Jack

"Where are you! Jack!"

Josh's angry voice called to me from the kitchen. It had been one day since I had told Alex my plans, it had been the only thing that had gotten me through yesterday. I was currently cowering under a thin sheet, with my back scratched raw from Josh's fingernails. I hissed as the material hit a cut that had opened in my restless sleep.

"Jack! Do I have to come in there and get you?"

I tumbled out of bed, inching boxers up onto my hips and rushing out. Josh didn't look impressed, sitting at the bench with a coffee and a folded up piece of paper in front of him.

"Do you know what this is, Jack?" He asked, holding out the paper. I viewed it from the distance, my eyes landing on a familiar logo.

"It's a bill."

"Yes... Guess what for?" Josh took a sip of his coffee. I shrugged in reply, and he said, "It is a phone bill. It gives a record of international and national phone calls and how much money was spent on each. I use my mobile to call Dan, and he never calls the home phone." Josh opened up the bill and tapped the invoice section. "Now tell me why I have to pay for a two minute phone call from America."

My blood ran cold and I knew I had to do some fast thinking. He couldn't find out about Alex - he wouldn't trust me and then I wouldn't see my caramel haired lover again. "When Alex and I moved here, we had a friend of ours that wanted to keep in touch." I tried not to let my voice wobble.

"Is that the truth?" Josh asked, his eyes narrowing. I nodded, abandoning my voice. Josh seemed to believe me, his breathing slowing. He took a gulp from the coffee cup. "Very well. Go to the bedroom. I don't want you wandering and answering phone calls that end up costing us money."

I did as I was told, spinning around quickly and almost running back to the 'safe' room. closing the door, I sat on the edge of the bed, my heart still pounding erratically. He had almost found out. I heard the door open and Josh come forward, lifting my chin and forcefully kissing me. I felt awful responding to his advances, the guilt that lay trapped in my stomach was overwhelming. As he was kissing, his hands trailed to my wrists, gripping them.

"Move back." He ordered crawling onto the bed and forcing me to lay down. I hissed in pain, and caught myself from letting out a scream as he sat on my chest, still clamping his hands around my wrists. He let go of one, breaking off the kiss, and have me a stern look that said "don't try anything". He handcuffed my wrist to the bedpost, before doing the same to the other.

"You know, it was a good lie, I'll tell you that." He whispered in my ear, nibbling my lobe and nipping at the sensitive skin there. "If someone called from America they would be the ones to pay - unless it was from a pay phone." I closed my eyes in defeat, but tried to pass it off for pleasure with a half-hearted moan. "We have to donate the remainder because it sure as hell doesn't cost fifty cents to make a call from the US to here."

Josh left me, standing up and dusting himself off, tucking the sheets in tightly around my body so that I could barely move. "Dan also told me of Jack's run-in with the pay phone. Don't lie to me again." He slapped my arm and walked to the door, curling his hand around the frame.

"I'll feed you when I get home. Have fun today." I resigned myself to my fate after tugging at the restraints that rubbed painfully at my wrists. I drifted into an uneasy sleep, my head tilted to one side. I slipped in and out of sleep the entire day, trying to escape the gnawing hunger at my stomach. Once Josh came home, he kept his promise of feeding me and even allowed me to use the bathroom and shower. As soon as I crept back into the bedroom my wrists were shackled. Josh curled up with his head on my chest and fell asleep, as the darkness began to hurt my eyes. I wasn't tired due to all the sleeping I had done today. I must have eventually though, as I was awoken with the sun streaming through the thin curtains by Josh, shaking my shoulder and yelling,

"Get up!" I moved my arms and discovered that I was once again free. I rubbed at my teary eyes and looked up at him.

"Why?" I murmured groggily.

"We're having an inspection from the landlord! I thought you had bought this place." Josh snarled at me, tiding up.

Phase one of my plan was in action, and I kept a straight face as I said, "Oh, no, we wanted to see it in person before buying. We have the lease for at least a year."

"Get up," he snapped again, trying to straighten the bed. "I have to go to work, so you're going to clean this place up, tell them it's only you living here, and I'm going to return from work." Josh paused in his actions. "You better be wary when I get home. I am not happy. Now hurry up and work on the living room and kitchen." I pulled on clothes Josh had laid out for me - a white tank and brown leather jacket to cover my red wrists - and commenced cleaning.

"Goodbye," Josh said sweetly a few minutes later, walking out and pulling my face down to his level, kissing me. "I'll see you in ten or so hours." It took him roughly an hour to get to work, not to mention the traffic jams on the way back. He left and I stopped cleaning, instead choosing to walk to the bedroom and pack. My flight was at seven thirty tonight and, thanks to time differences, Dan wouldn't find out of me being missing until the time I landed in Baltimore, Maryland at seven fifty in the morning. The flight was seven and a half hours, and I couldn't wait to get back to familiar territory.

I heard a knock on the door, and I opened it to see my "landlords" Mr and Mrs Gaskarth. They were going to help me today by driving me to the airport - several hours early, of course - and changing the locks. They were also going to try and distract Josh when he came home. They had rehearsed their lie - we saw you leave this morning, we know that Jack's a little shy. It's alright! We just want to talk to you about the house now you're living there. - and then talk to him about payments and the like. In case Josh knew them, they had bought wigs and coloured contacts, and Mrs Gaskarth was skilled in the use of makeup.

I was on the plane now. I had called May about picking me up at the airport. She had grudgingly agreed. My stomach fluttered. What if Dan found out?

"I'm coming for you, Lex." I murmured, staring out at the darkened sky. "I won't let you down. Not this time."

Notes

c0l0urfultears
Title credit: Ghosts - Mayday Parade