“Justin Randall Timberlake!” a loud voice went through the house.

Josh had just woken up a few minutes earlier and jumped as the shout reached his ears. Chained up like he was Josh cringed, scrambling to the head of the bed, pulling on his cuff frantically, curling himself into a ball, the blankets around him tightly. Praying that whatever had made someone shout out like that had nothing to do with him doing anything wrong.

“Are you completely insane young man?!” Lynn fumed as her son came into the kitchen, totally unaware of his crime, just home from school, exhausted and thrilled it was Friday again. That meant weekend!

“What?” Justin questioned.

“Excuse me?” Lynn exclaimed. Justin sighed.

“What is going on mom?” he asked politely this time. Lynn nodded with a that’s better message hidden in it.

“I just went to check on our new guest. Want to explain to me what he’s doing chained to the bed?” Justin ducked his head.

“I was just…”

“No Justin, we don’t chain people. They are not dogs” Lynn cut him off.

“I wasn’t going to keep him chained like that forever!” he defended.

“You better not! You unchain him right now or there will be consequences, do you understand me?” she demanded, hand on her hip and her right foot tapping impatiently on the tile floor.

“Yes” Justin mumbled.

“Don’t you think that boy has suffered enough?” his mother questioned worriedly.

“I know… I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t run off… at least till I had a chance to talk to him”

“I know Justin but you can’t cuff him to a bed. I know he’s thief…”

“Was” Justin corrected.

“Well he could still very well be but we took him in and we give him a chance. You convinced us to take him in and you can’t expect us to trust him if you don’t even trust him yourself” Lynn told him pointedly. Justin knew she had a point.

“I know but what he did to Lance… I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t screw me over as well”

Lynn nodded understandingly.

“I know I shouldn’t have done that and I don’t think he would have robbed us or anything but I don’t know I don’t trust him. I think there’s something wrong, something that has happened to him but I’m not sure. I just want to be sure” Justin told her with a whine in his voice.

“I know honey but you can’t expect him to tell someone, even trust someone who chains him to his bed to make sure he doesn’t run off. Trust goes both ways Justin” Lynn sympathized, hugging her son. Justin sighed.

“I know” he said before pulling back.

“Good now go upstairs, unchain him and apologize”

“Yes ma’am” he answered her, trudging up the stairs to Josh’s bedroom.

Josh heard footsteps on the stairs, creaking boards once in a while telling him that whoever was coming was getting closer. He whimpered in fright as his door opened, hiding his face under the covers as he shivered from fear.

Justin stared at the lump underneath the blankets; shivering slightly. He closed the door, pulling a chair up beside the bed.

“Josh?” Justin called softly, his tone soft and sweet. Josh shifted slightly under the blankets, brown hair peeked out, more and more till liquid blue eyes met his own.

“I’m sorry… please… I didn’t mean to… I swear” Josh pleaded softly.

“What? What’s wrong Josh?” Justin asked concerned suddenly, thinking something had happened while he’d been away to school, the cuffs totally forgotten for the moment.

“I… I… heard a shout… and please don’t…” Josh still quivered, his voice tight with tears building up, some already cascading down his face. He dropped his head, sobbing into the blankets.

Justin felt his heart break, he put a comforting hand on Josh’s shoulder, hoping that would calm him down but Josh jumped at the contact. This time Justin definitely felt it; the shiver and the flinch beneath his touch. There was no mistake about it.

“No! No! No! Please… sir… please… don’t…”Josh whimpered, begging to be spared, cowering away he found himself in an all too familiar situation. However Justin didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Don’t what Josh?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose… I swear… please… don’t…” he continued, ending in a whisper. Justin was about to ask again but then the barely audible plea drifted into his ears.

“Don’t… hurt…. me”

Justin’s mouth dropped open; his suspicions confirmed; someone had hurt him. It took him a couple of seconds to compose himself before he spoke to Josh.

“Josh I swear I won’t. I promise nothing will happen to you. You’re safe” Justin assured the distressed teenager on the bed. He slowly got up, telling Josh what he was doing next. He moved to the other side of the bed, sinking in the pillows that lined the headboard as he cautiously took the heavily crying brunet in his arms. Taking out the key to the handcuff and stretching his own right arm towards it to unlock the cuff from Josh’s slender wrist.

“It’s ok, you’re safe” Justin continued to whisper in his ear as he unlocked the cuff, every new touch making him cringe. Justin took the limp hand in his own, lacing his fingers with those of the weeping boy in his arms; bringing both arms around to Josh’s waist to settle there. He shifted somewhat, letting Josh rest and cry against him. Rocking from side to side, whispering comforting words and holding the tight ball that was Josh’s body close to his chest as Josh let go off all of his fears from the past two years.

Everything he’d ever went through, every wallet he’d had to steal, every house he’d had to rob, all the guilt that had multiplied within, all the nasty comments he’d had to endure, all the harassment from people who were supposed to help him, every bruise that ever delicated his body, every sting that came with it, every drop of blood he’d lost because of Henry’s punishments, all the pain he’d endured at his stepfather’s hands, every minute of every hour where he’d been afraid, scared to death and paralyzed from fear, every time he’d slept on the floor; the pain too severe to get up and not even the cold attacking him could force him to get up, every day without a friend, every week without love and every second without his mother.

Everything came out and Justin there to catch him, to comfort him and to cry against; Justin as his rock was maybe not as bad as he’d thought.