He wore nothing but a pair of brown shorts as he paced the huge bedroom in his private chambers. He hasn't gone home in three days because he just couldn't find that desire to go home.

To what would he go home to?

Four days ago Adrian and Billy had gone missing. He has visited all the dog shelters around, reported with animal control, hung fly-posters as he went around the entire neighborhood, the media are aware, he even involved the police and yet no one has seen his precious dog.

After the second day of going around in search of his dog, Andrew had insisted he stopped since every move he makes is captured and assumptions are speculated and rumors fly. He drank so much that even his most tasteful wine has become sour in his mouth. He has cried and he just couldn't cry anymore. The only emotions he felt currently was anger. Anger to his inability to find the two most important aspects of his living.

The man groaned loudly and punched a hole into the thousands he's left in three days.

"The walls didn't offend you." A low voice spoke from behind him and he turned to meet his best friend. He was happy to see him as he was certain the man would bring news having just returned from a meeting with the chief of police.

Andrew hasn't been in his best of moods either as his best friend suffered. He desperately wanted to end his suffering and give him back his precious, but even he was useless at this point.

"Any new development?" Elijah asked sitting on his bed.

"Same as always," Andrew replied, disappointment written all over his face at the thoughts of letting the man down, again.

"What?" Elijah whispered as if he hadn't heard him.

"Since Billy is an aggressive dog especially with strangers, they still believe that Adrian took him and since we can't find Adrian we can't say for certain that Billy is missing and again, Billy wears a tag around his neck one that has your direct number, name, and home address, so if anyone was to have found him, they would have called or brought him home, that also made the police strongly feel that he left with someone he knew, some he trusts and that someone is Adrian."

"That is ridiculous!" Elijah yelled in frustration.

"I know and that was why I told him that Adrian has been missing since the day he saw that picture but they didn't think he is missing."

"What?"

"Well, according to the police, Adrian is an adult and he may have just skipped town because of that picture and because of what it might cost him if people were to find out, so it's very likely that he may have just decided to relocate to another place somewhere no one knows him and to perhaps start anew. I mean, it does seem logical to me."

"No, no, no!" Elijah disagreed shaking his head vigorously.

"What?" Andrew asked confused.

"Not with my dog, he couldn't have gone out of town with my dog and I know that he wouldn't have gone out of town without telling me or his best friend Oliver or even the old man. It's not possible, they assured me that Adrian wouldn't do that, he wasn't that kind of a person. He left Jonathan's number and home address with Oliver for fucking crying out loud, he's responsible and he would do no such thing as to leave town without informing any of these two!"

All the while Elijah spoke Andrew listened carefully and the man was right. It was just too bad the kind of family the poor boy had. Had they been different then they would know their child and brother better and if any of this didn't make sense then they were the perfect people to report a missing person and give reasons tangible enough to have the police out and searching for the boy but Adrian had no such luck, the first day he had visited his family was the day he hoped the boy was safe so that he and Elijah may give him a family one that he had never had.

"I don't care where that good for nothing is and it would be better for her that she's dead than return to this house!"

That was the sick man's response to him on that day. What kind of a father speaks such of their own child? Andrew would never understand, Jonathan who was in nowhere related to Adrian calls every one hour to learn if there was news about the boy and so does Noah and Oliver they have called so much that Elijah had given his phone to Rachel so she will speak to them as he was tired of giving them the same failing answers every time.

Adrian didn't have friends aside from Oliver and his boyfriend Noah and the girl from his former workplace Vanessa, they had even visited the girl and she had told them she hasn't heard from Adrian even before he went missing.

"What should we do now?" Andrew inquired concern laced his voice.

"We find him ourselves." Elijah rasped, he wanted to see his Adrian, he wanted to make sure he was safe and sound, he wanted him home, safe in his arms where he would make sure he never let him go ever again.

"What's the plan?" Andrew asked, getting up on his feet.

"We get a private investigator." Elijah picked up his phone dialing a number on it, his eyes on Andrew's.

*********

Beautiful Nova had taken both her kids to Cameron's to meet with their grandkids. Today was the big day, the day they finally introduce their children. She had been planning this day with Elizabeth since the very day her father and father-in-law told her about them. She's made good friends with Elizabeth the wife of Cameron Junior, C.J for shorts and they have both heated it off well.

She hasn't seen Elijah in three days and she honestly couldn't care about him as she knew he would be someplace agonizing over Billy and Adrian and just like he did when Jack died, he will soon get over both of them and come back home to his family.

Words could not describe her level of joy on the night she had received the call that she had waited impatiently to hear.

Sitting on the sofa fondling Billy's tag, on the one hand, her phone had ranged. She reached for it and pressed it to her ears.

"Hello?"

"Both dog and boy are dead, dumped them in the bay." The rough voice rumbled through the phone.

That news was by far the best she had received in so long and she was delighted. She felt at peace and in control once again. All that needs be done was act normal until her husband returns home and this time with no Billy, there would be no dog-sitter and Elijah would be focused once again.

She will make sure of that.

*********

The car ride came to a stop and she smiled at her kids proudly.

"Ready?" She asked both well-dressed kids and they grinned back at her while shaking their heads in response. They soon got out of the car and she steered them into the huge house. Elizabeth was the first to come running out excitedly and soon both women were hugging.

"It's so nice to host you all in my humble abode, come on in everyone!" She invited and they all made their way into the house.

A huge dining room came into view and a feast laid out on the big table for them with maids round the table smiling sweetly at them as Elizabeth guided them to their seats. Once they were all seated, she excused herself and disappeared into the big house.

"Have you heard from Dad?" Justin asked his mother and the woman's response to him was a cheerful shake of her head as if his father gone from the house was common knowledge and a good thing. "Did you call him?" He asked again and this time she simply dismissed his question by waving him off. Justin glowered, he knew his father had been going through a lot.

To discover that Billy who was a big part of the family had gone missing was something that had left him extremely worried even his sister slept in his bedroom the first night they heard the news. The only person who seen less concerned with all of this was their mother, she only cried when their father was around and acted as if Billy missing affected her but once Daddy left, she went back to not caring and doing her things as she always does. It also concerned Justin knowing that Adrian was gone too and it was said all over the internet that the dog sitter stole Elijah's dog. Somehow he knew that the rumors were wrong but what could he possibly do?

"Hello everyone, meet Liam and Madison!" A very happy voice called and when they turned around they met the kids about the same age as they were. Their mothers had told them how much they would want them all to be good friends as they, in turn, could not wait to get to meet each other.

Justin's breath flew out the window the moment he caught sight of the boy. Liam stood gorgeous with dark hair on ebony skin, his beautiful white eyes gleamed with mischief with a smirk twisting his lips. If he wasn't grateful he took all his father's handsomeness he would have felt inferior by the sight of the other boy but he was happy he looked so much like his father. He was a good looking young man, he's been told that so many times that he's lost, count. Justin gulped when the boy sat beside him and slowly placed his hand on his lap under the table. Justin was stunned by his action and even though his hand was hidden under the table, Justin couldn't help but feel as though everyone present was seeing them. He dared a quick glance at the boy's way and saw him looking back with that same evil smirk on his face.

"Well, let's eat!" Elizabeth's voice boomed and maids served up meals for them. Justin picked his food as they ate and Liam did the same, the only thing on his mind was that hand still resting on his thigh as if it belonged there and even though he wore jeans, Liam could feel how warm and soft Justin's thigh was as he caressed him slowly. Justin saw his mother speaking but he couldn't for the life of him say what it was they talked about.

"Do you want to skip dinner?" Liam whispered too close to his ear causing him to lose grip on his utensils, the sound of the fork clattering against the plate had him almost jumping out of his skin.

Justin breathed in and out to even his breathing and then opened his eyes to lock gaze with the beautiful boy. That was a bad idea as he soon took his eyes away. The boy affects him in more ways than one and it confused the life out of him as he had only just met him.

"Yes." Justin forced from somewhere inside of him. He saw the boy exchange look with his sister who sat beside him and then as if they had planned it.

"Mom, we are done here and we would like to show them around!" They both said at the same time. This seems to brighten up the women's faces and they both nodded in response. Liam dragged Justin out while Madison pulled Mila towards them. Justin waddled behind him until they got into a big game room. The room was so big that it was divided into two equal parts. One side of the room was painted purple and everything at that end smelled Madison while the other side without asking, one would know it belonged to Liam.

"We couldn't bear the thought of having separate game rooms so we had Mom and Dad build us a big ONE!" Madison yelled out proudly. She would have impressed both kids if they didn't have a much bigger and fancier game room only theirs wasn't joint together. He and Mila weren't really that close as they preferred their privacy but it seems Liam and his sister were very close. The sound of a door locking caught both their attention as they both turned to meet Liam and Madison standing at the door that they had apparently just locked.

Justin was going to ask why but Liam answered.

"The room is soundproof and I locked the door because I didn't want anyone walking in on us unannounced." Liam elucidated.

"I'm Madison, I'm thirteen, will be fourteen next month." The happy girl bowed, making both Justin and Mila laugh.

"And I'm Liam, fifteen, will be sixteen October." He winked at Justin who was certain he turned jelly instantly.

"Oh wow, that's awesome! Justin's birthday is October too!" Mila and her smart mouth yelled.

"Is that right?" Liam walked towards him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Justin didn't know where his strength went but he was certain he had gone fluffy. He just couldn't say no or push him away.

The sound of Madison and Mila giggling caught their attention and they turned to see both girls whispering into each other's ears and snickering at them. "Our parents wanted us to know each other and the only reason I agreed to this was because deep down I was hoping you would be gay also and I just could not explain how excited I was when I caught you staring at me earlier, you took my breath away and I knew I found the one." The boy rests his head on his shoulder, the action caused his lips to slightly brush against Justin's skin spreading tingles all over his body, His hands moved and he soon had than wrapped around the other boy.

"So, you like girls or boys or both?" Madison asked Mila. The girl looked thoughtful for a while before shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know, I never felt attracted to anyone before." She replied.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Madison asked again.

"No, never had," Mila said shyly and Madison crushed her in a hug. Let's go play, I will introduce you to my friends and you can introduce me to yours we will make such good friends but you must promise never to tell your parents about Liam and Justin." Madison sounded dead serious.

Mila laughed, even before Justin told Daddy he was gay, he had first told her. She can keep a secret and she loves her brother too much to see him unhappy just as she was unhappy because her father was hurting. "I promise!" She winked at Maddie who laughed and pulled her towards her side of the room.

"What do you want to do?" Liam asked Justin.

"I want to cuddle," Justin replied honestly, he felt at peace with the boy and he just didn't want to be separated from him.

Liam led him to the bed at his own side of the room, gently he pushed Justin on the bed and join in, he went behind him and had his hands wrapped around Justin who cuddled up tightly into him.

With his heart pounding an unsteady rhythm in his chest he asked. "Please, Justin Wealthmoor, will you be my boyfriend?"

He was attracted to the boy and with both sisters here to protect their secrets Justin knew there was no better time to accept than now. "Yes, Liam, I will be your boyfriend." Justin smiled when he felt a lingering kiss on his neck.

Both boys shutting their eyes to the world.

*************

"Who is it?!" The grumpy man yelled out angrily. He was upset someone dared woke him up seeing that he hadn't slept in so long because of the case of the missing boy. He missed Adrian so much and he couldn't help but feel as if something bad had happened to his son. The man got to his door and pulled it open, the shock on his face was one that would have killed him if his heart wasn't so strong.

Adrian stood bloody hugging Billy to his chest tightly. Jonathan quickly pulled the boy into the house, shutting and locking his door. He quickly got a glimpse of the clock hanging on the wall as he led Adrian into the living room, the clock read 3 a.m. The man took two pictures of the boy's current state before leading him into the bathroom and stripping the trembling boy off his clothing.

Adrian was like a status, his eyes blank and expressionless and his breathing barely noticeable, so much that Jonathan had to put his ear on his chest to feel the faint beats of the heart. He had so many questions to ask but the boy he was looking at would not speak in a long time.

Jonathan slowly pulled the blood-soaked torn shirt off to reveal scars after scars dripping with blood. His eyes spilled uncontrollably at the disturbing sight. Adrian looked as though he had been beaten repeatedly with a sword of some sort.

Who would do such a thing?

And why?

The man wondered as he cried.

Adrian was so bruised, so much that Jonathan didn't have the heart to touch him. His eyes wet as tears ran down his face in an uncontrollable force. Billy laid on the floor whimpering in pain Jonathan didn't know from where the dog was hurting but he wanted to be certain Adrian was well then he would attend to the dog.

He poured warm water into a bowl and soak a towel in it, squeezed and started cleaning the now naked Adrian up. The boy winced when the wet towel came in contact with his battered skin and his eyes leaked streams but he didn't make a sound. After Jonathan had cleaned him and bandaged the countless scars on his skin, he rampaged through his closet and found the smallest of sweatpants he owned, then he helps the boy in it. He made sure he left Adrian sitting on the couch before he rushed back into the bathroom to pick up Billy. The dog groaned at him but didn't attack. Jonathan soon realizes that the dog had a broken leg, he tried to clean him up and bandaged the wound without Billy beating his handoff.

Once Billy and Adrian were both cleaned and resting, the busy man rushed into his untidy kitchen to cook up a quick soup for both dog and Adrian. He made sure the soup was edible before he brought the soup out, serving a plate first for Billy, he placed the bowl in front of the dog and then he walked over to Adrian with another bowl in hand.

Adrian still sat motionless on the couch staring into space.

He had no idea what the boy had gone through but judging by the many scars he had just seen, the amount of blood, he knew it wasn't pleasant.

Jonathan scooped a spoon full and brought it to Adrian's mouth, the boy opened and swallowed but it only took ten seconds and he was retching his guts out on the floor. Jonathan cried, he brought bottled water to his mouth and Adrian gulped a little before retching once again even Billy left his soup untouched.

Knowing that food wasn't getting into that stomach anytime soon, Jonathan gradually led the boy to his spare bedroom and after much difficulty, he succeeded in settling him down on the bed.

Billy limped his way into the room, Jonathan helped him up and had him lying beside Adrian.

He got up to leave but paused when he heard Adrian whispering. He couldn't make sense of the incoherent words leaving the boy's mouth so he just came to the bed and have his ears close to Adrian's mouth and then he heard him.

"Please, don't tell anyone I'm here, please don't call anyone, please keep me safe and hidden," Adrian muttered repeatedly and Jonathan kissed his forehead then whispered back.

"I won't, now sleep my child." That seem to have calmed the terrified boy and he soon shut his eyes. Jonathan wiped tears from his eyes and left the room with Adrian's door wide open and since his own bedroom was just opposite the spare bedroom, as soon as he was in his own bedroom, he was sure to leave his door open. Jonathan heaved a sigh as he sat on the bed, his eyes on Adrian like a hawk.

He wanted to call Elijah, the man had been so worried and restless, he knew how Elijah felt from the day he had cried on his shoulder like a child who had just lost his favorite toy. He knew Elijah cared about Adrian and he knew the man would protect him. Adrian didn't want anyone knowing he was safe and that confused the heck out of the older man.

What would he do now?

With his eyes still fixed on the boy he reached for his phone and searched up Elijah's private number, the man had assured him that he alone receives the calls placed on that line and no one else had access to it. Jonathan stared at the name on his phone screen contemplating whether to call or not to call. The time was 5 a.m and he was certain he would be waking the man up if he called and Adrian needed serious medical attention with all the bruises he had. Jonathan knew he couldn't do this by himself. If Adrian didn't want anyone knowing he was with him the best person to keep such a secret would be none other than Elijah himself.

Jonathan sent the number and it didn't ring twice before his voice came booming on the phone.

"Jonathan, are you well?" The man asked concerned.

"I'm sorry to have woken you up-" Jonathan started but stopped when he heard the man laughing.

"I haven't slept in four days, Jonathan, so please don't be sorry." The man sounded like one who has lost hope in life.

"I am well, but-" Jonathan paused. Was he doing the right thing? Would he be endangering Adrian if he told Elijah? Why did Adrian ask that he should not tell anyone? The man pondered thoughtfully.

"Hello, Jonathan, are you there?" Elijah implored.

"Please, what I am about to tell you, I want you to tell no one as Adrian did-"

"Adrian." The man whispered cutting him off. "Is he OK? Is he well? Did he call? Where is he?" The questions kept coming and Jonathan wondered if he had done the right thing.

"He didn't want anyone knowing that he is home and safe. He showed up at my doorstep all bloody and Billy was with a broken leg, I just cleaned them up, fed them soup that they both didn't eat and now they're both asleep, I'm keeping an eye on them." The man whispered into the phone when he saw movements on the bed from the room across from him.

Adrian was whimpering and tossing about the bed.

"Jonathan?" Elijah asked after a long silence.

"Yes," Jonathan replied, he was going to go over to Adrian but he had stopped tossing.

"I would long be dead before I tell anyone, but Andrew would have to know, he's my best friend and he would never do anything that would hurt me. Thank you, Jonathan, I will see you shortly." Elijah hung up and Jonathan felt a wave of relief washes over him.

*******

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Elijah jabbed the sleeping man beside him.

Andrew grunts rolled over but didn't wake up.

Elijah ignored him and went on to put his shirt on after he was finished, he went back to the bed but this time he was waking him up with his shoe. Elijah threw the merciless thing and it landed on his head jolting the man awake instantly.

Elijah wore a satisfied grin on his face. "He's awake!" He yelled in a low voice.

"What do you want? Are you an enemy to sleep now too?" Andrew's eyes opened wider when he saw his friend was all dressed. "Where are you going?" He asked curiously.

"Jonathan just called me, Adrian showed up at his doorstep." He told him as excitement filled his tone.

Andrew jumped out of bed pulling his pants on. "Why didn't you say so before?" He asked buttoning his shirt.

"I just did." Elijah pressed his phone to his ear. "Hello, John?" He asked.

"Sir?" The man sounded sleepy and Elijah knew he had woken him up from sleep.

"I need a random taxi." He instructed him.

"Where should I send him?" John asked, wide awake now. John was another person he could trust.

"To my office."

"Got it." The call came to an end.

"Call, David, tell him to head over to the hanger right now and to get the jet ready, have him wait there for us. We are going to Mexico." He informed Andrew and the man quickly dialed on his phone.

"Justin?" Elijah spoke into his phone once again.

"Dad? How are you?" The sleepy boy asked excitedly.

"I will be going on a vacation for a few weeks, don't tell your mother or anyone else about this, OK?"

"Yes, Dad. Something good happened to me yesterday." the boy told his father.

"What is it?" Elijah asked.

"I met a boy, Liam Cameron." Elijah laughed and Justin knew he didn't need to convey any more information as his father already knew.

"You're a smart kid, I love you son."

"I love you too, Dad."

"Take care of him."

"I will."

"And your sister too." The call came to an end just as John's call came through.

"John?"

"I'm downstairs sir." The man conceded. Elijah knew the man couldn't trust any random driver to ride him around on a cab and he was grateful for that.

"Ready?" Andrew asked.

"Let's bring my baby home!" Elijah smiled and they both walked out.

So sorry for the long wait guys! Life sucks, I tell you...but here you have it.

Votes, Comments and Enjoy...