Aleister had been allowed to stay with Buddy and Zack. Aleister slowly approaches the man. He takes a shaky breath touching Buddy on the shoulder.
"Okay, hey, Buddy," Aleister says, trying to steady himself, trying his very hardest not to just break down. He needed to take care of him. The damage done to Buddy was severe, open cuts on his back from the whipping. The bleeding had stopped down there but Buddy's thighs and butt were soaked with blood and semen. "I…we got to get you in the shower." Buddy looks back at him, just nodding his head. Aleister puts his arms underneath Buddy's shoulder and behind his knees carrying him to the bathroom. "Can you stand?"
"Can you help?" Buddy asks. "I don't think I'll be able to stand on my own, Aleister."
"Okay, let me just get undressed," Aleister says. Buddy is placed in the shower, sitting down on the cold tile. He looks at his wrists, why the hell were they hurting? The handcuffs weren't even on him for that long. He looks at Aleister, now noticing the cuts and bruising on his wrists.
"What…what happened to your wrists?" Buddy asks.
"Just…trying to get out," Aleister says. He grabs a washcloth walking into the shower. He hoists Buddy up, Buddy's back up against Aleister's chest. Aleister moves to turn on the water. "You want it hot or cold?"
"I…I don't know," Buddy says. "Which one is better?"
"Hot will help ease your pain," Aleister says. "We also don't know if that whip has been cleaned recently so it'll help wash away any bacteria."
"How do you know all this?" Buddy asks.
"I like to learn," Aleister says. "I can't count how many books I've read or classes I've taken when I was a kid. My parents supported that 100%." Buddy winces as the water hits his open wounds. "I'm…I'm gonna have to clean down there. Are you going to be okay with that?"
"Just…warn me?" Buddy asks.
"Of course," Aleister says. He reaches up and grabs the shower head.
"Well, we'll have to do something about your wrists," Buddy says. "That way maybe my pain will subside." Aleister pauses, turning Buddy around so that they are face to face.
"You can feel that?" Aleister asks. Buddy looks at him.
"Yeah," Buddy says. "I don't understand it. You were there. I couldn't see you but I could feel your presence. How is that possible?"
"It seems as if this experience has forged a connection between the both of us," Aleister says. Buddy looks at him, grinning from ear to ear. Aleister smiles back at him. Buddy leans in and plants a kiss on Aleister's lips. Aleister gulps but kisses him back. Buddy wants so desperately to deepen the kiss but Aleister pulls away before he can. "Well, at least I know the feeling is mutual." Aleister kisses Buddy's forehead turning him back around running the water down his back.
"How bad is it?" Buddy asks.
"We just have to stop the bleeding," Aleister says. "You'll have scars but you will heal. I cannot see the damage done elsewhere. I just know that…he just fucking did it."
"You felt the whole thing?" Buddy asks.
"Part of it," Aleister says. "I projected a few minutes in. The whipping…I felt all of it."
"How long did it last?" Buddy asks.
"I'm going to say between 15 to 20 minutes," Aleister says. "I was not paying attention to it, all my attention was on you."
"Thank you," Buddy says.
"I'm going to start cleaning down there, okay?" Aleister says. Buddy bites his lip, whimpering softly. "Hey, hey, it's alright. It's just me. I wouldn't ever hurt you."
"I know," Buddy answers. "I'm ready."
"If anything hurts, you tell me," Aleister says.
"You wouldn't be able to feel it?" Buddy teases.
"Not all the time, Murph," Aleister says. Aleister starts to run the water down Buddy's thighs, he sighs. "I'm so sorry, Murphy. I am sorry. I couldn't stop them, I caused this!"
"No, it isn't," Buddy says. "I don't care what they say, they had no right to do what they did. They fucking kidnapped us, man!"
"This won't happen again," Aleister says. "They will not touch you again." Aleister gently washes Buddy's thighs. They both look up when they hear the door open.
"Finish up in there," Scotty says. Aleister quickly finishes up cleaning Buddy off, turning him around kissing him for good measure. Buddy smiles, as Aleister steps out of the shower, grabbing a towel.
"Don't think it is a good idea you cover those wounds," Aleister says. "I am sure someone will be up to help you."
"Where…where will you be?" Buddy asks. He didn't want to leave Aleister's side, he felt much safer in the presence of this man.
"I don't know," Aleister says honestly. "But they said something about punishing me as well. I tried to escape, attacked Silas and Hayes. I just had to try."
"I heard the alarm," Buddy says. Buddy steps out of the bathroom, towel around his waist. Buddy grabs onto Aleister's hand squeezing it.
"It's alright, Murph," Aleister says. Buddy reluctantly lets go of Aleister's hand, following Scotty back to his room.
"Silas will be in to attend to those wounds on your back," Scotty says. "Dinner is on the dresser. Try and not lie down on the bed, you are still bleeding a bit."
"Yes, sir," Buddy says. Buddy sits down on the floor, back up against the bed.
Hayes, Martini, Nash, and MVP are all sitting at the table. Cornette and Luger were both drilling holes into the chest making sure it was safe for anyone else.
"Well, Silas asked for Danhausen," Hayes says. "I'm not sure what his motives are, but he asked."
"How am I supposed to have JJ if Brandon is always there?" Martini asks.
"You are the one that wanted them together," Nash answers. "I would give nothing more to send a video to Silver's father."
"Don't you think we are giving them enough evidence?" Hayes asks.
"We're already fucked," Nash says. "Might as well just fuck with the ones we want to."
"You threw the phone in the water?" Hayes asks.
"We had to," Nash says.
"We only have two disposable phones left," Hayes says. "I say we save all the pictures we want to take, send them all at once."
"Right," Martini says.
"As far as Janela goes, have Russo babysit Brandon," Hayes says. "Might be best if we kept this a secret. I don't know how Luger is going to feel about it."
"You'd think he wouldn't have a problem with it," MVP says.
"This is quite different then physical abuse here Montel," Hayes says. "Gage is handling Gargano and Trent."
"You know what he's planning?" MVP asks.
"I have somewhat of an idea," Hayes says. "We may need to be prepared for broken bones with Gargano. And we'll have to watch Trent for electrical burns and nerve damage, other than that, I told him no more cutting."
"We know how much blood Zack lost?" Martini asks.
"No," Hayes says. "Couldn't have been too severe or else we'd have noticed."
"What are we planning on doing with Phillips?" Nash asks.
"Just keep him in the boathouse with Hall," Hayes says. "If that's all, Scotty and Russo could use some help with Aleister."
Nash climbs up the stairs. He can hear the man struggling from here. All of a sudden there's a crash and a pained grunt.
"Whoa, whoa, Silas!" Scotty shouts.
"This is the second fucking time!" Silas screams, tackling Aleister. Aleister has his hands over his face, as punches and kicks rain down on him. "Try it again, asshole!" Nash comes in just in time, as Aleister roughly pushes Silas off of him. Aleister is able to reach his feet. Not long after, Nash pushes him hard against the bed posts. The impact and suddenness stuns Aleister long enough for the three men to pull him toward the chest.
"NO!" Aleister shouts. Scotty and Silas manage to pick up Aleister's legs. Aleister kicks Scotty in the head, knocking him back. Silas is getting angrier by the second, pulling out the pocket knife, putting it to Aleister's neck.
"Quit fighting," Silas says. Aleister growls staring straight at Silas. "You don't think I'd do it?" Silas asks. He pulls the knife back so that the end of it is right at Aleister's jugular vein. He pushes it softly against Aleister's neck.
"Okay," Aleister says. Nash helps Scotty up, as they all push the big man down into the chest, shutting it. Aleister almost instantly pushes against it with his hands, nothing. He could feel his vision start to get blurry, his heart racing wildly. He tries his best to stay calm, but he just can't. His breathing is erratic and he feels lightheaded, it's as if the whole world was closing in on him.
Across the hall, Silas comes into Buddy's room. He can tell that something wasn't quite right. The man was clutching his chest, he was sweating and hyperventilating.
"Hey, Buddy," Silas says. Buddy just looks at him, tears in his eyes.
"I…I can't breathe," Buddy says. "Why can't I breathe? Aleister…"
"Okay, you are breathing," Silas says. He supposes this answers their question about if the connection went both ways. He is regretting his decision to put Aleister in the chest knowing this is what he's enduring, probably much worse. But he couldn't do anything about it not now. Silas comes over to Buddy taking his hand putting it on his chest right over his heart. "See, feel your chest rising? You are breathing."
"Aleister…" Buddy says, looking at Silas.
"I'm sorry, Buddy, but I can't help him," Silas says. "He'll be out in 30 minutes."
"I want to see him," Buddy says, pulling his knees close to his chest. Silas sighs, but nods, pulling out his phone. He opens the link to the live stream of the chest. He hands the phone to Buddy. Buddy looks down at it, seeing Aleister curled up into a ball, crying. "I want to be there when he is taken out. Can I please just have one night with him? He took care of me, I would like to return the favor."
"I will try and get them to agree to that," Silas says. "Now let's get you patched up, huh?" Buddy let's Silas patch him up, hopefully he'd be able to see Aleister soon and he can help him. That's all he's ever wanted to do. For the first time, love crossed his mind.