I can still hear Cody yelling, though it's not so loud now. I can still feel the gun in my hand, the terror and yet utter excitement of having Hobbs down on his knees, his life in my hands. Cody says I could have ended it right there, but it wouldn't be the end of it. Just another bump in the road. So I froze. I took one look at Chris's face, saw the fear, the utter agony he was in, just waiting to see if I would pull the trigger. That's when I knew I couldn't. Because I wasn't him. I wasn't going to put his family or friends through the hell that mine lived through. I wasn't, because I was better then that. I let him go. He was a lucky son of a bitch. His mother would never sob at her sons side, holding her breath every time the monitor beeped. His girlfriend would never have to feel completely helpless, his friends would never have to wait by the phone to see if he lived or died through the night. I walked around and found myself outside of Brian's loft. Punching in the code I let myself into the elevator. It felt like a million years before I reached his door. Unlocking it, I tried to slide the door open as quietly as possibly. Then I spotted him. Sitting on the floor, cell phone on the coffee table, ciggarette in the other. He was just staring at it, like it was the only thing in the world. He didn't even hear me come in. "Brian." I said softly. Jumping up he let out an audible sigh. "Brian, are you okay?" I asked. Brian nodded as he made his way over to where I was standing. He enfolded me in his arms. "Are you done?" I nodded. "It's over Brian." He visibly relaxed. "What about Cody?" "Cody has his own demons he needs to confront." I replied. "And you?" "It's finally ended." I answered. I could tell he knew what that meant. Brian nodded. "So no more prowling the streets at night looking to fight the homophobes of this town?" I shook my head no. "I realized that the only thing Cody was fighting was himself, because he's still ashamed of who he is." Brian just nodded. "You did what you had to do. Now you're back and that's all that matters." Just knowing Brian worried and cared about me gives me more strength, courage and joy then the Pink Posse ever did. And that's all that matters.