there’s no getting out

He anxiously looked around, trying to make sense of the situation. He remembered walking home from work in the rain, he remembered feeling anxious, feeling like he was being watched, and then… he remembered Warren. One of his professors, Warren Calloway, a nice man he’d always felt comfortable around. He remembered Warren offering him a ride, insisting it was unsafe to walk alone, only to take him somewhere secluded, drag him back to the car when he tried to run, and drug him so he fell unconscious. Warren had done this to him, judging by the look of things, Warren had been planning this for some time, and now, he would have to wait on him if he wanted any answers. As badly as he wanted to know what was going on, he also dreaded seeing that man again.

He tried to think of another way out, he pulled open the drawer in the nightstand hoping to find something he could attempt to pick the lock or break the chain with, but he wasn’t that lucky. All he found were condoms, lube, and a pair of handcuffs. His stomach turned, any hope he had of this being something other than the worst case scenario was shattered instantly. He was all the more desperate to escape, he started inspecting the cuff again, looking for a weak point in the chain, anything. His hands were shaking, his heart pounding, he was so focused on finding a way out that when the door across the room finally opened, it startled him. He gasped, his head shot up to see Warren, walking casually into the room.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” He said it like this was… nothing. Like there was nothing odd about the situation, as if he’d just let Aster crash on his couch after a rough night. He was calm, friendly even, nothing like the cold, scary man Aster had seen before he’d passed out. This just scared him even more.

“W-Warren…?” He stammered, looking around anxiously. “What- what is all this?”

“Do you like it?” Warren asked, he sat down on the edge of the bed, which prompted Aster to push himself further into the corner. “I tried my best to get it as close as possible to your bedroom, I wanted you to feel at home.”

“Like it?” Aster asked, his eyebrows raised. “What are you- what do you mean like it?!” He cried, hugging one of the leaf shaped pillows close to his chest. “How did you even do this- have you been in my fucking room?!”

“Of course not.” Warren said, he was giving Aster a look as if he were odd for even thinking that. He took his phone from his pocket, Aster watched as he swiped across the screen before showing him one of his own social media accounts, the last post he’d made was yesterday, showing off his outfit in the mirror. In the background, his bed was clearly visible, as were the lamp on his nightstand, and the dragonfly lights above his bed. He knew very well that he had even more pictures up that would’ve shown more angles of his room. “You share quite a bit online. I was able to piece it all together from your posts alone.”

“How… How long have you been planning this…?” He asked, his voice wavering, and Warren smiled at him, kind, affectionate even, and very unnerving in these circumstances.

“Since the first time I laid eyes on you.” He said, setting his phone down on the nightstand. Aster felt a chill run up his spine. “Back in September, the first time I saw you in my class, I knew I had to have you to myself.” He moved closer to him, and again Aster tried to push himself back, but he was already as far into the corner as he could get. “You were so beautiful, and then when I saw you again at the start of this semester, I knew you must’ve felt the same way.” At this point he had Aster trapped against the wall, Aster flinched when he raised his hand but he only placed it against his face, his thumb caressing his cheek.

“I didn’t!” Aster cried, his heart racing. “I just- I just needed the fucking class, and I thought you were a nice professor, not- not a goddamn freak!” He swore he saw the corner of Warren’s mouth twitch, that smile threatening to fall.

“That’s fine.” He said calmly. “You can learn. You’ve always been so smart.” He brushed his hair back from his face, and then he leaned in and kissed him. Despite everything in his body telling him to push him away, to bite him, to fight back, Aster simply… froze.

Oh god. Oh god no. This can’t be happening. Not again, please, dear god not again, He silently begged, tears welling up in his eyes. He was too scared too move, too scared of what might happen to him if Warren thought he was resisting, all he could do was sit there and let him kiss him, clutching that pillow to his chest still, the only thing providing him some small sense of comfort in this moment. And even that couldn’t last very long, as Warren pulled back, he pried the pillow from Aster’s hands and tossed it aside.

“Now baby, I don’t want to hurt you…” He said, resting his hand on Aster’s thigh.

“You already hurt me.” He said, his voice shaking. Warren ignored him.

“So I need you to behave for me. It’ll feel good for you too, I promise.” He said, he pulled Aster by the hips so he was laying down, staring up at him in horror.

“Warren- Warren, please, please no…” His voice cracked, he didn’t even care, he was terrified.

“It’s alright, I’m going to take good care of you.” Warren said, he undid the button on his pants, in a panic Aster tried to push his hands away and Warren sighed. He straddled his legs to hold him down and reached for the drawer in the nightstand, Aster’s heart sank. He’d forgotten about the handcuffs.

“Wait- wait please!” He cried as Warren took them out, locking one around one wrist. “Please, I- I’ll have sex with you! I’ll do it, I’ll have sex with you, just please- please don’t restrain me! I swear it, I’ll do- I’ll do whatever you want me to if you jus-just let me go home after.” He begged, and Warren smiled at him, his head tilted slightly, like he’d just said something adorable and amusing.

“Oh, sweetheart. You are home.” He told him, and Aster sobbed. He pulled the chain through the bars of the headboard and then locked the cuff around his other wrist, having to wrestle his arm above his head as Aster desperately tried to push him away. He still yanked against the handcuffs, the metal bit into his skin, he didn’t care, he just wanted out.

“Let me go!” He cried, pulling as if he could somehow break the chain, twisting and thrashing beneath Warren in an attempt to buck him off.

“Hey- hey, look at me,” Warren said, he’d placed his hand on his cheek again, “You need to relax, you’re going to be alright. Take a deep breath now-“

“No!” Aster screamed, he didn’t want to hear a word he had to say, he just wanted this to stop. Warren had run out of patience with him, he drew back and slapped him across the face, doing so a second time when Aster didn’t stop wailing. He roughly grabbed him by the face and leaned down so they were close, his eyes narrowed.

*”Listen to me,”* He warned, “I can make this nice for you, or I can make it very, very painful. I’m sure you know which one you’d prefer, so stop throwing a fucking fit and be good.” He growled. Aster whimpered, his jaw clenched as he struggled to hold back his sobs, and he reluctantly nodded.

Tears continued to stream down his face while Warren got off his legs, only so he could unzip his pants, pulling his pants and boxers off him. Of course they caught on the chain, but that ultimately didn’t matter, they were no longer an obstacle to Warren. He did the same with his shirt, pushing it over his head and arms until it caught at his wrists, leaving him completely exposed. Aster had to squeeze his eyes shut, he couldn’t stand to look at Warren’s face, he was looking over his body hungrily, Aster wasn’t entirely sure if he was about to fuck him or about to take a bite out of him like an animal.

Warren forced his legs apart, though Aster resisted at first, he was scared of what Warren would do if he kept fighting. He choked back a sob when he felt Warren’s hands between his legs, he wasn’t being rough or particularly forceful, just… exploring. It was as if he was learning every inch of his body, fingers teasing over his entrance, brushing over his dick with a featherlight touch and causing him to squirm, whimpering uncomfortably.

“Warren… please stop…” He whined, though he knew it was useless. “I-I don’t want this…”

“Shhh, just relax.” He said softly, focusing more on his cock, rubbing gentle, slow circles that made him nauseous, even as heat pooled in his stomach. He felt like he didn’t have control of his own body, his cock twitched, his hips moved, searching for more stimulation as Warren made slow work of this, which only encouraged the man. “See- baby, you’re wet already. Of course you want this, you just need to let yourself enjoy it.”

Not again. This can’t be happening again, He felt like he was dreaming, this had to just be a nightmare. He had plenty of nightmares after the first time, he still did, surely this was just another thing his brain had conjured up to torment him with. He’d wake up soon, in his bed, his actual bed, in his cousin’s apartment, his roommate on the other side of the wall.

He kept praying he’d wake up.

He cried out when Warren slipped a finger inside him, he moved slowly, like he was trying not to overwhelm him, but it didn’t make this any better, nothing could. Aster tried to close his legs again so Warren used his other hand to hold his leg down, situating himself in between them.

“Just relax baby, I don’t want to have to tie your legs down too.” He warned him, though Aster could only keep crying in response. It didn’t hurt, but it was unwanted all the same, uncomfortable and intrusive and completely impossible to ignore. After spending some time getting him used to the intrusion, he added a second finger, Aster squirmed in his handcuffs, his head thrown back in discomfort.

“Warren, please.” He begged, tears streaming down his face, soaking the pillow beneath his head.

“I know, I know, you need more.” He said, pumping his fingers in and out, in and out, Aster felt he’d be sick.

“N-no, no, stop!” He cried, his voice pitched up, the sound be made completely contradicting what he said- in Warren’s mind, anyway.

“I can’t do that, not when you’re moaning so pretty for me.” He teased, and Aster groaned in frustration. Warren heard it differently, of course. “See, I told you it would feel good. Just let yourself relax.” He coaxed him, but it wasn’t working, his body was tense with fear and discomfort, his hands balled up into fists above his head, his body trembling as he resisted every urge he had to fight against the man. “What’s the matter, is this your first time?” He asked him, and Aster frantically shook his head.

“No, Warren- I’m scared!” He cried, searching for some mercy, some sympathy that would never come.

“You don’t need to be scared, I’m not going to hurt you.” He told him again.

You are hurting me. You’re hurting me right now. Please, just let me wake up. I don’t want to be here, let me wake up already.

Warren took his time fingering him, Aster whined and moaned when he rubbed his dick while his fingers were still inside him, as much as he hated it, his body reacted anyway. His face was flushed, he was burning up even in the cold basement air. Warren was still talking to him, but he did his best to tune it out. He shuddered when Warren finally pulled his hand away, taking a deep, shaky breath to try and calm himself down, but of course, it wasn’t over. Warren shifted, he heard the sound of a belt buckle being undone, a zipper pulled down, he bit his lip, his body trembling as he cried.

“Come on pretty boy, open your eyes now.” He told him, holding Aster by the hip to position him the way he wanted. Aster shook his head, he didn’t want to have to see it happen, as long as his eyes were closed he could continue to believe it was all just a bad dream. Warren dug his nails into his skin, and when Aster only squirmed in discomfort he was grabbed by the face, Warren tightly gripping his jaw. “I said open your fucking eyes.” He ordered, and finally, reluctantly, Aster’s teary eyes fluttered open, looking at Warren’s own flushed face. He still had that look on his face, looking at Aster like he wanted to devour him. “That’s better. Keep them open, okay?”

“Please don’t…” He whimpered, a final, weak attempt that he knew wouldn’t get him anywhere. Warren was partially undressed now, he had his cock in his hand. He was already hard, Aster couldn’t keep watching but he was also scared of angering Warren so instead he looked away, up at the ceiling. His breath hitched as Warren pushed inside him, again slow, giving him time to adjust, but no amount of “care” could change what was happening here, what Warren was doing to him. He cried with the first full thrust, and Warren swore under his breath, every sound Aster made only spurred him on. He held his hips tight enough to bruise, Aster could feel him watching him, studying his face. He didn’t know if he was giving him what he wanted, if he was reacting the way he was “meant” to, he didn’t care, he just continued to stare up at the ceiling, at the dragonfly lights, tears rolling down his face.

He couldn’t wake up. It wasn’t a dream.

***

Tag List: @whump-queen @inhurtandincomfort

Gavin rolled over and felt for Isaac. When his hand landed on skin, he squeezed gently. He was too out of it to do much else. He hoped Isaac would feel him and roll closer, bury his face in Gavin’s shoulder, settle. Isaac only went still. Gavin drifted again. 

In his distant awareness, he felt Isaac sit up, switch on the lamp, and leave the bed. Gavin groaned and pressed his face into the pillow. It was… unlike Isaac to turn on the lamp, but he was too tired to think much of it. It had been a hard week for both of them, nightmares-wise. Maybe Isaac wasn’t thinking. 

Maybe something was really wrong. 

There was some rustling as Isaac moved around the room. A drawer opened and closed. His feet were quiet on the wood floor. The bed dipped as Isaac sat down on it again. Gavin waited for the lamp to snap back off, for Isaac to cuddle in close and fall asleep again. 

He waited. The lamp stayed on. 

“Gavin,” Isaac said. His tone made Gavin shudder. Dread dragged him out of sleep, and he opened his eyes. 

“Isaac?” Gavin breathed, lifting his head. 

Isaac was dressed, and looking down at him with an expression that was so wholly unlike Isaac it made Gavin gasp. “Gavin Joseph Stormbeck,” Isaac said softly. 

Gavin’s stomach dropped. “Dad?” he breathed. 

Isaac – or the ghost wearing his skin – grinned. “Hello, son,” he whispered. 

Gavin’s heart pounded in his chest. He glanced down; Isaac held a knife loosely in his hand, fiddling with it like someone else might fiddle with a bit of string they had found. Gavin swallowed tightly. Tears burned in his eyes. “Wh-what do you want?”

His father tilted Isaac’s head toward the chest of drawers. “Get dressed,” he said. “We’re going for a drive, you and I.” 

Gavin whimpered softly, but he obeyed. His cheeks flushed at his own nakedness as he pushed himself out of bed and quickly pulled on his clothes. He turned and saw Isaac lounging on their bed, watching him silently. Gavin’s hands were shaking. 

“Isaac, is he… can he…?”

“Is he awake? Aware?”

“Yes.”

Gavin’s father grinned. “Oh, yes. He’s awake. Your boy is begging me right now. He’s pleading with me not to hurt you. And, you know…” He pressed the point of the knife into the pad of Isaac’s thumb. “He does beg so well. It’s a pity I never got to meet him face to face. I never was drawn to men, but… I think I could have done well, with him. Especially now that he means to much to you.” He pressed harder. The knife pierced Isaac’s skin, and a bead of blood welled in the cut. 

“Don’t,” Gavin gasped. “Please, don’t. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Yes,” his father said contemplatively. “You will.” He raised his gaze to Gavin. “There’s a rope in that drawer. Take it out.”

Gavin trembled as he obeyed. He brought the rope to his father and held it out with shaking hands. 

Isaac sucked the bead of blood off his thumb and set the knife down on the bed. “I can’t imagine what you would need this for,” he said as he took the rope and began to bind Gavin’s wrists in front of him. “Seeing as you don’t have fun with playthings anymore. And surely he doesn’t use it on you…?” Isaac’s hands were clinical as they tied him, nothing like the gentle, lingering touches they had shared just a few nights ago. Isaac tied him tightly, expertly, like he had done it a thousand times. 

And he had. His father had. 

Isaac stood up and picked up the knife. “Do I have to gag you?” he said. “Or are you going to come quietly?”

“N-no,” Gavin whispered. “No, I… I’ll go with you.”

“Good. Show me where the keys are, and we’ll go.” 

His father didn’t let him put on shoes or socks. He put on Isaac’s shoes, took the keys Gavin indicated, and walked him to the car. He let Gavin sit in the passenger seat. Gavin wondered if that was so that his father could see his fear as he took him to… wherever they were going. 

His father didn’t take him far. There was an open space a few miles east of town, just by the side of the road. His father eased the car into the parking lot and left it running. He climbed out, bringing the knife. Gavin trembled in every limb as he opened the car door. His father pulled it open wider, grabbed Gavin by the hair, and dragged him out into the beams of the headlights. 

Gavin collapsed to the dusty ground with the grunt. He took the first vicious kick to his side, covering his head as best he could while still covering his soft belly. Another kick. Another. Gavin cried out. 

“Please,” he sobbed. 

His father chuckled using Isaac’s voice. The sound broke Gavin's heart. “So much damage,” his father mused. “Your mother and I couldn’t have dreamed what destruction we were bringing on ourselves when we decided to have you. You hollowed out our family from the inside. First with embarrassment – you always were that, even if we were too kind to say so – and then with betrayal. I really do think being incompetent enough is a form of betrayal, Gavin, especially after we invested so much time and resources into making sure you were not incompetent. And yet… I died, because of your idiocy. Then your mother died, because of your weakness.” He sighed, and kicked Gavin again. Gavin screamed. “I suppose we should take some responsibility for that. You must have gotten some of that from us. But, god… we didn’t see it. We just… didn’t… see it.” He dragged Gavin up to his knees by his hair. 

Gavin sobbed weakly, clutching Isaac’s wrist. “N-no,” he gasped. 

“Let go of me,” Isaac growled. He shook Gavin’s hands free and grasped his bound wrists instead. “It’s time I teach you the price of that betrayal, Gavin Stormbeck. You got off scot-free. You’ve been living with this new family – the one you replaced your mother and I with – for long enough. Did you really think you could do everything you’ve done, and then just… move on?”

Gavin shook his head. “Please, don’t,” he breathed. 

Isaac brought the knife to Gavin’s arm and dragged it across his skin. 

Gavin screamed. Blood ran hot and brisk down his arm, dripping into the dirt beneath his knees. The smell of it turned his stomach. The knife pressed to his arm again – but didn’t cut. 

Gavin raised his eyes to Isaac’s. There was a flicker there, a flash of something wholly not Joseph. Gavin sobbed as Isaac’s hand tightened around his wrists. 

“Isaac,” Gavin whimpered. “Isaac, it’s… it’s okay.” 

When Isaac’s body laughed, the sound belonged entirely to Gavin’s father. “He is… quite strong,” he said bemusedly. “He’s fighting me ferociously. Begging me and threatening me in turns.” His hands shook, for a just a moment. His father grinned and tightened his grip on the knife. “But it won’t matter. I have him thoroughly trapped inside his own mind. He’s welcome to watch, though. It’s not like he hasn’t harmed you before, mmm?” He dragged the knife down Gavin’s arm again. 

Gavin screamed through his teeth as fresh blood spilled down his arm. It soaked into the dust on his skin, making dark red mud. Sweat prickled on Gavin’s forehead, and he panted as his father pulled the knife away. 

“Please,” he croaked. “P-please, no.”

“You deserve more,” his father murmured. “If I had you home, you’d be strung up in my basement. You know that, don’t you? You know I’d take the whip to your back, the same way I’ve taken it to so many other playthings?” He made another cut. Gavin’s voice twisted. 

“I-Isaac,” Gavin sobbed. 

The knife paused. Gavin looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. Where before there had been a flicker, now there was a crack. 

Isaac gasped. His knuckles were white on the knife. 

Isaac’s body shoved Gavin to the ground. He wasn’t sure who was doing it – Isaac, or Gavin’s father. He groaned into the dirt, wounds bleeding, ribs aching. Tears streamed down his face. 

“N-no,” Isaac breathed. 

Gavin shuddered and looked up at Isaac. 

His hands were stained with Gavin’s blood. He stared down at Gavin, frozen, a war playing out on his face. His chest heaved. Gavin reached out his bound hands toward Isaac’s shoes. 

Isaac shivered. A smile slid over his face. Gavin wailed softly as Isaac jerked the knife up and held it against his own throat. 

“No, no,” Gavin pleaded. “Dad, don’t. I’ll… if you want me, kill me, not… not him, please…”

“This wouldn’t kill you?” his father mocked with Isaac’s mouth. “It wouldn’t kill you to watch me cut his throat?”

It would take no time at all. Gavin had watched his father kill so many playthings this way, had watched the knife slice through their throats and bleed them out onto the floor. He had done it himself. 

He had almost done it to Isaac. He knew how it felt to hold a knife to that throat – both before and after he loved him. 

“Don’t,” he sobbed. “I’ll do anything. Dad… I’ll do anything.”

His father grinned. The knife opened the skin of Isaac’s throat, just a little. A bead of blood ran down his neck. 

“NO!” Gavin screamed. 

His father laughed. “He’s letting me do it,” he said softly. “This is the first thing I’ve done that he hasn’t fought me tooth and nail. You want to know why?”

Gavin reached out with his bound hands. He knew why. His lips were numb as he nodded. 

“He knows that once his body is dead, it can’t be used to hurt you anymore.” Isaac’s smiling mouth stretched wider. It was macabre, horrifying. “So eager to die, your lover. So eager to lie down on the altar for you. He might as well have tied his own hands and submitted himself to my knife. I didn’t even need to possess him.” 

“Don’t.” Gavin’s begging was shameless, his sobs broken as they tore from him one right after the other. “Please.” 

Isaac’s hand tightened around the knife. “Say goodbye, Gavin,” he whispered. 

Gavin fell face-first into the dirt, bound hands gripping Isaac’s ankle. He waited for the gush of blood. He waited for the choke, for Isaac’s body to fall. 

He braced for Isaac’s last breath. He was sobbing so hard that he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear it. 

The knife clattered to the gravel beside him. Gavin flinched and looked up at Isaac. 

Isaac’s chest heaved, his hands tight in fists. His lips trembled. Tears glazed his face.

“Gavin,” he whispered. “I h-have him.”

Gavin wailed softly as Isaac fell to his knees beside him, back rigid, eyes staring blankly past Gavin. Gavin clutched Isaac’s hands. Isaac yanked his hand away, just for long enough to snatch up the knife and hurl it away from himself.

He shook his head violently from side to side. “I won’t,” he hissed through his teeth, talking to the ghost Gavin couldn’t see. “I won’t, I… I love him.” Sweat beaded on his forehead. His chest heaved. His knuckles were white as he held Gavin’s hands tight.

“Isaac…”

Isaac groaned and folded forward onto his hands and knees. “No… fuck…” His elbows folded. He slumped onto his side and began to twitch.

Gavin sobbed and cradled Isaac’s head in his bound hands. “Isaac,” he breathed. “No.”

Isaac’s eyes rolled back. He uttered a twisted, wheezing cry and vomited up black bile into the dirt beside his head. As soon as his mouth was clear, his body stilled. Gavin cried out and pressed his ear against Isaac’s chest.

His heart beat solidly beneath his breastbone.

Gavin crumpled with a wail and buried his face in Isaac’s neck. “Isaac,” he sobbed. “Isaac, Isaac, he… I’m so… Isaac, please don’t…”

Slowly, haltingly, Isaac’s arms came around Gavin. Gavin sat up and awkwardly cradled Isaac’s face between his hands. Isaac’s eyes were open, a little bloodshot – but when he looked at Gavin, there was nothing but love and pain in his gaze. His arms stayed wrapped around Gavin.

“I-I’m okay,” Isaac breathed. “Are you…?”

Gavin pressed his forehead against Isaac’s. “I’m okay. I’m…” His stomach heaved. The smell of blood was everywhere. It was soaking into his clothes, crawling down his throat. The cuts on his arm were bleeding badly.

He was going to need Finn, and soon. All he could see, though, was the tiny wound on Isaac’s throat.

“Fuck,” Isaac breathed as he glanced at Gavin’s arm. “That’s…” He stripped off his shirt and held the soft cotton to the wounds. Gavin hissed out a breath. “Hey. Look at me.” Isaac nudged Gavin’s chin up with a bloody hand. “I’m going to get the knife. He’s… I don’t just have him under control, I think he’s… gone. I’m going to get the knife and cut the rope, alright? And then I’m going to give it to you.”

Gavin lurched forward and pressed a firm kiss to Isaac’s lips. He was dizzy, whether with relief or blood loss, he wasn’t sure. The smell of blood was so strong. More blood smeared on Gavin’s cheeks as Isaac cradled his face and returned the kiss.

“Give me a second,” Isaac whispered. “Let me just grab the knife.”

He grabbed the knife from where he had tossed it and returned to Gavin’s side. The rope snapped under the knife. Isaac gently took Gavin’s hand and guided it up to hold pressure on the cuts. Gavin shivered. Had the night always been so cold? He was freezing.

“Here,” Isaac said holding the handle of the knife out to Gavin. “Take this. I’ll get you back to the car, and I’ll take you home.”

Gavin didn’t take the knife. Instead, he reached out, his fingertips brushing just above the cut in Isaac’s throat. The blood looked nearly black in the dark – as black as the bile Isaac had vomited. When he leaned back, the blood caught the light. It was shockingly crimson.

“Come on, Gavin,” Isaac said softly. He took Gavin’s free hand and pressed the knife into it. “Can you walk?”

Gavin nodded. “I-I…” He did his best to struggle to his knees. He nearly pitched onto his side.

Isaac’s mouth pressed into a hard line. He braced his arm around Gavin’s shoulders and guided him to his feet. Gavin’s vision went back. He felt Isaac catch him, felt Isaac’s arms looping under his shoulders and knees.

“I gotcha,” Isaac murmured. “I gotcha.” He began to carry Gavin to the car.

“Isaac,” Gavin whispered. “I…”

Isaac tenderly kissed his forehead as he carried Gavin to the passenger seat and set him down. “Just sit tight, Gavin,” he murmured. “I’ll get you to Finn. Just… hold pressure on that, okay? We’ll figure all this out. Just… hang on.”

Gavin nodded weakly. “Y-yeah.”

Isaac shut the door and jogged around the car, fumbling to put the car in gear. He laid a hand on Gavin’s thigh and squeezed tightly as he swung the car back out onto the road and sped toward the house.

“I l-love you,” Gavin mumbled, wincing as he felt blood soak through the shirt he was holding to his arm.

“I love you, too, Gavin,” Isaac said. “Fuck, I love you, too. More than anything.”

“I know.” Tears trickled down Gavin’s cheeks as Isaac pulled into the family’s driveway. His head fell back against the headrest, and he heaved a broken sob. “I know.”

Tagging the HB masterlist for this!