Chapter 10 #2
The boy opened his mouth for the first time as if he was going to speak. No sound came out, but the grip he had on his throat fell away, and he tilted his head.
"Do you want a collar, sweet boy?” Carver asked. He hated to even suggest it, but if it was something that would calm him and maybe help him open up to them, Carver was willing to do just about anything.
Sure, he’d been the one to remove it in the truck when they were on the way to the compound. The damn thing had been dumped in the trash before he’d hauled it to the med bay. He had no clue it would be missed.
The boy crawled towards Carver. He picked up Carver's hand and placed it at his throat, much as he had done.
"I think that's a yes," Fury said from his side.
The boy turned to look at him. It was the first time he'd really stared at the other man aside from when he initially scanned over their forms when they walked in. Fury startled a bit at his stare.
Carver knew what that was like. The boy’s gaze was hypnotizing.
"You do want a collar, don't you?" Fury reiterated.
The boy squeezed Carver's wrist once, then pulled his hand away and backed up to the wall again.
Slash backed away, then stood to his full height once he was across the room. "I'll go see what I can find, Boss."
Carver replied, "Make sure it's soft and easy to remove. I don't care if he's thinking about whatever he was wearing before. I want this to be a comfort item for him." He didn't turn to look at the other man. He knew Slash would do whatever he told him to.
As soon as Slash was gone, Fury turned his way. "Is there anything else you want to do right now? With him awake, I imagine we should also get Doc involved.”
Carver nodded. "I agree. Why don't you go get him and bring him here? I think the med bay is off-limits for now."
When Fury was gone, the feeling in the room changed. It was as if the boy relaxed now that he was one on one with Carver again. Though it wouldn't be like that often, Carver appreciated knowing he was somewhat of a comfort to the young man.
He wanted to continue to be the relief he needed.
"I have to get some work done today. Do you want to come with me?"
The boy waited, not saying anything or moving.
Carver realized he might need more of an explanation on what that work meant.
"We would go down to my office. You could stay there with me while I worked.
There would be others around. I would make sure that you weren't hurt. Do you think you'd be up for it?"
He did that head tilt thing again, and Carver smiled. He saw how the boy's gaze softened when he did that. He wondered if his own smile would eventually tease out the boy's. If so, then he would continue to smile as much as possible. His men would think it weird, sure, but he didn't care.
He stood slowly and held his hand out. The boy did the same and reached for Carver. Once their fingers were laced together, Carver gave him a tug.
"We're going this way. We can even get you some food on the way. I'm sure you don't want to eat with all the other men."
The boy didn't respond, but followed Carver anyway, so he figured that was the right choice.
When they made it to the main area, there were several people milling about.
It was later in the morning, so he wasn't surprised to see quite a few people up.
The boy stopped, his wide eyes taking in all the bodies.
When Carver felt the grip on his hand tighten almost painfully, he looked to the boy and then in the direction of his gaze. He saw the women huddled around some of the men with plates of food.
"Are you hungry?" Carver asked.
The boy took a step back. Carver could feel sweat on his palm. He knew it wasn't his, and with the way the boy's bottom lip began to quiver, Carver could sense the storm brewing.
In the next second, the boy released his hand and ran back the way they came. Carver jolted and followed him, careful not to run so the boy didn't think he was being chased.
When he went back to the room, he found it empty again. This time, he went right around the bed to see if the boy was there, but he wasn't. He opened the bathroom too, though it was another dead end.
Carver nearly groaned in frustration. Where could he have gone?
It was then he heard a thump in the closet. He opened the door to see the boy curled up in a ball. Carver wanted to pull the boy out to ask him what was wrong, but the sound of Fury clearing his throat behind him drew his attention. He pivoted to look at the other man.
"Boss," he said. “I was on my way back when I heard that there was an issue with the boy running away.”
Carver nodded. "Yes. He split as soon as he saw the women feeding the men.”
Fury nodded, stepping into the room. “I figured that was the case considering his abuser was a woman.”
It made sense. The missing pieces in Carver's mind slipped into place at Fury's words.
How could he have been so stupid? Of course that was the reason the boy panicked.
It would cause issues if he had to tell the women to leave. At the same time, he didn't know if the boy would even trust him to leave the room again. As it was, the closet seemed to be a safe space.
Carver wondered if it was because it mimicked the boy's cage. It would make sense for him to go back to what he knew rather than to face the unknown.