My Beautiful Doll

Chapter Thirty One

Charlie couldn't help but shudder at Baker's tone. How Don could keep his cool even in that situation was beyond him. Despite the struggling and tenseness, Don still had that air of calm within him, that semblance of internal control that his brother always had. It was one of the things that Charlie knew math couldn't calculate. No matter how much he tried to put it into equations, nothing ever turned out right. As he's always suspected, his brother is special, no matter how much the other man said that he was the opposite. In some strange way, Don's status as an anomaly brought comfort to Charlie. He knew that no matter what the math says or how dire the situation is, he could always count on his brother to beat those odds, to come up on top regardless of what the numbers say.

But now, looking at Don, his status as an anomaly no longer brought comfort. Instead, it brought more worry, ones that Charlie couldn't make disappear using his math abilities.

The video kept playing, showcasing Baker and his demented obsession. He ruffled Don's hair gently, running his fingers through the straight black strands with a lovesick smile on his face. "My sweet angel..." he murmured. Charlie could see that his brother was tense, his body ready for the possibility of one of those touches turning sour. "It seems like you've forgotten the fact that you can never escape me..."

Charlie did a full body shiver at that, the threatening voice sending chills up his spine. That tone sounded so overly affectionate it was almost uncanny.

Don let out muffled sounds of protest from behind his gag, shaking his head. "Sorry angel, I've told you before, you don't get a say in this." Baker then went to nuzzle his brother's neck. "Although...seeing you try to fight me just makes me want you even more." Charlie could feel the bile rise from behind his throat, desperate to find an exit. He grabbed the nearest glass of water and chugged it down, not caring who it belonged to. He didn't want to leave, not now.

Taking a brief glance around at everyone, he could see the fury and disgust plain on their faces. Clearly they were all thinking the same thing. They really needed to get him out of that situation before something irreversible happened.

Looking back at the recording, he could see his brother going still, his grip tense on the armrests. Even without a full look at his face, Charlie knew that Don was torn between fighting like his life depended on it and trying to not draw attention to himself. Damnit Don, just stop fighting! Even though he knew it was a pre-recorded message, he hoped that those supernatural powers that Charlie always accused his brother of having kicked in and that he heard Charlie's pleas.

Suddenly Don relaxed a bit, his breathing turned more even as he stopped fighting as much. Clearly his logical side won over him in the end, that or he did actually hear Charlie and thought for once that he should listen to him. Either way, Charlie couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at that.

"Trying to play calm and stoic huh?" Baker teased, "Well...I have something here that could change that." Charlie's heart started to beat loudly in tandem with the panicked thrum within his veins. Baker turned around and went to a metal table behind his brother. The man's actions are obscured by Don. Then, Charlie heard it.

Clink

Clink

Clink

The sound of metal against metal, cold and hollow. Don tensed as he heard it, along with everyone else in the room. "Ahhh...it seems like you already know what it is," the man said coolly as he brought his hand up, showing the camera the wickedly long knife, the blade reflecting light from the singular light bulb. Don continued to be still, but judging by the rapid rise and fall of his chest, Charlie could tell that his brother wasn't entirely unaffected.

Baker then dragged the knife over the metal table, the sound long and drawn.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Charlie could feel his heart beat faster every second and the blood rushing within his body. Hell! He could even calculate how fast the blood flowed through his veins. He saw Don instantly flinched at the sound, bunching his shoulders together as if it would protect him from the onslaught.

Baker grinned as he got nearer, his footsteps echoing throughout the room. Charlie felt like his heart was about to jump out of his body with every sound the man made, however illogical that sounds. Then the man got behind Don, still grinning widely at the camera. "Now, let's have a little fun shall we?" Then he got the knife out and pressed it against Don's throat.

"NO!" Charlie shrieked before he could stop himself, standing up suddenly in fear.

"Charlie?" Megan asked, looking worried. "Do you guys need some time?"

Charlie had to swallow down the bile that threatened to crawl up his throat, afraid of throwing up when he opened his mouth. "N-no," he mumbled, still feeling ill. Then he sat back down, putting a hand over his mouth as he tried to breathe deeply. A glass of water suddenly materialized before him. Looking up, he saw his father's pale face, looking slightly green and concerned.

"Drink," he ordered. Charlie nodded as he took the glass, grateful that his father wasn't trying to dissuade him from watching. As much as he wanted to run away from all this into the garage, he knew he needed to stay. He was sick and tired of hiding away, not being able to be there for the people he loved the most. No, this time, he was going to stay.

"Thanks dad," he croaked. Both his father and Amita placed their hands on his, as if trying to gain comfort from each other. Charlie nodded gratefully before turning towards David. "Play the video."

David looked skeptical, but continued anyway.

The video played again and they could see Don going extremely still as the blade rested against his skin, probably afraid of making any movements that could cut him. "Still trying to play tough sweetheart?" He asked sweetly.

Don made a muffled sound behind the gag, growing visibly frustrated at his inability to speak. Knowing his brother, Don most likely made some less than flattering comments about his captor. That somehow brought a bit of comfort to Charlie.

Baker let out a chilling laugh before trailing the knife down from Don's neck to his chest. "Remember...this is all on you" he spat suddenly before driving the knife inside, cutting his brother's skin. Don screamed from behind the gag as the blade was slowly dragged downwards, getting deeper with each inch. But somehow, he managed to hold his body still so as to not aggravate anything. Once the deed was done, Baker placed his hand on the cut, letting the blood flow into it. Then he brought it up, observing the blood intensely as it dripped down his hand, glistening under the light like crimson gems. "Even your blood is beautiful," he said, transfixed. Then, without hesitation, he brought the hand to his mouth and to Charlie's horror, licked the blood from it, accidentally smearing it over the side of his face. Baker then hummed in appreciation. "Then again, I should've known," he said softly, "Every part of you was always so perfect."

Charlie couldn't help it anymore. He ran out of the office, not caring about the voices that called for him. He made a beeline towards the bathroom and burst open the first open stall. As soon as he did, he bent over the toilet and started to retch, the disgusting bile that had accumulated within him coming out in waves along with his anxiety.

I'm so sorry Don...Charlie thought to himself as he lost his lunch, angry at his inability to dig his heels in the ground and force himself to deal with it just like how his brother would. A part of him couldn't help but feel like he had disappointed Don, even though he knew that Don would've never blamed him for this show of weakness.

I can't do this.