Chapter 10 #3
Will can’t speak with how clamped tight his jaw is.
He just needs to gain enough control over his muscles to try to escape, but Nate doesn’t give him the chance.
He puts aside the taser and rolls Will onto his stomach.
The side of his face rubs against the ground, his cheek scratches on little rocks that dig into his skin.
In seconds, Nate puts cold cuffs around his wrists.
“Calm down, big guy.” Nate crouches with his knee on Will’s lower back, pressing against his spine. “You tried to play it tough, but you live and you learn. The question is, did I make the message clear enough, or should I give you another not-so-friendly lesson?”
Still not fully in control of his body, Will grunts. He’s growing aware of the wetness around his crotch from losing his bladder.
“Are you crying, William? Not very manly.”
He’s not sure if he’s crying, but if he is, those are tears of rage and regret. Rage for being in this situation and regret for allowing things to get to this point. He has no one to blame but himself.
Nate strokes Will’s head. “Relax, baby. Don’t be hard on yourself. Let’s go inside. I’ll take good care of you. You can be a good boy for me, right?”
“Yeah.” Now that the pain is partly gone, a subtle sense of peace floats across his body. It feels like the calm before the storm.
“You think you can stand?”
“I can try. I’m dizzy.”
“Well, yeah, electricity would do that. You’ll feel better once we’re inside. You’ll have a nice, warm shower, okay?”
“Okay.”
Nate helps him up, and Will grunts as his body leaves the ground. His clothes are stuck to his sweaty skin, and dirt is falling from his face. It feels like he’s bleeding from little cuts on his cheek.
Nate stands close to him from behind, holding the taser in front of Will’s face.
The device crackles, meaning it’s still active.
“Maybe another small hit from my friend here?” He lowers the taser to Will’s crotch.
“Should I do it to your balls? It will hurt more because you’ve pissed in your pants like a baby. ”
“Don’t.”
Nate chuckles and turns Will around, tapping on his chest. “You’re such a sexy mess. We understand each other better, don’t we?”
With his hands cuffed behind his back, Will smashes his forehead into Nate’s face. A bolt of pain shoots through his skull, but at least Nate has it worse. He shouts in pain and stumbles, holding his face and dropping the taser.
Will shakes his aching head and gets down on his ass.
He slides his bound hands beneath him to get them to the front, where he’ll have a better shot at defending himself, or better yet—at attacking.
By the time he’s back on his feet, Nate is dashing toward the taser, but Will is faster.
He shoves Nate back, smashing him against the police car. Nate shouts and drops to his knees.
Will’s heart jolts when he sees Nate reaching for his gun. He doesn’t want to believe he’s capable of shooting him, but he can’t count on that. He kicks Nate in the shoulder, once more smashing him against the car before he drops onto his stomach.
“Stay down!”
But Nate still tries to get up, forcing Will to land on top of him. He pins his arms to his body using his legs and holds his head against the ground. “Stay fucking down!”
Nate chuckles. “Look at you! You found your balls!”
“I guess I did.” He shakes his head to focus his sight. “Give me the key to these cuffs.”
“Why would I do that? You love it when I tie you down.”
“Keys. Now.”
“You’ve assaulted a police officer.”
I know. He wants to believe Nate won’t get the sheriff involved, but he’s not sure. One shitstorm at a time. “Which pocket, Nate?
“Right one.”
Will reaches for Nate’s right pocket, but of course the keys are not there. He growls in anger and reaches for his other pocket, where he finds the keys. “Take them and release me,” he says after he fails to uncuff himself.
“I can take the cuffs off, but it won’t make you free. What’s mine is mine.”
He leans down and hisses into Nate’s face, “You’re disgusting. I curse the day Joel ever chose you as a friend.”
“Well, as we both know, he wasn’t altogether in the head.”
“Take the damn keys.”
“Fine. Jesus.”
Once the cuffs are finally off, Will rubs his wrists, wondering what the hell to do now.
He wants to get inside, but can he take that risk while Nate still has his gun?
Yet he can’t take the gun and commit a crime.
Nate already has a reason to arrest him, even though he’s the one who attacked first.
“What’s wrong, baby? Feeling less brave?”
Yes. “It’s over, Nate. You need to understand that.”
“Do I? Maybe I just need to let you calm down a bit. I can tell you’re scared. Maybe I was too pushy, but I can work on that. We’ll start a new page.”
“You’re never going to change.”
“And neither will you. That’s why I know you need me.”
“God, you sound crazy. What’s wrong with you?”
Nate doesn’t answer, but his breathing grows faster.
Will glances at his door. “I’m going to go inside now, then you’ll get up and drive back home. What happened between us is over. If you feel I took advantage of you… I’m sorry. But it’s done.”
Nate gives a single nod, and Will knows that’s the best that he can hope for at the moment.
He’s terrified as he gets up, still debating whether he should get the gun.
But Nate remains on the ground, unmoving.
Will steps away carefully, climbing up the creaking stairs.
When he reaches the door, his hand shakes as he tries to unlock it.
The second he manages, he hurries inside and locks the door behind him.
He goes into the kitchen and grabs a knife, then stands with his back against the wall where he can watch the front door.
He waits with his heart pounding to see if Nate will try to break in.
The minutes pass, and finally—fucking finally—the sound of the police car breaks through the silence as it drives off.
Will slides down to sit on the floor, still holding the knife. His body hurts, and he smells of sweat and urine, but among the pain and fear, there’s also relief. He faced the monster and lived through it.
It’s over now.
As he gets up and goes to take a shower, he almost believes that.