Chapter 11 ~  We'll Get Through This Together

***

Ashton sat at the barstool next to the kitchen counter, breathing deeply.

He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight, not with a girl tied up in his living room. He'd thought about begging Luke to stay with him, and he knew the man would if he'd asked, but he also knew that would be selfish of him. Luke had his own life to live, and with the issues Megan had been causing recently, he knew his friend needed to be home.

But he also knew he wouldn't be able to relax. He had to talk to Louis and Harry tomorrow, see what they thought he should do about this situation he caused. Luke had texted him after the job, talking about grandpa, and Louis demanded they show up at his house after work the next day.

The girl suddenly shifted and sighed in her sleep and Ashton flinched. He was on edge, ready to do anything in a moments notice. He wasn't sure what her deal was or why she decided to go after them.

He kind of admired that, even though it was stupid. He knew he wasn't really a good person, neither was Luke when he truly thought about it, but he knew couldn't hurt the girl. And if that was the case, he didn't know what they were going to do with her.

"You know, staring is rude." the girl remarked, looking into the kitchen at Ashton. He rolled his eyes and picked up his phone, checking to see if Luke was awake yet. And he hadn't been staring, he was concentrating. Trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with a captive. "I know you can talk." She told him. He looked up and shrugged. "So what am I here for? Why won't you just let me go? I swear I won't say anything." the man just shook his head at her. She was frustrated that he wouldn't respond; she knew that was his thing, but she hated silence. Especially when there was nothing she could do. She couldn't watch TV, read a book, and he'd left her phone at the store. "My name is Sadie, Sadie Newell." Ashton blinked at her, not sure why she was telling him this. She waited a moment, almost hoping he would give her his name, but he continues to stare. "You know, it's polite to introduce yourself back," Ashton scoffed and got up, he needed to use the bathroom. He hoped she wouldn't cause any problems in the 40 seconds he would be gone.

Sadie tensed up as he passed her, but he only left and walked into another room.

She sighed. She needed to figure out how to get out of here. They might not have had the gag on tight, but these new ropes had been tied well at her wrists, ankles, and arms, so she really had no hopes of getting out. She couldn't even tip the chair over and hope to break it because it was made from really thick wood that would require more force to snap.

She really was stuck.

Ashton wiped his hands on his pants after rinsing them in the sink, not wasting time as he rushed back to the other room. He didn't want to leave the girl alone longer than he had to. Who knew what she was capable of.

He sighed in relief when she was in the same position as before, tied up on the chair and glaring at him as he moved about the living room freely.

Ashton sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. He had about an hour before he had to start getting ready for work. He turned the news on, but he didn't want the girl to see anything, so he pushed her chair into the corner so she wasn't able to see and turned closed captioning on.

As he expected, the robbery was on the news, there was Liam talking about how the store was robbed. He did a really good job playing the shaken up store employee from what Ashton saw, and gave just enough details that the story seemed believable, but didn't give any descriptions of Luke or Ashton.

What confused Ashton was there was nothing on the news about the girl, Sadie she'd said her name was. He would have thought by now that her parents would be looking, that someone would have gone to the police to say she was missing.

For the next hour though, they kept running the story about the robbery and some car accident that happened downtown, but nothing about Sadie.

"You know, even if I knew what was going on, there's nothing I can do." Sadie stated, sounding bored as she sat in the corner. Ashton didn't even respond, he didn't care.

The less she knew, the better.

"Uh, so...I gotta tell you something, Silent Stranger," she called. Ashton looked over at her, knowing she couldn't see but not caring. "I need to pee. What's your plan for that?"

Shitdickfuckballs.

What was Ashton supposed to do about that?

It was a person, she had to pee, eat, drink, or else she'd die.

Ashton got up from the couch, grabbing his phone and walking into the other room, ignoring Sadie as she yelled angrily after him.

On the fourth ring, the caller picked up.

"Why are you calling so early?" Luke mumbled, not even opening his eyes as he pressed the phone to his ear. He almost rolled over, but then he remembered he was on the couch and stopped before he fell on the floor.

"It has to pee." Ashton gasped, mind playing over a thousand scenarios of what would happen if he let her out of the chair. "We took an entire human and it is currently sitting in my living room. It's going to need to eat, to pee...what the fuck did we do?"

Luke chuckled, even though the situation wasn't even remotely funny.

"It's she, not it. She's a person,"

"I fucking know she's a person, she's been talking to me for the past half hour, annoying the shit out of me, expecting a response, and now she needs to use the fucking bathroom. What do I do?" he blurted out, panting after the exertion caused by speaking so much in such a short time.

"Calm down, Ashy, everything is going to be okay." Luke said, sitting up on the couch. He barely got any sleep last night. He was exhausted, but knew he was going to need to take care of some major issues today.

"How can you say that?"

"I'll be over in 20 minutes, okay babe? Don't worry, I'll fix it."

Ashton hummed, already done with speaking for the day and it was only 5:30am.

"Just hold on for a little bit longer, love, I'll be over shortly." Luke quietly got up and went to the kitchen, writing a note to his wife that said he got called into work early for a meeting and would be home later tonight. He left it on the counter before grabbing the pair of clothes he'd set out for himself the night before, knowing Megan would still be asleep in the bedroom when he got up for work. It was one of Ashton's dress shirts that he'd borrowed while he was staying with the younger man and his own pants. Luke had forgotten his suitcase when he left his house that first night, and instead of sneaking back to grab it, he'd worn Ashton's clothes. Ashton's pants were a little short on him, but Luke hadn't minded, and he'd loved walking around all day smelling like Ashton.

Luke heard Ashton whimper from the other side of the phone and his heart lurched.

"Want me to stay on the phone with you until I get there?"

"Mhm," Ashton muttered, sitting down on the floor of his bedroom and leaning against the bookshelf he'd been standing near. He knew he had to control himself so he didn't spiral again like he'd done the night before. He was an adult, he had to deal with the consequences of his actions now.

"Okay, baby, I'll be there soon. I'm just grabbing my shoes and my briefcase, and then I'm heading out the door."

Ashton focused on Luke's words, knowing that it would keep him from slipping.

He made a confused noise, knowing Luke always left his briefcase in his car. He rarely ever brought it in the house.

"I needed something from the house and knew I wouldn't remember to grab it this morning, so I brought the briefcase inside last night and put it inside."

Ashton accepted the answer, even though he was curious what Luke needed. He knew the older man would tell him if it was something he should know.

"All right, I'm heading out the door now, and getting in my car." Luke continued to narrate what he was doing and kept talking as Ashton stayed on the other end of the phone just listening to his voice.

Ashton didn't reply much, he just sat there listening to Luke's soothing voice.

"I'm here, love, can you get up and open the door?"

Luke had a key, but he needed to know what state Ashton was in and even if he answered or not would tell Luke how the smaller boy was faring.

"Kay," He said and Luke was happily surprised that he spoke. He must actually be doing all right, then.

The door was swung open moments later and Ashton appeared, still pressing the phone to his ear.

Luke didn't even have a moment to put his phone down before Ashton had launched himself in Luke's arms and held on tight.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong, are you okay?" He tussled the dark curls as Ashton kept holding on.

Ashton nodded into his chest, squeezing tight for a moment before letting go. He smiled and played with the collar of the black shirt Luke was wearing, recognizing it as one of his own.

"Like my new shirt?" Luke teased.  "I'm not giving it back, I think it suits me." Ashton rolled his eyes, grabbing Luke's hand and bringing him inside. He shut and locked the door behind them, that way incase Sadie got out, it would take her a couple extra seconds to escape, precious seconds that they might need to grab her.

"Okay, bring me to the prisoner, let's go see what she needs."

Ashton lead him to the living room, where she was still tied up in the same position Ashton had moved her to.

"Oh, god, you're back?" she complained, rolling her eyes when she cranked her neck to see the tall, blonde bloke walk inside the room with the cute, quiet one tucked under his arm.

"Yeah, I'm back. I heard you have some issues?"

"Yeah, dude, I need to fucking pee. Your silent friend ran away when I told him. Just let me go to the bathroom," Sadie begged. It was getting to be a level 3 emergency, she wouldn't even care if they were in the room with her. She just hated the discomfort not being able to pee gave her.

"Yeah, I suppose we could." Luke let go of Ashton and walking over to the girl. "Or we could just let you pee yourself. It wouldn't really do anything for us." Ashton tugged Luke's shirt, not liking how mean he was being. Luke ignored him.

"You're ridiculous, just bring me to the fucking bathroom. I'm not going to try anything, please,"

"You swear you're not going to try to escape, scream, or do anything terrible to us?"

"No, not if you actually let me use the bathroom," Sadie hissed.

"Fine." Luke pulled a pocket knife from his pocket and got to work on the knots he'd tied the night before.

Ashton tapped his arm, looking at him quizzically. They needed that rope again, he shouldn't be cutting it.

"I brought handcuffs, I figured that's more secure than rope, got them from my closet while I was unpacking last night. That's why I brought my briefcase in."

Ashton nodded, that would make him feel a bit better. It was better to have her cuffed up so she couldn't get away as easily.

Once she was finally free, Luke grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her, lifting her forcefully from the chair. She gasped and winced, she'd been sitting like that for over 10 hours, her body was protesting the harsh movements, but Luke dragged her to the bathroom.

"Ash, go take out anything sharp or whatever she could use to harm us," Luke ordered, and Ashton was quick to do what he said. He came back out with a couple razors, the ceramic soap bottle, and an aerosol can of air freshener. Luke nodded as he walked away to put them in the kitchen while he shoved the prisoner inside. "I'm going to turn around, but I'm leaving the door open,"

"Yeah, I don't care, I just need to pee,"

Luke stayed true to his word, he didn't watch her, but when he heard her flush, he immediately turned back and made sure she wasn't planning anything.

He took her arm and brought her through the house, wondering where Ashton had gone. He hadn't returned after he went to hide the sharp things he'd found, and Luke found him bustling around the kitchen, cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Aw, honey, you're making breakfast? You're the best housewife ever,"

Ashton rolled his eyes and gave Luke the middle finger. He knew they'd need food, and they needed to feed the girl, too, so he started on that while Luke was with her.

Luke playfully gasped at the gesture before dragging the girl with him so he could get the handcuffs from his bag. He held her with one hand while he opened the briefcase with the other, keeping an eye on her while digging through the bag. She didn't make any effort to escape, wriggle, or get out of Luke's grasp which he appreciated but of which he was also suspicious.

He knew he'd have to keep an eye on her.

Sadie knew the more she complied, the more lenient they'd eventually be with her and she'd use that chance to escape the second they let their guard down. She was an aspiring writer, which also meant she'd read more than her fair share of books. Yes, that included those cliché kidnapping books where the girl who got kidnapped tried to escape right off the bat and wasn't trusted. She would not make that mistake. She also knew those stories also ended with her falling in love with her kidnappers, but she wouldn't do that either. As long as she knew the trope, she could fight against it.

Luke pulled out the leather cuffs and attached a pair to her hands behind her back. That would at least make it harder for her to get away if she tried. He wasn't ready to trust her yet, just because she listened for two seconds.

"Let's go," he nudged her shoulder and brought her to the kitchen, where he pushed her into a chair at the island and linked another set of cuffs to the bar of the seat she was in. Now he didn't have to hold on to her. He was free, and she was stuck where he left her.

Luke walked over to where Ashton was cooking eggs, bacon, and toast for the three of them. Ashton couldn't cook much, but he could manage simple breakfast things. Luke grabbed bread from the counter and stuck two slices into the toaster, pushing down the lever. He wasn't even able to make eggs, but toast he could manage.

The two men made the food together before setting it on the counter. They made a plate for the girl, cutting everything up in small bites so she could chew it without needing to use her hands.

"Really, you're gonna feed me like a dog?" she sighed. "This is so unoriginal." But she ate it anyway. She was quite hungry and who knew when they'd feed her again.

"Just be happy you're getting food," Luke hissed. "We don't have to give you anything."

"Kay, but then I'd die and for some reason, he won't let you kill me." Sadie leveled a look at Ashton who bit his lip and looked away.

"Hey, you don't talk to him, bitch, leave him alone."

Sadie smirked. She'd seen them kiss last night, although she knew blondie had a wife. Maybe they were having a secret, gay affair. That would make sense, it would explain why he was here so early this morning.

She sized them up quickly. The fleeting glances, little touches, flirty banter...they'd actually be super cute together, Sadie decided. She shipped it.

Luke saw Ashton frown, and dropped his fork. He wasn't sure what upset his friend, but he wanted to make sure he eats something today. He looked exhausted; Luke himself didn't get a lot of sleep, so he could imagine that Ashton got even less.

"You have to eat, babe," Luke said, lightly rubbing his hand on Ashton's thigh and picking up a bite of his food. He brought it to Ashton's lips, waiting for him to take the bite. Ashton rolled his eyes but let Luke feed him, only once though. He knew if he didn't start eating, Luke would do that again, so he made sure to finish up the food on his plate himself.

Sadie had almost finished all of her food, too, except for the bit that had been nudged off the plate by her nose. She didn't care, she'd let them clean that up. It's not her fault she wasn't given silverware.

"Hey, I think you should stay home today," Luke said to Ashton as they were washing the dishes together.

Ashton's jaw dropped open and he glared at Luke.

"Well, someone needs to watch her," he whispered. "And I have to go to the West Branch today, I can't call out."

Ashton shook his head. He was actually looking forward to going to work today, that way he could finally forget about this nightmare for a couple hours. And now Luke wants him to stay here all day? He couldn't do it.

"Baby, she can't escape. You understand why that would be bad for all of us, right?" Luke dried his hands on the towel that he'd dropped on the counter before rubbing his hand on Ashton's cheek. Ashton closed his eyes and leaned in to Luke's touch.

"Yeah,"

"So please think about that, about..." Luke lowered his voice and turned away from the captive, "About Gunner and Eagle, even Icebox. Everyone is at risk from this."

"Know that," Ashton whined. He knew it was all his fault and he probably deserved to have to take care of her, but he really didn't want to.

"Then you have to take off and watch." Luke shrugged. "We'll go talk to them later and see what we can do about this, but at least for today, you need to be here."

Ashton whimpered, not liking that idea.

"How 'bout half day?" He bargained. If he just left her alone for a couple hours, then he could get a little peace, but still be here for most of the day. It wasn't a horrible plan.

"Really, Ash? You can't just stay here today?" Luke was about to force him to stay, put his foot down, but at the tears forming in the smaller boys eyes, he relented. "Fine, a half day would probably be okay. You can just tell them you have a doctors appointment and won't be back in. If anyone gives you any problems, tell them that I'll talk to them tomorrow. Don't worry about that."

"Thanks, Lukey," Ashton gave him a small smile and put his arms around his friend, pressing his face into his chest.

"You got it, love. We'll stuff her in the closet while you're gone. We'll get through this together, yeah?"

Ashton pulled away and nodded.

"Together sounds good."

***

I think I read this over five times before publishing it. I edited something every time. On a completely unrelated note, I don't think I ever re-read a paper I submitted for a school assignment in my entire six years of college. Lmaoooo

Anyway, what do y'all think of Sadie? She's still a little feisty yet...any predictions for what's going to happen to her? Someone said she'll end up with Megan, which I think is interesting. Any other ideas?

Love you all, thanks for the support ❤️ Hope you all had an amazing holiday!

~ashtonfortherwin