AN: Thanks for the reviews. I'm still not sure about this story, the inspiration is still lacking. But here's the plot turn everybody's been waiting for. The story is moving now, but I'm not sure If I like the direction its taking. Oh well. Another short chapter. Enjoy the angst.

Evil always lurks. Trust your gut when you feel it upon you.

XX

This morning I woke up anxious. There was an uneasy feelling in the air. Something wasn't quite right. I pushed the feelings away for awhile, and focused my attention on Riku, who now slept in my bed with me every night. Unlike me, Riku didn't sense the wickedness in the air. He didn't sense the lurking danger that seemed to hover around the edges of my apartment. No, today he was happy. And I mean, truly happy. It hurt to see him so happy when I was feeling so anxious.

I tried to be happy with him. He was so talkative and expressive; it was like I was seeing a side of him I've never seen before. His eyes were bright with excitement as he told me about some wild dream he had. Riku loves to talk about his dreams and he loves listening to me rattle on about my boring ones. However, despite his wonderful mood and the fact that he was so beautiful it almost hurt, I couldn't enjoy it. My back felt cold, as if someone were going to jump from the shadows and stab it.

Something was going to happen. Something bad.

Riku seemed to have a little more energy this morning, so he assisted me in making a light breakfast that wouldn't upset his stomach. I should've enjoyed his company. I should have been loving the fact that we were making breakfast together like couples do. I should've been excited that he ate two portions more than usual. I should've cherished the small, shy kiss he planted on my cheek before I left for work. But I didn't. My mind was in turmoil. I was debating leaving for work the whole time we ate. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I had already missed enough days. So I left. God I wish I had stayed.

All day at work I was worried sick. I called home several times, only to get Riku's amused voice telling me he was fine. I was reassured, but only for a minute. The lurking feeling would creep up on me in random moments, tearing the relaxed feeling away and then drowning my form in worried misery. To ease my mind, I visited Kairi's office during lunch.

"Hey Sora, what's up?" Kairi said, turning away from desktop.

"Uh…nothing, just thought I'd stop by." I told her, sitting in the chair across from her desk. Kairi looked me over and then sighed.

"Is Riku okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine." I said, not wanting to let on my worry for said man right now.

"How did he like my shampoo?" She asked with a smirk, grabbing a piece of candy from the bowl in front of her. I grabbed on as well, only to have my hand slapped.

"I dunno, he said it smelled good. And it definitely smelled good on him…" I said, my worried thoughts drifting into sensual ones. I daydreamed for a moment, ignoring Kairi's next words.

"Sora!" She finally snapped, slapping me on the hand. I jumped and looked at her in annoyance. Her next question took whatever annoyance I had with her away and replaced it with worry.

"I asked, have you guys been to the police?"

My mouth ran dry and the evil, wicked feeling in the air drifted into the room almost suffocating me. No, we hadn't. Axel was still free. Axel was still out there. Axel could…still hurt Riku.

"N-no…" I stammered out. My palms started to sweat and I glanced at the clock. Two hours until I could leave. Two more hours and I'd be home with my precious friend again. Two hours for something to go wrong. Two hours for it all to collapse.

Something just wasn't right. Something was going to happen to me…or him.

"Why not?" Kairi asked, worry evident in her voice. "He's a rapist Sora. A rapist who's roaming free. He needs to be jailed. Now."

The image of Axel hurting Riku comes to mind and my eyes widen in fear. "I-I know, we'll…we'll go today. We have to."

"Good, I just don't want him getting hurt again." Kairi said with a sigh.

I abruptly left her, unable to say anything to address her concern. The next hour I spent furiously trying to edit a document, but my mind wouldn't let me. The image of Riku's badly beaten body the night I found him outside my apartment keeps flashing through my mind. The doctor's conversation to me about his injuries and the evidence of rape and the rape test itself follows. Finally, my mind lands on Riku's beautiful, happy face this morning. In that moment, I got the sinking feeling that I wouldn't be returning to that face.

I grabbed the phone on my desk and dialed home, hoping and praying that Riku would pick up. But unlike the five previous times, he didn't. It just rang, and rang and rang. I tried again two minutes later and got the same thing. I called his cell phone. I texted his cell phone. I called the home phone again.

Nothing.

The last hour I spent pacing the room. I should've left, I should've gone home. But I didn't. Something in my mind wanted to believe that he was alright. Maybe he was just napping. Maybe he was taking a bath. Maybe he was listening to his ipod. The innocent part of me wanted to believe these things. The young Sora, the Sora who never experienced any true heartache in his life, the Sora that wanted to believe the world was a safe place to live in. But the mature Sora said no. The mature Sora who had seen the bruises, the whip marks, the tearing, and the blood said no. The Sora who endured his fits of anger said no. The Sora who held him as he cried said no. The Sora who had comforted him during nightmares said no. The Sora who loved him said no.

After realizing this, I left. I didn't tell my boss or any of my co-workers. I just walked out of the office. I left my shoulder bag and anything I brought with me behind. The only thing I remembered were my keys. I sprinted to the car, throwing open the door and starting the car in a matter of seconds.

A mantra repeated through my head as I raced home. Please let him be ok. Please let him be safe. Please let him just be sleeping. My mantra was broken with the flashing blue and red lights in my rearview window. I cursed as I realized I was driving twenty miles per hour above the speed limit. My mind was going insane with worry as the cop took his time in getting out and sauntering up to my window. I didn't even try to explain myself. I told him I was distracted. He nodded, and held me on the side of the road for a good twenty minutes before finally giving me my ticket. By then, I almost felt faint with worry.

I tried to pay attention to the speed limit as I continued on, but I know I went over it again quite a few times. When I reached my apartment, I raced out of my car. My legs weren't moving fast enough for me and I almost stumbled in my effort to reach the elevator which leads me to now.

I feel sick. So sick. My mind is racing, my thoughts tumbling around my head like a dryer drying clothes. My hands tremble as I wait for the elevator to arrive. I almost give up on it and head for the stairs, but it finally arrives. Someone asks me something, someone standing next to me, but I can't hear them. Oh my god, I can't breathe.

A sense of dread hits me as soon as I reach my floor. The floor is quiet, which is normal since most of this floors occupants are young professionals who are probably still at work. But that's not what throws me off. It's my door. It's standing wide open.

My heart hammers in my chest as I slowly approach the dark entryway. I almost want to run away, but I can't. Riku's in there. At least I hope he is. As I reach my door, my heart thuds to the bottom of my chest. My apartment is in shambles. There's glass everywhere, pillows ripped open, and puddles of water from god knows what. But that's not what kills me. That's not what fazes me. It's the blood.

I feel the bile rise up in my throat and I force myself to hold it back. I stumble into my apartment. I don't care if someone is waiting for me. There's blood everywhere...Riku's blood, I know. I know it's his. It's when I see the torn sleep pants that he wears, blooded and almost unrecognizable that I lose it. I just start yelling, screaming for him. The panic is making my voice shrill and desperate. Where is he? I look in the kitchen the bathroom, the foyer. Nothing. I run down the hall towards the bedrooms but stop when I see two figures hidden in the shadows of the den.

My heart thuds and my body tenses in fear. The figures move, one of them seeming to notice me.

"Don't come near." Comes a sharp voice. I was expecting a deeper, vile voice but it's not that. It's boyish, and it's scared.

I turn on the lights.

Blood, it's everywhere in here. The room is more wrecked than the living room. It's a disaster. The room smells of fire, blood and sex. And there in the corner is the most precious person in the world to me. Bloodied, beaten and almost unrecognizable except for his rare shock of white hair. He's lying limply in the arms of a familiar blonde man. He isn't moving, he doesn't seem to be breathing. He doesn't look alive.

The bile in my stomach leaps back into my throat and this time I can't hold it in.