Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Moonlight world. Riley and those that are not recognized from the show are mine and I would appreciate it if you did not take them without asking! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

It has been 24 hours since the letter arrived and changed all of our lives. We had all hoped that if given some time, he would grieve and that things would stay somewhat normal. He had barely moved from the living room in the last day. Mick and Beth had been here as much as possible, but they both needed sleep.

I had been trying to keep myself together. Josef hadn't even looked at me since we read the letter. I knew that he was upset and shaken up, but I hadn't thought he would push me away. I was at a loss as to what I should do. I knew that Josef had to be getting tired at this point. He hadn't slept at all in almost 36 hours now. I tried to get him to go upstairs but he didn't even respond.

I turned away and walked to the library. I made my way out onto the patio and sat down in one of the chairs out there. There was a clap of thunder in the distance. There was a storm on the way but it wouldn't be here for at least 45 minutes. I stared off into the distance, wishing that I could rewind the clock back to yesterday when things were still normal.

The rain started to fall as I sat there. I couldn't stop it any longer and I let the tears come as the rain poured down on me. I sat in the rain until all of my tears had drained. When I couldn't cry any longer, I pulled myself off of the ground and into my bathroom. I stepped into the hot water and tried to scrub the last few days away.

When my skin was rubbed raw, I got out of the shower, got dressed, and went back down stairs to check on Josef. He still hadn't moved. I walked over to the store of blood he kept in the house for Mick and poured him a glass. I walked back over and sat the glass down in front of him.

"Josef, you have to eat something. You need to sleep." I looked at him, waiting for some response, any movement to show me that he was still in there. I sighed when there was no response. "Josef, I need you to tell me what to do. I don't what to do for you. I cannot just continue to sit here and watch you suffer. You're killing yourself and I cannot just let that happen. I know that I should be the strong one here, but I don't know what to do. I've never seen you like this and it scares me. I need my Josef back. I need to know that everything is going to be okay. I need to know that you are going to be okay, I need to know that we are going to be okay. Please, Josef, just give me something. I love you." I watched him for a few more minutes before making up my mind.

I called Mick and asked him to come over and stay with Josef for a while. I needed to get out of the house and was hoping I could spend some time with Beth. He told me that he would come over and keep an eye on Josef. I went up to pack an overnight bag, hoping that some time away would help both of us. I went back downstairs and set my bag by the door. I walked over to the living room and kneeled down in front of Josef.

I was surprised when he looked up at me. I started to say something, but he cut me off. "You say that you need some confirmation that we are going to be okay. You tell me that you love me and you need me to be okay. You want to know what I need. I need you to leave, just get out." I was surprised, but since that is what I had planned on doing anyway, I wasn't too upset.

"I'm going over to Mick and Beth's apartment. Mick should be here soon to keep you company. I am only planning on spending tonight over there, I will be home tomorrow."

"You don't get it. I want you to leave. Get out of my house. I want you to leave and not come back. I don't love you Riley. I don't want you here. I want you out of my life." His words cut more than I thought possible. But at the same time I knew that he was just upset. I knew that he was grieving and I knew that this was the only way to get him back to how he had been before.

"I don't believe you, Josef. You're upset right now. You have lost someone that is important to you. I am going to leave for now, but I will be back. I am not walking out on us." I was shocked when he looked back at me. His eyes were white and I could see his teeth poking out from under his lip. He let out a low growl and stood up.

Terrified, I fell backwards onto the floor. He had always made sure that he kept his composure around me. Even while he was this lost in grief, I didn't think he would turn on me like this. He reached down and took a hold of my arm. I cried out as he lifted me by my arm to stand in front of him. He dragged me to the door, picked up my bag in his other hand, and shoved me out of the door. I landed next to my bag on the cement in front of his house.

When I looked back up at the door, it had already closed. He had shut me out of his life. I pulled myself to a standing position, stepping gingerly on my left leg, which had taken the brunt of the fall. I hurt to put pressure on it, but not enough so that I couldn't make it to the car.

When I got into my car, I pulled out my phone. I looked through my contacts and found the name I was looking for. I hit send and pulled my car out of the garage. I hit the road when the phone was answered.

"Riley? What's going on, if everything okay?" I could hear the concern in his voice. It was so good to hear his voice. I hadn't talked to him in so long.

"Hey Parker, yeah it's me. It's good to hear your voice. I'm not doing so well right now. Can I come stay with you for a few days?" I didn't know if he would say yes or not, but I hoped he would let me come.

"Yeah, of course you can come. How long will it take you to get here? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Just get here as soon as you can, I'll be home whenever you can get here." I hung up the phone after that. I needed to call Beth and Mick, let them know what had happened, but I wasn't ready to relive it yet. I would call them tomorrow, when I had had a chance to sleep. For now, I just had to make it to Parker's house in one piece.