Ch.3

Fox woke up the next morning and smiled. Teresa was there, sleeping next to him, her arm wrapped around his.

She looked like an angel.

He leaned in and gently kissed her nose, not wanting to wake her. He had heard her up all night crying. He was glad she had finally fallen asleep.

She stirred.

"Shhhhh," Fox whispered, stroking her cheek until she stopped moving.

He quietly got out of bed and got dressed. He wanted to begin right away on helping her get her son back.

After making several phone calls, he realized he was in trouble.

"The Cranes have already gotten a hold of everyone," he realized.

He decided to go for a run to let off some energy.  It was his favorite way of relaxing.

After checking on Teresa several times to make sure she was still asleep, he quickly and quietly snuck out the back door, and began sprinting down the road and into town.

He ran for a good 40 minutes or so before stopping to catch his breath on the boardwalk.

He sat down on one of the available benches, running his fingers through his damp hair.

It was then he saw them

Ethan and little Ethan.

Together.

The sight of them made Fox sick.

"Fox!" Little Ethan yelled as he saw him. He ran over, giving him a huge hug.

"Hey little man," Fox said, messing up his hair. "What are you doing out here so early?"

"Ethan is taking me to the park to play!" he said excitedly.

Fox looked over at Ethan. He wouldn't look back. Instead, he made eye contact with the ground.

"Well that sounds like a fun day," Fox said smiling at the boy.

"Fox, is momma ok?"

"Little Et-" Ethan tried to interrupt.

"She's fine," Fox answered quickly.

"Did you help her stop crying?"

Fox smiled. He loved the innocence of this kid.

"I sure did little man."

"Good!"

"Hey kiddo, we better go," Ethan said, trying to change the subject. "We don't want to miss out on getting the good swings at the park do we?"

"Ok Ethan! Bye fox!" he put his hand up, waiting for a high five.

Instead, Fox swooped him up in his arms and gave him a hug.

"I'll see ya soon buddy ok?" he said, looking directly at his brother.

Ethan smiled back tauntingly.

"We'll see about that," he said coolly as he grabbed the boy's hand and walked away.

Fox watched them walk away towards the park, laughing.

"You will pay Ethan," he muttered.

"Soon enough you will pay."

Back at Teresa's house, she had woken up to find herself alone.

Not knowing why, she immediately got up and went to her son's room, sitting on the bed. She laid down, trying to smell him on his pillow.

Her heart ached at the sight of his clothes, and his toys on the floor. She went over to pick one up, but stopped herself.

"Quit being so weak," she told herself. "This is all your fault."

She suddenly felt sick, and quickly darted to the bathroom. After she had thrown up the little food she had eaten in the past few days, she sat back down on the hard cool tile. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and silently cursed herself.

"Everything is your fault," she repeated over and over again, banging her fists on the floor.

"Everyone you love gets hurt."

"Everyone you need leaves you."

She got up and looked in the mirror.

"You're all alone."

She looked down, seeing the razor she had used the night before. The metal object teased her, begged for her to pick it up and use it.

She swiftly grabbed it and immediately brought it down to her flesh.

She felt no pain as the sharp object cut her skin, made her bleed.

Instead she felt relief.

Not wanting the feeling to end, she then cut the other arm.

A small smile slowly crept across her face.

She looked back at her reflection.

She hated herself more than she ever thought she could.

"This is what you deserve," she said to the mirror.

"You deserve to bleed…"

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"You deserve to die."