Chapter 11: Discoveries

Wow! Intense couple of chapters. I'm switching back to Axel's POV for now.

We finally find out what happened to Roxas and Sora. It's pretty bad. So if you are concerned, just... don't read or something. Idk. I'm thinking I might actually need to change the rating on this to M.

And... still, as much as I keep hoping, I still don't own Axel. Or anyone else for that matter.

…...

What the fuck is wrong with me. I go and say I'll stay away from this kid, and here I am, riding around with him in my truck. I'm retarded or something. Axel was so angry with himself his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. He glanced over at Roxas, who sat with his head hung low, so his blonde hair obscured his bright blue eyes. ….there I go again. I'm friggin obsessed.

Axel drove to a fast food restaurant, and pulled into the drive thru. "Do you want anything?" he asked.

"No. I'm not hungry."

"You probably should eat something. Your body could use it. You probably just used up your reserves of energy, and it will help you feel better."

Roxas looked up and glared at him. "What are you? A fucking expert on panic attacks? I told you I'll be fine. You can just take me to the park and drop me off or something."

So he does have a temper. "I suppose you could call me an expert. I've been having them on and off for almost three years."

Roxas visibly deflated. Apparently he doesn't stay mad long, either. "I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help, and I'm sure I'll be fi-"

Axel cut him off. "If you tell me you'll be fine one more time, I'm gonna smack you. After an attack like that, you're not going to be fine until some time has passed, and you've had something to eat. Now I'm buying you some fucking food, and you're going to fucking eat it. And then we're going to drive around aimlessly, or go to the park, or whatever the fuck it is you want to do, that will get your mind off of whatever it is that sent you into the panic attack in the first place. Because that brooding thing you were just doing? That's not gonna help. Now, what the fuck do you want to eat?"

Roxas just stared at him, looking astonished. Well shit, I think I just crossed the line. Axel thought. But dammit, I just couldn't help it. He's not going to be able to pull himself out again if he keeps brooding away like that.

Suddenly, Roxas started laughing. "I'm sorry. But you have the strangest way of being nice I've ever seen, Axel." he shook his head. "I don't really care what I eat. Food all tastes the same anyways when I'm stressed."

Shit. I thought he was gonna blow a gasket or something. Axelshrugged. "Fast food all tastes the same anyways. Fries okay?"

Roxas just looked at him for a second. "Sure, fries are okay. Um, I'm sorry I freaked out on you. I just-"

"Hey, I don't like people telling me what to do, either. It's cool." Axel pulled the truck through to the intercom, ordered two large fries and two vanilla milkshakes, paid at the first window, and went to wait at the second.

"So, ummmm... where are we going after we get food?" Roxas asked.

"I figure we can go where I always head when I want to get away from people. There's this little back road, and there's a cliff out there, and the view is..." he broke off. "We'll see when we get there. I'm not very good at describing things." he shrugged. And this is where anyone else would be laughing at how much of a moron I sound like...

"okay." was all Roxas said.

The food came up to the window, and Axel handed the bag to Roxas, pulling out of the drive thru and into traffic. They drove in silence for a while, until Axel had pulled off the main highway and onto a little dirt road through the trees. He stopped, grabbed the milkshakes, and said "come on. And bring the food. We have to walk a little ways."

Why am I doing this? Axel wondered as he walked. Roxas said nothing.

They emerged from the woods suddenly. They stood about twenty feet from the edge of a cliff. And over the cliffs edge, they could see the giant old castle that Ansem had lived in years ago. Now it housed the city's security systems and the police force. But the place was gorgeous, especially in the late afternoon light.

"Wow...this is incredible." Roxas said as he sat down near the cliffs edge.

"Yeah... it's pretty relaxing up here." Axel replied.

"How many other people have you brought up here?" Roxas asked softly.

You're the first..." Axel replied almost inaudibly. Damn, he's perceptive.

Roxas didn't say anything, just pulled out the fries and gave Axel his. He grabbed his shake, popped the top off, and started dunking his fries in it. Well, okay then. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

After a few minutes, Roxas stopped eating and looked up into the sky. "I guess you're probably curious about why seeing a car sent me into a panic attack like that." he said.

"Yeah, I guess, but you don't have to tell me." Axel looked at his hands, and his untouched French fries. He hadn't really wanted them, only bought them so that Roxas wouldn't feel awkward.

"I kinda want to tell you, if you don't mind... I... I never really talk about it."

"Well, okay then. I'll listen."

Roxas sucked in a deep breath. "Well... I used to have a car that was almost identical. And... well, about seven months ago, I was driving with Sora, who had just finished Tai kwon do practice. This was... this was when he could still walk. We were driving down one of the back roads towards home, and there was this hitch hiker. Sora... Sora told me not to, but I pulled over anyways, and picked him up. He looked like a regular guy, and he had a big duffel bag he was carrying, and I guess I felt sorry for him." Roxas paused, and ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair.

"He...he said his name was Aden, and that his car had broken down about three miles back. His cell phone was dead, so he had grabbed his stuff and started walking. I offered to go back to his car, and see if we could jump it or something. He said no, that he just wanted to get to town. I came to this nasty hairpin curve in the road, one where the road drops off into the river on the one side, and I came to a stop to make sure no one was coming around the other side. The guy... He grabbed Sora by the hair, and put a knife to his throat. Told me to pull off of the road, or he would kill him."

Roxas closed his eyes, took in a long, shaky breath, and continued. "I pulled off the road as soon as I could, by some farmer's cornfield. The guy told me to drive right into field, so I did. He... he told me... he told me to take my keys and toss them out the window. And since he still had the knife at Sora's throat, I did. I knew that the guy wasn't going to let us go alive, but I was hoping that maybe I could... I don't know; maybe find an opportunity to get away or something. So I did what he said."

"He grabbed some rope out of his duffel bag, and told me to tie Sora up on the seat. Sora looked at me, and told me not to do it. That I should just try to escape. The entire time I was tying him down..." Roxas' voice broke. "The entire time I was doing it, he was telling me it wasn't worth it. That he wasn't worth it."

Roxas paused, shaking, and seemed to be trying to stop himself from crying. Without thinking, Axel pulled Roxas into his arms. Roxas let him, and even relaxed into his arms a bit. "You don't have to do this." Axel whispered into his ear.

"Yes, I do. Please let me finish."

Axel stroked his hair. "Okay. Do whatever you need to do. I'm here for you."

Roxas took another deep breath and continued. "I made sure I tied him up really loose, so that he could get away. I knew that might be the only chance we had. The guy just checked all the knots, tightening them up as I went along. After I... I had finished tying up Sora, he told me to... to do things to him. I... I did everything he told me to. And when... when it was over, he... he stabbed Sora. Stabbed him over and over and over..." Roxas was shuddering violently, and Axel just held him and let him talk.

"And then... he turned to me... and he... he told me I needed to practice more. He... he said that I was the worst blow job he'd ever had. And then he left. He ran off. I... I cut the ropes on Sora, and I called 911. They saved his life, but the knife had partially severed his spine...he was in a coma for two weeks, and nobody thought he would survive. But... that's why he's in a wheelchair now...because I... because I was such a fucking dumbass. I picked that guy up. I never should have stopped. I should have done something, anything. I should have-"

Axel put his finger to Roxas' lips. "shh. There's nothing more you could have done. If you had fought against him, neither of you would have survived. And there's no way you could have ever known what the guy would do. You were just being a good person. How could you have known he was a fucking psycho? This is not your fault. Not in any way. You can't blame yourself for this. You're just tearing yourself apart."

Axel rocked him, and stroked his hair, and whispered over and over that it was not his fault. He held him until the shaking subsided. And then, they just sat together, Roxas lying in Axel's arms, staring out into the darkening sky.

And when it's through, it's through; fate will twist the both of you. So come on baby, come on over, let me be the one to hold you.