If Tobias had his phone in his hand he probably would have taken those brief moments when Scotty was grabbing the Drano to message Chase or Lennon. Anyone, really. Surely someone could hear the guy yelling, right? His bathroom had a lock. He could just lock himself in there like he had when Pam was in his room a while back. But his phone was on his nightstand on the other side of the bed, and honestly, Tobias felt paralyzed to the spot, wondering how any of this was actually happening. Had They taken Simms's son just for this?
He instinctively caught the Drano bottle then quickly dropped it to the floor like it had burned his hands. He hated the sight of it, and almost if on cue Tobias could smell it in his nostrils, along with rotting meat. He was breathing heavily now, shaking his head to deny Scotty's accusations. His vision was blurry, his body shaking violently until Scotty pushed him again. Tobias almost fell but reached out for the wall to stay upright.
The way Scotty approached him with an air of violence surrounding him felt all too familiar, and Tobias saw the similarities between father and son again. All at once he could feel Simms's hand on his neck, forcing his face into the sink with the chemical-soaked meat and bile rose in his throat before Tobias yelled and pushed Scotty back with every ounce of strength he had.
"He's dead," Tobias shouted, wishing he had the guts right there to just deck the guy and knock him out cold. "He was going to kill people and I stopped him. He's dead!" His voice was loud, but broke with pent up emotion and anger, even if some part of his brain still wanted to cower and apologize. He hadn't wanted to kill Simms. Sometimes he wondered how the knife even ended up in the guy's throat, the memory was so choppy and blurred. Maybe his brain was trying hard to forget it, but now it was in his face all over again and it was sick and twisted, even for Them.