Justin got up from the bed and walked to the living room. He looked around and didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was trapped. He felt completely useless. It had been five days since Daphne’s disappearance. It could be more days, they weren’t sure of the exact day she’s went missing. “Justin,” Brian said as he walked into the living room. Justin walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Do you want anything to drink?” Brian asked. Justin shook his head. Brian walked over to the mini bar and served himself a drink. He was tired of watching Justin act like a complete zombie. He wanted the blond to snap out of it, to scream, or cry, to throw something anything as long as he reacted to the situation. “I miss her,” Justin told him. “I know you do,” Brian replied. “I can’t find her,” Justin said frowning and leaning back. “I don’t know what the fuck happened.” Brian walked over to him. He took a deep breath and just stayed there. That’s all he could do, be there for the blond. “Brian,” Justin whispered and then started crying. Brian put his glass away and then hugged the blond. “Shhh,” he comforted. “It’s not fair,” Justin told him. “This can’t be happening again.” Brian frowned and pulled back. “What are you talking about?” Justin shook his head and whispered, “nothing.” “Justin,” Brian said. “Tell me.” Justin got up and paced around. Then he directed himself to the mini bar as Brian had. The only difference was that he took the bottle instead of a glass. He went to sit next to Brian and took a log swig. “Hey,” Brian said pulling the bottle down. “Easy there.” “My parents were murdered,” Justin blurted out. “What?” Brian asked calmly. “Someone stabbed them while they slept,” Justin let out a tear. “No one ever found out why or by whom. My sister and I are alive but we don’t even know why we survived. We got lucky, but sometimes I didn’t feel lucky.” Brian couldn’t believe what his ears were hearing. “Molly crawled out of the window and ran to the neighbor’s house,” Justin muttered. “What about you?” Brian asked. “I was with Daphne at the time,” Justin told him. Brian swallowed hard. He got closer to the blond to find that Justin was shaking. “What if she’s dead?” Justin asked. “Why...” “Don’t think about that,” Brian quickly said. “Why not?! There was blood in the apartment,” Justin told him. “There was fucking blood on the phone!” Brian closed his eyes not knowing what to do or say. He was relieved that Justin was showing some kind of emotion. Justin pulled away from Brian and walked to the window. Brian decided to leave Justin alone for a few hours. He was sure that the blond needed time to think about what was going on. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Brian said getting up. When he opened the door Clay and Terrance were there. He swallowed thinking the worst. “Come on in.” Justin was by Brian’s side in seconds. “Have you found anything?” he pleaded. Terrance shook his head. “We are doing our best.” Justin bit his lower lip hard. He wasn’t going to cry in front of them. “What are you doing here then?” Brian asked. “We wanted to know if there was anybody that you have fought with recently,” Clay told him. Brian thought about it and then shook his head. “There is nobody,” he looked at Justin and arched a brow. Justin shook his head quickly. He wrapped his arms around himself. “What does that have to do with Daphne?” “We believe someone might be trying to harm you,” Clay said, looking at Justin. Then looking at Brian he continued, “or you Brian, or maybe even the two of you. If they want to make you suffer they would attack the people closest to you.” Justin shook his head and walked away to the bedroom. Brian saw him but kept listening to Clay. “What else can we do?” Brian asked. “For the moment try to stay safe,” Terrance told him. “We don’t want anything else happening.” Brian nodded. “We’ll find her,” Clay told him as he looked in Justin’s direction. “Thanks detectives,” Brian said sternly. He didn’t like the way Clay was looking at his boyfriend. “Yeah,” Clay nodded and then they walked out. Brian closed the door and leaned against it. He instinctively knew that detective Williamson assumed that Justin was responsible for the killings. He pinched the bridge of his nose and went to see how Justin was doing it. He found the blond in a fetal position, crying in the bed. “Brian,” Justin gasped as the brunet embraced him. “It’s okay,” Brian muttered. “I got you.” Justin kept on crying as he held on desperately to Brian. *** Justin opened the door to the loft and then closed it. He was dragging his feet but he really didn’t care about that. He had gone to school and sat down in his usual chair but nothing had registered. He was thinking about Daphne all the time. But more ominous was when he was not thinking of her, then he would space out; his brain nothing but a blank page. “Hey, Justin,” Duncan said. Justin looked at the man like he was from another planet. “What are you doing here?” “I am with Michael,” he told him as he pointed in the direction of the bedroom. Justin looked ahead, he saw Michael and Brian starring at him. “How was school?” Brian asked. “Hellish,” Justin told him. “Did you eat?” Michael asked. “Who the fuck are you two?” Justin hissed. “My parents?” Brian used his tongue in cheek expression. “Leave it alone,” he muttered to his friend. Justin went over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. Duncan was watching him silently. He wished he could say or do something to make the blond feel better. Justin walked over to the sofa and sat down. “How long has he been like this?” Michael asked. Brian sighed as he looked for something to wear in his closet. “A week...or more.” “Jesus,” Michael shook his head and then went over to the blond. “I don’t want to talk,” Justin told him. “You are being rude,” Michael told him. Justin shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “How are you handling it so far?” Michael asked. Justin shook his head and furiously said, “I’m not.” Michael looked at Brian who had walked over to the kitchen and stood next to Duncan. “I’m sorry, Justin.” Justin just nodded, sighed and said, “she has to be okay. She’s strong.” Michael closed his eyes and leaned back. He wanted to believe that it was going to be okay. Ben was a strong man and that didn’t matter at the end. He opened his eyes again when he felt Justin moving away. “Are you coming with us?” Brian asked. Justin shook his head as he went to the bedroom. “Shouldn’t you stay with him?” Duncan asked. Brian arched a brow and tried to keep calm. “I can’t do anything for him right now. Trust me, I have tried.” Duncan shook his head. “I’m not going.” Michael rolled his eyes. “I’ll stay here,” Duncan said. Brian shrugged and grabbed his wallet. “I need to get out of here.” Michael got up and went over to Duncan. He kissed him hard and ran his fingers through the man’s hair. “Be good.” Duncan just nodded and watched them go. Then he went over to the bedroom. “Hey,” he said gliding up to Justin. Justin looked up a bit startled. “What are you doing here?” “I decided not to go,” Duncan said. Justin frowned. “What the hell do you want? I don’t need a babysitter.” Duncan sat in the bed. “I know what you are going through.” “Yeah fucking right,” Justin hissed. “I lost my best friend when I was eleven,” Duncan told him. “We were at the lake and...it was winter.” Justin grimaced but listened to what Duncan was telling him. “It was horrible,” Duncan said. “The ice broke and...I tried...I still miss him and I know that he’s with me, no matter what.” Justin let a tear run down and shook his head. “She has to come back.” “I want you to know that it doesn’t matter what happens I’m here for you,” Duncan told him. Justin nodded as he cleaned his tears of his face or at least tried to. “What’s that?” Duncan asked as he pointed at the book that Justin was holding. “Daphne gave it to me,” Justin said. “It’s a sketchbook.” Duncan just watched as Justin opened the book. He smiled when he saw the drawings. “These are really good, Justin.” Justin stopped at one and then pushed it towards Duncan. “She’s the greatest person in the world.” Duncan examined the drawing closely, it looked like she had been posing for Justin. Her eyes had a light in them and she was smiling widely. She looked like an angel and Duncan didn’t want to think that she might actually have turned into one. He cleared his throat and handed the sketchbook back to Justin. “Look,” Justin said. “You really shouldn’t be wasting your time here with me. You can still catch up to the guys.” “Justin,” Duncan said. “I want to be your friend. And I think you need one right now.” Justin didn’t say a thing. “Do you want to eat something?” Duncan asked as he got up. “No,” Justin answered and turned onto his back. “Watch a movie?” Duncan knew it was going to be hard work trying to get Justin to do something. “No,” Justin rolled on the bed again but this time he turned his back to the other blond. “Do you want to lie in bed all day and mope around?” Duncan asked seeing why Brian needed that break after all. “Yes!” Justin hissed. “Okay then,” Duncan got in the bed as well. “I’ll mope around with you.” “You are so annoying,” Justin said as he sat up. “I know,” Duncan said. “But hey, you are talking to the guy that wouldn’t give up on Michael.” Justin rolled his eyes. “I go out with Brian. I’m more stubborn than you.” They smiled briefly. “Brian must be going out of his mind with me,” Justin muttered. Duncan knew that the brunet deserved a break. Michael had told him that the brunet hadn’t left the blond’s side in days. It must have been frustrating dealing with Justin’s attitude all day in and out to then do it all over again. “I still think you are wasting your time here,” Justin told him. “Let me worry about that,” Duncan replied. The two of them kept talking about Michael and Brian at first. Then they talked about Duncan’s family and then Justin’s art. The subjects kept changing over and over and Duncan was happy that the blond was not moping about what was going on with Daphne, even if it was just for a few hours. *** Hunter jumped the last two steps of the stairs and then went to open the door. He stepped to the side and let Duncan inside. “Hey,” Duncan said. “Is Michael home?” “Sure,” Hunter told him. “Michael!” Duncan smiled and just stood there. He still felt awkward around Hunter. He didn’t like coming into the apartment knowing it used to be Michael and Ben’s place. “He’s in his room,” Hunter said. “I’ll go get him. Come on in.” Duncan followed Hunter to Michael’s bedroom. “What are you doing here?” Hunter asked as he looked at Michael reading a comic with a goofy smile in place. Michael looked away from his comic. “This thing is fucking great,” he got up and shoved the comic into Hunter’s chest. “I have more. They came today.” “Wow,” Duncan said walking over to the box and picking a Rage comic. “You guys did it. I bet Justin was excited to hear about it.” “He doesn’t know yet. He’s dealing with a lot of problems. It can wait,” Michael added while slowly putting his hands on Duncan’s waist and grinned. He leaned closer while Duncan just stared at the comic. “Are you going to kiss me or what?” “Oh Jesus,” Hunter said getting up from the bed, “There is a minor in the room.” Duncan laughed and put the comic back with the rest of them. “Not here.” Michael sighed and then nodded. He let go of his man and wound his fingers loosely through the back of his hair, he scratched his head trying to think of what they could do. “Are you hungry?” “Sure,” Duncan told him. “Are we going out?” “Okay,” Michael said. “I’ll tell Hunter.” Duncan nodded and watched him go. He frowned as he stood in the room. He looked around and felt as if Ben was still there watching him and judging him. He knew he was just being paranoid. He decided to just go and wait in the living room. While he waited he thought about what it would be like to live with Michael. He knew Hunter would be there with them and he didn’t mind that. He already cared for the teen; he just didn’t want the adolescent to hate him. Then thinking about Hunter made him think of Michael and him adopting another boy or girl of their own. “We are ready,” Hunter said. Duncan nodded and got up. “Are you boys ready?” Michael asked. “Sure,” Hunter said as he put his cell in his pockets. “Do you have everything you are going to take?” Michael asked. “I’m not coming back to pick up anything you forgot.” “Yes,” Hunter told him and rolled his eyes. “Can we go now?” They were about to leave when they heard something falling down on the second floor. “What was that?” Michael asked. “Why are you looking at me?” Hunter asked. “I’m right here. I didn’t do it.” “You guys stay here,” Michael told him. “I’m going to go check it out.” “You are not going to play hero,” Duncan protested. “He’s right,” Hunter said. “We have to think about this. The best thing is to get out now.” “We should call the cops or...” Duncan stopped talking and they all looked at each other. “It sounds like someone is walking upstairs.” “Okay,” Michael whispered. “We are getting out of here and...” “Hunter!” Someone called from upstairs. “Uh,” Hunter said. “That’s Lana. Hold on,” Hunter ran up the stairs and into his room where he found his girl. “Okay,” Duncan said and smiled. “I have never been so fucking scared in my life.” Michael took a deep breath. “I’m going to kill that kid.” “I guess we let our minds get ahead of us,” Duncan said. “But with all that has been going on I think it’s a normal reaction.” “I know,” Michael said. “I hate it,” Duncan sighted and sat down on the sofa. Michael sat next to him. “Are you okay?” “Someone is out there, Michael,” Duncan said. “And I’m scared, okay? Every time I go home and open the door I think there is someone waiting for me. They haven’t found her and Ben was killed.” Michael nodded and stared at Duncan’s hands seeing that the man was shaking. “I’m scared that something is going to happen to you,” Duncan’s eyes watered. “I want it to be over.” Michael leaned forward and hugged him. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry about it. You can stay here with us.” “No,” Duncan told him quickly. “Guys,” Hunter said coming down the stairs. “Can Lana come with us?” “I don’t see why not,” Duncan said getting up quickly and giving his back to Hunter and Lana. He cleaned his face quickly and then headed for the door. “Is everything alright?” Hunter asked. “Yeah,” Michael exclaimed and walked towards the door. “Let’s go.” *** Terrance got out of the car and sighed. He reached for his suit jacket and then put it on. Then he grabbed his badge and put it in his front pocket with the badge showing. He closed the door and then walked towards the scene. An officer lifted the yellow tape for him to come in. He carefully examined the scene around him and saw that everyone was standing around looking very grim. “Johnson!” he called. Officer Johnson turned around and walked over to Terrance. “We found her.” Terrance didn’t want to believe it. He walked with the officer towards the woods. They walked for about five minutes and then they stopped. “Jesus fuck!” “The coroner came by,” Johnson said. “He said she’s been dead for about two weeks. The animals did some damage but...” “He really did a number on her,” Terrance said. “Looks like he was angry,” Johnson pointed out. “Really angry, she must have pissed him off somehow.” “Fuck it!” Terrance shook his head and walked back. He didn’t know why but seeing her there made his stomach shift. “Are you okay?” an officer asked. “Yeah,” he muttered and kept on walking. Terrance took a deep breath and let it out. He leaned against a tree and shook his head. He looked up when he saw Clay walking his way. “Just got here,” Clay told him. “What do we have?” “We found her,” Terrance lamented. “Daphne Chanders.” Clay frowned and knew that it was Justin. He just knew it. “He killed her. Justin did it.” Terrance shook his head. He didn’t think it was him but he was sure going to find who was responsible, he vowed silently.