Where to Find Love (MXM) ✔

Chapter 71

A/N: This chapter contains mature content. I will indicate where it starts with ------------------------ and indicate where it ends with ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ so if you want to skip this section you can.

Eduardo Garcia

As Isaiah helped me to the car, I tried to wrap my brain around everything that had happened. I had thought I was going to die. I had thought Zach was going to kill me and the only hope and peace I had left in that moment was knowing I had warned Isaiah and that he would get away. Except, then he had been brought in and all of my hopes had been dashed. I had watched helpless, unable to do anything, as Dennis beat him. Then Isaiah took out my gun and shot Zach. I had been too shocked to process what that might mean. When I had told him about my gun, I had never imagined he would use it like that and to kill Zach of all people. And then Dennis had raised his own gun and pointed it at my beloved Isaiah's head and all my hopes were gone again. But then Mikey was suddenly there and everything was okay in the breath of a second. It had all left me exhausted. Not to mention the severe beating Dennis had given me before they tied me to the chair.

"You should drive," I said to Isaiah as we got to my car. He helped me to the passenger side and I handed him the keys. He got into the driver's side, readjusted the seat and started up the car. I was having a difficult time looking away from him. He had saved me. I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as I loved him and that love intensified tenfold with tonight's events.

"I should take you to the hospital," he said.

"No," I said. "Take me home. I want to go home."

He briefly glanced at me before turning his eyes back to the road. He didn't say anything, but we arrived at my apartment. He rushed out of the car to help me out. I let him even though I was gaining some of my strength back and didn't really think I needed his physical support anymore. I ached all over and I was sure to have some major bruises, but I didn't think I had any broken bones or anything. I let him take me to the door. I paused when I saw the broken glass of my shattered window.

"Oh," Isaiah said, "I forgot they did that."

"You were here?" Of course he was. He had to get that gun somehow.

"Yeah," he said. "To get the gun."

"You were supposed to run," I said as he unlocked the apartment door.

"I did," he said as we stepped inside. "To your apartment to get your gun."

"That isn't what I meant," I said.

"I know," he said. He led me to the bathroom. I sat on the closed toilet seat. He got a washcloth, turned on the bathroom sink and ran cold water over it. He carefully touched it against my lips, my nose, gently over the bruises on my faces. I put my hands on his hips and pulled him closer to me. I put my head against his torso and wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me close to him. We stayed that way in silence for several moments.

"How long were you planning with Mikey?" I asked.

"Since the night you told me you let Tanner go," he said. "I didn't tell him what happened. We put a tracking app on my phone that he could track from his. Tonight I knew I had to get your gun and I knew I had to let them catch me so that Mike could find us."

I held onto him a little tighter. "Why didn't you tell me about Mikey?"

"Because you would have told me not to get Mike involved to protect him," Isaiah said. That was true. I would have told him that.

After several more moments of silence with us holding each other like that, I pulled back so I could look into his eyes. "Are you alright?" I asked him.