Pen drawing I did of our Fawn, featuring my cousin's drawings lol.

Alastor's POV

I let out a satisfied sigh as I successfully peeled away the last of Henry's skin.

God, I've been wanting to do that for months.

His body hit the floor with a wet thud as he laid in a puddle of his own blood and other fluids. He had died in the middle of me skinning him alive, ruining that fun aspect of it, but hey, I still got to kill the fucker.

Wiping a bit of sweat off my brow, I checked the time.

My eyes widened when I realized I'd been torturing him for nearly three hours.

"Oh, shit..." I mumbled under my breath. Looking down at my mess, I scoffed and kicked his large body.

Then I went to the rotary phone on my desk and dialed a quick number.

The phone rang once, twice...on the third ring a little peppy voice came through.

"This is Niffty speaking, how may I serve you?" She answered in a chipper tone, and I chuckled.

"Formal as always, Niffty darling. I made quite the mess at the studio, would you mind cleaning up for me? I need to go home and check on something," I said and Niffty answered promptly.

"Sir, yes sir!" She chirped, and hung up.

Quickly I gathered my leather coat and removed my gloves. A soft tune fell past my lips as I prepared to leave, but suddenly a pit formed in my stomach.

Like a led ball just sitting there.

A cold chill ran up my back, and all my senses were on high alert as I looked around me. Why am I on edge?

Something is wrong...

"Fawn..." I whispered, my eyes widening slightly as I practically sprinted out of the studio. I was going to wait for Niffty, but I just feel like something is horribly wrong.

In practically the blink of an eye I was rapidly approaching my house. The car skidded to a stop atop the gravel, and I hurriedly hopped out of my seat, not even bothering to close the door behind me.

"Fawn?" I called out, trotting up to the house.

The moment I stepped onto the porch and the door was wide open, I bursted into a full sprint.

"Fawn!" I called out, my blood now surging through my veins. The living room was ransacked, and the wall by the stairs had a huge crack in it.

A cold feeling settled in my chest and I put my hand over the center of it. Am I...afraid?

"Fawn, sweetie, answer me!" I called out, breathing heavily at this point. On the floor, by the stairs as well, was my radio practically shattered into pieces.

What the hell happened here.

Walking up to my room, I closed my eyes as I ascended the steps. Trying to imagine what took place...

When I finally got to my room, my hand went over my mouth. The door was wide open, and my bed was messed up slightly.

As well as my dresser being put on its front, all my knickknacks littering the floor.

My fists clenched and I stepped over the debris, noticing one of my side tables had been sifted through.

Then my heart completely dropped when I saw my pistol was missing.

I nearly hurdled over the dresser, a sense of doom just looming over my head as I franticly searched for her.

Where the hell is she! Please...

I was nearly tearing my hair out, I've searched this place up and down, she's just not—

My back straightened and my eyes widened.

My office.

Quickly I sprinted towards my office, but got a bad feeling the moment I saw the door was open.

I never leave that door open.

Slowly, I approached.

"Fawn? Honey...It's Alastor," I reassured, just in case she was in there. My hopes weren't too high.

The moment I stepped into the room, I noticed the body on the floor. My entire body's nervous system screamed and then relaxed when I noticed it wasn't Fawn.

Then my eyes widened when I noticed it wasn't Fawn.

Taking a few steps closer, I peeked to get a look at the intruder's face. My breath caught when I recognized him even through the bullet hole in his eye.

The kid brother of that asshole I beat.

Why is he here? Did...did she kill him?

My mouth hung open slightly at the sight of this kid bleeding on the floor. The wound was still very fresh, and I could still smell gunpowder in the air.

If he's here, then where is she?

I rounded my desk to get a better look, and then heard a very soft clattering noise. Slowly I looked away from the body and my eyes widened at the sight of a petrified Fawn sitting under my desk.

Her eyes were wide open, full of tears as her arm shook violently.

Her arm that was holding a pistol straight at me.

She was shaking so badly that the pistol was clattering in her grip, and her face looked completely expressionless aside from the tears on her cheeks.

Guilt immediately wove through my heartstrings, but I can't just scoop her up. Not when she's this spooked.

Her eyes were on me as I slowly lifted my hands to show her I'm not a threat.

"Fawn, baby, it's me...honey, it's Alastor," I said calmly, taking cautious steps towards her. Her blank eyes followed me, her lips quivering just slightly as she kept the gun locked on me.

Her finger rested against the trigger, but I watched and saw she wasn't tightening her grip or threatening to squeeze.

Giving her a soft smile, I slowly knelt in front of her, now close enough to where I could reach one of my hands forward to take the barrel of the gun and rest it in the crevice where my thumb attached to my pointer finger.

Once I made it that far, the rest was easy.

Swiftly I disarmed her, being gentle about the way I stripped the gun away from her hands. Her fingers immediately curled in and she tucked her arms close to her chest.

Now that the gun is out of the way, I let out a deep, relieved breath and reached for her.

"C'mon out, you're alright," I motioned, but she just stared at me with that same blank expression on her face.

My smile faltered, and I knit my brows together in worry.

"Fawn...?" I asked her, and she showed no response or acknowledgement to my presence.

I realized, then, what's wrong. Her gaunt eyes and expressionless face...

She's in shock.

"Oh, sweetheart..." I mumbled, sighing as my smile fell completely. Reaching forward carefully, I gently collected her into my arms and brought her out from under the desk.

"Come on, now...you're ok, darling, you're alright..." I cooed at her softly, pulling her up onto my chest. When I shifted my hand down to support her bottom, I froze when I realized she's...damp.

My eyes went back to where I'd just collected her from, and that's when the scent of urine entered my nose. Where she had been sitting, there was a small puddle of what I can only assume is a result of her soiling herself.

All I could do was stare at the spot, at first feeling numb. Then, a suffocating guilt slowly crawled up my back, weighing down onto my shoulders.

Using one hand to support her head, and the other to support her bottom, I lifted her off the ground. Her hands had taken root against my shirt, fingers curled around the fabric in a death grip.

I could feel her quick, rapid breaths against my neck as her body quivered in my arms.

"You're ok..." I muttered into her hair, placing a kiss into the side of her head, "I am so sorry..." I whispered, shutting my eyes tightly as I hugged her trembling body against mine.

With that, I stepped over the dead body on the floor, carrying her upstairs to the bathroom. Aside from her taking hold on my shirt, she's shown no other acknowledgment that she even knows what's going on.

I sat her gently on the toilet, and she stayed there, her eyes seeming far, far away. Her lips were parted and those tiny, quick breaths were still expelling from her lungs.

First I ran the bath, making sure it wasn't too hot before I began undressing her.

My expression was blank as I removed her soiled clothing, in the process realizing she'd switched her nightwear out for a fresh pair of mine...

Why does my chest hurt...

Once I'd gotten all the clothing away, I collected her once again into my arms, slowly laying her down into the warm bath water.

She was still unresponsive, the rapid rise and fall of her chest being the only distinct thing showing how scared she is.

"Let's get you cleaned up, how's that sound?" I asked her softly, keeping my voice quiet. Grabbing a washing sponge, I put a bit of soap on it and then lathered it across her body.

Upon me touching her like that, she whimpered. I froze and looked at her, seeing the slightest expression on her face now.

"Fawn...can you hear me, sweetie?" I asked, gently brushing her hair back. Her eyes shifted a couple of times before landing on me.

Her constricted pupils expanded upon meeting my eyes.

Still she spoke no words, but I watched as her rapid breaths calmed, slowly becoming quiet and even.

I smiled softly as she finally acknowledged me, and I was glad my presence seems to bring her a bit of comfort.

"Hi, honey..." I said, once again brushing away a stray hair from her eyes, "you're so strong, you know that?" I praised her, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it.

Very weakly, her fingers gave me the tiniest squeeze, and then she returned to her unresponsive state.

However, that little bit of interaction was enough for me.

**

I finished picking up the last of my shattered radio.

Looking at the pieces, I pondered if I could fix it. Maybe I'll try, but for now I need to go handle the body in the office.

I'd cleaned everything else up, but I haven't bothered with the body yet.

My teeth clenched as I approached the room and then when I saw the lifeless corpse I felt anger bubble inside me.

I guess he didn't learn a lesson when I knocked the shit out of his brother.

Walking over, I calmly took the gun from my desk where I'd placed it. Staring down at the boy, his lifeless face irked me to no end. The bullet hole in his eye was no longer leaking blood, and his skin was pale and waxy.

I aimed the pistol at the body and unloaded the gun.

With each gunshot, my teeth grit harder and I watched as the blasts obliterated his face until it was nearly just mush.

Only when the gun let off empty clicks did I pull my hand back.

Tossing the gun aside, I spit on the corpse.

"You're lucky," I seethed, "she saved you from having to deal with me."

With that I had to push my anger aside and I cleaned up the mess. I simply discarded the body into the woods for the coyotes, getting to work on the set blood stain on the carpet.

As I grabbed all the supplies, I just felt angrier and guiltier.

I should've been here...

I wasn't paying attention, and that kid must've followed us home from somewhere, and then waited for me to leave.

I never should've left her alone.

God, I'm so stupid.

I aggressively scrubbed the stain in the carpet and vivid flashbacks began playing through my head of when I had to do this because of mother's body.

Why am I suddenly remembering that...?

My body shook slightly and my vision started to blur as I frantically scrubbed at the blood. No matter what I did, it just didn't seem to wash away.

Warm liquid started pouring down my face and I wiped at it quickly and confusedly.

Tears?

My relaxed expression slowly rose into a smile and I started chuckling. I shook my head, the quiet chuckles growing in volume until I was just sitting on the floor, laughing.

I pressed my palm to my eye and more tears dropped from my lashes as I laughed alone in the dark.

When I finally calmed down, the silence that followed was deafening. I looked back to the spot in front of me, and then froze.

The spot that had once been blood soaked, seemingly permanently, was clean of any blood. I realized, then, I'd been scrubbing at a completely clean spot this entire time.

I slumped in my spot and let my head fall into my hands, beginning to sob pitifully.

Why couldn't I have just been here.

Why.