It's just a phone call
Jared gets kidnapped and Jensen blames himself: His eyes hurt when he opens them, but through his eyelashes he can make out the strange faces surrounding him. Unable to stop himself, he begins shaking, tremors of fear racing through him, “No… please… no….” he begs softly, trying to curl away from them and flinching when they keep touching him.
24,000 words, NC-17, hurt/comfort, non-con, violence, hurt!Jared, bottom!Jared
***
The flat opposite Jared’s house has been sold. The new company is demolishing it, which is a relief, as the grey concrete was absolutely hideous. The downside is that this means constant noise early in the morning, which gives him a headache and makes him tired.
He doesn’t like being tired. It’s more Jensen’s deal than his, Jensen and his coffee addiction. Jared shouldn’t get tired. He eats more candy than a bunch of school kids put together, it’s just not right that he should walk around like a dazed zombie.
But if he were honest with himself, Jared would admit that it’s not the early morning noise that has him on edge and sleep deprived.
“Jeeeennn,” he whines, “Come over tonight, please?” he even tries out the puppy eyes.
No luck.
“Sorry, Jay. Danneel’s in town. You know how upset she gets about the long-distance.”
“Yeah,” Jared tries not to let on how crestfallen he’s feeling, “Okay.”
“What is it, anyway? It’s not like you haven’t seen me seventeen hours a day, this whole week and every week before that.”
“No, it’s nothing, just… anyway…” he quickly changes the subject, “So, when’s Danny getting in?”
Jensen frowns slightly, “I’m not sure, she sounded a bit pissed at me on the phone this morning.”
“Why, what’d you do?”
“Nothing, man,” Jensen emphasizes that with a big shrug, “I was just telling her about the stupid prank you idiots played on me yesterday.”
Jared grins, “Shit, but that was a good one.”
He’d managed to convince Sara, the lady from costume wardrobe who has a major soft spot for him and his candy, to stitch Dean’s jeans so that they were tighter.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jensen clears his throat, his embarrassment evident behind his grin.
“Jared. Jared!” Jared imitates Jensen’s voice, upping it a few notches, “Jared, I’m fat! Jared, oh god. It’s your fault, you idiot. You and your stupid candy!”
Jensen’s face quickly turns an astonishing pink and he growls at his friend, “Shut up! I did not say that! And I don’t sound like that!”
Jensen had spent the rest of the previous morning hiding behind Jared, mentally deciding which personal trainer to hire. Obviously Jared had had a complete ball.
Proudly peeling back his sleeve, he reveals a considerable bruise that he waves before Jensen, “I still can’t believe you punched me.”
Looking at the purpling skin guiltily, Jensen shrugs, “Well, you’re an asshole. I can’t believe I fell for it. Anyway, so I was telling Danneel about that and then she suddenly got angry at me, said goodbye and slammed the phone down.”
“Huh, well, maybe she’s just stressed. Or missing you - yeah, that’s probably it. She wishes she was here for the awesome prank of the year.”
Feeling slightly better, Jensen grins, “Yeah, maybe.”
“You want me to come to the airport with you?”
“Nah, I think Dan wants to have some alone time, you know.”
Jared ducks his head, “Okay, sure. See you on Monday.”
*
He calls up Chad, only to find that the blonde is up in LA filming some comedy, romance flick and ‘I’m afraid Mr. Murray isn’t available right now. Can I take a message?’
Since when did Chad get an assistant?
Next he tries Chris and Steve, but no can do. They’re undercover on some mission or something like that. Jared still doesn’t really know what they do, other than that they work for the government and have to travel a lot.
The superman guys are off too, both at some promotion thing.
So Jared has two choices. One - he can head home and be freaked out of his mind. Or two - he can go out to some bar on his own and drink himself into a stupor.
There’s no competition really.
*
“Yesss… tha’s, tha’s what ‘m sayin’… You’re tha’nly one tha’ gets me… Robby…”
“It’s Ben, actually.”
“Tha’s what a said. But noooo, he didn’ listen… a like you, Davey…”
“My name’s Ben.”
“I know, ‘m not stuuuupid. More… more, pleesh, Jimmy.”
“I think you’ve had more ‘n enough, buddy. There anyone I can call for you?”
“Nah…” Jared squints at the glass, turning it upside down and then round again, delighted at it. Then he pouts and turns watery eyes up at the bartender, “’m all alone. Why ‘m I alone?”
“I don’t know, man. But there has to be someone, we’re long past closing time.”
“No, no one loves me, Matty… no one… ‘m all alone. ‘m gonna die alone… I’m…” tears begin trickling from his wide eyes as he stares down at the counter, his glass forgotten. His world begins to sway.
The bartender comes round just in time to keep Jared’s head from bashing into the ground. With a heavy sigh, he hoists Jared up onto a nearby couch and begins searching through the younger man’s pockets, eventually emerging victorious with a cell phone.
He presses down speed dial one and a sleepy voice answers, “’m ello?”
“Hi, are you a friend of Jay’s? Tall guy, brown hair, eyes that let him get away with anything?”
The voice hitches, instantly sounding more alert, “Yeah, what’s happened? Who’re you? Is he okay?”
He can hear fumbling and he smiles, wondering why the hell Jared thinks he’s not loved.
“He’s fine. Drunk off his ass, but fine. I wasn’t sure who to call…”
The man sounds relieved, “No, that’s okay, where are you? I’ll come get him now.”
In the background Ben can hear a woman’s voice, ‘Babe, what’s going on?’
‘Just Jared, babe. I’ll be back soon.’
There’s a muffled argument and then the voice comes back on, albeit wearier, “Where are you?”
“Corner of Jackson and Oak.”
“’Kay, I’ll be there soon.” There’s a bit of a pause, then, “He’s okay, right? I mean, he hasn’t…”
“Your boy’s okay, just had a few too many.”
A puff of breath is released, “Swear to god, I’m gonna kill him. I’m Jensen, by the way.”
Laughing slightly, he replies, “Despite the range of names your buddy has called me this evening, my name’s Ben.”
“Yeah, that sounds like him. I’ll see you soon, Ben.”
*
“You know, I didn’t take him for the crying type when he came in,” Ben murmurs as he helps Jensen carry the unconscious form to his car.
“What? Jared? He cried? Really?” Jensen frowns down at his friend. “What was he crying about?”
Feeling like he has bartender-patient policies, Ben just shrugs, “Oh, this and that. Wasn’t making much sense at the end.”
“Oh… well, how much does he owe you?” Jensen pulls out his wallet and pays Jared’s tab, his eyes constantly wandering back to the tear-streaked face of his drunken co-star. Then he sticks out his hand, “Thank you so much, Ben. I really appreciate it and I’m sure Jared does too.”
“No problem.” Then, as an afterthought, Ben adds, “You’ve got someone special here. You take care of him, you hear?”
Grinning slightly at how Jared manages to get everyone, even a bartender, to fall for him, Jensen replies, “Will do.”
*
“…en?” Jared slurs, his hands reaching out for his friend.
“Yeah, Jay. ‘m here. What were you thinking, you giant goof? Now Dan’s pissed at me.” His tone is harsher than he intended, but it’s too late.
Jared sniffs, his eyes turning watery, “’m sorry, Jen. ‘m sorry. ‘m an idiot. A giant goof. ‘m sorry. I just…” he turns to stare out the window, “I just didn’ wan’ to go home… ‘nd…” he sounds so lost and heartbroken that Jensen pulls over at the side of the road.
“Hey, Jay… Jay, look at me… look at me.” Slowly, Jared turns glistening eyes towards him, eyes so full of misery that he has to yank his friend into his arms, seatbelts be damned. Running his hands down Jared’s quivering back, Jensen presses him closer as the younger man begins clinging back, “Shhh, it’s okay, Jay. It’s okay.”
This is definitely new. He’s seen Jared drunk thousands of times. But never, not once, did he turn into a wreck like this. Drunk Jared equals happy-to-the-point-of-throttling-him Jared, nothing like this.
“Jay, what’s the matter? Did something happen?”
Jared just chokes on a sob and tries to bury himself in Jensen’s arms. And while Jensen can’t say he minds being Jared’s ‘protector’, there has to be a reason. “Jay, come on, talk to me.”
He lets out a curse when his phone begins ringing shrilly and Jared pulls back like he’s been stung.
“Danny… hey.”
He winces, “Honey, I know. I’m really sorry, I’ll be there as soon as I can, just let me drop Jay off, okay?”
With a sigh, he turns back to his friend, who’s already retreated into himself and is staring out the window.
“Let’s get you home, ‘kay?”
*
Jensen peels the clothes off his co-star’s lean body. It doesn’t even feel weird. Just… comfortable, Jared resting a hand on his shoulder to steady himself as he steps out of his pants, Jared ducking his head against Jensen’s chest when he leans forward to pull off his shoes, Jared smiling lopsidedly up at him when he tucks him in and smacks an exaggerated kiss to his forehead.
“Do I get a bedtime story now?” Jared’s wide-eyed innocence asks.
He can’t help running his fingers through the golden-brown locks, brushing them out of his friend’s face. “I’ll see you on Monday, ‘kay? No more drinking at weird bars alone.”
“’kay.”
He doesn’t notice how Jared’s eyes dart towards the wide, curtainless window beside the bed.
*
“Danny, I just don’t get why you’re making such a big deal about this. The kid was drunk, what was I supposed to do? Let him drive himself into a wall?”
‘No,” she presses a hand to the bridge of her nose, “Jensen, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Then what? Please, Dan, because right now I have no idea what we’re arguing about.”
Her voice rises up into a yell, “We’re talking about you and Jared! You and that stupid, overgrown kid!”
That hits a nerve. “What the hell, Dan? Don’t you dare talk about him like that!”
“You see, that’s exactly what I mean!”
“What? You don’t like the fact that I don’t let people talk shit about my friends? Well, sorry, Dan, but I don’t go and badmouth your friends, do I?”
She takes a deep, calming breath, “Jensen. What I mean is that, don’t you think you spend a bit too much time with him?”
Jensen squints at her, wondering if all women are like this, “Uhm… Danny. He’s my co-star. And he’s my best friend. Of course we spend a lot of time together, it comes with the job description.”
“I know, but…” she sighs, “you know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything.” She climbs out the bed and heads for the bathroom, but he follows her.
“No, Dan. I want to know why you hate Jared so much. What the hell did he do to you? And why’re you always so rude to him when he’s around?”
“I don’t. He… I’m not… It’s just…” she heads over to him, her small hands sliding up his bare chest, “I guess I just miss you. And now we finally have a weekend together and you go off to him again.”
“Dan, he was drunk.” Jensen lets out a puff of air, “Okay, how’s this, this weekend will just be us. You and me, what d’ you say?”
*
Jared wakes up with a massive hangover, only made worse when he tries to get out of bed and ends up getting tangled in his sheets and crashing to the ground. Sporting a new bruise on his cheek, courtesy of the sole of his shoe - since when did they make them so brick hard? - Jared stumbles towards the bathroom, where he splashes his face and downs what must be at least four liters.
When he looks up at the mirror, he barely recognizes himself. Red eyed, pale, pillow-creased skin (besides the quickly forming bruise and dark patches beneath his eyes), even his boxers are crumpled. He feels disgusting and smells of stale alcohol, what could be better to add to a pounding headache?
He heads outside to try to drown himself in the pool, and is already submerged by the time he remembers an important fact that, in his daze, he’d overlooked: they’re working on the building opposite. The building, that used to be an office block so it never really bothered him, is now crawling with builders, or demolishers or whatever you call them.
And Jared’s only in his boxers. His boxers that hug his hips snugly even when they’re dry.
He’s not a bashful person. Not normally. But with everything that’s been happening the past couple of days…
Doing his best to ignore the calls from above, Jared gets out, fruitlessly trying to keep his boxers from slipping down too low, and heads inside, not relaxing until he’s got the door shut firmly behind him.
He feels like a wuss. No, he corrects himself in his head, he is a wuss. But he can’t help it. He’s on edge. Freaking the fuck out. And he’s sure it’s all in his head. He hopes like hell that it’s all in his head.
If it isn’t…
Jared shudders and steps into a blasting hot shower that makes him feel a thousand times better.
Munching on some plain toast, he sits down to try decide what to do for the rest of the day. Usually he’d just call Jensen, no question, but today, today Danneel’s there and Jared already feels awful for spoiling some of their time together.
He dresses quickly, pulling on his favorite black shirt and cargo pants, and heads out the door, pointedly avoiding looking at the building.
*
The beach is dotted with brightly colored umbrellas but isn’t as crowed as it sometimes gets. Jensen stares out at the crystal blue water before turning back to Danneel. She’s clad only in a skimpy bikini and sunglasses.
“Come on, you wanna try the water?”
Jensen really wants to just run and dive, but this is ‘his and Danneel’s’ weekend.
“No, I’m just going to work on my tan,” she replies, adjusting the bikini strap slightly.
His eyes turn back to the clear blue and he really, really wants to swim.
“’kay, I’m just going to dip in quickly, I’ll be back soon.”
“Mmmhhmmm.”
Okay, he’ll admit it, he’s bored out of his mind. What’s the point of coming to the beach if not to swim?
As he’s nearing the water, two guys crash into him, apologize, and continue fooling around. As he watches them splash and tease one another, Jensen feels kind of empty, like something’s missing.
While wading in, he continues watching them, grinning slightly at their games. They can’t be much younger than him, in fact, one of them sort of looks like Jared, with his floppy hair and height. When the ‘Jared look-alike’ tackles his buddy and they go tumbling into a laughing heap, Jensen grins as he realizes that could easily be him and Jay.
Glancing back at Danneel, Jensen lets out a soft sigh and ducks under the water. He emerges, shaking the water out of his eyes, and glances back at the pair… only to find them in a hectic making out session on the sand. The one with floppy hair is sliding his hands up and down the other’s sides, bringing his fingers up to trail over the man’s jaw line. Their chests are pressed tightly together, and the man at the bottom has his leg hooked around the longish-haired one, heel pressing against his ass.
Jensen swallows and looks away, a blush tingeing his cheeks. Okay, so it turns out they’re not as similar to Jared and him as he thought.
He clears his throat and heads back to sentence himself to a few more freckles.
*
They've just had an awesome day, really, really awesome. Jensen stares blankly at the flickering candle before him. The air is thick with perfume and the scents of expensive wines. Danneel looks absolutely perfect, her skin glowing and her earrings shining brightly as she picks at her salad.
Jensen shifts uncomfortably as he glances around at the other tables, where couples stare helplessly into each other’s eyes. If Jared were here, he’d be mimicking them and falling off his chair laughing. Jensen grins slightly at the image of his friend faceplanting in a bowl of beef consommé.
“So, how’s the filming going?”
He glances up to meet Danneel’s expectant eyes and clears his throat, “Well, I mean, good. Real good. We’re really getting this season, I mean, you should see Jay, his acting has improved so much, you wouldn’t believe.”
“Oh,” her voice sounds strained, “that’s good. So, this really is the last season, huh?”
Suddenly feeling ill, Jensen puts down his spoon, “Uhm… yeah… I mean, Eric isn’t sure… but…”
“So, what does Jared have planned for when it’s all over?”
Jensen bites his lip. He doesn’t really want to talk about this. He doesn’t even want to think about it, “I don’t know.”
“I mean, surely he’s got something lined up back in L.A?”
“Maybe… I don’t know.”
They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Jensen stares down at the swimming bowl of mush, unable to imagine a life without seeing Jared everyday. His stomach clenches painfully.
“I mean, maybe when the time comes, you and me…” Danneel trails off, her eyes hopeful.
“You and me, what?”
She traces her fingers along the slender wine glass, “I mean… don’t you think it’s time we took things to the next level?”
Jensen frowns in confusion. When it hits him, he chokes on his sip of water.
When he sees Danneel’s glare, he immediately sobers up, “Really? Is that really what you want, Danny?”
“Maybe…”
He swallows heavily, trying to imagine having her around him everyday. Then the image of a white picket fence swims into view accompanied by dinners like this every night for the rest of his life and he chokes again. He doesn’t think he’s ready for that.
“Well, uhm… let’s not rush into things,” he murmurs, downing his glass.
“Jensen, we’ve been dating on-off for the past four years. How is that rushing into things?”
Jensen shakes his head, wondering if it really has been that long. Then he realizes that he’s known Jared for about three years. It’s a wonder his hair isn’t already grey.
He remembers that Danneel’s waiting for an answer, “I…” he’s saved by the ringing of his cell phone.
“You brought that with you on a date?” Danneel sounds scandalized.
“Well, for emergencies,” he shrugs apologetically and pulls it out. ‘Jare’ flashes on the screen. “It’s Jared,” he smiles slightly as he slides his finger to answer it.
“Jensen Ackles. If you dare answer that phone call I am out of here. Out of here, do you understand that?”
“But Dan…”
“No, no! I am sick and tired of always coming second to you. I’m sick of having three people in our relationship. I am sick of it!”
“What are you talking about, Danny? There aren’t three people in our relationship. And honey, what if it’s an emergency.”
Danneel scoffs, “Honestly, Jensen, it’s just a phone call. I seriously doubt that Jared would call you and not the cops if anything were wrong. Now put that damn phone away!”
Clenching his jaw tightly, he switches the phone off and slides it into his pocket.
They sit in uncomfortable silence until a waiter comes to take their orders for main meal.
“What’re you having, Dan?” his voice sounds hollow and indifferent.
“I was thinking about the chanterelle mushrooms with fennel and onion risotto.”
Jensen has no idea what that is, but okay, “I’ll just have a steak, medium rare, with veggies on the side. Thank you.”
When the waiter walks off, Danneel stares at him, “I can’t believe you just ordered a steak.”
“What? There’s something wrong with that too?” he snaps back, tired of the constant judging.
She sighs and calls for more wine. Jensen has no idea what the name of the wine is, but he does know that it costs more than it costs to feed Jared for a week. It’s weird that he should know that.
Very weird. He scowls at his napkin, neatly folded on his lap.
*
As he’s stepping out of the bathroom, he remembers Jared’s phone call and reaches for his trousers.
“Baby, come to bed,” Danneel calls from the pillows.
“Hold on, let me just phone Jay, I’ll be a sec.”
She intercepts him on his way out and tugs the phone from his fingers just as it switches on, “No, he can wait. Now, come to bed.”
His protests are muffled by Danneel’s lips and then replaced by soft moans as she slinks down his body to peel off the towel.
*
He’s woken by the sharp ringing of his phone.
It takes him a few moments to locate it and leave the bedroom, “Hello?”
“Hi, is that Mr. Ackles?”
“Yes, who’s speaking?”
“Hi, sorry to bother you, I’m Lucy Lans, I live next door to Jared.”
“Yes?” Jensen’s not entirely sure where this is going, he peers out the window and realizes it must be around midday.
“Well, you remember when you two came over when Jared’s dog was missing?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You left me your numbers to call if I ever needed anything.”
“Is everything okay?” Jensen frowns at the phone, still wondering what on earth is going on.
“Yes, it’s just, the dogs have been barking non-stop since last night and I’ve tried to phone Jared, but that dear boy’s not answering his phone. See, I wouldn’t have minded, it’s just my niece is here and she’s having a baby soon. The noise is bothering her.”
Jensen’s heart begins beating rapidly, “He’s not answering his phone?”
“No, I’ve been trying all morning.”
“Okay, I’ll… I’ll be there soon.”
He quickly heads back to the bedroom, fumbling for his clothes.
“Babe, what’s going on?” Danneel’s getting dressed beside him.
“Jay… Jared… he’s…” Jensen can’t even form coherent sentences he’s in such a rush.
“No, Jen. What did we talk about yesterday? What happened to ‘our weekend’?”
She catches his arm as he’s about to leave the room, but he surprises them both by spinning around and growling, “Jared’s not answering his phone. So you’d better damn well let go of me.”
Backing off slowly, she stares at him, “You’re so freaked out just because he’s not answering his phone?”
“His dogs…” Jensen shakes his head and jerks back into action, grabbing the keys from the table as he passes.
He grinds his teeth when she slides into the passenger seat beside him, but he guns the car into motion and pulls out of the driveway.
When they step out of the car, Sadie and Harley’s howls hit their ears, upping Jensen’s panic a notch. He’s never heard them so anxious.
He unlocks the door using his own key, ignoring Danneel’s huff and stepping inside. The dogs race up to him, nearly bowling him over in their relief at seeing him and slowly their howls turn into whines.
“Hey, kids,” Jensen kneels before them, rubbing behind their ears, “What’s the matter, hey? Where’s your daddy?”
Danneel snorts behind him, but he ignores her entirely as he gets to his feet and begins moving through the rooms.
When he passes through the kitchen, he sees the first signs and his breath catches. Shattered glass crunches beneath his shoes, chairs lie knocked over, the coffee maker’s tipped over in a puddle of brown liquid, the armchair is upturned and slightly ripped, but worst of all, there’s a pool of red staining the carpet before the TV.
Danneel gasps as she sees it, her hand moving to cover her mouth.
“Jared!” he yells, only to be met with silence.
He begins running through the rest of the rooms, stopping before Jared’s bedroom door where, carved into the wood, is written: ‘Come out and play’.
Pushing it open, he finds the room empty, the sheets rumpled and torn, the window shattered and the beside-cabinet upturned.
“God…” Jensen digs his cell phone out and dials 911, quickly giving Jared’s address. That’s when he notices the voicemail from last night.
Last night when Jared had tried to call him. With his heart in his throat, he presses to listen to it.
“Jen?” Jared’s voice quivers. The scared tone makes Jensen chest close up, “Jen… there’s… shit, it sounds so stupid. But…” his voice drops to a whisper, “I think someone’s following me. I’ve… I’ve seen…” Jared falls silent, then he whispers again, this time more urgently, “Jen, I think there’s… there’s somebody in the house. I can’t find the dogs anywhere, please, call the cops, I-” there’s a pained cry and the line goes dead.
Jensen falls to his knees, staring down at the phone, his chest feeling like it’s being stabbed over and over again.
“What is it, Jen? Baby?”
Danneel’s hands run down the back of his neck and he flinches, getting to his feet, “Don’t touch me.”
As he walks past her, he presses the cell phone to her hands before wandering over to the kitchen again, staring down at the pool of blood with bile in his throat.
Jared had tried to call him. Jared had needed him. Jared would probably be here if Jensen had called the cops like the voicemail asked. Jared would be safe. Jared would be ali-
Furiously shaking the thought from his head, Jensen heads outside to wait for the cops to arrive.
They’re arriving seventeen hours later than they could have, had Jensen only answered his phone.
*
“Mr. Ackles, I’m Detective Wayne. I’m in charge of this case.”
He doesn’t raise his head from his hands.
“So, what time did Jared call you?”
“Can’t you check the time on the phone?” he mutters through his fingers.
“Mr. Ackles, you understand that we need your full cooperation?”
Jensen sits up, “Sorry, Detective. It was about seven. We were having dinner.”
“And the reason you didn’t answer your phone was…?”
He wants so badly to blame this all on Danneel, but he knows he’s to blame, “Because I’m a shitty, good for nothing friend.”
“That’s not true,” Danneel pipes up.
But that only makes him angrier, “Course it is! He’s always there for me, no matter what! When my car breaks down, when I need a place to stay, when I’m so fucking pissed at the world that I can’t see straight, when everything goes wrong for me, he’s always there for me! And the one time that he actually needs me, the one time he asks me for help... the… the one time…” Jensen’s got tears running down his cheeks but he doesn’t even notice, “I’m too fucking busy to pick up the goddamn phone.”
*
Twenty hours earlier
Jared’s been avoiding the house all day, but he knows he has to go back now. His chest feels like a cold hand’s encircling it just at the thought. But he knows he’s just being a chicken. Jensen would probably just laugh at him.
As he gets out of the car, he can’t help but glance up at the building, at the gaping holes where windows once were, at the billowing canvasses of plastic, at the emptiness.
When he drops his gaze, he could’ve sworn he’d seen a shape pass at one of the spaces on the top floor, but he’s been having that a lot lately.
A shiver races through him and he curses his own thoughts yet again. Wrapping his arms around himself, he wishes more than anything that Jensen were here to tell him just how much of an idiot he is for being paranoid.
Maybe he should see a shrink. That’d have Jensen in hysterics.
If it made him stop imagining things, it’d be worth it.
He slips inside and shuts the door firmly behind him, feeling embarrassingly freaked.
“I’m imagining things, aren’t I, Sadie?” his dog nudges him with a soft whine and he feels guilty for making the dogs nervous.
After feeding them and checking their water, he heads back inside and flops down in front of the TV, trying to concentrate enough to watch some daytime television. But his lack of sleep and the remains of his previous night out, catch up with him, and he slips sideways on the couch.
*
He wakes up just before six with his skin crawling like someone’s watching him. Again he feels stupid.
Wondering whether it’s just because he isn't doing as much exercise as normal, he pulls on his running shoes and leashes up the dogs.
The steady thumping of his feet on the pavement clears his head, taking him to a relaxed state of mind, enough so that he’s nearly forgotten why he was so freaked out.
As it begins to get darker, he’s reminded that he’s in Vancouver and it gets dark earlier than he’s used to. He speeds up, something telling him that he has to get home as soon as possible. He hears footsteps behind him and the dogs begin barking and tugging at their leashes, but when he spins around there’s only an empty road behind him.
He’s gasping for breath by the time his house comes into view, but he maintains his sprint, only stopping to fumble for his keys and tumble inside, shutting the door with shaky laughter behind him, so sure that the footsteps had followed all the way here.
He lets the dogs outside to drink water and leans his hands on his knees until his breathing’s steadied. Then he peels off his sweaty shirt.
That’s when he hears it. The breathing. Hoarse like someone’s been running, he glances outside, seeing both dogs by their bowls. The breathing gets louder. Gets closer.
When he feels a soft puff of air on his skin, he leaps around, fists ready. But there’s no one there. Utterly freaking out, he turns back outside to call the dogs in, but they’re nowhere in sight.
It’s the last thing he wants to do, with it now being extremely dark, but despite this, he steps outside, calling for his pups softly.
The door slams behind him, making him jump, but yet again, there’s no one there. He glances up at the building, breath catching as his eyes latch onto a dark shape. He could swear it’s a man, but he can’t be entirely sure. The wind blows and something brushes against his hand, it’s just a branch. But when Jared looks back up at the building, the dark shape is gone.
He quickly heads inside, but turns around to give the garden another glance. Out of the corner of his eye, he’s ninety-percent sure that he sees a man stepping into the shadows, his eyes catching in the light slightly.
That’s enough spook for him, he shuts the door firmly behind him and searches for his phone, quickly pressing speed dial.
“Jen?” He glances around as another cool breeze runs along his neck, mentally cursing when he realizes that he’s reached voicemail. Jensen’s with Danneel tonight, he’d forgotten about that, but he continues anyway, “Jen… there’s… shit, it sounds so stupid. But…” he hears a scraping at the door and quickly moves towards his bedroom, “I think someone’s following me. I’ve… I’ve seen…” he falls silent when he hears the door he’d just closed squeaking as it swings open, “Jen, I think there’s… there’s somebody in the house.” He hears footsteps and speaks more urgently, “I can’t find the dogs anywhere, please, call the cops, I-” something hits him over the head and he’s sent stumbling to the ground, the cell phone cracking as it hits the tiled floor.
The edges of his vision blur, but he makes out a dark form leaning over him. Quickly scrambling to his feet, trying not to sway, Jared shoves the man backwards with all his strength and leaps for his bedroom door, swinging it shut. The man grunts when he catches the door, trying to push it open, managing to slip his arm around the door, but Jared twists it and feels a tiny bit of satisfaction when the man yelps and yanks his hand away, which allows Jared to firmly lock the door.
He’s stuck now, his phone in the passage outside. Raising a hand to his head, he winces when his fingers brush over the cut and he feels the warm blood trickling through his hair. The banging on his door stops, being replaced with a soft scraping that sends shivers up his spine, like nails on a blackboard. Then even that sound disappears and he’s left, sitting against his door with absolutely no idea what to do. He can only hope that Jensen’s gotten the message and that help is coming.
A soft tapping from the side has his head jerking around to the window, where the man grins. His mouth is visible from beneath the black mask, cold eyes peering in as the man waves a gloved hand and raises a knife in his other.
Jared stumbles to his feet, unlocking the door as the window is smashed in. The man leaps after him, barely a step behind as he races down the corridor, crashing into furniture as he heads for the kitchen where he grabs for some kind of weapon.
The man is strong, the same height as Jared, if not more, but he’s much broader, arms build like a machine. Or at least, that’s what it feels like to Jared when one presses beneath his neck, slamming him into the wall and scattering everything in his way. The blow to his head makes his vision dim further, but Jared tries desperately to stay alert, to fight back.
Kicking the man in the balls and ducking beneath his arm, Jared staggers around towards his living room, throwing his armchair over in the direction of the approaching attacker. But just as Jared reaches for the door, a blow comes from behind him. One that knocks him to the ground and makes him realize that there’s more than one attacker.
As something sharp pierces his arm, the last thought that crosses through his mind is, I hope Jen isn’t pissed at me, and then it all goes dark.
*
Present day
Jensen’s never felt more helpless. Never felt so utterly lost and alone.
Jared’s missing. Jared’s missing. Jared’s missing.
The thought keeps repeating in his head, accompanied with Danneel’s voice, ‘It’s just a phone call.’
One phone call, one stupid phone call that he could have answered with the press of one button and could’ve been the difference between life and death for Jared. Jared, the best friend he’s ever had, gone.
The cops found traces of tranquillizer in the dogs (which are staying with Lucy Lans for the meantime), which is why they weren’t there to defend Jared, and they say that this means it wasn’t a random abduction. They’re expecting a ransom demand soon and have rigged Jensen’s phones in case. They are also preparing to sweep the area, though they think it’s unlikely that anyone would go to such an effort to kidnap Jared and then just dump him somewhere. Jensen can only take that as a good thing.
“And were there any signs? I mean, did he say anything to you before the voicemail?”
Jensen begins to shake his head, but then he hesitates. Jared had wanted him to come over; Jared hadn’t wanted to be in the house alone. Jared had been scared. Jared had been exhausted all week and even had the shadowed eyes to prove it. “He…” Jensen looks up at the detective, “he was scared. I…” he closes his eyes, wondering how he could have been so fucking stupid. “The kid was terrified to go home. He hasn’t been sleeping and has been jumpy at work. I just… I just…” he couldn’t be a worse friend if he tried, “I just had other things more imp-… I just had other things on my mind.”
The detective nods, “Okay, and do you have any idea how long it’s been since they started renovating the place opposite?”
Jensen shakes his head, “’bout two weeks, maybe? Why, do you think it might be connected?”
He nods, “It’s the best lead we have so far.” He turns to leave, but pauses at the door, “And Mr. Ackles, we’re going to do everything we can to find your friend.”
Swallowing thickly, Jensen can’t even bring himself to answer. Instead he just nods and turns to stare out the window, up at the crumbling building.
He’s let Jared down. He can’t think of anything worse.
*
“Jenny?” Chad laughs into the phone, “Why the fuck are you callin’ me? And make it quick, I gotta be back on set in five.”
Jensen flinches at the happiness in the blonde’s voice, the words catching in his throat, “J… Jared… he… he…”
Chad’s voice goes still, “What the hell? Is Jare okay? Ackles,” Chad raises his voice, “Is Jared okay?”
“N… no… Chad… he’s… he’s missing… he… someone… someone’s got Jay.” His voice drops to a whisper, “Chad, someone took Jay.”
“Okay. Okay,” Chad breathes out shakily, “I’ll be there in a few hours, what the fuck happened?”
Jensen hears Chad yelling at someone, a panicked tone to his voice, “Get me a plane ticket to Vancouver, right the fuck now…. No, I don’t care if we’re in the middle of filming, get me that fucking ticket right now! I don’t give a fuck how much it costs, you understand me?”
Then Chad returns to the phone, “What the hell happened, Jensen?”
“I… his place… his place is wrecked. Blood… blood on the floor.”
Chad chokes, “Blood! Oh, God, fuck. I’ll be there soon.”
Then he hangs up and Jensen’s left to stare blankly down at his phone, tears trickling down his cheeks.
“Steve?”
“Hey, Jen. What’s up, man?”
“Jared’s… he’s been taken…”
“What the…?”
After being filled in, Steve’s worried voice murmurs, “Shit, Jen. I’ll try get there as soon as I can.”
“Can… can you tell Chris?”
Steve swears softly, “Jen, he’s gone undercover. He’s managed to infiltrate- I’ll try get hold of him, but he might only be safe to contact in a couple of days.”
“Oh… okay, thanks, Steve.”
Jared’s parents have already been contacted; they’re also on their way. All that Jensen’s left to do is wait. Wait and allow the cops to do their jobs.
*
CONTINUED