Nathan slipped out the small door on the side of the garage and headed in. Touching his lips as he walked down the corridor, he thought about the way Ian's had felt against them. Wondering about whether or not he should have left Ian in the car to cry alone, his thoughts were jerked to a halt as he reached the living room.

On the recliner closest to the living room window, Rick was sitting with his hands on his knees, his eyes shadowed. All of the times he'd interacted with the man, he'd frightened and disgusted him, but the look Rick had now seemed sad more than it seemed dangerous. Nathan took a step in and his good nature got the best of him.

"Are you all right?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, hey kid," Rick said, giving him a light smile as he rubbed his face. "I'm just done, you know?"

Nathan didn't understand. Done with what?

"It doesn't matter what I say or what the truth is. It never has once in my life. I didn't kill anyone. Not those girls before, not that girl now, but no one will ever believe me with the way I am. You can see it, can't you? The lack of a soul in my eyes?" Rick cackled, and Nathan frowned.

While he wanted to back away, Rick seemed desperate for someone to just believe him. The man made it difficult, but here he was alone and just letting it eat at him. What could Nathan say? Nathan wasn't sure if the man had killed them or not, and he wasn't a good enough liar to say he believed him.

"I wish I was born like you," Rick said. "Able to cry for others, to be excited about having friends. If I could feel anything but rage, kid, I sure as fuck would."

Everything faded as Rick's hand moved and brought with it something he'd had tucked next to his thigh. The glint of the light on the black metal of a handgun tore away all of Nathan's flustered feelings and his ability to form new rational thought.

"I don't want to hurt you, kid." Rick's eyes were a faded grey as he tilted his head toward the hallway. "I had my money on the fairy walking in first." Rick moved his gun toward the inside of the living room, motioning for Nathan to move aside, but Nathan's feet were glued to the floor.

The man wanted to hurt Ian? Why? Ian had gone out of his way to feed this guy and be nice to him, even though he'd been a piece of shit the whole time.

"Rick, please," Nathan's voice was a sharp whisper as he took a few steps back from him.

"Kid, you should have never been brought here. Stay out of my way and this will all be over soon." Rick stood with the gun at his side, and Nathan's heart jackhammered in his chest, turning his knees into wet noodles. It took all of his focus just to stay standing. "Where is that fucking faggot?" Rick asked, glancing toward the hallway to the front door. "Well?" Rick's voice hardened and his grip tightened on his gun when Nathan did not immediately answer.

"He–" Nathan choked on air as he tried to answer. If he didn't tell Rick, he might change his mind and shoot him too, but it seemed like a betrayal to say anything. "The garage," was all he managed to say.

"So he'll be along then. Good. I'd have taken out that bitch Maggie, but she's a fucking psycho, and I might not be able to kill her. I'll settle for her toys." Rick stretched his free arm and his neck before focusing on him again. "You know, I found him in your room standing over your bed one of the nights he'd been drinking too much. He'd started going out with me because of the nicotine withdrawal. I went into his to give him shit about an argument we'd been having, and he wasn't there. I dragged him out of yours and punched him so hard in his stomach that he'd reconsider using his junk for a few days."

Nathan's throat was dry as he tried to figure out if Rick was telling the truth or just trying to make him feel like shit. He wanted to say that Ian wouldn't do something like that, but he also couldn't.

"While we wait, tell me–I never got my answer before–did he fuck you nice and slow? Was he a considerate rapist when he forced himself inside of you?"

"Ian didn't rape me." Nathan found voice for that, though it crackled off to nothing and fear as Rick's gaze darkened again.

"Really? Then it was consensual? I don't like you, but I didn't have you pegged as a fucking queer."

"We never... did anything." Nathan grit his teeth.

"Too bad, I guess, because that was his only chance to fuck someone. I'm going to kill him today, so it's a shame that someone didn't get pleasure from you."

The door opening and closing drew Nathan's attention and dragged a long bead of sweat down the clammy skin of his neck. Rick was away from the hallway's field of vision, so Ian wouldn't know what was happening until he arrived in the living groom, a few yards from where Nathan was standing in front of rick by just as much space.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Rick," Ian said, lifting his hands up as Rick lifted the gun firmly in his hand and pointed it in their direction.

"Before you get any ideas," Rick said. "If either of you moves, I'll shoot whoever I'm pointing at. I'll be satisfied with only killing one of you if the other charges me, so think good and hard before you do anything."

"Rick, are you insane?" Ian asked.

Rick frowned, hardening his expression. "No. I'm the only sane one here. You all play house with that fucking psycho bitch, and I'm the insane one? Maggie was there you know, after I brought her attention to that dead girl. Before her corpse was even cold, she had the mob hauling her off to be chopped up and distributed in the river. You all have the gall to think I'm fucked up."

It had already been made clear that Maggie had covered up what Rick had done, so it didn't hit Nathan's gut as hard as it probably should have. For all of her time here, Maggie had always been on their side, even when that side was skirting the lines of sanity and ethics

"Rick, if you shoot either of us–"

"I die." Rick cut off Ian. "I know. How I fucking know. Don't you see what this crazy bitch has done to us? That whore thinks she can pacify you and turn us into drones that are barely even living anymore. Everything's consequence is death. You stay out past curfew, you could die, you look at a girl the wrong way, you die, can't even fuck a damn woman because that's forbidden too. Tell me, did you at least get good use out of your boy?"

"I would never use, Nathan. He's a human being, not a tool." Ian had a far stronger grip on his voice than Nathan would if he tried to speak again.

"All right then, let's see about how committed to that you are. I'm going to shoot one of you right now. You or him?"

"Me." Ian didn't even pause to ponder. Standing up straight, Ian squared his jaw and looked Rick dead in the eyes. Tears watered Nathan's eyes, and he clutched his hand that were rolled into fists.

Rick whistled. "Damn, you are disgusting. That scraggily shit must have a nice prick if you're willing to die for him. Tanner's such a coward about his own demise that he'd knife the kid himself to stay alive. You're such a fool, and you're going to die alone."

Rick tightened his grip on the gun and Nathan moved. The sound echoed around the room like the crack of a rock face before it collapsed. All of the blood drained from Ian's face as he met his eyes, but Nathan's gaze was drawn away toward the pain. Dark red blossomed into the light-green T-shirt Nathan had chosen to wear today. As he watched it flow from his lower abdomen, a searing heat surged up along his entire side.

"Nathan!" The word was a sharp whisper as Ian dragged his hands down his face in gut-wrenching agony.

"God dammit kid! That fucking shit isn't worth saving!" Rick growled, his grip on the gun trembling, but Nathan did his best to remain standing.

"Everyone here is worth saving," Nathan sputtered, a chill washing over him as he gasped for air that he couldn't get enough of.

When he had first come here, he'd been terrified and he'd thought that he was going to get beaten or killed. Now it was likely that he was going to die, but no one here deserved that... not even Rick. Ian was kind, broken, and a little messed up in the head, but he was a good person. Donovan had only protected what he loved, and Tanner had been betrayed and lost his mind. Even Julian, when he had been offered friendship for the first time had fought his bitterness to be someone kind for him.

No one here deserved this.

"He'll kill you if you stay, Ian. Please... run..." Nathan gasped, tears trickling down his cheeks–some from fear, others from how deeply Ian cared about him, and the ones now because his knees were going to give out.

Another shot shook the room and Nathan snapped his gaze to Rick who had moved the gun to his right. Nathan turned as much as he could, fearful that Ian would be injured, but the bullet had hit the wall next to Ian's head.

"Why aren't you running?" Rick growled, running a hand up the side of his head and pulling on his own hair in some sanity.

"I would never leave Nathan with you just to save my own skin." Ian's words were heavy with grief, and Nathan could see that Ian had tried to edge toward him before he'd been shot at.

"I don't get it," Rick mumbled and lowered the gun only a fraction of an inch.

Someone darted for him in flash of movement that Nathan could barely follow with the way his body was slowing down his cognitive function. One moment Rick had dropped his gun, and the next, blood splattered on the wall and Rick fell.

As Nathan slid to the ground, he saw Julian standing over Rick with a blade in his hand, blood dripping from it onto the carpet. On his side, Rick's eyes met Nathans as he struggled with the gash across the front of his throat. As the light left his eyes, Rick turned his lips up for one last smile and his head fell limp on the floor. The room spun and took the image away as he lay on his back and groaned.

"Nathan!" Julian smacked his face lightly, and his eyes met his, though his face was bright around the edges of it. Call 911, you imbecile!" Julian said to Ian as he leaned over him.

It was so cold. Why wasn't Julian wearing a shirt?

Something was pressed on the hole in his side and it caused the pain to spike so badly that he tried to get it off. Nathan didn't make it very far as Julian pinned his arm.

"Stop, Nathan. You need the pressure," Julian said, though his voice cracked at the end.

Something wet dripped on Nathan's face.

It felt like rain.

It rained a lot at home.

Was it raining over his mother right now?

Lifting his hand up, Nathan slid it to the side of Julian's face and more rain dampened his fingers.

Then everything blackened.

Word count: 2016 -- Edited July 15th, 2020