Removed.
That's how Taylor felt.
From both his family & society in general.
Life existed of the same routine, though his was far less draining than that of Simon.
Clayton had agreed to a proposal by Elaina, which meant that the door to their room was no longer locked. Elaina had been quick to warn Simon & Taylor not to risk Clayton putting an end to their new 'luxury'.
But even with this new privilege, during the long, seemingly endless days, Taylor's only vices were reading & writing. More so, the latter.
Each day, Elaina's visits were accompanied by a stack of writing paper & a direct-quote warning from Clayton not to 'send a letter for help or some shit like that'. Because, of course, it was so easy to slip a piece of paper through the window-less wall of his bedroom...
By now, Taylor had scrawled out enough songs, both small ideas & full creations, to fuel a number of Hanson albums. Which one would usually see as a postive. But the way Taylor saw it, unless he could - upon returning home sooner or later (sooner, he hoped) - convince his brothers that their music needed to go in a more vile/angry/bitter/depressed/pessimistic direction, they would serve only as emotional releases.
Simon, on the other hand, rarely picked up a book. And if he did, he would set it back down after only a few minutes. His excuses? "Too childish... Too mushy... Too unrealistic..."
And as for writing... Well, from what Taylor had observed, it consisted mainly of drawings rather than actual words.
The pictures confused & concerned Taylor...
An ink-drawn city skyline with the word "hopeless" scrawled beneath it... A beautiful portrait of a young woman's face, ruined by a large 'X' which Simon had hastily drawn through it when he noticed Taylor glancing over his shoulder as he drew.
"Elaina, come over here!"
Groaning, Elaina paused just outside of Elizabeth's room, turned, and retreated to Clayton's office.
"You bellowed?"
Clayton only smiled.
"What do you want?"
Getting up from his chair, Clayton walked non-chalantly to the door, which he closed. Elaina became suspicious when he locked it as well.
"Just give me your order & let me continue on my merry way, Clayton," she said bitterly,"I have to check on Elizabeth."
"Oh, I'm sure she can wait..." Clayton said, leaning against his desk & motioning for Elaina to come closer.
She timidly did so.
"Not that I genuinely care about your well-being, but just for the sake of conversation, what the hell is with you today? I could swear someone-"
But before Elaina could continue, she found Clayton's lips pressed firmly against hers. It only took a split second for her to recover from the initial shock and shove him away.
"What the fuck?! Affair. Divorce. Trial. Any of this sounding familiar???" Elaina asked, her voice raised. Clayton reached out and grabbed her hands in his. She struggled to get out of his grip, but failed.
"Don't play dumb, Elaina," he said teasingly,"I know you miss me... Us..."
Elaina shook her head, snickering,"I didn't realize it then, but you cheating on me was the best thing you ever did. Who knows how long it would'be taken me to realize what a sleaze you are..."
"Keep bull-shitting... " Clayton said, nodding,"You have no idea how sexy you are when you try to act defiant..."
He roughly grasped her lower arms & was easily able to counteract her attempts at slinking away. Elaina now found herself perched on the desk, with Clayton leaning over her. Her heart raced in ever-increasing speed when she finally fully realized his intentions.
"Please don't, Clayton. Please..." she pleaded, as he held her down with one bulky arm & slowly unbuttoned her shirt with his free hand.
"What's wrong? You're acting like we've never done this before..." Clayton said, his voice dripping with false innocence.
Elaina began thrashing her legs wildly, but soon found them pinned against the desk by Clayton's legs. Her entire upper body was being held down & her arms served little purpose in escaping.
What she would have thought to be her first instinct, screaming & crying out for help, only now sprang to Elaina's mind. As Clayton ever-so-gently, so cruel yet kind in his intentions, pulled her shirt off & let it drift to the floor, she opened her mouth and let out the loudest yell that her tension & fear would allow. It was wavery, but piercing.
After less than a second, however, Clayton's free hand was clamped over her mouth, a look of pure anger on his face. Elaina's entire body trembled.
He scowled, shaking his head,"Now, if I remove my hand, will you promise not to scream?"
Elaina nodded furiously, tears trickling down her face. Clayton released his hand, but rather than continue to remove her clothing, shifted until his entire body was pressed against Elaina's. Much to her relief, he didn't remain there long. But he did have time to retrieve an item from his desk drawer, which Elaina hadn't been able to catch a full glimpse of, but knew was being held behind his back.
"I was really hoping you'd be more co-operative..." Clayton said through clenched teeth,"Such a waste to use this..."
He slowly brought his arm around from behind his back. Elaina's eyes widened as she craned her neck to view what the item was. It was something silver... Something shiny...
"Did you hear something?" Simon asked, pausing the video game he had been playing alongside Taylor & Rod.
The others shook their heads & continued playing.
"I could've sworn I heard something..."
Simon put down his game controller & stood up,"I'm gonna go check things out."
Rod didn't show any sort of reaction, a giddy smile resembling that of a toddler creeping onto his face as he demolished his action-animated enemy.
As for Taylor, he simply shrugged & said,"Whatever..."
Simon made his way through the kitchen, past the front door which was securely locked so that no one could enter or leave the house without a key, and down the hall. He paused outside the door of the room he had rarely seen anyone go into or come out of.
Clayton's office.
Simon stopped outside the doorway & timidly placed his right ear against the fake-wood. He could hear muffled voices, those which he distinguished as Clayton's & Elaina's.
As the seconds passed & Simon heard the sounds of Elaina sobbing rather than words, he grew increasingly suspicious & upset.
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Simon grasped the doorknob and gave it a vicious twist, even though he knew it was most likely locked. And naturally, it was.
So he began pounded on the door for a few seconds, his fists clenched tightly.
All noise inside the room came to an abrupt halt. Then, Clayton's anxious, angry voice could be heard. Simon couldn't make out his sentences, but knew he wasn't at all thrilled to be interrupted.
"Elaina?! Are you in there?!?" Simon yelled, flexing his aching hands nervously. When her only reply was a short-lived scream, the young man's heart dropped.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Simon swirled around to find Taylor approaching him.
"It's Elaina- Clayton- she's..." Simon stopped and motioned towards the door, his eyes wide. Taylor scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, but knew by Simon's flushed face that it was something serious.
"I heard her screaming & she was crying- I tried to get in, but the door's locked... I've been pounding & pounding..." Simon said, his words tumbling out with excessive speed. He turned his attention back to the door. Now Taylor placed his ear against it, alongside Simon, for a moment.
"Clayton! Damnit! Open the fucking door!" Taylor exclaimed, now pounding on it himself - giving no thought to his sore wrist. Though it was still tender, Elaina seemed please with its healing process. Simon dashed to find Rod.
He was still in front of the television set, unphased by the yelling & pounding that echoed through the house. ' Clayton'll take care of it...' and he didn't give it another thought.
Simon soundlessly stepped up behind him, when Rod's small black wallet caught his eye. It was sitting on a small coffee table, a mere foot behind Rod. Making a swift grab for it, Simon crossed the kitchen & rummaged through it. Credit cards, a few small bills, and... a key. A small, shiny key.
A triumphant & relief-filled smile formed as Simon went back to the doorway of Clayton's office.
"I can hear her, Simon. She was trying to scream- but the bastard won't let me in..." Taylor said, his voice rising in panic.
Simon wasted no time in inserting the key into its allotted hole. Giving it a tiny turn, he made a short & silent plea.
Click.
The door was unlocked.
For a split second, the two teenage boys looked at each other, unsure of what action to take when they actually set foot inside the room. But when another muffled scream was heard, they wasted no time in opening the door & rushing inside.
"Elaina?!" Taylor's voice rang out. His eyes searched the room frantically until they focused on the desk, where he saw the two human forms so close to one another, they were barely distinguishable as separate beings.
Clayton neck twisted sharply, eyeing the intruders, who were both mere inches away from him. Suddenly, both Simon & Taylor were on him, ripping him away. Despite the fact that he had several inches & pounds over each of the boys, Clayton soon found himself stumbling out of the open doorway into the hallway. Taylor took the opportunity to both shut & lock the door, before rushing to Elaina's side along with Simon.
It was truly one of, if not the most horrible things they had ever seen...
...Something silver... Something shiny... Her ankles were duct-taped together. Her wrists, too. The make-shift binding was clearly visible as Elaina lay curled into a trembling ball atop the desk...
All of her clothing aside from undergarments had been removed & lay in a pile on the floor. Scrounging through the desk drawers, Simon retrieved a pair of scissors & went on to snip the duct tape.
Taylor ever-so-gently coaxed her into an upright position, eased her off the desk, and carefully guided her to a black leather recliner. Simon immediately removed his over-shirt & placed it around her upper body, with Tay following suit. She remained wordless... virtually unmoving. Silent tears trickled down her cheeks, mingling with the crimson blood of numerous small cuts & scratches.
"It's going to be okay..." Simon said softly, kneeling beside the chair & hesitantly reaching for her hand. Elaina flinched at his touch, but accepted it. Taylor pulled a tissue from his pocket & began wiping her face, carefully avoiding a rather large multi-hued bruise on her left cheekbone.
Voices could now be heard in the hallway... Those of Clayton & Rod;
"...Just stay out, goddamnit. Don't you think you've done enough?"
Retreating footsteps were heard, causing Simon & Taylor to breathe sighs of relief.
"Elizabeth..." Elaina suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse,"You have to check... on Elizabeth."
"Who's Elizabeth?" Taylor asked gently, stroking Elaina's hair in what he observed to be an oddly parental gesture.
Shifting her aching body, Elaina pointed to her denim jeans that lay crumpled on the floor.
"Look... in the- the back pocket..." she instructed, her voice wavering.
Taylor did so, only to find a key, identical to that which Simon had stolen.
"Go in my room... down the hall..." she paused,"There's another door - Elizabeth's room... Just make sure she's okay... Tell her that Mommy will be there... in a few minutes."
"Why don't I stay with you?" Simon asked, not wanting to leave her by herself.
Elaina shook her head slowly,"I have to get dressed... You two, go."
Reluctantly, the boys nodded & exited the room. Closing the door behind them, they both stopped & said in unison.
"Mommy?"
~Chapter 41~
~Chapter 39~
~Chapter Index~
~Home~
