Tw: Mentions of mistreatment, Shown bruises, Implied guilt tripping and lovebombing, Syringes 

Michael cried alone in the basement, back in his bed again. After what his dad had injected into him just 5 hours before, he couldn't even close his eyes, he was wired, but he didn't want to be, he wanted to rest his head.

His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, the straps over his chest rose and fell with his tired breathing, they dug into his skin once again, they were tight, squeezing around his waist and stomach area. 

He was falling apart, he was falling apart and his father didn't care, he didn't care that his brain was tearing itself apart.

He was killing him slowly, Michael was going to die, if he closed his eyes he was sure his heart would stop. 

Now he was scared to sleep, he was scared to die..."I don't want to die, I don't," Michael sobbed, he wanted to wrap his arms around himself and comfort himself, but couldn't.

He heard a soft tapping on his window, he turned his head to look and saw...Jeremy! Jeremy's pale blond hair shone in the moonlight, he pulled the window open hard and slipped inside the basement.

"He strapped you down again, didn't he? What is he scared of?" Jeremy asked in his Jersey accent, he'd come here 2 years ago from Jersey, that's what he'd told Michael.

Jeremy came over towards him, "Can I check your pulse? You seem distressed, I know how to do it, my ma's a nurse," Michael nodded softly, agreeing to let him check. 

Jeremy went to touch him, and he flinched, he shut his eyes tight to look away. "Mike, are you okay?" Jeremy said to him carefully. 

"No..." Michael said meekly, "I'm sorry, Michael...I want to help you, I wish I could take you away from this, but I have a feeling you can't go with me," 

"I want to, but father will find me and punish me, he does this all the time, he'll yell at me, then make me feel bad and shower me with love and affection, and then he'll ignore me," Michael muttered.

"I feel so awful for you, and I'm not trying to pity you, I mean it Michael, these conditions you're living in are inexcusable," Jeremy said, his colorful half blue, half green eyes looked down at him.

Michael looked up hollowly at Jeremy, "I should probably check your pulse now, like I said I was going to, I promise I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm your friend, I swear on my life I would never hurt you," Jeremy tried to give Michael a sense of security, a real one, not the fake one his father tried to lull him into.

He gently placed two fingers onto Michael's neck, "Damn, your heart rate is really high, did your dad give you something?" Jeremy sat next to Michael on his bed.

Michael grabbed Jeremy's sleeve, "Jeremy, please don't tell, please...He gave me some kind of dr*g to keep me awake, he gave it to me through an injection, it hurt...God it hurt, Jere..." He begged.

Jeremy put a hand on his shoulder, Michael winced in pain, Jeremy looked at him in surprise, "Why'dja wince?" He asked in concern.

Michael had Jeremy roll up his sleeve, showing the bruises up his arm, "That's not all of them," he said, tears springing to his eyes. 

Jeremy looked angry, "Michael, this can't keep going on, it can't!" 

"I can't disobey father, he'll only hurt me more if you step in, please, listen to me, all you can do is help heal the wounds, so just keep doing that," Michael pleaded with Jeremy.

He heard footsteps upstairs, "Run Jeremy, get out of here!" Michael hissed, Jeremy scrambled out through the window at the last second and slammed it shut as quiet as he could, running off towards his home.

Michael went back to his struggle to escape, wanting his father to believe that that is what he had been doing the whole night.

"Michael, it's no use struggling, I made sure you're strapped in tight, there's nowhere for you to go," 

His father spotted something on Michael's sleeve, a singular blond strand of hair, "Ah, Jeremy must have been here," Michael's heavy breathing stopped, he looked at his father. 

"Oh, don't worry, kiddo, I won't punish you for Jeremy being here, in fact, you need to rest, I can help with that," he pulled a pair of the white latex gloves from his pocket, and a syringe which was already filled, as if he had been prepared for this. 

He put on the gloves and then took the syringe to Michael's arm...Immediately, Michael began to feel sleepy and went under. 

"Goodnight sport, sleep tight...Don't let the nightmares bite," he chuckled to himself at his horrible joke, he patted Michael's unconscious body on the head and went back upstairs.