He balled his fists at his sides and scowled. He came to get Kevin. He wasn’t leaving without him.
Up the sidewalk he nervously ambled, his stomach so knotted he might puke. If Kevin’s son of a bitch dad did anything to Kevin, Max would kill that motherfucker with his bare hands.
He passed a rusty mailbox. Only one house to go.
And then he heard it, coming from Kevin’s house.
Kevin’s mom’s keening cry, rising louder and louder, knifing out the front door into the night.
Max froze in his tracks. Goosebumps swarmed his whole body. Blood drained from his face.
Oh, God.
Oh, Jesus.
What the fuck was going on?
Max forced himself forward. Then started to run. Kevin. Kevin needed him. What had happened there was bad.
But before he was able to reach the driveway, two EMTs emerged from the house.
With a gurney.
And a covered body.
Max gasped, heart hammering so hard it pained him, again skidding to a terrified stop. Only two possible people could be under that sheet. Max started to tremble. Sweat bloomed cold over his body. Either Kevin was dead or going away for life. Oh, God. Please be going away for life.
Kevin’s mom appeared in the doorway.
And then so did his dad.
Max’s racing heart slammed on the brakes at the sight.
“No. No, no.” He shook his head frantically. This couldn’t be happening. It was a trick. They knew he was coming.
But then Kevin’s distraught parents spotted him, too.
“You!” His mom screeched, pointing hysterically at Max. “You! You did this to my baby!”
But Max was too busy staring frantically at that body, watching those EMTs wheel it toward their ambulance. He refused to believe it. It was just too unfathomable. A scenario never meant to be considered.
They were tricking Max. Kevin’s parents. They were just that deranged. Trying to make him think that Kevin was gone. All the while, they probably had him locked in the basement. Ready for transport, to begin his therapy with those sick-ass, mad-as-a-hatter scientists.
Steeling his shoulders and setting his jaw, Max stalked forward, ignoring the bitch’s shrieking.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Mr. Sanders snarled, charging down the steps toward the driveway. “Not another step, Max. You stay the hell away from our boy.”
But Max ignored him, too. He could kiss Max’s fucking ass. Reaching the gurney, Max shoved past the medic, sucked in a breath and yanked off the cover.
“No…”
Kevin’s face. Kevin’s beautiful, perfect face. Skin pale. Blond hair mussed. Dried tears streaked down his cheeks. And a dark purple line around his neck.
“No! Kevin, no!” Max heard himself wail. “Oh, God! No! What’ve you done?!”
“I’m sorry, sir,” an EMT murmured close by. “But I’m going to have to ask you to—”
“Get away!” Mrs. Sanders screamed, arriving with her husband. “This is all your fault! You did this! Get away!”
Eyes wide in shock, Max shook his head, his devastated gaze still glued to Kevin.
“We treated you like part of the family,” Mr. Sanders rasped. “And you repaid us by defiling our son!” His last words came out a broken shout as he lunged for Max with trembling hands.
“Whoa, whoa!” Both EMTs jumped in between them, two cops quickly hustling over, too.
“I hate you!” Mrs. Sanders screamed. “I hope you rot in hell for what you’ve done!”
Face twisting in agony, she glanced at Kevin’s face, then threw something at Max’s chest as hard as she could. Barely grasping reality, Max looked at the object. The hawk he’d given Kevin the week before. Like a zombie, he bent down and picked it up.
“The only reason I didn’t burn it,” her voice finally splintered. “Is because… my baby said… he loved it.” And that was game over for Mrs. Sanders as she collapsed in fresh sobs atop her son.
Max gasped for air. He couldn’t feel his body. And his vision was starting to tunnel. A nightmare. This was a nightmare. Kevin couldn’t be gone. They still had a whole life together in front of them. Still had all their dreams to make happen.
“Leave,” Mr. Sanders hissed, his rough timbre cracking. “You’ve tarnished my boy with your presence long enough.”
Max swallowed repeatedly. Tried to move his feet. But they just wouldn’t budge from Kevin’s side. Maybe because he wasn’t supposed to leave without Kevin. Kevin was supposed to leave with him.
God, he could feel his heart ripping apart. Tearing all jaggedly down the middle. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. But holy shit, the pain was unbearable. And the cold. Jesus, the cold consuming his body… Consciousness wavered. Voices turned intelligible. The world as he knew it faded away.
Kevin.
A sad-faced officer gently took his arm. “Come on, son,” he sighed. “I’m taking you home. You’re in no condition to drive.”
THREE
“You look very handsome, woodatsi.”
Max gazed down at his mom as she helped him fix his tie, not bothering to attempt a reply. Too tired. And that lump in his throat was only getting bigger.