a hole in the bottom of the sea

When Justin finally wakes up, he’s surprised to find himself alone. Sitting up, he sees the note beside him from Brian telling him he had to make some calls and was downstairs in Carl’s room. Knowing he should be suspicious, Justin decides to get his priorities straight and wobbles to the bathroom. “First things first,” he mumbles to himself, needing to empty his bladder. Flushing the toilet, he gasps at his reflection in the mirror. “Shit,” he mutters, staring at the bruise on his cheek. Frowning, he looks away and begins to wash his hands. Richard Taylor. He couldn’t believe how naive he had been about his uncle. He thought Richard was different from Alex and Craig… but he was the same, if not worse. Justin knew Craig would never have sold his children out like that. And he was pretty sure that Alex would never have attempted to drive his niece and nephew to their death. No, Richard was worse. And Richard was dead. Dead. Dead in that car… and somehow, he and Molly were still alive. Turning off the water, Justin dries his hands. Feeling detached, he stares at his reflection once again. So many people were dead. Richard was only the latest in the flow of deaths that had hit him and Molly in the past several days. Days…it felt like a year had past, but it had only been days. A week maybe; barely a week actually. Barely a week! One single week… a week ago life was normal. A week ago he was in Pittsburgh trying to get his life back on track. A week ago he had parents that were alive and well. He had grandparents and an uncle living nearby. He had cousins that were alive and happy… he was working on being happy too. He could have been happy. A week ago his life changed forever. A week ago everything was taken away from him. Like dominos spilling… and then it was gone. Ignoring the crutches on the floor, Justin hobbles back to the bed and lies down. He didn’t care that Brian was downstairs talking to Carl about what the officers had said. He didn’t care that his lover was probably making calls that weren’t work related. He didn’t care. He didn’t care. He didn’t care. Nothing he did mattered. Something was bound to happen. Life was out of his hands. Closing his eyes, he decides sleep was a much better priority than doing anything else.