"um... no, why?" tyler smiles innocently. "i was, uh, i was just getting ready to fall asleep."

"oh." brendon clicks his tongue, entering the room and shutting the door behind him. "so you weren't just on the phone with josh?"

"what!?" tyler laughs. "no! i don't want anything to do with him. i hate him."

he smiles knowingly, slowly approaching the brunette. "i heard everything you said, gumdrop. all of the nice things you said about me... and now you're just going to try to leave me? for someone that only gives a shit about money? you're not going anywhere, tyler. god no. i excepted more from you. josh broke your poor heart, now you're going to break mine?"

tyler frowns. fuck, why does he feel so guilty right now? "i... uh... i don't know. i don't know, he said he wanted to talk. okay? it doesn't mean anything. i just..."

"so nothing i've done so far meant shit to you? what's so good about josh that you can't find in me, huh? you're just going to run right back to him? he broke you, tyler. are you too stupid to realize that?"

"i'm not stupid," tyler mumbles, standing from the bed. "i love him."

"you love him?" brendon laughs. "oh, god. please. he doesn't give a shit about you, tyler. if he did, he never would've let you leave. he just misses the money you made him, that's the only reason why he's trying to get you to come back. you know it."

"no... i don't know," tyler furrows his eyebrows, watching brendon's feet stop about a foot away from his own. "i'll stay, okay?" he tries to bargain, knowing josh was the one coming up with a plan anyway.

"oh, i already knew you'd be staying. i'll be damned if i let you leave this house."

a fist suddenly connects with his stomach, knocking the breath out of tyler's lungs. he stumbles back, but quickly recovers and shoves brendon by his chest. "what the hell! what's wrong with you!?"

brendon doesn't respond. he stands, eye twitching and fists clenched at his sides. tyler notices and swings before brendon can, knuckles busting open the skin on the man's cheekbone. he's in too much shock to even realize his hand is numb—concerned with the blood dripping down brendon's face. fuck, did he really just do that?

"you're going to regret that," brendon says calmly, touching the tips of his fingers against his bloody face. for some reason, tyler opens his mouth to apologize. brendon hits him before he can even make a sound.

eye instantly swelling, tyler places his palm over the stinging skin. he backs up as brendon comes closer, and ends up falling backwards on the bed. grabbing the boy by his shirt, the man throws tyler to the ground and starts kicking his ribs and his face from every angle possible.

the pain is excruciating. tyler does all he can to guard himself, but brendon is relentless. he doesn't stop until tyler's ears are ringing and every inhale feels like thousands of needles are puncturing his lungs. the brunette lays on the ground, broken, breathing as shallow as he possibly can so he doesn't have to feel his lungs fill with fire.

when the ringing in his ears finally stops, he realizes brendon is screaming at him. the man kneels beside him, suddenly holding a gun to his head. tyler's eyes widen, hands trembling as he reaches for it. brendon grabs his wrist, holding it against the ground.

"you think you can fucking leave me, tyler? you think you're so strong? you think little joshy is going to swoop in here and save the day? i'm going to fucking murder him in front of you. it's a shame, too, because i really liked you."

tyler whines, feeling the cold metal against his temple. "no.. i-i am so-orry," he chokes out, spitting blood through his teeth.

"i hate that i have to do this, but work is work," brendon smiles, lips pursed together tightly. he lifts the boy off the ground. tyler is in too much pain to even try to fight back. his ribs have to be broken—at least a few. he probably has a concussion too, along with a fucked up face. "i could've given you everything and more, tyler. you fucked that up on your own. now, you won't be going back to josh. you won't be going anywhere."

brendon carries him downstairs and dumps him onto the bed in his "work" room. "you're going to stay in here and make me money like the fucking whore you are. and if you decide you're not going to do your job, well, we'll get to that if the time comes. i suggest doing what the fuck i tell you to do."

tyler half-way listens, but barely. his ears are ringing again, he can hardly breath. his eye is swollen shut and his lip is split open. he lays helplessly on the bed, silently praying for josh to just stay the fuck home and not come looking for him.

brendon switches up, suddenly, brushing the hair out of tyler's eyes. "i hope you realize i'm only doing this because i care about you. i can't have you leaving me, tyler. i need you. you'll be safe in here, okay? he can't get you in here."

tyler turns his head away, uttering a quiet "fuck you."

he chuckles. "now, now, gumdrop. i promise you'll be okay. i'll take care of you, right? make sure you're protected." brendon kisses the same temple he just held a gun against, but tyler feels too empty to even react.

the man grabs the pair of handcuffs beside the bed, lifts tyler's right arm, and handcuffs him to the bed frame. "just in case."

he leaves without another word, allowing tyler to finally think. okay, okay, okay... well... he's still alive. barely, but he is. he's handcuffed to the bed, but he knows where the key is. in the drawer across the room... okay, that's fine. he can just... oh god, who is he kidding? he's stuck here and josh is going to get killed trying to find him.

this is all his fucking fault. he's such an idiot. there isn't anything he can do. he can't even cry—he feels so numb. maybe josh will realize tyler isn't worth it and he'll just decide not to come. yeah, maybe. hopefully. but it didn't sound like he felt that way over the phone...

tyler shuts his non-swollen eye, sighing. what the hell is he going to do?

__a/n__

i hate this so much haha i'm sorry
kinda short chapter so... double update :)