Cuts

Unknown Location - January 10, 2012 - Early Morning

Jake's POV

Why does it always have to be me who's kidnapped? Jake thought sullenly, better yet, why do they always hold the person captive in a warehouse?

"The heck do you punks want with me?" he called out in a bored voice, trying to hide the fact that he was actually scared.

"You know very well who we want," a feminine voice purred.

He grinned lopsidedly, despite being terrified. "Okay, punkesses, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but you do," another one purred. He screwed his eyes shut tightly when he felt a tongue lick his cheek sensually.

Not again! His senses screamed, this can't be happening! "Uh," he stuttered, "listen, I r-really don't have w-who you're looking for."

"The girl!" The second one snarled, "Lynn, where is she?!"

His eyes widened at the mention of her name, and he could have sworn that he lost all ability to breathe. "No," he whispered, "no, I won't!"

He felt a stinging sensation on his cheek, tasted the blood, and realized the first girl had slapped him. His eyes widened as she pulled out a carving knife.

"Listen," she said mercilessly, "either tell us where she is, or I paint a bunch of pretty pictures on your body." As if to prove her point, she drew it over the cheek she licked, leaving behind a thin red line.

"Never!" He spat, flecks of scarlet peppering the ground in front of him. "Looks like you'll have to kill me, because I'll never tell you!"

The first girl glared at him, "not gonna be a problem."

He screamed in agony as the sharp blade ripped down and across his chest. Blood poured out of the wound as his tormentor grinned with a sick delight in her eyes. He bit down on his tongue, gasping from the pain. It hurt to breathe, to even attempt to try.

"Come now," the second girl purred, "we don't want to kill our new toy, do we?"

"He's obviously of no use to us!" the first girl spat furiously.

"Come now, I think we can find some use of him."

Both girls turned their sickly sweet grins toward him while he struggled at his bonds. Where's Anthony when you really need him? He thought desperately, why is this happening to me? Why can't Hell ever give me a break, if at least for one day? His vision faded and he blissfully embraced the darkness.

Sun City, Kansas - January 10, 2012 4:38 PM

Talley's POV

Talley was curling her golden hair when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She opened it and was startled to find Lynn standing there, sobbing her eyes out.

"What did he do?!" She exclaimed, then paused, "how'd you get in here?"

"Ingrid. Talley...Jake's gone," Lynn sobbed.

"What?!"

"He wasn't in sc-school today and I don't think he likes me anymore!"

Talley pulled Lynn into a comforting hug and began rubbing her back soothingly. "Shh, it's gonna be okay."

"No it's not!"

She considered this for a few moments, "well...maybe it isn't. But what have I always told you?"

"Never wear white on a rainy day," Lynn guessed, still sniffling.

She chuckled, "yes, but no. I've always told you that boys are useless, and that they're only good for breaking hearts."

"But Jake isn't like that," the younger girl protested weakly.

"Maybe he lead you to believe that," she said kindly, "but boys can be very deceitful. That's one of the main things about the male species. You just can't trust them."

"I-I guess you're right," she sniffled.

"Can you get home Sparkles?" Lynn thought for a moment, then nodded softly. Talley kissed the top of her head gently. "Good girl."

Unknown Location - January 10, 2012 - Early Evening

Jake's POV

When his eyes finally opened, he was ashamed to discover that he wasn't wearing anything and that the two girls were long gone. The wound on his chest was matted over with dirt and blood, and he realized how much it hurt him to breathe. Every time he tried to move, it felt like he was on fire.

It took him a few minutes to reach a sitting position and a few more to reach his clothes. God, what would Lynn think if she saw me right now? What if she knew it happened before? He slowly pulled on his clothes, realizing, that for some odd reason, they'd also taken his shirt.

Oaktown, Kansas - January 10, 2012 - Late Evening

He stared in awe at the motorcycle before him. Some drunk, rich idiot had left the key in the ignition. To be honest, he couldn't have been more happy than he was in that moment. Not to mention the fact that the bike looked sick too.

It was black with green flames licking the sides. From Jake's experience with automobiles, he could tell it was in next to perfect condition. He was presented with only one problem: he had absolutely no idea how to ride the thing.

~Breakline~

It was a few hours and well near midnight by the time he finally reached the parking garage. There had been several complications in the beginning, ranging from how to drive it, to how to even maintain his balance.

Despite how close he was to the hotel, it still took him a good fifteen minutes to reach the front door. Another five to get to the elevator; then relaxation.

He slowly dragged himself down the hall, stopping in front of Lynn's door in surprise. She's crying! he thought in alarm. Forgetting his pain and injuries, he frantically tried opening her door. Locked!

Before he could register what was happening, he was running into Serina's room, ignoring her cry of alarm and surprise. Then in another two minutes, he was picking at Lynn's lock with a bobby pin.

"Come on," he muttered. "Finally!" He frantically ran inside and found her curled into a ball in the corner of her bathroom. The first thing he noticed was the bloody knife on the ground, and the blood all over her wrists.

"Lynn!" he exclaimed, rushing over to her side.

"J-Jake?" She stuttered, looking up at him with wet, wide eyes, "I-I thought you left me."

He kneeled down next to her, ignoring the pain that shot up his chest, and pulled her into a comforting hug. "Lynn, I would die before I left you."

She tentatively placed a hand on his bare chest. He hissed from the excruciating pain that burned inside of him. "It almost looks like you did," she breathed. "What the hell happened?"

He gently took her hand off his chest and gingerly held it. "I'll tell you if you tell me."

She burst out sobbing and hiccupping, trying to form the words. While she pulled herself together, Jake opted to go to the medical closet and grab some gauze. When he returned, she had stopped crying and was washing the blood off the new cut mark on her wrist. It was once she was on her daybed, that he started carefully wrapping the wound.

"So why do you cut yourself?" Jake asked quietly.

"It's...complicated." Lynn replied, "when I was young, my dad used to do unspeakable things, things I'd rather forget," she showed him her palm, "I got this scar when I was three. The same year I ran away from home. I originally bought my glove to cover up the scar, but then I started cutting myself."

"Go on," he said softly.

"Earlier I visited Talley, and she told me that boys are only good for breaking hearts. Jake...I couldn't stop myself. I tried, I really did, but the depressed part of me wouldn't shut up. Next thing I know, I'm panicking and trying to stop the blood flow."

"I didn't leave," Jake confessed. "I was kidnapped and-"

"Tortured?" Lynn guessed sadly.

He bowed his head in shame, "then raped. Again. I didn't feel any of it though, because the cut," he indicated the large jagged, bloody line on his chest, "made me lose so much blood that I passed out."

A few tears trickled down her cheeks, "and I thought you left. Jake...I'm so sorry."

"I was scared," he confessed, "but only of the thought of losing you. Lynn, I-I like you. As more than a friend, I've just been to cowardly to admit it."

She giggled softly, eyes still shining with unshed tears. "In case you couldn't tell, I like you too Jakey."

He hugged her tightly, letting himself cry for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"You think you're alone in this world Jakey. You never were. I'm here."