I took the phone and browsed through the pictures. What she said was true. There were so many photos of me. Me hopping onto my motorbike. Me going into the bathroom. Me eating in the living room. There were also photos of me on campus. What the fuck was he? A stalker?
“There’s more, Eth. Your parents found out you were hurt, didn’t they? Even when you told almost everyone around you to not speak a word of it. But how did your parents know? It was all their doing!” she said and pointed at the culprit. “Just to make Liam go back to her!”
I looked at Jerry again. In more disbelief. I could tell what Nathalie was trying to say. She was trying to say that if they hadn’t told my parents, I would still have my parents. My mom wouldn’t suddenly decide to come to Buvekeli to take care of me and she wouldn’t find out that I was gay. And Liam, Liam would be the one taking care of me, and I wouldn’t have to try move on from him. Things would have been much different. “How could you, Jer?” I said. “I thought you’re a friend.”
Jerry pulled down his hands from his face. His eyes were red. “I’m so sorry, okay?” he said, looking back at me. “I stopped. I really stopped. You can read our conversations.” He gestured at the phone I was holding. “I told her I won’t be helping her anymore after I’ve started dating Nat. I…” He put his hands on his face again. “I know I’m terrible. But I really stopped when you and Liam got together. I really did...”
“Why, Jer? Why?” I asked. “Why are you helping her?” I was trying to understand.
Jerry stood up. “Because at first, you seemed like you were snatching someone’s boyfriend, Eth! That is wrong. I don’t like people like that,” he said and dropped his butt back down onto the couch. He leaned forward and pressed his temples with his hand. “It was only later I found that Joanna was making up stories. She lied to me. I disliked her even more when I found out what she had done to Liam.”
I sighed. I wasn’t as angry as I thought I would be. Because when he mentioned it, it seemed like, indeed, I was taking Joanna’s boyfriend away. But I would argue, though. It wasn’t entirely my fault. Because all the while, I did nothing. Liam had just realized himself that he'd fallen in love with me and what I did at that time was what I thought was right, which was to move on from him. It was just before I could, things happened. And Liam chose me.
But everything was already over. No point fighting over the past. I had to admit, though. I was disappointed. All of us treated Jerry like he was part of our family. He should have come clean.
“Anything else I should know, Jer?” I asked.
Jerry took a few seconds. He put his hand down and took a deep breath. He looked at me again. “You gotta be careful, Eth. When I told her to never contact me again, she mentioned hurting you again.”
“Wait, hurt? Again?” Nathalie didn’t miss that word. “What exactly do you mean, Jer? Speak!” She moved towards Jerry like she was about to grab him by the shirt. I quickly stopped her, pulling her back. She was way angrier than I was. I understood her. After all, she was the one being lied to the most. Being used. She must have felt Jerry got close to her just to get information about Liam and me for Joanna.
“Those masked guys that came to beat Liam a few weeks ago,” Jerry said. “They got the wrong person. They weren’t supposed to attack Liam. They were supposed to attack you, Eth.”
Fuck! Joanna fucking hired some masked people to attack me? Why?! Because I kissed her boyfriend while I was drunk? That was fucking stupid! I suddenly remembered where Liam was. “Shit!” Knowing her true colors now, I didn’t know what she would do to him. She had suddenly come to the gym and acted all friendly with us. What if everything was a lie? What if everything was just acting? I charged out of the house and ran as fast as I could to Joanna’s place.
“Eth! Eth!” Nathalie shouted behind me. But I had no time to turn back for an explanation. Every second counted.
The elevators seemed to take forever. I used the stairs instead, jumping down a few steps at a time. I knew and remembered exactly where Joanna’s place was. I’d been there twice when Liam and Joanna had celebrations there.
When I reached her place, the door was unlocked. I went in without thinking and looked around. No one was in the living room. There were four rooms in a small corridor. All of them were closed. I clearly remembered which one was Joanna’s. I charged and banged the door open.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. Liam was lying on the bed shirtless, his face flushed red. Joanna was on top of him, her hand slid into Liam’s pants, grabbing his cock.
She turned her head to look at who had interrupted.
Liam saw me. His eyes could barely open. “Eth...” I read his voiceless lips. His finger twitched a little. I could immediately tell he was in a condition in which he couldn’t move at all. He was definitely drugged.
I clenched my fists. Enraged. “Fuck you, bitch!” I wanted to charge but before I could even take a step forward, something hard from the back smashed my head. The room began to spin.
As I fell, before darkness took over, I managed to turn around to see who it was. The person holding a wooden stick was none other than someone who I thought was also a friend. It was Duncan.
* * *
The pain in my head lingered even after I could finally open my eyes. My vision blurred, probably from the blow I got. I shook my head, hoping to get rid of it. Slowly, things became clearer.
I looked around. The room was dark. I could barely see anything. The only source of light was a white candle burning on a wooden table. Other than that, the room seemed empty apart from the few pieces of wood on the floor. I couldn’t tell where I was.
My head still hurt. I tried to move. That was when I realized my arms were lifted up and tied with ropes. I looked below. Even my legs too. They were cuffed in a way that forced me to stand with my feet apart, an iron rod in between the cuffs. And I was nude. Even my cock was bared. What the fuck? Was this a dream?
And then he stepped out of the dark. He was almost as nude as I was. “Finally awake, Eth?” He wore a leather chest harness, a leather wristband, and a leather jockstrap with a zipper on it. He wiped his own lips with his tongue as he appraised me from head to toe.
“Dun...” I recognized him. “Why?”
Duncan reached his hand up and touched my chest. “Why?” His fingers brushed against my nipple, one after another. When he sensed that I wanted to move, to fight back, the same hand moved down to cup my balls, whole.
It was painful. I grunted.
“Because I love you, Eth,” Duncan said, his face as close as kissing distance. “I can’t just give you away.” His hand moved to grab my dick. He began stroking it. His breath touched every inch of my face.
“Stop, Dun. Stop this, please,” I begged. “Don’t…” A moan escaped my throat unwillingly.
“Why, Eth?” Duncan smirked. He wiped his own lips with his tongue again. “You liked it. You’re already hard,” he said and pushed his lips forcefully into mine.
I tried to lean backward, to resist, but with his other arm, he pulled me back towards him easily. I tried pressing my mouth together, shutting my mouth. It was futile too. He penetrated into my mouth without effort. The moment he got past my teeth, I bit his tongue.
“Argh!” he yelled and staggered back, letting go of my cock. “That’s how you wanna play, huh, Eth?” Instead of getting mad, he grinned. The head of his cock was already out of the waistband of his jockstrap. He opened the flyer and unleashed his monstrous cock. Fuck. It could be twice as big as mine. He got behind me, and immediately, I felt my ass getting cold. I knew what was happening.
“Fuck, Duncan!” I screamed. But he ignored me. He began fingering me with warming lube. I knew because the cold turned into a burning sensation after a few seconds. “Stop, stop! You’re insane! Stop! Argh!” I felt pain in my ass.
I couldn’t let it happen. I mustn't. If I did, it would mean I was succumbing to him. It would mean I was cheating on Liam. “Help! Help!” I shoute
d. I would gladly toss away my pride than cheat on Liam.
“Scream, Eth! Scream!” Duncan laughed. “No one will hear you down here!”
“Help!” I continued to scream.
Duncan stopped fingering. He couldn’t wait any longer. And then I felt it. The warm feel of a cock’s head entering my butt. It touched the surface of my anus, teasing my butthole with warmness. I swallowed as I thought what was about to happen next.
“Please don’t do this, Dun,” I tried again. “Please. We’re friends,” I said. “It’s not too late if you stop now. I’ll forgive you and pretend that it never happened. I don’t want to lose our friendship, just like that.”
Duncan hesitated, his cock still at the gate of my anus.
“Please, Dun,” I said. “I don’t know what Joanna did to make you do this but I know this isn’t you. This isn’t the Duncan I know. The Duncan I know is kind. Don’t let the lust take control of you. Don’t let it turn you into someone you’re not. Isn’t that why you study Psychology?” I remembered he had told me before when we were working together. The reason he took up the course was... “You want to change. You want to understand yourself. You want to be a better person. You don’t want to be controlled by your emotions anymore. You can fight it, Dun. I believe in you.”
“I…”
“Dun,” I called him again, hoping to touch the Duncan I knew deep down inside him. “Even if you fucked me today. Even if you came inside me today. What can happen after that? Do you think I will love you? Do you think I will forgive you? No. I will hate you, to the point I wish we have never met. Is that what you wanted?”
Duncan was quiet. His cock was still hard and throbbing, dying to get inside me. “Eth… I…”
“You’re kind, Dun, and loyal, and trustworthy. You’re a reliable friend too, and a great leader. I don’t want to lose you like this. I promise you, Dun, we’ll stay the same,” I said. “This will just be a dream between us. You’ll still be my friend.”
That did it. I felt his cock began to lose erection. He pulled it out from my butt.
I let out a huge sigh of relief. Duncan began working on untying me. When I was freed from the bonds, I turned to look at him.
“I’m sorry…” He looked away, ashamed. “I…”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to say anything. I understand how it feels to love someone whose heart belongs to someone else...”
Duncan smiled a little. “I wish I was as lucky as you, Eth,” he said and turned to walk away. As he entered the darkness, he removed the harness around his chest.
After a while, the room’s light was switched on. There was nothing much in the room, only a few broken furniture. At the side of the room was a stairway leading up. We were in an abandoned basement room.
Duncan came back to me. He wore pants and a T-shirt now. He looked like he was back to his normal self. He passed me my clothes.
The clothes were the same clothes I wore when I was knocked out in Joanna’s room. It reminded me of what had happened. I quickly put on the clothes. “I have to save Liam. Where is he? What Joanna is going to do with him?”
“I’m sorry, Eth,” Duncan said. “I think it’s too late now...”
“Just tell me, Dun!” I snapped, grabbing him by the shirt. “I don’t care if it’s too late or not! I just want to get to him!”
“They’re at the place where the carnival night was.”
“Where are we now?”
“Swan Hills Apartment,” Duncan answered.
Fuck. I let go of him and quickly ran for the stairs. But Duncan stopped me, grabbing my wrist.
“Just one question, Eth,” he said. “Are we really still friends?”
“I meant what I said, Dun,” I told him. “You’re still my friend. So now let go before I fucking change my mind!”
He smiled and let go of me. I rushed upstairs and prayed for Liam to be safe.
20
Monster or Lover
(Liam)
M y eyes opened to familiar orange lights. They dazzled at first because they were so bright in the night, shining in every direction. But slowly, my eyes got accustomed to them. I recognized the place immediately. It was a place of an important memory. A memory that I would never forget. It was the place where Ethan and I danced. A full tango. For the very first time. It was the huge stage of the Masquerade Carnival Night, where at every hour, a bell would ring and people would gather around to dance.
I was on the huge stage, alone. Despite the lights in the carnival place being completely turned up, no one was around. Not even a single person. I reckoned that the carnival should have been over yesterday. But nothing seemed to have been taken down yet. Could it be that they wanted to take a day break?
Wait. How did I end up here? That question was way more important than figuring out why wasn’t the funfair taken down yet. I tried to think of what had happened. I was studying in the morning with Ethan. We went to the gym. We went to buy groceries. Then, we split up at the pool. I went to Joanna’s place to see Jacqueline, our tenant, for some paper stuff and to get back my remaining belongings that I hadn’t taken last time.
I remembered I had knocked her apartment’s door politely. Joanna had opened the door for me.
“Hi,” she had greeted. She had smelled different today, like she had bought a new cologne. “Come on in, Liam,” she said and gestured.
“Hi,” I greeted back and entered.
The house had been the same ever since I’d left. Silly me. What was I thinking? Not like I had left the place for very long anyway. “Is Jacqueline here yet?“ I asked when I saw no one in the living room. I walked over to the couch and sat.
“She’ll be here soon,” Joanna said and went into the kitchen. She came back out with a glass of plain water. “Have a seat first,” she said and put the glass of water in front of me on the coffee table.
Without thinking, since I was a little thirsty too, I drank the water.
“So how are you, Liam?” Joanna asked. “Exams are coming. Have you been busy with Ethan until you forget to study?”
I appreciated that joke. It put me at ease, assuring me that she had moved on. “Good. Eth and I have been—” I stopped. Because we weren’t alone.
I wouldn’t stop if it was her housemate. But it wasn’t. It was a guy. And not just any guy. It was Duncan. What the fuck? I stood up. “You both knew each other?”
“Hi,” Duncan greeted with an evil grin.
Suddenly, my vision got blurry. My entire body felt numb. I fell back onto the couch. My eyes stopped at the half-drunk glass. Fuck. I looked at Joanna.
Joanna was grinning too and it was the same kind of smile as Duncan. “Help me,” she ordered Duncan.
Duncan came forward, approaching me.
“Don’t… touch…. me!” I managed to move my head a little. To try to bite his hand.
But the bite was never a bite. It just left saliva and nothing else.
Duncan snickered at the condition I was in. Easily, he pulled me up despite my size and put me on his back. I remembered it clearly that time. I had tried to do anything I could. To punch him. To kick him. To try to bite him again. But I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t move any part of my body. Duncan carried me into Joanna’s room and threw me on the bed.
Joanna came in after him.
“He’s all yours,” Duncan said before he left the room.
Joanna closed her room’s door. She folded her arms across her chest. “Soon, you’ll forget everything that is happening now, Liam. It’s the effect of the drug I put in your water. You’ll not be able to remember anything. We call this drug-induced amnesia,” she said and put her arms down, coming closer. She crawled up the bed. She sat beside my face with her legs folded on one side, like a mermaid. She caressed my face. “Poor, you. If you’ve chosen to me, babe, I wouldn’t have to do this.”
“Fuck… you…” I managed to say.
She chuckled. “Yes.” She moved again. This time, she
had knelt and put her leg over me. She was on top of me, my dick directly under her vagina. Then, a syringe was in her hand out of nowhere. I never noticed where she got it. Or maybe, it was my brain that couldn’t process, or forgot, that she had gone somewhere to take it. Like she had said, the effect of drug-induced amnesia. She grinned. “You won’t be able to resist this.”
She took my forearm and jabbed the needle into me. She pushed the syringe, putting whatever the liquid was inside me. Eth... Eth... Ethan. Was all I was thinking about that time.
She threw the syringe away after she finished it and waited. Suddenly, I felt hot. And it wasn’t just hot. My cock suddenly started erecting. Unwillingly. Even when Ethan wasn’t here. I started hallucinating. Joanna suddenly became someone else. She became Ethan. “Babe…?”
“That’s right, babe,” Ethan said but in a girl’s voice. Joanna’s voice. “I’m your babe.” Ethan began to strip me. Effortfully. He almost had no strength to lift me up. He wasn’t like this before. He would be rough, like an angry beast. He would be eating me out even before the shirt was gone from me. But this... this was way too... amateur. This was not Ethan.
“You’re…” Not Ethan. I wanted to say. But I couldn’t. I didn’t even have the strength to move my mouth.
Ethan slid his hand under my pants and grabbed my cock. “You’re mine, babe.”
Suddenly, the door flew open and banged the wall. The Ethan in front of me shattered and became Joanna. The real Ethan was there by the door. My Ethan. His eyes widened in flames when he saw us.
I collected my last bit of strength that was left to do something. “Eth…” I had tried to move but all I managed to do was just move my finger a little.
But that was enough. That was enough to explain to him. Ethan glowered at Joanna. “Fuck you, bitch!” He made a move but before he could even take a step towards Joanna, Duncan appeared behind him and smashed his head with a wooden stick.
A Monster's Love Page 30