Julian dragged him across the floor and as his shirt rose up his back, the friction of skin against carpet created a furious burn. Nicky's ankles were tied together but he could still manage a forceful kick with both feet. He wasted no time in hammering his feet into Julian's groin as many times and with as much strength as his legs would allow. He didn't hit the sweet spot that he was hoping for, but it was effective in that Julian lost hold of Nicky's legs and his footing as he toppled backward several feet.

Now would be the perfect time to do that ninja move where you jump to your feet from a laying down position, Nicky thought in retrospect. The reality was a scene closely resembling a beached whale. With both shoulders dislocated and it taking most of his strength to pull himself into a sitting position, the closest Nicky could get to standing was to kneel.

By this time, Julian was ready for another round. He was hanging back and watching Nicky. He wasn't smiling anymore. Maybe Nicky was taking the fun out of it.

"And I thought you had had enough punishment, Nicky." He clicked his tongue twice and paced along a semicircle around Nicky.

"Go to hell!" Nicky growled from his knees on his own bedroom floor.

His remark was closely followed by a sharp slap across his face.

Nicky forced a grin to spread from ear to ear. "Ha! You're disgusting. Do you know that? You're a pig!" He spat.

Julian struck him again across his face. This time it was a backhand and knuckles collided with his lips.

Nicky staggered to one side but managed to rebalance himself on his knees. "You're pathetic!" He yelled with a bloody smile.

"Your sweet face is going to look ugly by the time I'm ready for you. Though I guess it doesn't matter. You'll be facing the other way anyway, won't you, Nicky?" Julian replied as he grabbed a tuft of Nicky's hair, yanked it upwards, and roughly released.

His fear was nearly crippling. He couldn't think linearly for long enough to make a plan. His mind was racing and he was beginning to panic. Suddenly he could hear his own voice raging at full volume. It was the sound of true horror and it pierced him sending ice up his spine. He noticed that he was screaming before he understood why. And before even that came to pass, Julian had shoved Nicky's own fist in his mouth silencing him and making him gag.

Nicky hadn't noticed what Julian had done. He didn't have feeling in his arms. He didn't have feeling in his fingers for that matter. He didn't see the knife. Nicky happened to glance down following Julian's release of his hair and saw that he had taken Nicky's hand in his. He watched as his smallest finger was sliced clean off and held before him as his dislocated arm fell uselessly back to his side.

"You're regretting not staying quiet as daddy told you, aren't you now, boy?" Julian's voice was cold and thick. He could almost feel his words slicing the air in front of him.

Nicky choked on his fingers as they grazed the back of his throat. Julian held his wrist firmly in place, cramming his hand deeper into Nicky's mouth. His efforts were so forceful that Nicky inevitably lost balance and fell backward onto his shoulder. He yelped at the pain but quickly sealed his lips as his arm dropped from his mouth to the floor.

"Up!" Julian barked like he would to a dog. "Up you get!" He lowered himself placing his palm on the floor beside him so he could hover over Nicky's body. He still held the finger in his hand and dangled it in Nicky's face tauntingly. "You will lose much more if you don't do exactly as I tell you. The next time you insult me, I will cut off your thumb! And then your whole hand. And then maybe …" He pulled his knife from his belt loop and forced the point into Nicky's cheek. He traced his cheekbone up toward his brow bringing the knife very close to his eye. "Maybe I'll take one of these." He said like he'd just suggested getting pizza for lunch. "Or maybe …" He dragged the point down Nicky's face, over his chin, and slid it down his neck. He didn't stop at his chest. He instead slid the knife under his collar and sliced upward. His t-shirt was torn open right down to his navel. Julian dropped the knife and ripped it the rest of the way with his hands. He then replaced the knife, running it down his breast and stomach, not stopping until he reached Nicky's fly. "Maybe I'll take this as my prize." A giant grin smeared across his cheeks as he said this.

Nicky groaned fearfully. His plans to continue fighting would come at a perilous cost. "I will do what you say! I will do what you say!" He decided.

"What was that?" Julian's voice was a squeak while his hands unfastened Nicky's fly.

"I'll listen! I'll do what you say!" Nicky cried growing more panicked by the second.

Instead of ceasing his actions, Julian proceeded to lift Nicky's hips and lower his pants to his thighs swiftly.

"No no no! Stop! I said I'll obey! Please, stop!"

Julian did pause for a moment. "I don't trust you." He said, giving his pants another tug. "I don't believe you." He stuck his knife into the waistband and freed the fabric from his leg.

"Oh! Come on! Don't do this!"

Julian paused again but this time to thrust his fist into Nicky's testicles. "Quiet!" He roared, drowning out Nicky's cry.

"I'll listen. I'll listen." Nicky gasped through the pain. "Please, don't do that to me!"

"Good." He smiled but it didn't stop him from slicing off the remainder of Nicky's pants. "Now we can have our fun."

There was something to the fact that Julian wanted Nicky to submit, he knew. It was clear what his intentions were but somehow Julian expected the result to not feel like rape. If Nicky did follow his instructions and stopped pissing him off, there was no question that their encounter would lead to a cock in the ass. He couldn't let it happen. The idea was more terrifying to him than being dismembered. Though he knew that even once Julian had broken Nicky's will through further dismemberment, Julian would still expect him to submit. He had lost all control and he knew that his biggest mistake was walking out on his family. If only he'd stayed, if only he told them that he'd be back the next day, or that he'd call. No doubt they were worried, but they wouldn't be likely to take action until his silence became abnormal. Unfortunately, that meant several days passing without contact. They'd want to give him space.

They more than likely were pissed at him. Matthew sure as hell would be after he clipped him in the face. Carlo always had a problem with Nicky and his choices, especially lately. Ma and Pop would be sick. The thought of what he put his parents through elicited a hoard of guilt that almost triumphed over his feelings of terror. He didn't want this. He didn't want to disappoint them anymore. He didn't want to come home to them more broken than before. In that moment, he resolved to keep fighting – balls intact or not – or die trying.

It must have shown on his face because instead of striking him again for his failure to move, Julian tucked his hands under Nicky's lifeless arms and lifted him off the ground like one would with a child. His feet grazed the floor as he was towed across the room toward the closet. With barely any time to struggle, though he tried, Julian propelled Nicky into the closet. As he landed painfully against the shelves and they broke and crashed under his weight, he rolled to the floor spilling out past the threshold. Julian kicked him over and over until he could slam the doors shut with Nicky inside. The sounds of something being tied around the door handles drowned out the sounds of Nicky choking for breath. They were the last he heard as he drifted into unconsciousness.

My usual apologies for the brutally long wait between chapters!

Hope you guys like the chapter. It seems I've got a lot more time on my hands as of late with social distancing rendering me completely homebound. Work is closed and we all need to do our parts. So while we're all staying home, here's something to keep us occupied.

Poor Nicky...