| winter wonderland |

hmm...

i know i mentioned maybe jonathan breaking out of prison or possibly hiring someone to come after them like a kill-for-hire kind of thing

i thought being home more would give me even more time to post and it did at first but now it’s just eh i still wanna post just as much i can’t come up with anything to actually write

it does suck ass cx

so he comes after alex (maybe repeated assaults) and of course they file reports but it’s pushing collin closer to the edge every time because he’s scared. it doesn’t strain their relationship but he maybe he gets out, harasses them for a bit, breaks in a couple times (maybe hurts one of the animals). maybe he can hurt alex and take collin before he has a chance to do anything? maybe micheal comes over to check on them, say hey with his wife and they find him?

yeah! maybe alex is in the hospital and literally can’t get out to help? i like the idea of a chase. james can chloroform collin, knock him out. micheal could possibly play a part in chasing him down since he’s the one that found them?

sure! shall i start where collin sees on the news that jonathan has gotten out? maybe alex is out by the pool hanging out (^: ??

sure!

Once Collin had had the conversation with Alex’s parents about what had happened, he was at peace. They weren’t angry with him, Alex had forgiven him and everything was fine. They had come back in good sprints, happily carrying their leftovers in styrofoam boxes. They finished the night out just as they wanted. The next day was warmer, partly cloudy with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds and casting patches down below. They played with the puppies outside that day. The second day brought a round of storms that had snuck up on them. But he had been fine; Collin spent the entire day wrapped up in his fiancés arms in the comfort of their bed. The third day was gorgeous. The sun was out without a cloud in sight. They had decided to spend the day outside by the pool. Collin had bought some nice lounge chairs with the comfortable cushions and a small table that sat between. He had gotten one of the large umbrellas that sat behind them that they could pull forward when they needed too. “I’m gonna head in and grab a couple waters.” Collin brushed Alex’s arms before leaving the chair he was in and heading inside.

The house was cool and the floor cold under Collin’s feet. The warmth from the sun had made him drowsy but he made his way to the kitchen with a smile and a hum. He pulled it open and pulled two waters out, glancing at the counter when he closed it. Both of their phones were there and Collin topped the screen out of habit to see if there was anything. To his surprise he had missed calls from both Edward and Mary. Tapping Alex’s phone, he saw the same. Weird. He frowned and looked to the tv. They had left it on with the volume low. A breaking news story was flashing across the screen. Collin almost dropped the waters when it reached him. ‘Man charged with attempted murder escaped late last night!’. Below the red box and white letters was the mugshot of Jonathan. “Alex...”, Collin groaned wearily, calling out for Alex. He has forgotten he was in the house. Collin turned and fled towards the door, flying through it. It banged shut behind him. “Alex, h-he’s out. He’s out of pr-prison. Shaky hands sat the bottles down on the table and Collin stared at him, eyes wide.

Alex’s kiss failed to console Collin as he pulled him back inside. He threw the first paranoid glance over his shoulder. She had expected to see Jonathan at the base of the woods or smiling at him from the fence where he would be leaning, waving with a knife in his hand. Collin turned and there was nothing. Nothing but the fence. He swallowed as the cool insides of the house surrounded him and Alex shut the door. Collin made sure he heard the separate clicks of the deadbolt and lock on the doorknob being flipped. What had happened a few months ago flashed back into his mind. The bump in the night, going into their dark room and Jonathan ambushing him. Collin winced and his hand flew to his waist as if he had been shot in the same spot a second time. Collin sat on the corner of the bed, his eyes wide. He didn’t say a word as he watched Alex leave. When he had, Collin began pacing, his bare feet making tapping sounds on the hard wood.

They were right to lock the doors. A set of eyes had watched silver deadbolt turn, latching the door shut. They watched as every curtain was pulled shut. The sun began to set and it was easier for Jonathan to slip around the side of the house. The dark, worn grey color of his prison jumpsuit helped him hide easily. He soon came around to the side of the house where the laundry window was left open, cracked just enough for him to slip his fingers into it and slip into the house. When he reached it, that was what he did. Getting into the house was easy. The window was above the dryer, which he stepped onto the intro he floor, never making a sound in the soft soled shoes he had on. He could hear them both moving around muttering. He saw Alex pass by through the crack in the laid key room door. To his delight, Collin didn’t follow. Jonathan eases his way out of the door. In his hand he held a shiny tire iron, sharpened by a rock he had found in the woods whilst waiting. Jonathan slipped through their house just as easily as before until he found Alex in the kitchen, his back towards him. Silly boy. Jonathan wasted no time; he swung the tire iron with all his might, catching Alex in the side of the head. It cracked but he didn’t fall. Jonathan swung it again, hitting the top of Alex’s head. He caught him in his other arm before he fell to the floor. Jonathan laid him down gently as if putting a baby to sleep then went on the other side of the doorway that led into the living room and waited. Bright red blood had sprayed across the wall.

“Alex?” Collin still paced, his steps nervous and urgent. He hadn’t sat down since Alex left and it was taking too long for him to return. The water bottles were on the counter where they had been left. It wasn’t a minutes walk away. “Alex...”, he called wearily. Maybe he’s in the bathroom... Collin didn’t want to leave the room but he couldn’t stay alone. He felt as if Jonathan were looming right over his shoulder again or watching him from the closet like he had been the first time. He stepped out, biting his lip and called his fiancés name again. No answer. Collin felt his heart speed up as he went through the hall. The hairs on the back of his neck stood and he knew something wasn’t right. Collin’s hand guided him into the open area of their kitchen. Alex in the floor was the first thing he saw. Collin let out a strangled cry and collapsed beside him, his hands slipping in the blood that had looked around Alex’s head. “Baby, fuck, Alex!” Collin shook him. He had no idea anyone was behind him until a rag, wet with something that smelled sickly sweet covered his nose and mouth. The hands that held him were strong and he couldn’t pull away before everything went black.

<3 i could have done better

“Oh, you’ve gotten heavy.” Collin’s limp body dropped, half held by an arm that had gone around him. The other still smashed the rag into his parted lips. Jonathan held him, the body slumped into his lap, Collin’s face cradled in his lap. With the rag removed, he pulled a few strings that had come off from around Collin’s lips. A calloused finger traced the rise of Collin’s high cheekbones, running down the sharp edge of his jaw and finally resting on his lips again. “You’ve caused me quite a lot of trouble but... oh, me, I can’t be angry with you... I’ve waited. It's hard to have anything isn't it? Rare to get it, hard to keep it. This is a damn slippery planet.” Jonathan tucked the ragged cloth into his back pocket before he stood, bringing Collin bridal style to his chest. Collin’s head rolled. Jonathan’s steps didn’t make a sound across the shining floor but left tracks, blood-smeared imprints of his soles as he walked out of the front door. He stowed Collin in his car, right in the passenger seat. “Let’s go, let’s get some handles. I don’t know why I’m talking about this stuff. Look, I love you and I miss you and you’re doing the wrong thing, being with him. It’s costing you too, I know that.” He’ll be out for awhile. No need to tie him up. The sun that hung high glinted off of the ring around Collin’s finger. “Oh we can’t have that.” Jonathan took it off and went back inside. Alex’s body was there. Beside it, he dropped the silver engagement ring. He stepped over the body, shoes dipping into the puddle of blood again. Jonathan tracked the house but he wasn’t stealing; he locked the kittens in the office with food and water. No sense hurting them. The puppies had food and water he saw. As he came back, Jonathan nudged Alex in the ribs with the toe of his shoe. Before he left, he snatched the tire iron off of the floor, shut the door behind him- there was no need for gloves, the cops had his prints - and climbed into his vehicle with Collin. Jonathan turned on the radio and began humming while he drove off.

The sun dipped below the side of the house when Micheal’s black Honda pulled into the driveway. His watch said six. “Oh, we’re running a little late dear.” He glanced to his wife in the passenger seat. She wore a black floral dress trimmed with an off-white lace that dipped down the front of her chest. A string of pearls hung round her neck. Micheal looked at the rise of her collar bone beneath her ivory skin. “Its five passed six, Micheal. Five minutes doesn’t count. Come on.” Unbuckling, he followed his wife out of the car and took her hand before leading her inside. Micheal knocked and waited, smiling as he did. He knocked again and when no one came, Micheal frowned. Both of their vehicles were there, they had said six, hadn’t they? He reached out and to his surprise, the door was unlocked and came open easily. It slid open with a barely audible creak. “Stay here.” Alex had told him of why they had moved here. He had visited Collin the hospital when he had been attacked. Micheal has seen the news hours before. Dropping his wife’s hand, he shoved the door open the rest of the way. Dried, bloody footprints were on the floor. Micheal followed them. They were messy, crossing over one another into a few of the rooms until at last he was led through the living room. The lights were off. Micheal kept on when his foot suddenly hit a hard lump and he fell. His hands tried to catch him but they slipped in something wet. Wet and cold. Micheal turned and in the dim light, he could see it was a body he had fallen over. Alex’s body with a bloody hole in the back of his head. Micheal coughed, scrambling up and across the floor until his back hit the wall. He was dumbstruck but managed to push himself to his feet before stumbling back down the hall and out of the door. “Micheal! You’re covered in-...” He slammed the door and shook his head. “Call the police. Now.”

<3

“He’s awake if you would like to see him but please, don’t get him riled up. He needs to rest.”

The nurse didn’t have to tell Micheal that he didn’t need to mention that Collin was gone but it was impossible to keep that information to himself. He nodded, dismissing her silently before talking his wife’s arm and standing. She was quiet; Micheal had refused to let her into the house but he hadn’t been able to prevent her from overhearing the medical team nor been able to shield her eyes from the bloody body they pulled out of the house in the stretcher. She was quiet. “Come on. You too.” Micheal pointed to the older woman who had shown up half an hour earlier. She called herself Alice and claimed to know Collin and Alex but Micheal was mistrustful: first the shooting, now this and Collin was gone. He didn’t want her too close but wouldn’t let her get too far. The woman stood without a word and followed him and his wife down the quiet hallway of the intensive care unit. It was dimly lit; the bright lights were too harsh on the people back here. Alex’s room soon came into view.

“Look who woke up...” Micheal didn’t try to crack a joke as he made his way into the room. He pulled the chair for his wife and the second chair for Alice. He stood, back turned for a few seconds before he turned to look at his friend. From the front Alex looked okay. There was a small cut above a darkened bruise on his forehead where he had bashed his head against the wall when he fell, as well as a bruise on his shoulder from hitting the floor. The back of Alex had taken the beating; from the top of his crown to the base of his neck where his shoulders sloped down was bruised black and blue. A wound on the side of his head just behind his ear was bandaged, held together by steri-strips so the skin could heal itself. The second wound was further down. A small hole had been in the back of Alex’s head. It was now cleaned and packed- Micheal didn’t know what that meant - and a nurse came by every few hours to change it and clean it again. The whole area had been shaved. “How are you feeling...?” Micheal kept his tone guarded, weary of what Alex would say or do.

Alex had been unconscious for three days.

”Scratching the back of your head is the last thing you need to do right now.” Micheal held a hand up as if to stop Alex’s hand, even though it hadn’t moved from its spot. He listened, nodding at what he was saying. From what he had told the police, they came to the conclusion that Alex and Collin had been lounging by the pool and were attacked from the inside. Alex had still been in his swim trunks when Micheal arrived. “Alex... You were attacked in your house.” Micheal could feel his wife’s hand rest on the top of his hand as he spoke. It was comforting. “After you came in from the pool it... The cops say you were hit in the back of the head twice. The first one didn’t do much. The second knocked you out. Don’t touch your head. It’s... The spot are shaved and bandaged. I’m sure you feel more pain towards the bottom of your head. That’s the bad one... He knocked a hole in the back of your head Alex and it’s packed with something so it will heal, don’t touch it.” It came out in a rush and Micheal hadn’t meant to tell him that much but Alex was his friend. He had too. He also avoided acknowledging Collin. “He hit you with a tire iron, Alex. Jonathan. He got out and attacked you. From the inside of your home. And... Alex, you’ve been unconscious for three days.”

Micheal glanced over and caught Alice looking at him, her eyes wise and kind. He felt like he could like. Tell him the woman mouthed. She must have read his mind because Micheal quickly looked away back to Alex. “I don’t know why you’re having trouble remembering. I’ll let the doctor handle that but Alex... There’s something else.” Micheal reached out and took his friends hand in his own. It was cold. “Its Collin. He’s... H-he’s gone, Alex. Jonathan took him and... and they don’t know where they’ve gone.” The story had been on the news two hours after it happened. The entire town must have known that Jonathan had escaped- they also included the mugshot they had gotten from when he had shot Collin - and gone straight after them. Alex’s condition wasn’t televised other than saying he was in critical condition. They made it known that Collin was taken by Jonathan and believed to be in grave danger. Micheal had seen the blood trails on the floor and he believed it. He wanted to tell Alex the pets were fine but that would be the last thing that was on his mind. “I’m so sorry.” Micheal, from the corner of his eye, saw Alice get up and walk to the other side of the bed. She took Alex’s other hand, careful not to touch the thin tape that held the IV, and held it gently between both of hers.

”Yes you were attacked.” Micheal could see the shock register on Alex’s face as he said it. “We showed up a little late, after six or so and we knocked. No one came. I turned the doorknob and it was unlocked and the door came open.” Micheal could hear the soft squeal the hinges gave when it did. “You were on the floor, still in your swim trunks, in a puddle of blood.” Micheal still felt as if he could feel how cold and thick it had been when he touched the sole of his shoe when he fell. He left out that part. “Its small but yeah, he did. He hit you hard.” Micheal felt better telling Alex this rather than letting the doctors because he would tell exactly what he saw. He dug into his pocket then and pulled out Collin’s engagement ring. He knew he shouldnt have taken it from the scene- it was evidence- but he hadn’t the heart to let the police take it. Micheal held it out. “I... found this. I think Jonathan pulled it off of him. Three days, yeah. The doctors cou”d have woken you the same day but they knew it would help to give you a couple days to recover.”

“You’re having trouble remembering things because of the anesthesia the doctors had you under.” Micheal knew his mind would be a little scrambled and he really hoped it would clear up for him and not cause long term damage. He reacted as soon as Alex shot up; Micheal stood abruptly, placing a bad on Alex’s chest. “Dont, Alex, lay down”, he said firmly, pushing him back gently as he gave way. Micheal hovered over Alex until he was sure he wouldn’t try to get up again. Sinking back into the chair, he nodded. “Jonathan was in his car. It was the same one they found down the street when Collin was attacked. A silver car. One of the neighbors saw it backing out of the driveway. Said they squealed tires.” It wasn’t much of a lead but Micheal knew they could trace the license plate number. He explained that to Alex. “They’re going to find him, Alex, you know that. They’ve got the best detectives on the case and they’re working on finding the car. Cops are crawling everywhere.” Micheal looked to Alice for support. She caught his look and smiled. Just like Collin would have, she brushed the hair back his forehead and leaned forward to kiss his forehead- a grandmotherly kiss. “You need to relax dear... You’ve been through more than you think.”