Page 58 of What I've Tasted of Desire

“Stay here,” I told him as I opened the bedroom door and headed down the stairs two at a time, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. Tom really did have some fucking nerve to show up again. Well, he was gonna be greeted with another one of my fists to his face.

I got to the front door and pulled the small curtain at the side window. It… wasn’t Tom. It was actually Mike, and, he looked panicked.

Mike’s eyes met mine as I peered out the window.

“Where’s Alex?” he shouted through the pane.

Alex came hurrying down the stairs and disarmed the alarm panel so I could open the door. Mike came rushing inside and put his hands on Alex’s shoulders. His face appeared flushed and panicked as he looked between the two of us.

“Are you okay?” he asked Alex.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Alex asked sleepily.

Mike looked over at me. “Call the cops.”

“What?” Alex asked in confusion, as he took a step to the side and tried to look past Mike through the open door.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Mike shot me a concerned look and then stepped in front of Alex to block him again.

What the fuck was going on?

“Alex, please don’t go outside,” Mike pleaded. “Just call the police.”

It was all unfolding so quickly, and Alex was turning frantic. I felt momentarily frozen.

Alex ducked around Mike and walked out onto the porch. Mike’s glance darted desperately to me, and he shook his head wildly. Immediately, I knew Alex shouldn’t be anywhere near whatever was out there.

“Alex,stop!”I barked. Mike moved aside and I ran out after Alex, who had already made it down the porch steps.

I had fallen asleep in nothing but my boxers, and the frozen air was almost painful as I ran out after him. As I got off the porch, I could see something lying on the ground on the other side of my truck.

“Alex!” I yelled.

He made it around the back of the truck and froze before screaming and covering his face.

I had pulled his head into my chest and covered his face with my hands before I even saw what he was looking at. It took a moment for my eyes to make sense of the sight, but, when I did, my heart leaped in my chest. It was disgusting and cruel, yes. But the implications?

Things just kept falling into place.

Tommy-Boy is a little fucking psycho. How delicious…

Lying on the ground was the body of Alex’s neighbor's Golden Retriever. The animal had been mutilated and sprawled across the driver’s side of my truck. Written in its blood were the words:

MaRK hIm AGain & ILL kIlL U BotH

I turned Alex around and pulled him back towards the house. He was on the verge of collapsing, his body shaking violently. As we hit the top step, he began to flail around and try to pull away from my grasp.

“Alex, I’ve got you. It’s….”

Alex vomited all over my arms and chest, and then began to heave with sobs. I leaned down, swooped his legs under my arm, and started carrying him up the stairs towards the tub.

“Deal with the cops,” I instructed Mike over my shoulder. “I’ll get him back down here as soon as I can.”

I got Alex into the bathroom, sat him down on the toilet, and started the shower spray. I pulled at the hem of his shirt, and he listlessly raised his arms enough to let me get it over his head.

I wrapped one arm around his waist and lifted his ass off the seat enough to slide the elastic of his jammies down his hips. He began to claw at me again. I got him to the ground and opened the toilet lid in time to catch his second round of sick.

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