Meant To Be (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Fateful Night

The man sitting at Nate's kitchen table had short, choppy grey hair that floated around his face like cobwebs. His small, dark eyes narrowed as he glared at the redhead and he suddenly stood up, slamming his fist on the flowery tablecloth as he did so. With the way Alex reacted and seemed to cower away from the man it didn't take Nate long to figure out who he was.

"You're Alex's stepfather."

Fists balled at his sides, Nate stepped forward towards his love but the path was blocked by the scowling man. It took everything Nate had not to flatten the man right there and then. To think that this insignificant human could have hurt Alex so much and caused him so much physical and emotional pain was almost too much for Nate to bear. He wanted to force him to the floor and kick him until he bled but he didn't want to scare Alex even more than he already was and so he took a deep breath and counted to ten in his head in an attempt to force his fists away from the man's face.

"I've come to take him home," his voice was deep and gravelly, like he'd been smoking for years. He pulled Alex to his feet forcefully and Nate could see all power and resistance quickly fade from Alex's eyes.

Nate stood purposefully in the doorway, using his tall frame as a blockade, "He's not going anywhere."

A long, thing finger pressed into Nate's chest with force as the smaller man gripped Alex's wrist tighter.

"Oh, I think you'll find he is! Do you know how long I've been looking for this little fucker?!" He squeezed Alex's wrist again and Nate could have sworn he heard something crack, "This little shit owes me! All that time I wasted taking care of him and he runs off! Ungrateful bastard!"

With flared nostrils, Nate slapped the hand away from his chest, "'Taking care of him'?! You abused him! He stays here!"

"You think you can stop me, faggot?! You have no idea what I-" the man's face seemed to slacken and his grip on Alex loosened enough for him to pull free. His stepfather looked like he had just seen a ghost and his pallor resembled one. He stumbled backwards and backed into the table, sending a glass shattering to the linoleum. Alex took the opportunity to move to Nate's side, who held his hand in his larger one and squeezed gently. He looked down at Alex and smiled reassuringly.

"You alright?"

Alex nodded, "I will be."

"It's you!"

The sudden outburst of the man made both Alex and Nate jump as their attention was once again drawn to Alex's stepfather. His eyes looked crazed, wide in their sockets like a madman, and he was pointing to Nate as he practically screamed,

"It was you! I knew I recognised you!"

A glance from Nate to Alex confirmed that neither of them knew what he was talking about but he continued nonetheless.

"You! You killed Lisa!"

"Mum?" Alex flushed and tears pricked his blue eyes.

The ranting continued.

"It was you, I know it!"

"I don't-" Nate tried to speak but the man was too far gone, too determined to finish.

"In the other car!"

All colour drained from Nate's face and his fingers lost their grip on Alex's hand, allowing it to drop loosely to his side. The room seemed to be getting smaller, the walls closing in making it hard to breathe.