24 - MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK

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IT WAS CHRISTMAS DAY WHEN IT ALL WENT DOWN

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IT WAS CHRISTMAS DAY WHEN IT ALL WENT DOWN. They had celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, just by themselves, like they always did. Diana had dropped by briefly, but other than that, it was just the two of them. Christmas Day was never as big of a deal as it was for other people, so it was just like any other day, really.

That meant, regular day occurrences, like sitting in the living room and waiting for the inevitable attack from a man who can manipulate time.

"I hate to say it, but I kind of want him to just show up so we can get this over with," Rhett sighed, a bowl of popcorn on his lap as the two merely sat in silence, Nicky going over patient files while the other man merely existed.

"Where's your boyfriend, maybe he can give you something to do," Nicky asked absentmindedly, frowning at his notes, "What does this even mean?"

Rhett sighed and pulled out his phone, texting Steve.

to: "Grant" (9:25 am)
You okay?

A response came not even a minute later, which worried him more than he wished it had.

from: "Grant" (9:25 am)
Fine

He frowned, sitting up, worrying on his bottom lip. There was no harm in making sure, even if it did show how afraid he truly was.

to: "Grant" (9:25 am)
Is this Sawyer Collins?

Sawyer Collins was the name Rhett used when checking to make sure that the person on the other end was really Nicky or Steve. If they said, 'no, wrong number, try the deli,' it was them. If they said anything else, then it wasn't.

from: "Grant" (9:26 am)
No, it's Steve

"Nicky," Rhett all but shouted, a guttural sound he wasn't sure even came from him.

"What?" Nicky asked, raising his head and frowning at the sudden shift, "What's wrong?"

Rhett's hands shook as he struggled to breathe, his heart racing faster than it ever had before. "He has Steve."

º º º

"Rhett, I need you to breathe."

They were in Nicky's room, the man typing furiously on his computers, muttering to himself. Rhett was sitting on the edge of the bed, head between his knees as he struggled to stay calm, his mind racing and his heart pounding. He couldn't think, he couldn't focus, he was terrified.

"I can't!" he shouted, raising his head, "He got to Steve, but he doesn't even know it, I—"

"Hey," Nicky said, turning in his chair to almost glare at him, "Listen to me. That's good. If he doesn't know it's Steve, he might not react as badly. I mean, who knows, he might hold some grudge against him, if he think Steve is just your boyfriend, you have some leverage, he's going to want to use him to lure you out."

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