Dixie carried her cup of coffee into the lounge. She dropped it at the sight of a man sobbing by the fireplace.

"JR!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

JR looked up at her; his eyes unfocused; his expression wild, but he said nothing.

"He… AJ isn't here." stammered Dixie. "The police are out looking for you. They took AJ to a safe house. You won't get anywhere near him. How… how did you get past the patrol car?"

JR pulled his hands through his hair. Dixie saw the blood on his knuckles. He looked as if AJ was the last thing on his mind. In fact he didn't look like he even knew where he was.

"JR you need to hand yourself in." said Dixie, unable to fight the instinct to reach out to her son while he was in pain.

JR darted forward and caught her arm.

"I'm not crazy." He hissed. "And I'm not going to jail."

"I never said you were crazy." said Dixie, startled by his outburst.

"I don't know what's happening." He said in a pathetic tone. "I just want it to stop. I just want them to stop."

Dixie tried to pull her arm away but he wouldn't let go.

"JR you attacked Bianca."

"It's all her fault!" roared JR, before adding in a whisper, "It's not fair, I didn't want to do it. They made me do it."

"Who made you do it?" asked Dixie, her fear mounting at her son's unbalanced behaviour.

JR didn't appear to hear her.

"JR are you drunk?" Dixie asked, clutching for answers.

"It's all Bianca's fault." muttered JR, not hearing her, "She brought it on herself. She has stolen my life. She took my family. She took my wife and my son. She is a thief. I was blaming Marissa but I was wrong. It was Bianca along."

"JR you tried to kill her."

He groaned.

"This is all such a mess."

"JR you need to hand yourself in." said Dixie once more. "It will go better for you."

JR wasn't listening to her. He was muttering to himself.

"I did it wrong right from the start. I was hating the wrong person. If I had shot Bianca instead of Marissa, none of this would have happened."

"But that was an accident." said Dixie, scared by her sons ramblings.

JR just stared back at her. For the first time since she found him he seemed focused and sure.

"You shot Marissa on purpose!" she gasped.

"It should have been Bianca."

Dixie starred at her son with revulsion in her eyes. She tried to pull away from him but his grip on her arm was just as tight.

JR smiled at her, not seeing her anguish.

"It was the perfect plan. I thought if Marissa was gone there would be no one to challenge me for AJ. It would be a punishment for her betrayal. But then that crazy woman with a gun came and ruined it. I had a plan and she ruined it so I had to adapt. I shot Marissa, only it didn't kill her. But it was a good thing. It gave me a second chance with her. We could be the family we should have been. But then Bianca ruins it all over again. You can understand why I hate her can't you. You can understand why she had to be punished. Why I had to get her out of the way. You understand mom, don't you?"

"No JR." said Dixie, horrified. "I don't understand this at all."

"But it was the only way to get my family back."

"JR the police are out looking for you. You are not going to get anywhere near your family! I doubt they will let you anywhere near your son ever again."

"The police." said JR, as if remembering the problem once more. "I have to get out of here. I need to lie low for a little bit. Then I can come back and get what's rightfully mine."

"JR…"

"I have to go into hiding."

JR looked at his mom and gave her a warm smile. Dixie was terrified by it.

"I've got to go." he said, "But I can't let you run to the police."

"JR what are you going to do?"

"Shhh." said JR putting his finger to his mother's lips. "Everything is going to be just fine... you'll see!"

…