Joseph

Sunday, December 27, 2002

Night

Guilt wouldn't stop eating at me. The whole afternoon, I found myself smiling and genuinely enjoying his company. The sheer amount of effort he'd put in to be with me was something I'd never had before. He tattooed my name in his mouth. Kidnapped me. Literally tried to ruin my marriage to be with me. The way he lay in my arms, snoring softly, felt so special. This was better than being hit or yelled at. It became easier to just not stress and love him, knowing he'd loved me even stronger.

"Alex?" I whispered, getting no response. He was asleep, and the guilt got even stronger as I kissed his head, lightly maneuvering his head onto the pillow. My leg was sore, but I was strong enough to get up and limp. So that's what I did, limping my way around the bed. It was dark and trying to see was difficult, but following the light seeping from under the door helped and I opened it, going into the kitchen. Escaping crossed my mind, but I'd learn to love him again. It felt terrible to admit, but I didn't want to leave...

I went to the fridge, opening it, but a knock at the door caught my attention and I limped my way to it, opening it to a man. We were about the same height and he had short black hair and wore glasses. "My car broke down, and there's nothing but forest for miles. Mind if I take a call here?" My eyes went to the bedroom door, waiting to hear Alex, but he never did, and I cleared my throat, putting on a bright smile.

"Come in..."

He walked in, immediately looking at my leg. "Are you okay?"

"Uh- Yeah," I giggled. "Just a hiking accident."

A nod is all he gave me and his eyes squinted at me. "Wait aren't you?.."

"Please! Don't call! I'm fine... I promise." I whispered, looking at the bedroom door. Fear struck my heart as he pulled out his phone. "I'm begging you! Please don't call..."

His fingers tapped away, and tears ran down my face, but so did something dark and I headbutt him, knocking him to the ground. The phone dropped, and I quickly picked it up. 911 sat on the dial screen waiting to be pressed, but I snapped the phone, breaking it. The man's nose was bleeding, and he sat there crying. "What the fuck!" he shouted. Footsteps from the bedroom echoed through the cabin, and Alex's messy hair and sleepy face just made me smile. The way his underwear clung to him just put me in a trance.

"Who the fuck is this?" Alex yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"He tried calling the cops..."

The sleepiness faded quickly, and he stared at me, trying to decipher something. His feet stomped towards me, and his gaze was testing me. "Did he call them Sexy?"

"I headbutt him before he could and broke the phone." I turned my attention to the guy staring up at us in fear. "You could have ruined my relationship, you know that, right?"

His voice came out as a stutter. "I'll just leave! I'll leave! Won't say anything!" Alex quickly stomped his ankle in causing the loudest scream I've ever heard. The way his foot bent looked painful, but I didn't wanna lose him. I had just started to love him again...

Alex quickly walked past him, opening a drawer in the kitchen, pulling out duct tape. My name tattooed all over his sexy body just did something to me and he took notice, giving me a wink. Pulling my attention back to the man made me feel bad. The pain in his eyes and the way he held his leg in pain.

Those painful tears rolling down his eyes were familiar to me. Luckily, he never hit a bone, so I could just heal and go back to normal. "Wait! Wait!" he screamed as Alex tied his hands together, then his ankles. I couldn't image the pain he was in. The duct tape pulling on his broken bone. It was brutal, but the dedication Alex had just made me feel special...

"Sexy, the lake? Or bury him?" I looked at the man, who started screaming for help, but Alex quickly wrapped his mouth with duct-tape. "Sexy?"

Guilt and regret ate at every piece of me. I hurt someone. A cheater and murderer. My chest went tight and every emotion just left my eyes. Only for those bad feelings to be taken away by his tatted arms. Just like that patient, he was there to comfort me again, hold me...

"Sexy, it's okay." he comforted, rubbing my back. That feeling in my chest continued making me cry even harder. Helping people was what I did, not hurt them. "Joseph, do you wanna lose me?"

"No..." I said lowly.

"Then you did the right thing. He was going to call the cops, put me back in that hellhole. Do you want that?"

The thought of him in jail was something I never wanted to think about. My goal from the start was to help him, and even if I'd failed doing that earlier in our relationship, I would never let anything happen to him now. I moved my head from his chest, looking into his crystal eyes. "No, I don't."

He wiped my tears, planting a kiss on my lips. "Then I need you to change your thinking. I know you like helping people, but he was a threat to our relationship and could have messed up everything with one call." "So, look at him one more time and tell me what you think we should do."

Staring at his body, reminded me of everything i could have lost. His muffled cries that once made me feel bad, now made something inside me angry. My heart beat faster than it ever had and something from the bottom of my stomach rose, filling me with nothing but hatred. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"Sexy! Hey! Look at me!" Alex snapped, turning my head to his beautiful eyes. They were the color of the ocean and I wouldn't have minded just staring at him forever. He started becoming the only thing I wanted... "Nobody's taking me away from you, okay?"

Tears welled in my eyes, and I cupped his face. Planting a small kiss on his pink lips. "Promise?"

"I promise. Now pick which one, Sexy."

Looking at the man, I just imagined him drowning. Seeing a lake seemed more interesting than him digging up dirt for a few hours. Everything in my head started to change and my only thoughts were Alex.

"The Lake."

...

The whole way to the lake, I wanted to help, but he refused to let me. If we were to be together, he wanted me to heal and recover. My guilt had started to be swallowed whole and little of it was left. Maybe it was the lake or bright moon in the sky, but I just wanted this guy out of the way. Spending time with him was the only thing on my mind.

Looking out at the water was beautiful. It glistened in the night sky and Alex shirtless was just a plus. He opened his car trunk, pulling his body out. "Sexy, you okay?" He asked as the man struggled and cried. His screams were muffled, but I could tell he knew what was gonna happen. Alex grabbed my hand, looking into my eyes. "You don't have to watch, you can go back in the car, Sexy."

"No! I like the lake, it's pretty..."

A small smile perked on his face and he pecked my lips, going back to dragging the man. The sound of the dirt scraping underneath him and the painful muffled screams I knew were caused by his ankle just made me shiver. But something crossed my mind, and I limped to Alex, stopping him before he could push the man into the water. Bending down hurt, but I did it, getting on my knees, looking at the man who'd given up struggling. His eyes were low, and we both stared at each other. "I told you not to call." Is all I said, standing back up. Alex quickly pushed him into the water and he floated for a bit before sinking. I'd never seen anything like it, maybe on shows, but never in person. It was much quicker and silent than expected. Peaceful actually...

"Sexy, you okay? I did that for us, you know? I do all of this for us..." There wasn't any emotion to it like there was back in the cabin. No tears. No guilt. Nothing. Just my love for Alex and the coldness of the air. He grabbed my arm, peering into my eyes with worry. "Sexy?"

Every conversation we had resurfaced, and I grabbed his hand. The feeling of his skin made me smile. "You don't need him, you know?"

"Who?"

"Your father. You don't need him." Looking into his eyes made me feel loved. Protected. "You're not alone anymore. You have me." Tears swelled up in his eyes and he busted out crying. My arms wrapped around him just like that time in my living room and everything felt complete. His crying had turned to sobbing, and that only made my hold on him stronger. "Alex, I love you."

"I love you too!" He wept.

I planted a kiss on his head, rubbing his back. While he cried in my arms, I just focused on the lake, which seemed endless. Everything I wanted before shifted to only Alex. What my parents had wasn't important anymore, Only us being together...

━ ★ ━

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Hope you enjoyed the Chapter!

Sincerely, R.J