
As he left the living room to study, opting for that instead of playing video games with the rest of the family, Robbie would watch him closely, the concern for his twin obvious to see. Which meant David spotted it straight away.
He couldn't have that, he couldn't have Robbie becoming suspicious, it would ruin everything. If Robbie voiced those suspicions, if he linked everything together then David knew he'd be in trouble. So far, the young troublemaker didn't seem to have connected Jason's recent withdrawals and failings down to David's doing, though he would, he may not seem it, but the lad was smart.
He couldn't go after Robbie like he was doing for Jason, it would set off alarm bells for the rest of the family and he didn't want to hurt Robbie. He liked Robbie, he didn't mess in things that didn't concern him.
His... manipulations wouldn't work either, Robbie didn't care for looking smart as Jason did and couldn't be embarrassed into doing anything. His grades had never been fantastic either so he couldn't comment on that. He could however, cause a rift between him and his twin. If he did that, then Jason would become even more isolated and Robbie would – hopefully – stop watching so closely.
Mind made up, David began planning.
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"So hydrogen bonding is important to work out the boiling points of... gah," Jason groaned, his head pounding as he read over the same sentence he had been reading for the past five minutes. He used to be good at chemistry, hell he got an a* in GCSE's for God's sake, but now... now he could barely understand the most basic mechanics of the whole thing.
It was like that in his two other subjects as well, no matter how much he studied, his grades were always decreasing and he didn't know why. Maybe David was right, maybe he wasn't studying enough? No, that was ridiculous, he spent hours going through his notes, daily. Trying to make head or tail out of them, though failing miserably every night.
Sighing, he turned back to his notes, highlighting what seemed to be important and trying his hardest to understand the words in front of him. "You're really not very good at this are you?" A mocking cold voice said from the other side of the room. Jason didn't even need to turn, he knew that voice, it haunted most of his nightmares after all.
"I'm trying," he replied through gritted teeth.
"Well if you didn't spend most of your time cheeking me, maybe you'd actually get somewhere," the older man replied, fiddling with the items of Jason's drawers, looking disinterested and throwing them back carelessly. "You know it's people like you that I despise. You do so well in your first few years of school that you think you know it all. You think you don't have to try as hard as anyone else and it will all be handed to you on a silver platter.
"Well you're wrong. Life is just as difficult and the world just as cruel, you're just blind to that fact for a little bit longer than the rest of us. And then it's at times like this, when you've got your a-levels and your preparing to go to uni, when you realise you're not as smart you thought you were, and maybe you should actually put some work in." David had gotten right close, and was whispering the last few words right into Jason's ear, the young lad whimpering and flinching as he felt the warm breath and spittle in his ear.
David laughed, pulling away and looking at the ornament that adorned the room's window sill. "This is nice," he said snidely, picking up a delicate snow globe.
"Don't touch that," Jason growled, forgetting himself as he stood, desperate to get it back. "That was my dad's. He gave it to me and Robbie."
"Well you better look after it then," David replied, swiftly dropping it and blankly watching as it fell to the floor, glass smashing everywhere as the liquid was instantly soaked into the carpet. "You're a bit of klutz there Jason, you really should be more careful when holding... precious things."
With that, he walked out of the floor, smirking when he saw Jason on his knees, trying to save the last remaining gift from his late father, sobs wracking through his body.
He was still on his knees when Robbie got back, though he quickly stopped when he saw the state of his brother, broken glass surrounding him and dried tear tracks on his face.
"What's... what's happened?" Before Jason could reply, Robbie saw it. He spotted the snow globe base lying in the centre of the room and he added it all up instantly.
"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."
Jason finally looked up, a look of pure guilt on his face. "I dropped it, I'm sorry," he said numbly, wincing as Robbie only howled in a mix of pure rage and mourning.
"Why? Why would you do that?" He shouted, face red with rage. "That's the only thing we have left of Dad and you destroyed it." Robbie was still shouting when Sandy and David arrived in the bedroom, twin looks of shock on their face.
"Get Jason out of here, help him clean up," she demanded as she turned to Robbie, desperately trying to calm him down. David only nodded, leading Jason out of the room as he played the doting partner. It was only when they were in the kitchen, as he handed Jason a wet cloth to clean the cuts he had got from the glass that he spoke.
"Well done Jason, I'm proud of you."
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The next week was hell for Jason. Everyone was mad at him, refusing to stay in the same room as him for longer than needed. Ever since the snow globe incident, Robbie hadn't even said a word to him and the others weren't much better. They had all told him they weren't mad, had promised in fact, but actions spoke louder than words, and their actions told Jason a hell of a lot.
He didn't know why he lied, he didn't know why he didn't just say it was David and it kept him up at night. He guess he knew why deep down, it was absurd even thinking about it and he wouldn't believe it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
And although he hadn't been the one to throw it to the floor, he was just as responsible. He had been goading David, been irritating him and stressing him out with his falling grades. No wonder he snapped, it really wasn't a surprise.
The alienation from his family hurt, it really did, but he did deserve it, it was his fault after all. But it only got worse. Days after the snowglobe incident, Jason received his results for his mocks and... well they weren't pretty.
Actually it was so bad the school call Sandy up and that very night she sat him down, David on her side, the pair looking down at Jason with a mixed look of concern and disappointment on their faces. "Is anything going on sweetie?" Sandy asked, running her hand through her hair.
"No. Why would there?" Jason replied quickly, his voice sharp.
"You've failed two of your exams Jase and you just scraped a pass on the other one. You were getting a's at the beginning of the year."
"Yeah, well things change," he muttered, not trying to keep the disdain and annoyance out of his voice, though when he clocked the glare that David sent him, he instantly folded in on himself. The questioning continued for a while longer, though Jason made sure to stay quiet. It was no-ones fault but his own, there was nothing to say.
He could help the fear that rose through him as Sandy went to go to the shops. He was screaming on the inside, begging... no demanding that she stay with him. To protect him. None of that happened on the outside though, instead he smiled and kissed her on the cheek as she left. He stayed where he was sat, even when he knew she was long gone. He'd learnt by now that it's just best to stay still, running away only annoyed David and he really didn't want to do that. Not with the results he'd just received.
He waited for the whispered taunts, the thinly veiled threats, but they never came. Instead, he was hoisted from his seat and thrown to the wall, his head slamming back. His body burst into pain, it flaring every where and he swore he saw spots every time he blinked.
"Why are you so stupid hey?" David snarled, throwing Jason back into the wall once more. "You better start working harder boy, those results are fucking embarrassing, even Robbie did better than that. You're making us look bad boy, and I will not accept that."
With every question, with every sentence even, came a punch. One to the gut, two to the side. All of them were designed not be seen though.
Jason barely heard the words, instead he tried to control his breathing, made sure he didn't cry out at the pain that made it's way through his whole body. Where was everyone? Surely they weren't the only ones in the house? Unless the others had all gone to the garage? Who knew what David would do then, when there was no-one to stop him.
The beating finally ended, and as David left, whistling a merry tune under his breath, Jason found himself sliding down the wall, tears trickling down his face as he worked his way through the pain. Failing miserably.
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After that the beatings became a regular occurrence. It was like the damn had been broken with that first act of violence and now every time that David and Jason were alone, there was always a punch due to come. Sometimes it was because he was too stupid, sometimes it was because of the mess he'd made in the kitchen, and sometimes there was no reason at all.
Pretty soon though, Jason's body was unrecognisable. There was no area of uninjured skin, his whole torso was painted a mix of blacks, blue, greens and yellows and his arm was covered in finger marks.
He stopped getting dressed in the changing room at school, preferring the privacy of the toilet cubicle, even if it was immensely cramped. He couldn't risk anyone seeing though, and there was no way anyone would miss it at this point.
He'd spend hours looking at it in the bathroom mirror. Wincing as he desperately tried to find unmarred flesh and failing. He needed his family more than anything, he needed them to notice, but they were still acting cold. And in turn, he had begun doing the same thing. Their relations were withering with each passing day, Jason could see that but he didn't know how to fix it.
So it continued, he let it continue, though each day he prayed for the relief, dreaming that something good would finally happen, though as the weeks drew on, he slowly began giving up.
Jason was interrupted from these thoughts one afternoon as he overheard Joe and David talking quietly in the living room when he returned from college.
"She'll love it mate," Joe said, and Jason could practically hear the smile.
"Yeah, you reckon? It's not too flashy then?" Jason and Robbie shared curious glances and Jason realised that it was the closest they'd been in weeks.
"What do you reckon they're talking about?" Robbie asked, pressing himself against the closed living room door. Jason shrugged, turning to make his way back up to the room. If David found him loitering around the corridors, found him listening into his conversations when he should be studying, well he wouldn't be happy.
"Oi, Jase," Robbie whisper-shouted at him. "Where you going?"
"To study, like you should be doing."
"Oh grow a pair," Robbie grumbled, pushing the door open and dragging Jason into the living room behind him. "What's so flashy then?" Whilst neither Joe or David looked particularly annoyed that they had been overheard, Jason knew better. He saw the flash of anger in David's eyes and he knew his next beating would be a nasty one.
"This," he said instead, pulling a ring out of his pocket. "I'm going to propose to your mother."
"Isn't that great?" Joe commented, smiling, but Jason wasn't listening, too focused on the small ring held between his future step-dad's fingers. It was beautiful and he knew that Sandy would love it, and he knew that she'd say yes. That would be it, after that it would all be over. There would be no getting rid of David and Jason knew he'd be trapped in this hell-hole. Unable to do anything but suffer in silence.
Not saying anything, too busy trying to make sure he didn't start crying, Jason backed out of the room and ran upstairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him. He was only there for a few moments when he heard it open once more, he flinched preparing himself for the punch that was sure to come.
"What was that?" Robbie asked him, shocking Jason when he realised it wasn't David and he was unable to answer, swallowing back the sob that was crawling up his throat and frantically wiping the tears away. "David's a sound guy and mum loves him. Why can't be happy for her?"
Jason still refused to answer, he knew that if he did he wouldn't be able to hold it in and he couldn't do that. He couldn't ruin mum's happiness and he couldn't show everyone how weak he really was.
Annoyed at his twins silence, Robbie grabbed Jason's arm, though dropped it like it was a hot coal when he yelped loudly.
"Jason?" Jason turned away again, hoping desperately that Robbie would just give up, but it was too late. In that brief second that he'd turned around for, Robbie had seen his face. Had seen the absolute terror in his eyes and the tears that were still trickling down his face.
"Jason what's wrong?" He asked, his voice wavering as he saw just how broken his twin was. "What's happened? Oh my God, what do I do? Shall I get someone? Shall I get David?"
He was rambling incessantly and still Jason said nothing, but at the mention of his name he froze and looked at Robbie with steely eyes. "No, no don't get anyone. I'm fine."
"Well you're obviously not. You were in pain when I touched you." Robbie said softly, slowly connecting the dots. "Is someone... is someone hurting you?" Unable to continue with the lies, Jason didn't answer, looking down to the floor. "Who is it? Do I know them, I swear I'll kill him."
Taking a breath, Jason made up his mind. He needed to end this all, and the only way to do that would be to tell the truth. "It's, it's David." As soon as he had said his name, Jason instantly felt a lot better, like a weight had been lifted off of him, though more doubts instantly came crashing down when he saw the disbelieving look on Robbie's face.
"Are... are you being serious?" Jason only nodded, trying to stop the tears that were still falling. "For how long?" Realising that his brother truly believed him, Jason couldn't control himself any more. All the fear, the anger, the stress that he had been feeling for the past few months overtook him and he was suddenly on the floor, sobbing brokenly into Robbie's side as his twin held him tight, murmuring comforting words to him and stroking his hair, doing as much as he could to comfort his broken brother, hating himself for not having seen it earlier.
"You're okay, you're okay," he soothed, until finally Jason stilled, panting heavily as the sobs stopped making their way through his body. "We're going to have to tell mum,"
"What? What, no we can't," Jason panicked. His mum was finally happy after years of searching, he couldn't ruin that, she'd hate him.
"We have to," Robbie replied, trying not to panic his brother further. "What David is doing is wrong, he may start hurting mum if we don't stop him." Seeing the sense in what his brother said, Jason nodded, wiping the tears from his face and getting ready to go back downstairs where he knew Sandy would be. When he reached the top of the stairs he froze though, unable to keep moving, the fear he was feeling clear for all to see.
Robbie paused, hating David even more for seeing what effect he'd had on Jason. He moved past, and grasped Jason's hand in his own, guiding him down the stairs into the living room. The twins stopped when they reached the entrance, they had thought that Sandy would be there on her own, unwinding after a busy day at the hospital like she so often did, but instead the rest of the family were all crammed in there, David and Sandy in the centre of the room laughing and smiling.
"Oh boys you missed it," she said, smiling widely. "David's proposed and I said yes."
Unable to stop himself and unable to control the pure rage that entered his system, Robbie let go of Jason's hand and punched David square in the face, ignoring the gasps and cries of outrage from the others.
"You sick bastard, I hope you're happy," he snarled, making his way back to his twin, though Sandy's hand on his shoulder stopped him
"Robert!" She shouted, turning furiously. "What the hell are you playing at?"
"Why don't you ask Jason or even better, your precious fiancé." As one, the Roscoe's turned to Jason who curled in on himself, trying to make himself look even smaller than he was.
"What's he talking about Jase?" Freddie asked, standing as he realised the state his youngest brother was in.
Jason was silent for a few moments, trying to work up the courage to say what he needed, but just as he opened his mouth to tell his family what had been happening he caught David's eye. The older man had picked himself up from the floor and was glaring unashamedly at him, if looks could kill, well Jason would be six feet under. He paused, turning fully back to his mum, unable to say what it was, but one look from Robbie changed that.
His twin was staring right at him, but the look in his eyes was something Jason had never seen from Robbie before. It was full of trust and belief and Jason knew he could do it. He knew he had to do it. Taking a breath, Jason opened his mouth once more.
"David's been hitting me," he said softly, and at first he thought that no-one had heard him, but when he looked around the room he realised that there was noway that they couldn't have.
"What?" Sandy was the first to speak, looking frantically between her son and the man she loved.
"It's true," Robbie said, walking over to his twin and shooting him a supportive look. "He's just told me everything. And he's covered in bruises." Knowing what Robbie was getting at, Jason sighed and lifted up his shirt, revealing his black and blue torso. The whole room was silent, everyone staring in shock at the damage that had been caused, even Robbie, who had known they were there but hadn't seen the extent of the damage.
"David?" Sandy turned to her fiancé, eyes flashing. "Did you do this to my son?"
"You don't really believe them do you?" David asked, playing the shocked and innocent step-father fantastically.
"Answer me properly goddamnit." Sandy snarled.
"Of course I haven't," David denied, though no-one in the room relaxed. "I'd never hurt anyone Sandy, you know that."
"He's lying," Robbie snapped, willing his mother not believe this scumbag over her own flesh and blood. "He's been acting weird round Jase for ages, always staring at him, telling him what to wear for college."
"Why you little shit," David yelled, finally letting the interrogation get to him.
"What did you just say to my boy?" Sandy was screaming, having connected the dots and hating herself for letting a monster into the house with her children. But she needed more, she needed David to admit to the crime. "Tell me now and I swear to god if you lie to me you'll live to regret it. Have you been hurting my son?"
"Look, Sandy babes," but whatever excuse he was cooking up was interrupted as he was punched to the ground. Though this time it wasn't Robbie, instead it was Joe. He was held back by both Freddie and Ziggy (though both of them looked like they wanted nothing more than to join in) whilst Lindsey called the police.
"You're scum," Sandy hissed as David cradled his bleeding nose, before turning to Jason who had backed out of the room and into the hallway. He stopped when he saw Sandy approach.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, before breaking down once more, as Sandy held him tightly, trying to show all her love and sorrow for her child through the simple action of a hug. The police arrived fairly quickly and David was handcuffed and dragged to the closest car.
"You'll have to make a statement," one of the officers informed Jason regretfully. "We'll have someone come down here in the next hour." He nodded numbly, still unable to process the fact that it was all over. That David was truly gone from his life.
Lindsey led him over to the sofa as Sandy passed him a steaming cup of tea, sitting by his side as he just stared at it. The others were all dotted around the room, no-one saying anything as they waited for Jason to say something first.
Eventually Sandy couldn't take it anymore, she needed to know why her son had kept quiet about it all and how bad it had really gotten, when she was still blissfully unaware.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Jason was silent for a moment, obviously trying to gather his thoughts and then process them into words. "At first I thought I was just being dramatic, I mean he was only telling me that I looked scruffy and that I wasn't doing well in school."
His voice broke as he vast his mind back to what had been happening. "When he started hitting me you'd been together for months, you were so happy mum, I hadn't seen you like that since dad and I didn't want to be the one to ruin it."
"What makes me happy is knowing your happy sweetie." Sandy sighed, screaming on the inside at how blind she'd been to her son's troubles. "If something's wrong you tell me straight away, it's what makes this family work."
Jason nodded, cracking a small smile at the others. "Okay."
It was going to be a long journey to recovery, everyone knew that. The physical damage would heal quickly enough but the psychological stuff that David had done? Well it would take years for Jason to trust someone properly again, but with his family there, supporting him every step of the way, Jason knew he couldn't go wrong.
Well wasn't that cheery. Hopefully Sun Dried Tomato, you and everyone else reading will have enjoyed this chapter and I hope that I kept it as realistic as possible.
Obviously the one-shot took place over a number of months, which I did to show the pure scale of the abuse and how it escalated quite slowly, until David pushed himself over the edge.
No David wasn't an out and out monster at the beginning, in fact he was quite likeable, but that's true to real life. Monsters like that aren't easy to identify, until it's too late.
The ending wasn't as dramatic as it could have been, and if I'd written this up as a fic on it's own, I'd have focused more on the others reactions and how they're feelings about Jason before he revealed that David had been hurting him, but it would have ended up being too long and I do try to keep these under 10,000 words.
I do like the way I kept it solely to Jason's p.o.v once the abuse had started however, I think it helps you see how truly isolated he was feeling and how much David had been manipulating the others as well as Jason.
As always, drop a review to tell me what you thought of this prompt, maybe with one of your own!
Next Story – Happy Accident? - Lindsey's thoughts and feelings when she finds out she'd pregnant – prompted by hattiexoxoxo