stockholm syndrome - tracob

fourteen

*A few days earlier*

"Hello Jacob."

Jacob froze. What on earth was he doing here?

"Come in my office for a moment. I need to speak to you."

Anything but that! his mind screamed, but reluctantly Jacob obeyed. He couldn't say no to Curt. Not while the men were watching. Not with the situation they were in. He needed Curt more than Curt needed him, and realizing that hurt. Hadn't it always been like that, though? Jacob had truly believed he and Curt had something special, but his recent discoveries had made him doubt that thought. Had Curt ever loved him? Had Curt ever really taken the time to make sure Jacob was okay, to make sure he would feel comfortable with anything they did?

He had thought about this earlier, and he had realized Curt had never really paid any attention to him. Jacob had just been there, really, unless Curt needed him for something. Be it sex or a delivery.. Curt had never really tried to make sure they would do something Jacob wanted.

Jacob shook his head to get rid of his thoughts and stepped in to Curt's office, saying nothing. He just stood there, waiting till Curt would speak first.

"Sit."

Jacob ignored him. He didn't want to sit. If he sat down, Curt would stand next to him and make Jacob feel smaller than he was. When Curt noticed Jacob's  intention to stay standing up he sighed.

"Fine. Be difficult then."

Another moment passed in silence. Curt took place behind his desk and skimmed trough some papers. Then he looked up.

"We have a deal. They decided to pay up after all. Three days from now and we will be free." Jacob felt his knees buckle and had to literally force himself not to fall over.

"What?"

Curt tapped the table. "You heard me just fine. We're almost done with this bullshit. Finally."

Jacob shook his head. It was just... Going to be over? Just like that? He knew he should feel happy, but all he felt was panic. Panic, because in three days he would never see Troye's face again. In three days, Troye would be taken away from him and he would realize Jacob had been the bad guy all this time. In three days, Troye would realize what Jacob had done to him, and he would hate him, and he would tell everything to the police. They would arrest him in four days tops, and he would never see his little sisters again. He was going to be locked away, for good. In four days' time, he was done with.

"You done panicking yet?" Curt asked him. "Relax. The cops won't get to us. They won't take us in either. In a couple of days I will have all the money I need in cash and we can finally get the hell out of this place. Everything is planned out perfectly. Nothing will go wrong. Jacob! Do you hear me? Nothing will go wrong."

To others it might sound like Curt was comforting him, as if Curt believed in his own words, but Jacob hadn't missed the slight tremble in Curt's voice. It was something he had only heard once before; the day Curt spoke about how much money he had lost during that one fatal deal. Jacob knew that Curt was merely reassuring himself by saying all of this. He knew that Curt was scared. And if Curt was scared, everyone should be.

Without saying another word Jacob turned on his heels and walked out of the room. What had he been about to do again? Right, someone had to untie Troye so he could sleep. Jacob sighed as he looked around for someone to give the order to.

*Now*

"So... Tomorrow the deal will go down. And, yeah. So, you'll be free soon." Jacob studied Troye's face as he delivered him the news. He seemed to be taking it okay. In fact, he didn't seem to react at all. "Troye?" Jacob asked as he waved his hand before his face.

But Troye didn't hear Jacob; his thoughts were racing way too fast to be able to focus on anything else. Free? What did that mean, to be free? For all he knew someone else could take him in again after a day, making him a prisoner once more. And what did that mean, 'the deal?' What kind of deal did they make? Was his dad paying? How much was he paying? Finally, Troye noticed Jacob again. Wait, if he was getting free tomorrow, did that mean he would never see Jacob again?

His mind went blank after that thought.

Never see Jacob again?

It seemed to be something unthinkable, something unbearable. It seemed impossible. How would he live? Who was going to feed him now, make sure he was okay, make sure he felt safe?

If Jacob wasn't there, who was going to keep him safe?

Jacob snapped his fingers to try and get Troye's attention now. The boy seemed to be so lost in thought... He would miss this. Jacob stopped snapping and moving his arm in order to get Troye's attention and instead just stood there and watched the boy. He would really, really miss this. Wait, why on earth would he miss this? What was wrong with him?

He took a deep breath. Why would he miss this? It wasn't like this had been such fun, actually it had been pretty horrible to be here. Maybe... Maybe he was just clinging on to this situation because he didn't know what would happen next. What would happen with him? Would he go to prison, or would he be free? And what would happen between him and Curt? They had never really talked about what would happen to the two of them now, but Jacob didn't trust Curt like he used to. Before, Curt had been his saviour, his hero. Now, he couldn't even bring himself to look the man in the eyes.

It made him feel guilty though. Curt had given him a lot; he knew he had thought before that Curt had never really payed attention to him, but that was just when he was hurt. That had been because the wound had still been fresh.

But now, after he had had the time to really think about it, he knew that he had been overreacting. Actually, Jacob wanted nothing more than to see Curt smile after this deal was done. To see him relaxed again, happy. To know that he had been the one to think of this whole plan, to know that he had been the one to help this happen, to know that he had saved Curt this time.

Yeah, he had saved him and he was thankful for the fact that he did. Curt had given him so much before, it was the least he could do in return... Because how would he have been able to pay for his mother's medicine, to clothe his sisters, to feed the four of them? He wouldn't have pulled it off without Curt. Or was it wrong to think like that?

No, it wasn't. Jacob was sure it wasn't. At least he thought it wasn't. Whatever. He had to focus on the now. Focus on Troye. Make sure they had a good last day together.

He wasn't going to ask Troye not to speak to the police about him though... He couldn't ask the boy that. Troye had been through enough, he didn't have to lie to the people who had been working to save him.

With that thought in mind Jacob sighed and crouched down, putting his hands on Troye's knees for support. "How about I go get us some chocolate and a laptop so we can watch a movie, huh?" he asked Troye. The boy's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, maybe we could watch some Disney together."

Jacob chuckled. Of course did Troye love Disney. How couldn't he?

"Sure. Any other snack preferences?"

"Caramel popcorn," Troye said without hesitation. "Can't watch a movie without caramel popcorn." Jacob nodded and chuckled again.

"Caramel popcorn and chocolate it is. Be right back."