He wanted to speak, wanted to say something, but still, he didn't know what to say. The words wouldn't come and so he sat there, crouched back on his heels, saying nothing as Jeff shook and continued to beg some unseen being to take him out of this hell.
Finally, Hunter reached out, one hand lightly brushing Jeff's shoulder. He reacted like he'd been touched with a live wire, slamming back against the wall he was already flush with, head turned away and eyes clenched shut tightly, every muscle in his lean body strung tight in anticipation of pain. Jeff's fists clenched, and Hunter half wished the boy *would* strike him, wished for it in hopes it might assuage his guilt. But Jeff didn't, he simply froze like that, waiting, terrified, braced.
"Jeff....I'm sorry..." the words sounded hollow, even to his own ears, and got no response from Jeff, who, in all honesty, probably was in no condition to comprehend any apology Hunter might try to offer. So, abandoning that tack, Hunter rose up onto his feet, scooping Jeff into his arms as he did so.
Jeff immediately began to fight, writhing and struggling to drop back down, but Hunter caught him firmly against his chest, carrying the younger man towards the bathroom, Jeff's sobs ripping at his heart as the boy gave up the useless fight and went slack in Hunter's arms, tears once more slicking his pale cheeks.
Hunter brushed a tangled lock of Jeff's hair back as he set the young man back on his feet once inside the bathroom. "Shhh...it's okay, baby...don't cry..."
Jeff said nothing, tears silent now as he averted his face and stared at the floor.
Hunter sighed heavily. What the fuck had he done? He reached over to turn on the shower, one hand testing the temperature, his eyes never leaving Jeff as he did so. Assured the water was neither too hot nor too cold, he peeled his own shirt off and shucked down his jeans, which he'd never fully removed.
That got a slight response from Jeff, who jerked back a few inches when Hunter turned back to him, now fully naked. Hunter saw it and sighed again, reaching out to lift Jeff into the shower with him, placing the boy directly beneath the stream of the water.
His hands were gentle as he pushed back the wet mass of purple hair from Jeff's angelic face. "It's okay, baby...easy...we just hafta get you cleaned up...easy..." and began to gently lather soap in his hands.
Hunter thought Jeff would fight him, instead he stood still as a statue as Hunter ran his soapy hands down the boy's chest and abs, up his arms and around and down his sides. It took a minute for Hunter to realize that it wasn't compliance, but fear...Jeff was braced for more pain at the end of this new gentleness, and really, he had no reason to expect otherwise. The only sign that Jeff was even aware of what was happening was when Hunter's hands skimmed his lean hips, the younger man flinching and inhaling sharply as the soap stung his fresh wounds.
Hunter tried to be as gentle as he could, dropping down to his knees to lather Jeff's long, tightly muscled legs, in this position he couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the beautiful, sleek length of Jeff's cock, even soft. Nestled in a neatly and artistically trimmed thatch of golden curls, it made Hunter's mouth fairly water, though he'd never so much as touched another man's cock before this night.
Knowing he shouldn't, but unable to resist, he raised one soapy finger to lightly trail the silky length of it, his eyes snapping up to Jeff's face when the boy stiffened and gave a low whimper. Fear. Hunter sighed, he shouldn't have expected less, though he thought he might give just about anything right then to hear the sexy, throaty sounds Jeff had made for him before Hunter had killed that desire.
Jeff's eyes were tightly shut again, and Hunter wrapped his fingers lightly around Jeff's cock, squeezing gently. Jeff whimpered again, the muscles in his thighs trembling as he fought the need to move away, fear of what would happen if he did keeping him still as Hunter lightly stroked him.
Hunter watched Jeff's face as his hand slowly and lazily moved up and down the length of the boy's cock, feeling it grow against his palm, until he could barely close his fingers around the thickness of it. He didn't fool himself into thinking that Jeff's erection was anything other than physiological, an involuntary response, but he kept stroking anyway, tightening around the head like he, himself, enjoyed, a small smile curving his lips when Jeff's cock jumped slightly, showing that the boy liked that as well.
Jeff sucked in his breath rapidly, chest rising and falling as he fought his body's innate response to the stimulation Hunter was providing. His knees nearly buckled at the first touch of Hunter's tongue swirling lightly around the head, and Jeff reached his hands behind him to brace against the shower wall, leaning back. He felt like he was going insane, maybe he was...his mind spinning out of control, battling itself, warring between feeling what he was feeling and wanting to scream for Hunter to stop, to leave him alone.
Hunter sucked deeply, tongue swirling, not really sure if he was doing it right, but convinced that maybe, if he made Jeff feel good, then in some way it would, I don't know, atone for what he'd done? He didn't linger on the reasoning behind what he was doing, simply did it, unaware of the splintering psyche of the young man he was trying to pleasure.
Jeff's fingers curled against the wet tile of the shower wall, nails breaking as he dug against it, breathing hard, some un-named emotion welling up inside him like a volcano about to erupt...and then it did. With a sound that was half-growl, half-scream, Jeff brought his knee up, jerking his cock from Hunter's mouth a split second before his knee connected with the other man's jaw.
A blow like that would knock a normal man out cold...Hunter simply stumbled back, clutching his jaw, cursing as Jeff scrambled from the shower and backed away, eyes darting between Hunter and the door, easing towards that exit even as Hunter rose to his feet, swaying slightly but by no means incapacitated. He stared down at his now bloody hand for a second, then slowly lifted his eyes to Jeff, who froze.
In that instant he knew without a doubt he'd just made a grave error...and bolted. He was out of the bedroom and halfway through the living room area of the suite when Hunter tackled him to the ground. Jeff screamed as his already cracked rib shot pain through him, the breath whooshing from his lungs as 275lbs of solid muscle landed on his back. He might have been outweighed by 60lbs or so, but adrenaline and pure, stark terror gave Jeff a strength he might not normally have had, enabling him to twist around beneath Hunter and get his legs between them, shoving back as hard as he could and catapulting the larger man off of him long enough to scramble to his feet.
Unfortunately, the advantage lasted only seconds, and before Jeff could go further than 5 feet, his legs were caught at the knees and he was dragged back down, his head slamming hard into the edge of the coffee table, knocking over a bottle of wine that sat there. Fists pummeled his back and sides, brutally hard kidney shots again introducing him to the stars. Jeff kicked and swung as best he could, but, still dazed from the blow to the head, and in an awkward position face down, his offense was limited and he switched fluidly to defense, using his arms to block what shots he could, writhing in an effort to throw Hunter off of his back.
Hunter was cursing as he rained blows on the smaller man, and Jeff scrabbled at the carpet with his fingers, trying to drag himself away from Hunter, only to be dragged back every time he gained a few inches. Then, suddenly, his grasping fingers brushed something and he curled his fist around the object, blindly swinging his arm back in an arc. Instantly, he felt Hunter go stiff, and curse low. Then the weight was lifted and Jeff leapt to his feet, making it a few feet before he heard a thud and a low, pained groan.
Turning, he froze, emerald eyes going wide. Hunter was on his knees, swaying slightly, staring at Jeff in shock, then down at the blood that was streaming over his chest and down his thighs to soak into the plush, tan carpet. Protruding from the side of his thick neck was the handle of a corkscrew. Jeff choked, unable to breathe, shock rendering him immobile, bile rising in his throat as more blood poured from Hunter's wound, the bigger man paling before Jeff's very eyes.
Hunter raised glazed hazel eyes to Jeff, confusion in them. "Jeffy...what...?"
Jeff jumped as Hunter slumped forward, curling on the floor, soft groans the only sound he made. Jeff took a step forward, pausing, then another, finally sinking to his knees beside Hunter, turning the other man onto his back and cradling his head. Tears streamed down Jeff's face, horror at what he'd done filling him. "Ah'm sorry...oh god, Ah'm so sorry...Ah didn't mean..."
Hunter drew a shuddering breath, staring up at Jeff. "N...no...Jeffy...sorry...forgive...m…me..."
Jeff let out a choked sob, shaking violently, but before he could respond, he felt Hunter's body go limp, hazel eyes completely glazed over as his lids sank down. Jeff stared at him for a long moment, broken, gasping sobs ripping through him, eyes darting from side to side frantically. He shoved away from Hunter's lifeless body suddenly, scrambling back to curl his legs in front of himself and rocking slowly as tears streaked down his cheeks.
He shook his head wildly, denial on his lips. "No...no...Ah didn't mean to...no..." He rocked faster, clutching at head, staring at Hunter's body, unable to think, to reason. He wasn't even aware of the sudden, sobbing, blood-curdling scream he let out, until a pounding on the door of the suite startled him from his daze. He stared at the door, backing away against the wall slowly, shaking.
"Hunter? You alright, man?" Rocky. Jeff made a move towards the door, crying harder as he reached for help...then froze, backing away, shaking. Help? Rocky was Hunter's best friend...Jeff's eyes darted to the lifeless man on the floor, then jumped when the knocking grew louder and more insistent.
"Hunter! Come on, man, open the door. Hunter?" Jeff could hear the concern entering Rocky's voice and the young man shook all over, horrible images of what Rocky would do when he saw what Jeff had done to his best friend...he'd hurt him. Jeff was certain, Rocky would hurt him, bad, worse than Hunter had. Jeff swung his eyes around the room, searching for an escape as he heard the doorknob jiggling, then a low curse and the door came crashing in, Rocky standing in the opening in a pair of pajama bottoms.
Jeff stumbled back as Rocky entered the room, deep chocolate eyes landing on Jeff first, confusion and horror in them as the older man took in Jeff's bruised cheek, the blood smearing his naked body in a macabre imitation of the body paint the boy favored, the sheer terror in his wild, jade eyes. He took a step forward. "Jeff..? What happened...?" Then Rocky's eyes fell to the floor and he swayed, staring in open-mouthed shock at Hunter's pale, blood-streaked body on the floor.
"Oh god...no.." Rocky dropped to his knees beside his best friend, cradling his head in his lap, hands shaking as he checked for a pulse, though he knew he wouldn't find one. He looked up at Jeff, who continued to back away slowly, shaking and eyes not quite focused. "Jeff...what happened, Jeff? Are you hurt? You ok?" No response, only a low whimper and a few more steps backwards. Rocky lowered Hunter's head to the floor and rose slowly, genuinely fearing for Jeff's sanity. "Jeff...hey, it's ok, kid...come on, come here..."
Jeff flinched and shook his head sharply, his back hitting the balcony doors and, not turning away from Rocky, the boy reached behind him and turned the knob, stumbling back onto the landing. He nearly leapt from his skin when Rocky eased forward a few steps, holding his hand out to the younger man.
"Jeff..." Rocky paused, "Rainbow..." Using Matt's nickname for him, hoping to reach him, because he was no professional and he didn't know what had happened in this room, but the kid was on the edge mentally, and Rocky shoved down the agony of loss he felt at Hunter's death, focusing on reaching Jeff. "Rainbow...come on, darlin, come back inside, it's ok.."
Jeff shook his head again, backing up further, eyes filling with tears. "Ah'm sorry...Ah didn't mean to..."
Rocky swallowed hard. "You? You did...ok, darlin, it's ok..."
Jeff didn't seem to hear him, eyes frighteningly vacant. "Don't...it was an accident...Ah swear...don't hurt me anymore, please...don't..." His violent shaking having nothing to do with the cold air that swept the balcony.
Rocky felt sick, suddenly it became crystal clear what had happened in that room, and he wanted to throw up, swallowing hard as he took a few more steps, now only yards from Jeff, who pressed back against the low wall of the balcony, tangled hair flying around his face as the wind caught it. "Nobody's gonna hurt you, kid...come on, come on back inside, darlin, it's okay now..."
Jeff stared at Rocky's outstretched hand for a long moment, as if he wanted nothing more than to trust the other man, then his eyes slammed shut and he shook his head, scurrying like a monkey up onto the low wall, and Rocky cursed, freezing, afraid to make any move for fear Jeff would see it as a threat and jump. The young man stared down at Rocky from his perch, eyes red and puffy and infinitely sad. "It's not okay...not gonna ever be okay...Ah'm sorry..."
Rocky nodded, holding out his hand. "I know you're sorry, Rainbow, it's okay, you're all forgiven, ok? Please, come down, come inside...please, darlin, don't do this!" He'd never seen pain like the kind that shone in Jeff's wide green eyes, and in that instant he knew, he knew Jeff was going to jump, and Rocky leaped forward, catching his arm around Jeff's lean waist just as the boy began to fall backwards, jerking him forward and to the ground.
Jeff didn't even struggle, sobbing hysterically as Rocky curled around him, holding him tight and breathing hard, terror at what had almost happened stealing the older man's breath. Jeff covered his face with his hands, moaning low and whimpering under his breath between sobs. "Ah'm sorry...Ah'm sorry...Ah didn't mean to..."
Rocky soothed him as best he could, then rose, lifting the boy in his arms and carrying him into the suite, into the other bedroom, the one not being used, and set him gently on the bed, pulling the comforter up to tuck around his slender, shaking shoulders. "It's okay, it'll all be okay. Lay here, I'm gonna call Matty, ok? Matty'll be here in a second and he'll take care of you, ok, Rainbow?"
Jeff didn't respond, and Rocky picked up the bedside phone, dialing the lobby. He spoke softly, requested security, the police and medical personnel, then hung up and dialed Matt's room number. The sleepy accented voice on the other end grumbled softly.
"What the fuck...?"
Rocky sighed. "It's Rocky. I can't explain over the phone man, but Jeff needs you, he needs you bad." That was all he had to say, two seconds later the phone went dead and he knew Matt was on his way. Rocky looked down at Jeff, who's eyes stared straight ahead, unmoving save for the occasional hiccup that shook him. The older man sighed, the shock of the past 15 minutes weighing on him. He couldn't imagine the specifics of what Jeff had gone through, but from the looks of it, Rocky had to wonder if the kid would ever be the same again.
