suffering soiree

He hardly slept that night, or at least he assumed it was night time anyway. He spent most of the night just staring at the wall, clutching a plushie close to his chest. He told himself that this wouldn’t be forever, even if Jesse thought he had just ghosted him and was upset with him, he knew Seth and Claudia would notice when he didn’t come back. He felt guilty, as if this was somehow his fault, knowing how worried they would be.

His cousin Seth could be overprotective at times, especially after what happened the year before, he knew he’d just work himself up into a frenzy, which would worry Claudia. He wished he could’ve told them he was okay, or at least alive. Both he and Claudia had exams within the next couple of weeks, he didn’t want her to be stressed about him when she already had that stress on her shoulders. He briefly thought about his own exams, he never thought he’d be so upset to not be stressed out and studying. He made himself laugh a little, imagining asking Warren for a passing grade in exchange for all of this.

He somehow managed to fall asleep, but it didn’t last long. He woke up after only a few hours, still exhausted but unable to go back to sleep. He sat up, tiredly looking over towards the bathroom and grimacing. He wished Warren was there, so he could free him so he could actually get to the bathroom, and so he could tell him how stupid of an arrangement this was, to keep him locked up with no way to relieve himself. He groaned and laid back, staring up at the ceiling. He knew he could make it until Warren came down to bring him breakfast, he didn’t think it could be that early.

Whatever. It’s only a couple of hours, he thought, trying to reassure himself, You can manage just a couple of hours, he told himself, trying to ignore the fact he didn’t actually have a choice.

***

“Warren! Hey, did you see the link I sent you?”

“No, not yet,” Warren said, balancing his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he came through the front door, “I was driving, what is it?” He asked. It wasn’t unusual for his brother to call him, or to send him things at random. Hayden was somehow always “between jobs”, and he liked to make that everyone else’s problem. At least he’d only called him, rather than shown up at his door. Warren didn’t actually mind hosting his brother, though he wished Hayden would be more responsible, but right now… was not a good time.

“This kid went missing, Aster Brennan. Apparently he goes to your school,” Hayden said, talking quickly, “Have you heard about this?”

“Ah- yes, I saw something about that earlier.” He told him, dropping his bag by the door and making his way into the kitchen. He’d known it would happen sooner or later, but he hadn’t expected Hayden to be calling him about it.

Warren put his brother on speakerphone, going to check his texts and seeing the article that Hayden had sent him. Sure enough, he saw Aster’s face, they used a picture of him he’d taken only a month ago, sitting outside with flowers in his hair. He had a big smile on his face, honestly it was one of Warren’s favorite pictures of him. He was glad they went with that one. Beneath the photo were the words 20 year old Aster Brennan, last seen leaving his job on May 11th, was reported missing on May 12th by family. Warren was mildly surprised that it took that long for someone to report his disappearance, he’s felt sure it would’ve happened the same night.

“Did you know him?”

“Hayden, it’s a big school, I don’t know every person who goes there.”

“Oh, right.”

“But yes, he is in one of my classes. Actually, I would’ve been seeing him tomorrow.” He told him.

“Oh shit!” Warren couldn’t tell if his brother was shocked or excited by this. “That’s fucking crazy! What do you think happened to him?” He asked, and Warren sighed.

“I don’t know. I hope he’s alright, I know there have been searches for him already.” Warren said, opening the fridge to start on dinner. He felt bad that Aster wouldn’t be eating that night.

“Yeah, I hope they find him okay. He’s a pretty cute little guy, I hope nobody hurt him or nothing.” Hayden said, and Warren briefly scowled at his phone, though it’s not like his brother could actually see the disapproval on his face.

He set his phone down on the counter, letting Hayden continue to ramble on while he got to work preparing dinner. It must’ve been another half an hour before he finally hung up, leaving Warren in the usual silence of the house. Even if Aster was making noise down there, it was impossible to hear from the kitchen. He thought he should check on him, picking his phone up off the counter and opening the video feed from the camera he’d placed down there. The poor boy had been on the floor for some time now, one leg lifted awkwardly to account for the short chain. He looked absolutely miserable, exhausted, defeated. As sad as it was, Warren couldn’t say he wasn’t taking some pleasure in it.

Aster had put himself in that position the first day that Warren left him alone. He was only respecting his wishes, after all, he’d asked to be left alone so Warren was giving him what he wanted. He had to learn somehow that Warren was all he had now, that if he wanted or needed anything, it would have to come from Warren. If he had to experience it firsthand, being left hungry, lying in his own filth, then so be it. He still had a water bottle he’d been sipping from next to him, Warren knew he must’ve felt terrible, but he wouldn’t die like this. As much as he wanted to go downstairs to be with him, he decided to give it another few days. He needed to be sure that the boy learned his lesson.

***

Aster stared up at the ceiling, his head pounding. There were dark spots in the corners of his vision, at this point he was praying to pass out. Unconsciousness would be greatly preferable to the dryness of his mouth and the hunger gnawing away at his stomach.

He’d been forced to recognize his mistake pretty quickly. Warren didn’t come down that first day that he waited for him, the usual breakfast never came, he wasn’t given a chance to get up, and within hours he was desperate. At first he’d sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed and anxiously bouncing his leg. He didn’t think Warren would actually leave him down here, not for long anyway given how obsessed he was, but it looked like Warren decided to prove him wrong. He tried drawing in the notebook some more to keep himself distracted, but eventually even that wasn’t going to work. He kept looking at the bathroom, it was only a few feet away, but with that chain being less than a foot in length, he didn’t have much of a chance. In desperation, he looked up towards the ceiling, calling out in case Warren could hear him.

“Warren!” He yelled, hoping the man was up and about upstairs. He couldn’t hear any footsteps, but maybe he was just relaxing. He had to hope so. “Come back, please! Come on, I really gotta piss, I get your fucking point!” He yelled. Maybe he should’ve been more polite, but it was hard to be polite in the state he was in. He hoped Warren would hear him and take pity on him, but after a while he knew, either he didn’t hear, or he just didn’t care.

He managed to hold out another hour or so before he knew he couldn’t do it much longer. He first decided that if he couldn’t get free, he at least didn’t want to mess up his bed, so he got down onto the floor. He wondered how far he could get even if he had to drag the bed frame with him, but with enough pulling he realized it was somehow bolted down, quickly removing the last bit of hope he had left. His face felt hot as tears welled up in his eyes, it was humiliating, he felt like he was being treated like a disobedient child- less than that even, more like a dog, locked on a chain and forced to wait for his owner to return and take him out. It made him angry, he hated Warren even more than he already did, and there was nothing he could do about it but sit there and cry.

He’d been on the floor since the day after Warren left him. At the time he figured it was the thirteenth, now he wasn’t sure what day it was. He’d been lucky enough to have a water bottle by his bed already when this started, but he’d run out the day before. He’d already been drinking it as slowly as he could, both to ration it and to stave off any further accidents, but it had to run out eventually. At that point, he started yelling. He screamed at the top of his lungs, begging, pleading for Warren to come back. Sometimes he’d hear his footsteps above him, his heart would race, thinking he was finally coming to feed him, but it never happened. He started to think he’d die down here, just like this, still chained to the bed, his clothes filthy and soiled, his hair a greasy mess. He didn’t want to die. At first, he’d been gripped by fear, he’d begged for Warren to come back, he’d even tried praying. Now though, he couldn’t manage any of that. He couldn’t even cry.

He heard those footsteps above him again, but he didn’t even get his hopes up. He’d pushed too far, he’d found Warren’s limit and now he was going to die for it, whether starvation or dehydration got him first he wasn’t sure. He just knew he would’ve done anything for a drink of water. He closed his eyes, even the dim lights above him hurt to look at. He wished he could at least fall asleep, but whenever he did the hunger just woke him back up. He stayed like that, until he heard that door open. For a moment, he thought he might’ve been imagining things, he turned his head and forced his eyes open, surprised- and overwhelmingly relieved to see Warren, walking towards him. He opened his mouth, he tried to speak, but nothing came out, his throat still raw from his previous yelling.

“You poor thing.” Warren sighed, crouching down next to him. He reached his hand out, running it through his hair, only to make a disapproving face and pull his hand back. For a brief moment Aster felt embarrassed, he knew he was disgusting right now, his hair unwashed, his clothes stuck to him smelling of urine. Warren was the person who did this to him and yet he still felt embarrassed to be seen by him. Stronger than the embarrassment, he just felt pathetic.

“W-Warr…en…” He croaked out, even that felt like it took all his energy. “Please, h…help me…” He whined.

“I would love to, sweetheart.” He said sympathetically. “But you know, this is what you wanted.” He told him. “You asked to be left alone, so I gave it to you. Have you changed your mind?” He asked, and weakly, Aster nodded. He would’ve said or done anything in that moment if it made Warren feed him again.

“I-I… was wrong…” He said, desperately trying to convince him. “I did-didn’t mean it, please…” He hesitated, before saying, “Please don’t- don’t leave me alone again… I’ll be good…” The words felt like acid on his tongue, but he knew it was necessary.

“Do you promise?” Warren asked him, and Aster nodded weakly.

“Promise…” He said, and Warren seemed to consider it. He took his sweet time, thinking it over, before he finally smiled at Aster, kind and loving and for once, so welcome.

“Alright, my love.” He said, and Aster couldve started crying. “I think you’ve had enough time to think on it.” He took the key ring he carried around off his belt loop, using a small silver key to unlock the cuff around his ankle. Aster’s leg finally fell free, having long since gone from aching, to sore, to numb from being elevated for so long. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He helped Aster up off the floor, holding him steady. His legs were shaking, and the change in position left him lightheaded, the room tilting and making him nauseous. He couldn’t even put any weight on the leg the cuff was usually around, relying entirely on Warren to help him into the bathroom.

Warren had to help him undress, discarding his soiled clothes on the floor before helping him into the bathtub. Aster was so weak he couldn’t even stand, he knelt in the tub as Warren turned the water on, taking the shower head down so he could wash him. He was filthy after days on the floor, the warm water was such a relief it almost washed away the shame and embarrassment he felt over getting himself into this situation. He knew he shouldn’t have pushed Warren, as much as he despised him, he was lucky he came back, even luckier that he was willing to clean him up now.

Aster had no choice but to allow Warren to clean him up, using his favorite soap to scrub away the filth that covered his body. He wished he could push his hands away, he didn’t want him to ever touch him again after that first night, but he had to accept that he needed help right now. He tried to pretend he was somewhere else, he’d been doing that a lot these past several days, but Warren made it difficult. He took his time, his hands lingered on his body far more than necessary, he handled him gently, like he was made of glass. Maybe it would’ve felt nice, but given their first night together, it just put him on edge.

“I missed you these past few days, you know that?” Warren said, lathering shampoo into Aster’s hair. He only hummed in response, talking felt like too much effort for him right now. “It hurt me to have to leave you down here, my poor boy. You looked absolutely pitiful from the camera, I had half a mind to end your lesson early.”

Camera? Aster thought, his brow furrowed in confusion. He’d never noticed a camera before, and the fact that Warren had been watching him, watching him lay on the floor, crying, wailing for him to come back, he saw him at his absolute worst and Aster had been completely clueless to it. It made his skin crawl, he wanted to shove Warren’s hands away but lifting his arms was too much for him, he could only groan and attempt to pull away, but Warren effortlessly kept him in place, instructing him to tilt his head back while he rinsed his hair. Aster made a mental note to look for that camera later.

Once Warren had gotten him all cleaned up, he plugged the drain and let the tub fill with warm water, it soothed Aster’s aching body after so many days on the concrete floor. He pet his hair before getting to his feet, he briefly left the bathroom only to return with something that instantly made Aster perk up- a water bottle. He tried to reach for it, but Warren sat on the edge of the tub, taking the cap off and bringing the bottle to Aster’s lips. He wanted to snatch it from him, but he had a feeling that Warren wanted it this way, so he resisted the urge to do so. He’d never been this desperate for water in his whole life, eagerly gulping it down until Warren pulled the bottle away, laughing softly.

“Slow down baby, I promise you don’t need to finish it all at once.” He told him, putting the cap back on the bottle much to Aster’s disappointment. “I’ll let you relax here while I clean up, okay? I’ll come get you once I’m done.” He told him, and Aster nodded. He was surprised that Warren was actually going to leave him alone like this, with even the cuff removed. He thought he would’ve wanted to stay right beside him the whole time, but then again, he was more or less useless right now. He never couldve made it across the basement on his own, certainly not quickly, and Warren knew this. Once again he felt a pit in his stomach, knowing his escape was still just out of reach.

Aster allowed himself to sit back and relax, just this once, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. His head pounded, and that ever gnawing hunger was still present, he hoped that Warren would be gracious enough to give him food next, he was so, so hungry. He didn’t know how long had passed before Warren returned, he could hear him moving around in the basement, he thought he even heard him go up the stairs at one point, but eventually he returned. He held a towel in his hands, and as he helped Aster out of the tub, he realized it was warm, as if he’d just taken it out of the dryer. He helped him dry off before guiding him back into the basement, Aster saw he’d cleaned the floor where he’d been lying, and also changed the sheets on his bed. Once again he’d laid out clean clothes for him, and Aster didn’t complain as he helped him get dressed. He was just thankful to wear something clean again at all.

He sat him down on the bed and Aster saw the tray on the nightstand, his eyes widening. Warren sat down on the chair next to the bed and picked up the bowl of warm broth from the tray, helping Aster to hold it in his shaking hands.

“Here, love, it’s not much for now, but that’s just until you get better.” Warren said, helping to keep him steady as he brought the bowl to his lips, foregoing a spoon entirely to instead sip from it. It certainly wasn’t much, but it was flavorful, and it warmed his body in the cold room, so he had no reason to complain. Just like with the water bottle, Warren had to stop him from drinking too quickly, setting the bowl back onto the tray for now, while Aster wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “It must’ve been so hard for you, down here all alone.” He sighed, as if he was actually being sympathetic. It just made Aster annoyed, but he tried to push that feeling down for now.

“It was…” He said quietly, unable to meet his eye. You put me here, fucker. It’s your fault I was alone to begin with, he thought bitterly.

“It won’t be like that again, as long as you behave.” Warren told him.

Stop talking to me like I’m a fucking child, he thought.

“I spent a lot of time and money preparing this space for you, I would like it if you could use the rest of it.” Warren told him. “Do you think you’re ready for that kind of freedom?” He asked, and hesitantly, Aster nodded. He knew if he was at least able to roam the basement, it would be easier for him to find a way out. “I think so too.” Warren said, he was smiling at him.

Aster watched as he got up, crossing the room. He’d seen the storage cabinets on the furthest side of the room from him, but this was the first time he saw Warren open one of them. He wished he hadn’t. He could see restraints, bundles of rope, leather cuffs, he swore he saw a ball gag in there before Warren shut the door again. He came back towards him, holding a much longer length of chain in his hand, so long it dragged on the floor. Aster looked at him pitifully.

“B-but, I thought…” He started, as Warren knelt down in front of him.

“I can’t let you have too much freedom, of course,” He said, securing the cuff around his ankle again, “But I can give you more for the time being.” He locked one end of the chain to the cuff, then pulled the other end over, leaning over to lock it to a point in the wall between the nightstand and the bed frame. He got up and sat down beside Aster, squeezing his leg affectionately. “This will let you get over there,” He said, gesturing to the TV, “There’s no cable, but there’s plenty of DVD’s. There’s also a mini fridge over there, I’ll fill it with snacks and drinks for you, just tell me what you’d like.” He said, which reminded Aster of the list he’d previously written down. He looked around for a moment, before remembering he’d put it in the drawer, he opened it and quickly took out the notebook, holding it out to Warren.

“I-I… did what you said.” He told him. He still couldn’t bring himself to look him in the eye, he felt like if he didn’t look directly at him, maybe he could pretend it wasn’t somebody he had trusted doing this to him. “I wrote- I wrote things down, th-that I’d like, so I… stop being irrational.” He said quietly, trying to remember the words Warren had used that day. Warren was looking it over, considering the requests Aster was making.

“Yes, I think this will be doable.” He told him, and Aster felt himself relax. He tore the page out and folded it up so he could hang onto it, and then put his arm around Aster’s shoulders, pulling him close. Aster couldn’t help it, he went stiff under his touch, unable to relax knowing what he could do to him. Of course, Warren immediately picked up on this. “What’s the matter, darling?” He asked.

“I-I…” He didn’t want to answer, but he knew Warren would force it.

“Yes?”

“Are… are you go-going to rape me again…?” He asked quietly, feeling tears well up in his eyes just thinking about it.

“What? Oh, sweetheart of course not.” He said, hugging him closer. “We aren’t having sex tonight, you need time to rest.” He told him. This didn’t comfort Aster, the way he immediately reframed what he did as having sex, the fact he wouldn’t do it tonight, but tomorrow? The day after? He dreaded it.

“O-Okay…” He said quietly. He wanted this conversation to end. He’d rather sit there quietly than talk with him, but at the same time, he wasn’t ready for him to go. It made him feel sick with himself but those days alone were terrifying, never knowing when he’d return- if he would return even, if he would just starve to death down there and be left to rot. He wasn’t ready to be alone after all that.

“Do you feel better now?” He asked, and Aster nodded.

“Yeah- yeah um…. Just… don’t leave yet? Stay with me a little longer, please?” He asked, glancing up at him, and Warren gave him a kind smile.

“Of course darling. I would love nothing more.” He said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, and regrettably, Aster felt himself relax. At least for tonight, Warren wouldn’t hurt him, at least tonight, he would get to sleep in a bed again. He tried to be grateful for that, because he knew it could certainly be worse.

***

Tag List: @whump-queen , @inhurtandincomfort , @blurryeyeswhump , @technicallydeliciousdeer , @thegravylady , @goosebumpsandwhumps , @xberylliumoxide , @theloveofwhump , @littlelambramblings , @sporadicallysentient , @yet-how-they-creep , @phoenixpromptsandstuff , @anarchypup

The pressure lets up just a little.

Whumpee grimaces, freezing in place, hoping they’ll release them. Whumper removes his knee from their side, and whumpee forces themselves to stay in the same position, panting with little vocal breaths that begin to come in shudders.

“Begging, are we?” Whumper grins.

Whumpee groans and stomps the back of their foot into the carpet under their legs angrily.

“Still throwing a fit?” The pressure increases and whumpee whines, unconsciously shifting away before they stop themselves and force themselves to shift back.

“Ple-hease,” they let out a single sob by accident. 

“Please what?” 

“I don’t know what you want from me.” A tear drips down over whumpee’s nose.

“Yes you do.” The pressure increases, whumpee struggles, the knee comes back, the twist gets harder until something pops and whumpee screams.

“I want you to stop! Please stop!” The cries sizzle through their teeth as more tears flow now.

“Do you?” Whumper asks.

Whumpee screams again.

“Okay FINE, fuck you! I’m begging!”

Whumper laughs. 

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that!”

“I’m begging you,” whumpee sobs. “I’m begging I’m begging I’m—”

“Shut up.” Whumper releases them a little, listening to them cry, voice breaking in sobs, gasps hitching in their shoulders. “Not like that.”

“I-I’m sorry sir, I broke the rules, I talked back, I-I—um, I’m just sorry! Okay?” Whumpee bites back another “fuck you” and adds, “I’m begging—I’m begging you to let me go!” 

Their head is lifting off the glass table and whumper lets go of their wrist to slam it down by the temple.

Whumpee’s free hand clenches but they don’t move. 

“I want you to remember this,” whumper says.

Whumpee wants to scream curses at them.

“Yes sir,” they say through a broken voice. Every second is agony. 

“When I touch your wrist, that’s a reminder. Don’t waste my time with your bullshit again.”

Oh, so you get to curse, but I have to be little miss prissy over here. 

But whumpee just cries.

“Good.” Whumper says. “It hurts, doesn’t it?”

Whumpee nods against the palm on their temple. In case that isn’t enough, they add,

“Yes, it does…”

Slowly their wrist is being released. Thank God for that. Thank God it’s slow because fucking shit, it hurts even more now. Like the injuries are just registering. Whumpee gasps and bites their lip so they don’t scream again. They don’t want to piss off whumper any more than they have. Whumper finally releases them, stepping back, and whumpee grinds their teeth at what they’re about to do, without even being told. 

They get their knees under them, lean onto them, and shuffle around to face whumper, bowing and cradling their wrist.

“What do we say?” Whumper asks.

Good, he liked that. Fuck him.

Whumpee shudders, trying not to even growl in anger. Everything they feel, everything, has to be shut down or whumper will hurt them even worse.