Austin was crouched up in a corner near the water cooler with his legs folded beneath him, his cheeks stained with shed tears -nobody was approaching him in the fear that he would go off on them. They all knew he needed time to process everything because even they themselves needed it too.

He only stared ahead, his body vigorously trembling, watching as the doctors poured in and out of the emergency room. He did not have the slightest strength to stand on his feet or to even open his mouth and ask if Noah was going to make it through.

The events that had transpired earlier were still too surreal. His heart almost stopped every time his memory went back to that moment.

His mind was playing it all like a horror movie. It kept stopping the tape, rewinding and then playing it back one more time, over and over again like some kind of sick, twisted mantra.

       *Earlier*

Austin drove here like a maniac. It was an abandoned, old motel, which looked like it had no business being in business. There was practically nobody around and gaining access to the rooms was way too easy.

Room E34 was at the end of the furthest wing. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out why the kidnappers would have chosen this particular spot; it was secluded, eerie and nobody would come looking unless they were looking for the main subject of their nightmares for the next few weeks or to catch a staph infection.

Mould sprouted out of everywhere and there were mice roaming freely in the broad daylight along with their neighbors; the cockroaches and squirrels.

Even the birds nesting in the crevices looked like they had seen some seriously messed up things. It was a wonder they still sang.

Neither of them wanted to be first to go closer for fear that the kidnappers were a bunch of trigger-happy nutjobs who would not hesitate to drill holes into their foreheads at first sight but then they found the door to the room wide open.

They all quickly ran to the nearest dumpster and crouched behind it, sneaking peeks at the room to see it there was any sign of life in there.

It wasn't so much a door as it was a termite infested plunk of wood attached with glue or something else equally as ridiculous; it was more like a suggestion.

Austin's fastidious habits were starting to kick in, being surrounded by so much filth, but the anxiety he felt about Noah's current state was much stronger.

The room looked pretty empty from what they could see from outside, no noises coming from the inside. They started to consider the possibility that Jesse might just have lied. It was not above him.

"Nicky...how sure are you that this is the place? There is nobody here!" Austin asked exasperatedly. If he had been so close to seeing Noah again and then having that hope yanked viciously, like a rag from beneath his feet, he was going to lose it.

"I'm sure, let's just go in."

"Guys, how sure are we that there is nobody here?" Gina asked, lurking behind because she was the most scared of them all. She wasn't good with scary situations such as this, apparently, "I don't wanna get shot."

"Screw this." Austin said, standing upright, "We will never know until we look."

"Actually, we will never know until the police look first!" Claire protested, "Can't we just wait it out?"

"I'm with Austin, I can't wait." Kelly interjected, "We need to know..now!"

"Are the two of you insane?!" Claire squeaked, trying to keep her voice low.

"Honestly, if I stay hiding behind this dumpster for five more seconds I think I might die!" Austin responded, then started tip toeing carefully, making sure he was silent, with Kelly on his heel.

As he approached the entrance, his body started trembling out of control. He did not know what he would find the moment he walked through that door.

Would be find Noah just fine? Would he run into the kidnappers and find out if he was bulletproof? Was Noah even going to be there in the first place?

All the fear and doubt was starting to make him weak in the knees. The girls left behind kept whisper-yelling for them to come back but they sauntered on with purpose.

The first day he had met Noah, he knew that the boy was trouble. He had not quite pictured the trouble to actually end up being life and death though.

Nicky had insisted on their way here that Noah was going to be alright and that he was a good guy. Although, that may have just been a tactic to keep him calm so as not to crash the car in his bid to get here in lightning speed.

At the moment, he did not care if Noah was the devil's assistant. He just really needed him to be alive.

He loved Noah and he knew in his heart that their time together was not even close to the end. He needed him, flaws and all. Funny how the threat of death makes us embrace every flaw there is in our loved ones. A single tear snuck it's way down his left cheek and he wiped it off.

Every time he blinked, he saw an image of Noah. In his visions, Noah was standing there, in front of him, looking beautiful as ever and holding out his arms, beckoning for Austin to come to him. It was a meticulous fantasy, which faded when he took a look at the door he was fast approaching. It was like hell was born here.

Kelly squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. When they reached he corridor just outside the entrance, they both stood at opposite sides of the door and peeked in cautiously. Austin hesitantly reached forward to push the door more ajar.

As soon as he lay his fingers on it, it moved an inch and squeaked loudly. They both jumped back and gasped in shock and leaned more into the wall, hoping that nobody had heard that.

It probably had not been too loud but in the current situation, it may have sounded like a gunshot. They waited for someone to jump out of the shadows and bash their heads together but nothing happened.

They finally breathed a sigh of relief and Austin proceeded to push the rest of the door completely open.

The inside looked worse than the outside. It was trashed and everything, including the table, were turned upside-down. The entire floor and walls were covered in transparent plastic, which revealed the horrible peeling paint on the walls.

One look around the room and Austin's head got lighter. There were red stains covering most of the plastic and they were sure it was not ketchup, unless the previous occupants were really into French fries.

"Oh my god." Austin whispered, most of his voice having been trapped in his throat involuntarily.

"Oh my god!" Kelly said as she took a step back and took in the room one more time.

There was a broken wooden chair and a long, brown, synthetic rope lay beside it. Most of the blood was in that area.

Immediately, Nicky and Max came running in and upon seeing what the others had seen, they stopped in theirs tracks as well.

"This does not look good!" Max said out loud. By now, they could hear the distant approach of police sirens.

Austin spotted a narrow corridor in one corner of the room that led to another room, it seemed. He quickly turned on his heel, almost tripping on another chair that was close by, but managed to stay on his feet as he rushed towards the other room.

Max  saw him and followed, leaving Kelly and Nicky behind, who were still flabbergasted by the horrific sight of this room.

It was a bathroom and the moment Austin walked in, his whole body stopped functioning for a moment. Not because the walls were covered in moss or there was crap floating in the toilet due to it being broken and not able to flash.

It was not even because of the sewage-like water that was leaking out of the rusted tap in the sink.

It was the image of Noah, stuffed in the cracked bathtub, wearing only his briefs.

Just as quickly as his legs had stopped working, they gained speed and he reached Noah in a split second. There were numerous black bruises all over his body and there was more blood in the tub.

He took a hold of Noah's upper arm and tried to turn him and that was when he saw it. The two holes lodged into Noah's back.

The sudden realization of what might have transpired in this room was more than Austin could handle.

Time froze for a moment. He was stuck in the longest two seconds of his life as he found himself flashing back to everything and every moment he had spent with Noah so far.

It all almost played before him like a screen and he almost felt every touch he had ever experienced from Noah.

He could hear Noah's voice telling him he loved him, over and over again, and remember the last time he had seen Noah, which was just last night but felt like eons ago. It was unbelievable how many things went through his mind in a fraction of a second.

He was snapped back to reality to find an unmoving Noah with two slugs in his upper back.

"Noah?" He called hysterically while shaking him. When Noah did not respond, he leaned over and looked at his face -his eyes were closed and there were no movements on his face, not even the twitching of a single muscle, "Noah, wake up!" He shook him some more but nothing happened.

"Oh my god, Austin!" Max dropped to her knees beside him, "He's been shot!" She screamed out loud.

Austin's eyes blurred with tears before they cascaded down his cheeks in pools, "Please, baby, wake up." He clutched onto Noah's shoulder and shook him vigorously. He did not know what else to do, "Please, don't die...I love you!"

Max stood up and backed up against the wall. She hugged herself tight with one hand and placed the other over her mouth, sobbing silently.

"Noah...baby?" Austin asked between sniffs, "you can't -"

"Please step back, sir, we need to get to him." A lady spoke suddenly, yanking on Austin's shirt, trying to pull him away from Noah.

"No!" He yelled with a broken voice, "Help him now...please!" He was sobbing uncontrollably as he clutched tightly onto Noah, trying to hug him.

"Austin?" Nicole came running, "Noah?! What happened?" She squeezed in between two male paramedics, who stopped her.

"You need to step back!" One of them demanded and she complied without protest.

"I need you to go outside and let us handle it, sir!" The lady commanded Austin, "Do you hear me?"

"Is...is h-he dead?" Austin enquired.

"We can't know that until you are outside so that we can do our job." She seemed kind and considerate enough. She did not rough handle him or anything.

"Come on Austin," Max reached out her hand and helped him up.

"Please, save him!" Austin pleaded to her. He walked out like a zombie. There were people taking photographs of the scene and a few policemen walking around and there was a long crime scene tape across the door.

Austin wrapped his arms tightly around Max. She was shorter than him but he would take anything that would give him support right now. He was not seeing straight and he felt completely helpless.

His eyes were swollen from all the crying and his feet felt like they were going to give out any minute now.

As soon as he stepped outside, Nicky came running to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. He buried his face in her hair and let the tears flow uncontrollably.

From then, he passed out and he could not remember anything until he woke up in the ambulance outside the hospital forty-five minutes later. It was all like a dream, but felt so real at the same time.

He watched as the medics wheeled Noah's stretcher into the hospital in a rush and everything came back again. And then his world crumbled once more.

       *The Present*

It had been over two hours and nobody had come out to tell them anything yet.

Austin had cried so much his head was aching painfully and everything in his vision was either spinning or blurry. He slid his eyelids close and was about to sleep when a pair of strong arms were wrapped around him.

He thought he was imagining it because it felt so much like Noah. But then a familiar voice spoke, "I'm sorry, Austin."

Austin pulled himself quickly from the grasp as if they burned him, "What are you doing here?" He heaved. Most of his voice was gone.

"I heard what happened." Sam said but did not attempt to touch Austin again.

"How did you hear about it?!" Austin asked suspiciously and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Were you a part of this?"

"N-no!" Sam denied immediately, "I swear."

"I'm sure nobody here would have told you, how do you know!" Clearly, he wasn't convinced.

"For one, it's all over the news."

"Fuck!" Austin cursed.

"I came here to see if you were ok.."

"Why, did you come to collect your priced possession now that your only competition is dying?" Austin asked as he stood up and took a few steps away from him.

"What? No!" Sam stood up too, "I came here because you are my best friend and you are hurting. I have to be here for you!" They were causing some commotion in the hospital waiting room.

"I don't have time for jokes right now!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.

"It means, if you're going to crack tasteless jokes about being my friend, at least have the courtesy to do it when I'm not close to having a heart attack because the love of my life is in there, fighting for his life and nobody would even let me in to see him!" He wiped a tear that had made its way down his already stained cheek.

Sam moved fast and before Austin saw it, he was engulfed in Sam's arms, where he proceeded to bawl his eyes out. He did not have the strength to pull away.

Nicky was standing close by, watching them. She hated seeing her brother like this but she knew the only thing in this world that could make him good as new was seeing Noah alright.

She had grown to love Noah like a brother and it was breaking her heart that he was in there, probably with tubes going in through every opening of his body to keep him alive.

But she had to be strong for her brother -who was hurting far much worse. Only one of them could break down at a time.

She heard footsteps running towards them and she turned to see Michael running like a maniac. He was sweating through his basketball jersey, so much so that it stuck to him like second skin.

He went straight to Nicky, "Where is he?" She responded by pointing her thumb to the emergency room doors, "How is he?"

"We don't know, we're still waiting." She said with a monotone.

"Oh my God, I gotta call my parents!" he pulled out his phone and started dialing but Nicky put her hand over his and stopped him.

"I already called them, they are catching the first flight out of Chicago tonight." She said then pulled away her hand from his quickly when she noticed him looking down at them in contact. She had not touched him or come too close to him ever since that night, "Sorry." She apologized and averted her eyes away awkwardly.

"It's ok, you don't need to apologize for that." Michael said, trying to sound casual but his voice was a bit shaky and unsure.

"I should -" she started to say but stopped when a doctor finally came out of the E.R. "Doctor?" Everybody who had heard the door open rushed to the doctors side. Austin was the fastest as he moved forward with electric speed.

This was the moment of truth. He was going to find out if Noah was going to be fine or else his heart would instantly stop. The look on the doctor's face was not much to give any of them hope. It was forlorn and just simply dull.

Their hearts beat faster with each passing microsecond and Austin just couldn't take it anymore, "Well, are you gonna tell us what happened?"

"Yes, of course!" The doctor cleared his throat before continuing, "Which one of you is family?" Only Michael lifted up his hand, "I'm going to need the rest of you to step outside."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Austin stood his ground defiantly.

"Who are you?" The doc questioned.

"He is the boyfriend." Michael responded before Austin could speak.

"And I'm staying!" Austin added adamantly.

"Ummm..alright. Excuse us," he said to the rest. "Follow me, please."

Michael and Austin followed him into his office, leaving the rest standing there anxiously. Austin had it bad.

A doctor asking to talk to you privately always depicts really bad news, at least it did in all relative movies he had ever seen. His hands were uncomfortably clammy as he prayed to whatever is most holy to not let that be the case.

His legs trembled and the temperature felt like it had suddenly plummeted but he was still sweating. Michael saw the state Austin was in and he reached out, patting Austin comfortingly on the shoulder.

They stepped in first into the office and the doctor came in last, closing the door behind him, "Are his parents or guardians around? They need to be here in cases of minors."

"I'm his cousin. He only has guardians and they are flying back here tonight." Michael answered.

"Guardians?!" Austin asked, "Where are his parents?"

"Also, he is not a minor, he is eighteen." Michael ignored Austin's question and continued. Austin creased his forehead in surprise and looked questioningly at Michael.

"So, there is no other family around?" The doctor asked.

"No."

"Alright, then I'm going to have to talk to you." The doctor circled them and went behind his desk, "Your cousin suffered massive amounts of blood loss and internal bleeding. Seems like he was tortured very badly and they broke a few bones. His spleen was torn up a little bit."

Austin's eyes welled up with tears once more as he threw his hands to his face and covered his mouth, "Is .....is Noah going to be ok?" He sniffed.

"He is a lucky young man. Looks like the gun was close range and the bullets went through and through. They missed the vital organs, only barely. He wouldn't be alive if the thugs had bothered to check their work." The kind doctor explained.

"So...what are you saying?" Michael asked.

"I'm saying that...he is going to be fine. He is going to have to stay here for a few weeks, though. His body is extremely week," he responded and Austin took in a huge sigh of relief. "Tell me, has your cousin ever been involved in wresting or football or, perhaps, domestic abuse?"

"Why?" Austin asked curiously.

"Because we found some residual scar tissue in his internal organs that showed some signs of very rough physical activity in his past...and not too long ago either." The doctor said with concern.

"Oh no, there is definitely no domestic abuse!" Michael said defensively, "He is a sporty guy, I-I think he used to play football."

Austin looked at Michael suspiciously. There was definitely more to that story than he was letting on and the doctor did not seem to catch on to it.

"Ok. It was nice talking to you. Excuse me, I have some other business to attend to." He said and started walking out, leaving the two of them behind.

"Is it ok if we see him, doc?" Austin asked before the doc could step outside.

"Please, call me Frank." He responded with a smile, "And nobody is allowed in yet. Noah is in recovery and he needs a lot of rest. Come tomorrow morning when he is awake."

"Tomorrow?!" Austin asked as if he couldn't believe what the doctor was saying, "I can't wait that long....I need to see him!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, I'm sorry." Frank said and walked out.

"Fuck it, I have to see him!" Austin said and started following the doc but Michael stopped him.

"There is nothing you can do about it, Austin."

"Really?" Austin chided, "How would you know, Mr. I told you so !?"

"Alright, I see what you mean." Michael admitted, "And I'm sorry about what I said about Noah. The guy can be annoying and complicated but he is still family and actually not half as bad as I made him out to be."

"I can't stay a whole night without knowing how he really is. It will feel like a million years!"

"You do know you can spend the night with him, right?" Michael said with a slight smile, like he knew something no one else did.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about calling my parents and getting Noah upgraded to the presidential ward. I'm pretty sure they put him in one of the regular rooms."

"Get to the point." Austin demanded impatiently.

"They can get you an extra bed and let you sleep in the same room with him. All I have to do is make a call, what do you say?"

"What's the catch?" Austin wasn't buying his intentions.

"I owe the two of you and, honestly, I'm trying to not be an asshole ....and I'm kind of hoping Nicky will see I'm a good guy and agree to talk to me." Michael said while they walked towards the rest of the group who were still waiting for the updates on Noah's condition.

Austin froze and looked Michael up and down as if trying to decipher what made him sick in the head, "Let me get this straight; you want me to spend the night next to Noah just so that Nicky will somehow think you are the pastier version of Mother Theresa and agree to date you again?!"

"Exactly!"

"What did you smoke right before you started that thought?!"

"I'm being serious -"

"I know, that's what scares me!" Austin jibed.

"Women love heroes!"

"You know what, I'm sure you know what you're doing." Austin said sarcastically, "but when she pulls your underwear up to your nose and suspends you by a tree branch before folding you up like a blowup doll and stuffing you inside a box with a stamp addressed to your current girlfriend, I hope you remember how grateful I am that I got to be by Noah's side. Ok, big guy?" He finished and walked away.

"Wait, she would do that?" Michael asked, suddenly aware of the wedgie his underwear was giving him and proceeded to pull it out.

"You dated her for so long and you still have no idea what she is capable of!" Austin shook his head, "Her and my mom are cut from the same cloth. And whatever she does to you, I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy it. I was there when she was making the list and sticking needles into the voodoo doll, you know."

Michael got this stupid, scared look on his face when he saw that Austin was not joking, "Oh boy!"

"Listen, I gotta ask you something." Austin got more serious again. It had been nice having his head feeling a little light again, but he still had questions.

"Sure thing."

"I know you lied about the football thing...was Noah a victim of domestic abuse?"

"What do you mean? Of course it was the football thing...why would I lie?!"

"Because...the things you told me about Noah.....nobody gets that messed up unless they have gone through something really traumatic," Austin explained then stopped walking. "I also keep getting all this new information about Noah but nobody ever really tells me the whole story. I just know the bits and pieces but I don't know the beginning of it all. I know him and he is not a monster. He is an amazing person and ....the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. I love him. So, please, don't tell me a lie about him...just be honest with me...please."

"Well, I was kinda hoping you would have that talk with Noah...he doesn't like talking about it." Michael said.

"Please....I can't wait any longer. It's killing me!" Austin whined.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Oh no, it can't!" Austin said defiantly, "Besides, the moment Noah wakes up, I don't think I'm gonna be able to talk much. Neither of us actually. It's been like twenty-four hours since we had sex. I'm gonna jump on him like -"

"Are you trying to make me uncomfortable by talking about my cousin having sex so that I will agree to tell you if you stop it?" Michael asked.

"Yes." Austin said with a straight face.

"It worked." Michael noted, "Let's get the others and tell them what the doctor said then I will tell you what you wanna know."

They found them in the waiting room where they had left them earlier.

"Thank god, where did you guys go?!" Nicky ran towards them, "We've been waiting for ages!"

"It's been like ...fifteen minutes!" Michael said.

"What did the doctor say?" Max asked.

"He is out of surgery and they have him in recovery. He said we are allowed to see him tomorrow," Austin responded.

"So, he is gonna be alright?" Nicky asked eagerly.

"That's what he said."

Nicky screamed sharply and jumped excitedly into Austin's arms, "Oh my god, that is amazing!" Austin returned the hug and sighed into her hair.

Everybody else looked relieved upon hearing the news. Clearly, Noah's condition had taken a certain toll on each of them.

"I'm happy for you, too, Austin." Sam said from right beside him. Austin put his sister back on her feet and turned to look at Sam.

"Thanks." Austin said courteously.

"Can we talk for a minute, there is something I need to tell you." Sam requested nervously.

"I can't right now. I gotta do something first...maybe later." Austin was so relieved that he was ready to give Sam a few minutes of his time. After all, nothing he could say could be worse than what he had just gone through, "Come on, Michael."

"Oh." Michael said, "right."

"Where are you guys going?" Nicky asked.

"Just outside. Maybe you guys should go home, there is nothing we can do until tomorrow."