Raphael had not expected to wake up like this. Alone on the couch of his favorite character, Malcolm Bright's apartment. Loft. Whatever. It was a bit strange. Like one of his worst nightmares or strangest dreams.
But a lot more real.
He slowly sat up on the comfortable couch as he held his breath. Listening intently for any signs that he wasn't alone. Only hearing the faint sounds of cars outside. And Sunshine's chirping from not that far away. Looking around, he saw no signs of the criminal profiler was there. Or any signs of crew members for the T.V show. At least, none so far. Chewing his bottom lip. He carefully got up from the couch as he tried to calm down. And Raphael headed towards the small kitchenette that Malcolm had. See if there was anything that could help him. Anything at all. Like a reason as to why he was there. Finding anything to help him understand how he ended up there.
As he searched, he kept an eye on the door. Hoping that no one would come in. Because he had zero ideas on how to explain this to any Prodigal Son character. How he somehow managed to break in to Malcolm Bright's home. Especially when he wasn't sure how it happened.
Raphael soon found his phone and charger. Phone firmly plugged into it. And a small note written in Malcolm's handwriting.
Dear Raphael,
I will be out for a few hours. Don't be afraid, you weren't kidnapped. My team and I rescued you. From your canon fate in your story. We won't let anything terrible happen to you. Or anyone harm you. Not if we can help it. I promise to explain myself in full later. Please don't leave the apartment. This is for your own safety. Please help yourself to anything. I promise that you will be perfectly fine.
Sincerely,
Malcolm Bright.
Harm? Canon fate? What the Hell did any of this mean? And where were his other belongings at? Like his wallet? Shoving this aside, he unplugged and unlocked his phone. Checking for any messages, missed calls, for voice mails. There were two missed calls from his Mom. AT least ten texts from his younger brother.
All read as frantic pleas for Raphael to respond. But he found himself unable to. His phone outright unable to send them. Causing his stomach to twist in knots. There was no way for him to contact his family. He'd have to wait for them to contact him. And who knew how long that would be?
Hours? Days? Weeks? Possibly months?
Time that Raphael possibly didn't have. Chewing his bottom lip, he headed over to the couch and sat back down. Trying to think of his next move. Leave before Malcolm Bright came home. Despite him knowing that Raphael was there. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea of meeting him. Pushing the thought outside of his mind as he got back up. Heading to the door as quickly as humanly possible. Before he could even get to the door, it swung open. Malcolm came in with a brown paper bag in hand. The smell of food wafting in with him. Raphael froze as he stared at the criminal profiler. Who was staring back at him with a surprised smile on his face. One that suggested he thought Raphael would still be asleep. Putting up his free hand, Malcolm said,"Relax, Raph. I'm not going to hurt you."
"I just want to help you.",Malcolm added. Closing the door with his foot. He walked over to the kitchen island and set the bag down. The scent of unfamiliar food wafting over to him. It made his stomach growl audibly. Making him frown slightly as he watched Malcolm. In a soft voice, Raphael asked,"What the heck do you want to protect me from?"
"Whatever this danger is?",Raphael continued. Feeling absolutely worried that Malcolm didn't know. Or that it was a prank. A very elaborate one at that. Knowing his younger brother would do something like that. Malcolm set out the unfamiliar food out on the island. Turning to Raphael, Malcolm answered,"From the serial killer who kidnapped you from your home."
"Put you in the trunk of his car after drugging you.",he continued. Drugged? When had he been drugged? Memory of being home and Malcolm's couch was fuzzy. Very fuzzy. Almost like...maybe this really wasn't a prank after all. Chewing his bottom lip, he asked,"Just how do you know all of that?"
"Where I was and how I was taken?",Raphael added. Wondering just how the profiler knew this. And where he learned about it. His eyebrows raised again as Malcolm picked up a book. One that was black with red lettering. It read 'The Lost Brother'. Malcolm held it out for Raphael to take. Soon as he did, Malcolm stated,"Read about you in that. It was a present from my sister."
"Thought a murder mystery book would be good for me.",Malcolm added. Murder mystery? The Hell was this? Raphael felt his stomach drop as Malcolm stated,"I'm going to stop your killer, Raph."
"I won't watch you die like you did in your book."