It was Sunday night when I received the call from an unknown number. I never usually answer those calls, but tonight was different. I do not know what cosmic force made me click 'accept', but I didn't think twice before putting the phone up to my ear.

" Hello, Logan Crofters speaking, what do you need?" I was answered with heavy breathing and sniffling. I was about to hang up when I heard his voice.

" Logan, come quickly. The nearest hospital. . . It's Patton," Virgil said weakly. The phone beeped and he hung up. My eyes widened. Without another thought, I grabbed my coat and ran out my door, not even bothering to lock it.

Students coming into the hallway had to jump aside to avoid bumping into me. I heard a few ask me what was wrong, but I didn't know myself. I hopped in my car and sped off. My seatbelt wasn't on, either.

I slid into the closest parking spot and sprinted into the hospital. My eyes scanned the waiting room and I saw the Dean. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost. My heart stopped as he locked eyes with me. I walked up to him, scared of what I was about to hear.

" Mr. Morals has been," Mr. Sanders' voice cracked. " Has been involved in a targeted attack against him."

My knees felt shaky and my mind went fuzzy. " Why would anyone target someone like Patton?"

" It's my fault," A quiet voice chimed in from one of the chairs. A young man, a student maybe, sat there. His hair was messy and there were bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept. " He's my advisor. I told him everything, and I got him on the hit list of a really shady guy."

" A freshman by the name of Dmitri Grant. The authorities identified him by checking the traffic cameras and tracking the car. His fake ID was found inside. The cops are searching for him as we speak, but. . ." The Dean hesitated. " We don't know how long Patton was unconscious in that alleyway. He lost a lot of blood."

" You mean to tell me that Patton might've been sitting in an alleyway, bleeding out, for an unspecified amount of time?!" I repeated, shell shocked.

" His roommate called to report that he hadn't returned home, and his summer students reported that he wasn't in class. His car never left my parking lot, meaning he walked home. I had the police investigate his route home, and they found him. . ." the Dean stopped and looked away.

A police officer walked into the waiting room. He pulled the Dean over to the side and whispered to him. My boss grimaced and I feared the worst. He sighed and stepped back over to the student and me. 

" They found him and his buddies in a restaurant near his dorm. None of them had any bruises or wounds, which means Patton did not fight back, or even try to resist," he informed. " I feared he would do that."

" Which room?" I said softly.

" 216," the Dean answered.

I nodded and rushed to the elevator. I stumbled into the room and found Virgil sitting next to a hospital bed, and Roman with his head in his hand in the corner. I walked in and I couldn't stop the gasp from leaving my mouth.

Patton was hooked up to a million machines and very unconscious, but that wasn't why I was so surprised. His entire body was covered in bruises. There were bandages around his head and arm. He had a split lip and his glasses sat on the table next to him, cracked and broken. Roman looked up and saw me. He cleared his throat and brushed off his shirt.

" Logan," he sighed. I crumpled to my knees, still standing in the doorway. I couldn't look away from Patton. 

" Is he okay?" I barely recognized my own voice. 

Virgil let out a humorless laugh. " Yes, of course! He's fine! He definitely wasn't ambushed in an alleyway and left there to bleed to death for nearly a day!"

" Virgil don't. . ." Roman said quietly. 

" No, he's correct. It was stupid of me to ask. I guess the appropriate question was 'What damages has he sustained?'" I stood up, using the wall as support. Virgil eyed me with an emotion I couldn't identify. 

" He's got three broken ribs, several cracked bones, a gash in his head and on his back, and a minor concussion. On top of all that, he lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, the doctors had some B+ in stock," Roman explained. " They're giving him fluids and they're going to give him the appropriate casts when they've finished looking at the x-ray. Meanwhile, the police are looking for the people responsible."

" Oh, yes. While I was downstairs, a police officer informed us that they'd caught him."

Virgil's head shot up and he practically flew to his feet.

" Dmitri Grant and his two other friends were put in custody, but they had no injuries. Patton didn't fight back," I told him. He sunk back into the chair and stared at his friend. 

" Of course not. Patton would never hurt a student, no matter what," Roman said, almost wistfully. " But they caught the guys responsible. They better hope I never get my hands on their sorry asses-"

" Roman," Virgil whispered. The taller man lost the fire in his eyes and went to stand by Virgil. " It's my fault. I thought I had gotten through to them. I should have gotten through to them! I'm the psychology professor for God's sake!"

Now that he was louder, I noticed his voice was small and hoarse. Nothing like the tiny, scary man with the deep voice that had peer-pressured me into helping with the play. I felt slightly out of place in that room. Two long-time friends mourned over their injured friend, while I stood there like a fool. I was never as close to Patton as they were, but no one deserved to look like this, or be in this predicament. 

My eyes landed on his glasses, cracked and bent at all corners. I stepped closer and picked them up. Careful of the broken shards of glass, I removed my glasses and looked through his. " Oh, how queer."

" What?" Roman inquired.

" We have the same prescription," I mused. Virgil buried his face in Roman's shirt. I bit my lip, feeling slightly upset about how Virgil was handling this whole situation. " It isn't your fault, Virgil."

He glanced over at me. " And what would you know, huh? You didn't even try to get close to Patton, the friendliest guy on the planet! You pushed him away and he was nothing but worried about you not liking him!"

" Virgil, please calm down!" Roman pleaded.

" No! Did you know that Patton thought you hated him after you left on Saturday? That means he walked home that day, believing you would never even give him the time of day, and now look at this!" He gestured to the man on the hospital bed, hardly recognizable, but still Patton.

" I. . . I was not aware," I said in a small voice. I backed towards the door, Virgil glaring at me the whole way. " I should be going."

I left the room and sat on a bench in the hallway. Roman joined me a moment later. There was a pregnant silence before he said, " He didn't mean it."

" He's right," I choked out. " I've been nothing but selfish. I took his kindness for granted and regarded it as an annoyance."

" Patton's always been good at reading people," Roman said, seemingly out of the blue. " He saw through Virgil's defensive attitude and became his closest friend. They have a special relationship that even I'm jealous of."

" Wait, but I thought you were Virgil's friend too?"

" Well, you can't spell 'boyfriend' without 'friend', so you aren't mistaken," Roman chuckled. I blushed.

" Ah, I was not aware. Apologies," I replied.

" Anyway, that's not my point. A thousand other new teachers have come along in my time, but you're the only one Patton's really truly tried to befriend. If he sees something in you, I'll trust his instincts. So far, Logan, you seem like a good person." Roman sighed and smiled. " Don't listen to Virgil. He hasn't slept since Patton was reported missing, and he's acting out because he doesn't know what to do with those emotions."

I just shrugged and he put and arm around my shoulders. " Trust me, he'll be beating himself up over that for awhile. He knows his flaws, he is a human being after all."

With that, Roman bid me farewell and went back into the room. I decided Virgil might need time to cool down, and I was about to leave. Suddenly, I man came bursting out of the elevators. He had sunglasses on and seemed to be in the biggest hurry. Before I could process it, he was in front of me.

" Where's Patton," he said. His voice was low and I felt a chill up my spine. I gestured to the room next to me and he tore into it. Moments later, I heard the most pained cry I'd ever heard in my life. I heard Virgil speaking, but it was too soft for me to make out. 

I excused myself from the hospital and made my way to my car. As I sat down in the drivers' seat, I heard a crunch. I pulled Patton's glasses out of my back pocket and stared at them. I hadn't meant to steal them, but going back in seemed touchy. An idea popped into my head, and I was driving before I even fully registered it.

" Will this be all for you, sir?" The cashier asked, smiling. I nodded and he handed me the bag. I slipped my card back into my wallet and left the building. I returned to my home and set the bag by the door. Tomorrow was the first day of real classes.

Except now, I was completely unprepared.