Emily POV

The moment Matías left, I gave Gracen a huge bear hug. I mean, how could I not? He was so adorable! “Ok Gracen! I told Matías to shut off the cameras, so that you could be more comfortable,” I lied. Of course he hasn’t taken them off, but it’s better if he believes that. “Just sit down and relax.”

Gracen sat on the edge of the couch and I sat next to him. I began asking him questions, taking notes as I went. “So, what’s the problem? What exactly is hurting you?” I started off with. I didn't want to overwhelm the poor kid, so I just gave those standards questions to begin with. 

“My throat is sore and I have a headache. Overall I feel very weak I couldn’t even stand by myself earlier but that’s getting a little better. My legs,however, still hurt.” He responded quietly. He does appear to be in poor conditions. 

“Ok. How long have you felt like this?”

“Since early this morning, around four-ish.”

“Got it,” I scribbled a few things down on my notebook. Not just regarding  how he felt, but also how he acted. He seemed much more relaxed than earlier, though at the same time he constantly rubbed his arm where marks could be seen. I've only seen those marks on people who are typically in a sort of domestic violence situation.

“Tell me what your life was like, before you were brought here.” As he began answering my questions I wrote more information, but the one thing that was stumping me was whether or not he had a weak immune system. “Do you perhaps get sick easily?” I interrupted. No healthy person gets sick over night, at least not usually. 

“Yes,” he stated plainly. That made more sense. 

“Ok well you may have an autoimmune disorder. Were you aware of this before?”

“My mom told me I had a weak immune system, but nothing else”.

“Well, from what I understand this is just a common cold. I can give you a strep throat test just in case, but I really don’t think that’s necessary. Your symptoms are as they are because of how weak your body is.”

“No wonder the poor kid got sick, he’s been under so much stress”, I thought. I gave him the test which came out positive and handed him some medicine; along with a list of methods to help him relax. Then, I began asking him more personal questions.

“So Gracen, what was your household like? What was your family like?” He stared at me and next thing I knew he began crying.

Ok, so mayyyyyybe I shouldn’t have started off with that question. “Oooh, I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry?” I said leaning in to hug him.

After a few minutes, he calmed down so I asked futile questions like what his favorite color was or what are his hobbies. Eventually I had to ask some questions so I could understand how he’s doing mentally.

“So how do you feel about Matías,” I asked.

“He’s really intimidating and sometimes he scares me. Other times it’s like he’s a completely different person and he seems caring and nice. Overall, I know nothing about him, so I can’t give you a definite answer on how I feel about him other than confused.”

“Matty gave you those marks right?” I asked. 

“Yeah,” he said looking away.

“How’d that make you feel?” I asked, voice dripping in sympathy with a bit of worry as well. 

“I hated it. He made me feel as though I did something wrong, but I knew deep down that I didn’t. Still, I feel as though it's my fault for making him angry. I’m even more mad at myself for caring that he was angry at me.”

“Ok,” I said writing more “Do you have any sort of romantic feelings towards him?” I just need to make sure he hasn't developed any. Though Stockholm syndrome is rare in kidnapping victims, it's not unheard of. His eyes widened and his face went red. I couldn't help, but laugh a bit. “N..no,” he stuttered. “Do you dislike him?” I asked.

“To be honest, at times I do. He treats me like I’m an object, not a person.” I could see the anger building up which I proceeded to take note on. “Fuck, he doesn’t even let me cuss, and it’s so fucking annoying,” he continued as his face became redder. I silently hoped Matías wasn’t listening cause he would be pissed if Gracen broke one of his rules. “I’m really sorry about that, remember to take deep breaths,” I said. He took a few deep breaths and we continued with the conversation.

“Are you aware of what Stockholm syndrome is?” I asked.

“Yes. I don’t have it do I?” he asked nervously. Now for the ultimate test. “Well, it’s actually not very common in kidnapping victims, though it can also occur in domestic violence situations,” I rambled, “Here,” I said passing my phone to him. He stared at it in his hands.

“If you want, you can call the authorities,” I whispered, “or your parents.” He stared at the phone for a second before passing it back to me.

“Why?” I asked. “You could’ve saved yourself just then.” “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I’m 18. I’m not a dumbass and I know good and well that you would never let me call anyone. If I did try, it probably wouldn’t have worked, you would tell Matías, and I’d have fresh bruises by tomorrow,” he stated calmly. “Or if it did work, it wouldn’t be so easy to just have Matías arrested. He is a very powerful man with a lot of money and obviously people willing to help him.”

“Smart kid”, I said putting the phone away. “Let’s say you could call your parents would you?” “Yes,” he responded. “Why?” I asked. “My parents are probably worried out of their minds, so are my friends. I miss them so much. I miss my dad's cooking and how my mom wrote notes to me every morning before leaving for work, even after I asked her not to. They always wanted the best for me and...and…,”

“That’s enough,” I said as his eyes teared up. “Deep breaths, sweetie.” He breathed in and out. I checked his temperature which, thankfully, has gone down. “Lay down, I’m going to get you some water.” I went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, but Gracen was already asleep. “Poor thing,” I said to myself quietly. For the rest of the day I let him sleep except for the few times I woke him up to drink more water, eat, and take medicine. I wish I could help, but due to my “side job” getting involved with the authorities would be risky. Also, Matías is like a little brother to me and I’ll do anything to keep him safe. I’ll just have to talk to him about treating Gracen better. He luckily doesn’t have Stockholm syndrome, though I'm a bit worried about him developing it. Even more so, I'm worried about his health. He’ll have to manage his stress and eat more vitamins. I began making dinner as I thought about what Matías would say about our conversation when he got home. Then I remembered how I hugged Gracen and called him sweetie. Yeah, I’m going to die tonight.

Thanks for reading! Please like, subscribe, comment, share, and join the discord! 

Contact Info: Ramenbowl2005@gmail.com