Whump of May day 27
@themerrywhumpofmay @badthingshappenbingo
prompts used:Â âiâm sorry, iâm so sorry.â nightmares
characters: whumper, whumpee, henchman, caretaker (they have names but this is the only story ill write them with)
warnings: cursing, creepy whumper, female whumper, minor whumpeeÂ
words: 4256
a/n: this was going to be a part one, but instead is part two to this fic here. if there are any inconsistencies, its because i wasnât able to look back at this when i wrote part one and didnât feel like changing anything minor when i was able to look back at it
March 13
   Today was the day I finally got Whumpee. He was afraid at first, but after a few hours, he warmed up to me. Henry isnât too sure about how well heâll acclimate to life with me, but I think heâll be just fine after a few days. I still need to come up with a name for him, Iâm thinking Jewl since heâs such a treasure, but Iâm not sure just yet. Henry had to set his arm because it got broken when I took him, but it should heal in a few weeks.Â
   When I took him, I saw his older sister nearby, but since she left him alone, I knew she wouldnât mind if I took him. You donât leave someone like him alone unless youâre willing to share.Â
   I also stopped by the farmersâ market again today and youâll never guess what. They were all out of apples already, so I couldnât make any apple berry crumbles to welcome him home. Oh well, Iâll go back next weekend and check again.Â
March 15
   Iâm not so sure Jewl is happy here, I might have to spend more time with him since heâs not allowed outside just yet. I think he misses his older sister, which doesnât make sense since she didnât take good care of him. Not as well as I do, anyway. She never gave him what he needed. With me, he never wants anything.Â
   Henry keeps telling me he hears Jewl crying at night, but I think itâs the wind. The wind is very loud this time of year. I think Henry just wants me to let Jewl go since he has to do all the âdirty tasksâ now. But that wonât happen. I wonât let Jewl leave me ever.Â
March 27
   When I was shopping at the farmersâ market today, I saw Jewlâs older sister. She had a picture of Jewl with her, but it wasnât a very good one. He was in a baggy pair of pajamas and his hair was in front of his eyes. His eyes are one of his best features, which is why I was so upset with the picture she chose. She was showing it to people, even me, but I didnât tell her I had him with me. I didnât want to hurt her feelings by telling her he likes being with me more than he ever did with her.Â
   There were apples this weekend, so thatâs exciting! Tomorrow Iâm planning on baking my apple berry crumbles, I might even let Jewl sit in the kitchen with me if he wants to.Â
   Henryâs warmed up to him a little bit, he seems to not mind sitting outside his room at night as much as he did. Iâve even caught him telling Jewl stories through the door before bed. I just hope he remembers that heâs mine, not his.Â
   I bought Jewl some new clothes today, too. The ones he had were getting dirty. The cashier told me they were very cute clothes and that her son had the same ones, so I know Iâm doing something right on that front. Iâll give them to him tomorrow, after I give him a bath. He hasnât let me clean him since he got here, but I have a plan to do it tomorrow, so it should go easy.Â
April 17
   I saw Jewl on the news today, they say heâs missing. Jewl even saw it since I let him wander the house now. He started crying when he saw his older sister on the screen. I donât think it was because he misses her. I just think he wishes sheâd let him live in peace with me.Â
   Henryâs out of town this week, so Iâm putting a lot of trust in Jewl not to leave his room at night. He hasnât done anything bad in almost a week, which is good. Heâs acclimating really well. Just the other day, he didnât even protest to me giving him a bath, he just let me clean him without any struggling.Â
   I just hope he keeps calming down so I can let him outside for a few hours a day. Heâs getting a little weaker than Iâd like, but until he doesnât pose a risk of running, I donât want to risk it. If anyone sees him then heâd be taken away from me.Â
May 24
   Today was a close call. Jewl and I have been going on walks just before sunset every day without any trouble. Iâve been careful to avoid his older sister so Jewl doesnât see her and get upset, but I almost didnât see her. Luckily, she was walking her dog, who barks at every little thing.Â
   I think she mightâve seen us, but thereâs no way she recognized Jewl. Heâs lost a lot of weight since he moved in with me, I tried to get him to gain some so heâs not so skinny, but he wonât eat unless Henryâs with him. And heâs been working more to keep on top of his momâs hospital bills.Â
   Speaking of Henry, I caught him looking up Jewlâs older sister the other day. He almost messaged her, but I stopped him in time. He promised she wouldnât do it again, but Iâve been keeping an extra eye on him. Since heâs out of the house more and more, Jewl and I have been having a lot more time alone, which I think he enjoys. We watch movies a lot, and he always lets me pick them out.Â
   During the day, we clean around the house and play games like hide and seek, obstacle courses, blowing bubbles and even iSpy sometimes. He isnât very good at ones where he has to talk, so we stick to ones you donât have to talk for.Â
Abby shut the diary and looked at the woman in front of her. She was smiling softly and her eyes were filled with sympathy.Â
âIâm so sorry. I just thought you should know so you can stop worrying about him. Maybe you can tell the news too, he always cries when he sees the news story.â she (what was her name again? Fuck, thatâs the one thing Abby shouldâve remembered) said.Â
Abby took a slow and deep breath and handed the book back, she knew she needed to navigate this carefully or else the woman would never let her see Toby again. She knew she thought he was actually happy with her, but Abby could see through the happy words that he was miserable. Sheâd spent months getting him to trust her after winning the custody case, there wasnât a world in which heâd trust someone else so easily.Â
âCan I see him?â she asked. âI wonât let him see me, I just need to know heâs safe. I think I would feel better if I saw his house.â Thank god for those fourteen years living with her mom, that really prepared her for this.Â
The woman closed her eyes and held the diary close to her chest, arms crossed in front of her. She shook her head, âI donât think thatâs a good idea. Heâs really perceptive of things. He might see you out of the corner of his eye and get upset.âÂ
âOhâŚokay, no that makes sense. Could I maybe meet with Henry and ask him a few questions? That way you can get back to To-Jewl. You could just give me his phone number and I can ask him about Jewl.â Abby said.Â
She was willing to bet that Henry might tell her where she could find Toby, since he was going to contact her before.Â
The woman bit her lip and nodded, âI guess that would work. You just have to promise you wonât come to the house.âÂ
âI promise. Iâll stop worrying about him and tell the police heâs okay. Then he wonât get sad over the news again.â She said. The woman smiled toothily and took Abbyâs phone from her. She tapped the screen a few times then handed it back. âThank you so much, for taking such good care of him for me.âÂ
The woman nodded and turned around, heading down the sidewalk and then turned a corner. Abby had to fight every instinct in her body to chase her, knowing sheâd never go home before being sure Abby wasnât following her. And Abby wasnât very good at staying hidden for that long.Â
She called the number, expecting voicemail but instead getting an answer.Â
âWho is this?â the voice on the other side of the phone asked. Abby didnât respond for almost an entire minute. She nearly hung up, but the voice asked again, âWho the hell is this?â
âHi, sorry. This is Abby Hart. IâmâŚIâm Jewlâs older sister.âÂ
âHow did you get this number?â
âThe lady keeping him gave it to me. She wanted to let me know he was safe with her. She wouldnât let me see him but gave me your number so I can ask a few questions about how heâs doing. Can we meet up sometime for coffee? Maybe tonight at 7? Thatâs when I get off work.â Abby said. There was no response for a long time and Abby had to check her phone to be sure he hadnât hung up.Â
âSeven works for me. Just text me the address and Iâll be there.âÂ
The phone chimed with the end call tone and Abby exhaled. She texted him the address of a shitty coffee place nearby and went back to work.Â
At 6:50, she rushed out of work and sped to the coffee place, looking for anyone she didnât recognize. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, when she saw someone at a table who she didnât know. He was looking around the coffee shop and when he saw her he waved her over.Â
âHenry?â She asked. He nodded and she pulled a chair out and sat down. âPlease tell me where he is.â She pulled her phone out and pulled up a picture of him. He was sitting on the floor, a blurry dog in his lap, he was smiling bigger than Henry had ever seen him. âPlease, he deserves to be safe. You know sheâs not taking good care of him. Why the hell are you protecting her?âÂ
Henry bit the inside of his cheek, âSheâs my sister. I promised my dad Iâd protect her and for a long time, I didnât. I moved in with my mom and left her with hers. For the longest time, I ignored her, but then she came to me. Iâm not letting her get hurt again.âÂ
âBut youâre letting her hurt Toby. Do you know why heâs with me instead of a parent? Itâs because my dadâs in prison for trying to kill our mom. And our momâs in prison for trying to kill Toby and my dad. The only reason theyâre both still alive is because my uncle called the police and somehow got custody of him. But he was terrible too. Tobyâs had a string of bad guardians and he was finally safe with me. Then he was kidnapped. Please, just tell me where he is. She wonât even know you told me. Iâll get him while sheâs out. I wonât involve the police or anything. Please, just let me get him safe.â She begged.Â
Henry rubbed his eyes and thought for a moment. âOkay. But you have to promise that there wonât be any police.â Abby nodded and Henry exhaled. âSheâs at the store right now, come with me.âÂ
Abbyâs face lit up, âReally? Youâll take me to him right now? Youâre not tricking me or anything?â
Henry shook his head. âItâs better to go right away so you canât get the police involved. And if we wait any longer then sheâll figure out that I helped you. Better for the both of us.âÂ
Abby put a $20 bill on the table to pay for the coffee and stood up. She followed him out of the coffee shop and got into his car, throwing every cautious thought about getting into a guyâs car to the wind. She didnât care about anything other than getting Toby back home.Â
The brakes squealed to a stop and Henry got out of the car and started walking up to the house, but stopped when Abby didnât follow him.Â
âYou cominâ?âÂ
Her eyes were glued to the front door of the house as she unbuckled and struggled with opening the door. âThis is where he is?â she breathed. âI walk past here every day when I walk Sammie. Heâs been here the whole time?âÂ
Henry walked back to his car and closed the car door behind her. âYou didnât know.âÂ
She knew he was trying to comfort her, but it did the opposite. She didnât know. How couldnât she know? The curtains were always drawn, a fence went up just a few days after he was taken. All the signs were there, she just ignored them. How could she have ignored them?
Henry opened the door and Abby ran inside, it finally caught up to her what was happening. She barely looked around the house, ignoring the self-developed images of Toby. There were ones where he was on a bed, looking up at whoever was behind the camera with tears in his eyes, ones where he was in the backyard, standing with his hands at his side. There was a pile of clothes in the corner of the living room, all dirty enough to the point Abby guessed dirt would fall onto the ground if she folded them. In the kitchen, there were half full cups of spoiled milk and juice with dead flies in them. Plates with food still on them were sitting on the table in front of a chair with scrapes on the sides, from what seemed to be fingernails.Â
âThis is his room,â Henry said. He turned a key and the door opened out.Â
Abby cried when she saw the room. It was so small. Barely big enough for a bed and dresser. The walls were covered with drawings, heâd drawn Sammie and her on nearly every paper. There were drawings with sunsets and trees, some of them had words on them, but the one thing she noticed about all of them was the dull colors. There were a few shirts on the dresser top, all of them still had tags. She looked around, but there was one thing she didnât see.Â
âWhere is he?â she whispered.Â
Henry looked down at the ground, âTry the closet. He has to stay in there most of the time heâs home alone.âÂ
âOh god,â she breathed.Â
The door was jammed shut with a book. Abby pulled it out from under it and opened the door slowly.Â
He was curled up in the corner of the closet, head between his knees and hands clasped tightly around his legs. He was so much smaller than he was before, his clothes pooled around him.Â
âToby?â She whispered gently. âToby, itâs me. Letâs get you out of here, okay? Then weâll leave here so she wonât be able to find you again, okay?âÂ
He looked up, brown eyes filled with tears, âAbby?âÂ
She smiled, âYeah, Iâm here. I found you.âÂ
He uncurled a little bit and reached a hand out to her. She took it and held it tightly.Â
âCan we go home?â He cried.Â
She nodded, âYeah, yeah, buddy, we can go home. Come here.âÂ
He crawled to her and she hugged him tightly. She stood up and held him close to her, her chin on the top of his head. She looked at Henry and nodded once, not thanking him, but grateful for what heâd done.Â
A car door slammed outside and Toby tensed up.Â
âFuck,â Henry cursed. âThatâs her. You have to go. Iâll distract her for as long as I can, but you have to be quick. Thereâs a gate along the fence on the east side of the house, itâs a standard lock, hurry.âÂ
She hitched Toby up and ran to the back of the house, not caring about any noise she was making. The door opened with a little persuasion and she ran outside, nearly falling down the steps. The gate swung open and she ran down the driveway, not bothering to close it behind her.Â
She ran all the way home, losing both shoes on the way. She unlocked the front door quickly and locked it as soon as they were safe inside. She went around the house and locked all the windows and the back door before she set Toby down.Â
She pushed the hair out of his face and cupped his cheek, âAre you okay?âÂ
He didnât answer.Â
She pulled him close to her again and hugged him, âIâm sorry it took me so long to find you. Iâm so, so sorry.â She wept. âBut youâre safe now. I wonât let her take you again. I promise.âÂ
He cried against her, her shirt slowly darkening with tears. She pulled away again and looked at him, âOh, youâre so skinny. Are you hungry? Do you want anything? I can call for some takeout, or I can cook something, or we can go out and eat at a restaurant. Anything you want. Just let me know.âÂ
He looked past her, eyes dull and unfocused. âWhereâs Sammie?âÂ
âHeâs outside, do you want to see him?â She asked.Â
He nodded and she stood up. She walked through the kitchen and opened the door and called for Sammie. The pitbull ran inside and ran around the house, sniffing everywhere Abby had been since she got home. When he made it to the living room, he whined.Â
âWho is that, Sammie?â Abby asked, still in the kitchen filling Sammieâs food bowl.Â
He whined again and Abby poked her head around the corner to see what was wrong.Â
âSammie? Whereâs Toby?â She asked.Â
He whined at the couch, not moving until Abby stood next to him. She told him to go to his bed and he did. She looked around the living room, looking for Toby.Â
âTob, where are you?â She asked. There wasnât any response and Abby checked the lock on the front door. It was still locked and Abby let out a breath she didnât realize she was holding. She went down the hallway, thinking heâd maybe gone to the bathroom, but she stopped when she passed his room.Â
He stood in the doorway, staring around the room. She sighed in relief and stood next to him. âThere you are.âÂ
He flinched and took a step back and Abby felt horrible.Â
âIâm so sorry. I thought you heard me. Are you okay?â She asked.Â
He just blinked in response.Â
âI didnât change anything in your room, everythingâs the same as it was before.â she said. He still didnât respond. âDo you still want to see Sammie? Heâs in the living room waiting for you.â She said, hoping to get some response from him.Â
He nodded, but didnât move. Abby waited for him to do something, anything, but he stayed still.Â
Then, he whispered, âCan I leave my room?âÂ
Abbyâs heart broke all over again. âYes, yeah, you donât have to ask, you can go anywhere you want to anytime, okay? You can do whatever you want.âÂ
âOh.â
He walked out of the room and into the living room. He smiled when he saw Sammie, and the pitbull did the same (in his own way) when he saw Toby.Â
Toby squatted in front of Sammie and pet him, scritching him behind the ears and rubbing his chin, smiling as the wiggly dog licked his face.Â
Abby stood in the hallway watching as the two played together. Toby got tired a lot quicker than he used to and Sammie caught on fast. He curled up on his giant dog bed and left room for Toby to lay next to him, just like he had before.Â
Toby looked back at Abby and she nodded, âGo ahead.âÂ
She walked into the kitchen as the two fell asleep and cooked. She didnât think he would eat tonight, but she could at least have something ready for him if he woke up hungry. And she needed something to do before the morning. She needed to call the police and tell them sheâd found Toby and to tell them where the lady lived. She didnât give a fuck about the promise she made to Henry, she deserved to go to jail. Or at the very least a psych ward. And if she called now then Sgt. Topple would answer, and she didnât get along with him at all, he acted like it was her fault Toby was taken. No, sheâd wait until morning and talk to Lt. McPherson.Â
The sun rose late and dissolved the fog that surrounded the neighborhood around the same time Abby finished off the last of the flour in the house making cookies. She peeked in the living room and smiled when she saw Toby curled up against Sammie, who had his head protectively over Tobyâs chest.Â
She walked outside and refilled the bird feeder as she called Lt. McPherson. He told her heâd be over as soon as he dealt with his current call, so now all she had to do was wait.Â
She hated waiting.Â
The doorbell rang and Sammie woke up, but didnât move, or bark for that matter. Toby was still sleeping, muttering something that Abby tried her best to block out. Heâd tell her eventually if he wanted to.Â
She opened the door and walked outside, âCan we talk out here? Tobyâs sleeping in the living room.âÂ
âOf course. Howâs he seem?â McPherson asked. Abby left the door open a crack in case Toby woke up while she was outside.Â
âUhm, well, he hasnât really talked much, but he seems pretty okay physically. Heâs just a lot smaller than he was before.â She said.Â
He nodded. âYou said you had the address?âÂ
âYeah, here it is, I wrote it down. Could you stay here though? I donât really know where she is and I donât know if she knows where I live or not.â She handed him a folded piece of paper and he snapped a photo of it.Â
âSure thing, I just sent it to my partner, sheâll handle the arrest. Dâya need help with anything around the house since Iâm here?â He asked.Â
Before she could answer, Sammie whined and pressed his nose against the door.Â
âWill you excuse me for a second? Iâll be right back.â Abby said. McPherson nodded.Â
She walked inside and looked around the living room. Toby was still in the dog bed asleep, but he was kicking his legs out and covering his face with his arms.Â
He cried out and his eyes opened. He looked around wildly with his chest heaving. Abby rushed to his side and sat down in front of him, reaching out to him.Â
He pushed himself back and his back hit the wall. She stopped and pulled her hand back.Â
âHey, Tob. Youâre okay.â She said softly.Â
His breathing slowed and he looked at Abby.Â
The front door squeaked open and Abby stood up.Â
McPherson looked around the room before stopping on her, âEverything okay in here?âÂ
She nodded and stepped aside so he could see Toby, âJust a bad dream. Will you just wait here?âÂ
He nodded again and Abby picked Toby up. She carried him to his room and put him in his bed, pulling the covers up to his chin.Â
âJust go back to sleep, everythingâs okay here, Iâm just doing some grown-up things.â She soothed. She brushed the hair out of his face and wiped his tears away with the pad of her thumb, âJust yell if you need anything, okay?âÂ
He nodded and she walked out of his room, leaving the door slightly ajar as she left.Â
âSorry about that,â she said. âI just had to put him in his bed. Has your partner made the arrest yet?âÂ
McPherson nodded, âYeah, theyâre headed to the station.âÂ
Abby exhaled, âThank god, I was afraid sheâd left town. Okay, Iâm sure you have other things to do, you can go now. Thank you for staying with me. Will you take some desserts to the station with you? I was up all night baking.âÂ
He nodded, âNo need to twist my arm, Iâll take some sweets. Keep your phone on today, weâll probably be calling you. You should also take the kid to the hospital today, just to be sure everythingâs really alright with him.âÂ
She handed him a bag filled with treats, âI know, Iâm just letting him get some sleep before we do anything. I donât know how much sleep heâs gotten.âÂ
Lt. McPherson nodded and tipped his hat as he left the house. Abby locked the door behind him and let Sammie out, locking the back door again once he was out. She packaged up the rest of the desserts and put the majority of them in the freezer for later.Â
She cooked herself breakfast and started on some pancakes for Toby, his favorite kind with blueberries and chocolate chips in them. She put them in the fridge and cleaned the kitchen, sweeping all the crumbs from her night of baking into a dustpan and dumping it into the trash.Â
~
reblogs appreciated <3