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Nick wasn’t sure what made him grab the car keys and drive to Brian’s place at 4 am in the middle of that night, but God, was he glad he had now. He’d arrived, not sure what to expect after Leighanne’s vague phone call. All he knew is that she’d needed help, presumably with Brian. Nick had been very unsure about Brian lately. The older man had seemed manic at points, and Nick had decided to give his friend some space if he needed to figure things out. He’d assured AJ that they’d never should have let Brian watch those videos, no matter how much Brian had ensured them that it was what he needed.

Cause he’d been wrong, so, so wrong.

Nick knew that now, he’d known it then too. AJ had called about two days after they’d watched it with Brian. He’d said that the tapes of the last videos were missing and Nick had known. He’d known their little plan of discouraging Brian had backfired tremendously. There was only one person after all who could and would have stolen those tapes. And Nick had raced to Brian’s house head over heels after AJ’s frantic discovery, but Brian had just looked at him coldly and said he had no idea what he was talking about. Nick had been told to fuck off and mind his own business and that should have sent the red flags flaring in Nick’s mind, but it hadn’t. And Nick was sorry for that now. He’d just thought Brian probably needed some space to deal with it on his own terms, and Nick fully intended to give him that space.

And then Leighanne called a few weeks later. And from her jumbled words into the phone the only thing Nick could really discern was that Brian’s condition was infinitely worse than anyone could have hoped for. And Nick had raced to Brian’s house for a second time, half expecting Brian to open the door and tell him to fuck off again. But there’s was no Brian anywhere in the house.

There was blood on the floor though.

And Nick had felt the hairs on his skin standing straight up. The house was quiet and the front door was wide open. And although every fiber in Nick’s being had told him to flee, Nick had entered the house carefully, trying not to pay attention on the smears of blood that coated the door frame. A trail of blood led to the kitchen and Nick had bitten his lip, sure that he was too late. Tragedy had struck this place, and Nick had done nothing to prevent it.

Leighanne was in the kitchen.

And she was gasping and bleeding and crying and Nick had fallen to his knees beside her. His eyes had scanned her body and had rested on the deep gash in her belly. Blood had soaked the entire under half of her nightgown and Nick had desperately pressed his hands on the stab wound, praying that it would help.

Leighanne had cried in pain, trying to get away from him and Nick had attempted some soothing words in between his own sobs. The injured woman kept saying Brian’s name and Nick had wished she’d just shut up, because he didn’t need Leighanne’s blood filled gasps to know who had done this to her.

And his world had fallen apart.

The ambulance arrived quickly and the ride to the hospital was even quicker. Leighanne had grasped his hand, her face grey and ashen and she’d seemed hardly conscious when she begged him to find Brian. And to save her baby.

Like Nick could do that.

Like there was anything in his power to make this situation better. The doctors had asked him all sorts of urgent questions. How far along was she? Did he know her blood type? Was there anyone they could call? He’d given them a helpless shake of his head, indicating that he had no answers. It took two hours before her parents arrived and even then, Leighanne was still in surgery. Nick had just sat in the waiting room, lost and forlorn, not knowing how to move on.

He had so many questions.

Because the last thing he’d ever expected Brian to do was hurt his family. But that was the Brian he knew, the Brian he remembered.

And Nick wondered where he’d gone. How long he’d been gone. And if he would ever come back.