SPLATTER (draft)

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He still couldn't believe it.

John was gone, and he had no idea how much longer he could keep himself together before breaking down.

The Rogers had been friends with the Stephen's for decades; everyone was close with each other in that household - they'd regularly hold dinners for each other at their houses in an attempt to out do each other, always trying to prove which family was better at cooking. Of course, that was all fun and games, friendly fire rather than full on competitiveness. This had been going on since Benjamin was a young boy - and it continued until Ben finished his early years of high school, although unfortunately the events started to decline after he left for College; Most people that knew the families would've said that it was a Roger's and Stephen's tradition; they weren't entirely wrong. They'd both cook feasts that could feed the entire neighbourhood, leaving plenty of leftovers which would go off within a week if people didn't start to eat the food that was stored away. It was the same for The Rogers', they'd always have more food than needed in their fridge being stocked up with all you can east supplies for months. Ben's mother did this too - it was a habit the Stephen's and Roger's picked off each other, and whilst at times it created massive wastage, other times it would feed homeless shelters. John suggested doing so rather than storing food and letting it become inedible within the week. With that suggestion, both of their families would hold food stalls for those that couldn't afford to fend for themselves, and this was an occurrence that happened quite often - of course it was genuinely one of the only times that Ben agreed to be around his sister, whom he has one of the worst relationships with due to them not getting along.

Benjamin loved his family more than anything, although sadly for him growing up he was the odd one out, as he would be forgotten about as soon as his older sister threw a tantrum demanding something of her own - he was of no interest to either of his parents. They'd always drop literally everything just for her without even batting an eyelash. Heck, they'd still do that for her now. She was their angel, whilst Ben was just the boy. He felt that he was never going to amount to what his parents wanted him to be, whatever that was. He was an outsider, and god that felt horrid. He hated it, however growing up Ben was determined to prove his worth and for once in his fucking life not be in his god damn sisters shadow. In his early years of high school, Benjamin would always spend a lot of time down at the Roger's place, playing with their children or babysitting them. He'd do this for free if it meant that someone was taking notice of him, and only him rather than his sister. He felt welcome over at the Roger's and that they cared about his opinions and what he would say. He truly appreciated them for that. John was a wonderful man - he had always been good to Benjamin, especially when he lacked the presence of his parents when they were too busy cooing over his older sister Alison.

The best part was, they didn't even like her.

Majority of the Roger's thought that Alison was a spoiled brat, and hell - they weren't wrong. They thought she was a conceited little bitch who didn't know how to share, although of course they had to be polite for the sake of the ongoing friendship their families had. This made Ben appreciate the Roger's even more, and he was glad that John was in his life, especially since he'd been more of a father to him than his own one ever had.

When Ben's crucial years of High School came around he would spend his time studying at the Roger's, since he felt much more welcome in their house rather than his own. John would often help him with his homework or any projects since his parents were far too busy with taking Alison to her extra curricular activities - not a surprise that they'd of yet again forgotten about his needs and didn't even notice that he was falling behind in a few subjects. His GPA was dropping at a slow decline and he desperately needed a tutor. John had evidently been kind enough to find one of his family friends and get Ben a tutor - her name was Easter and Ben thought that she was one of the smartest people he knew. She was lovely, and thankfully due to her and John, he passed his subjects and obtained his high GPA once again with zero issues after the tutoring. Easter was incredible and over time all their families grew close with each other, gradually Benjamin actually started to enjoy these dinners since he had Easter around for company. When he started to date Lauren long term and they all started to hang around with each other, most of their families grew closer and he was glad since he had both Lauren and Easter to make these family gatherings less gruelling.

The man was lost in his own echoing thoughts; their flatscreen TV running with updates on in the background. His partner Lauren was curled up in a ball next to him, the blanket over the two of them. Last week's updates on John was playing in the background. Twats he thought to himself as they continued to cover the story. They didn't know the first thing about John and these fucking idiots were reporting as though they knew him fucking personally. Yeah right. He saw Lauren glance at him as he felt her squirm - this had hit her just as bad and he couldn't even begin to comprehend how difficult it must've been for her to be running the entire jurisdiction on these cases. He truly felt for his partner, he just hoped that it hadn't affected her long term. Ben watched her get up, flashing her a concerned look. He felt bad for her, and he wished there was more he could do for them and well everyone who'd been affected by this bastard of a psycho. Ben listened to what Lauren had to say, she really wanted him to believe she was okay. He didn't buy it, but for her sake he'd just comply. He smiled when she gave him the kiss on his cheek. "Alright, I'll believe you. But just know I'm here if you need anything baby. That's my duty. I have to protect you." Benjamin watched as his girlfriend walked away, heading towards the bathroom. He'd had enough too. The man proceeded to turn off the TV, locking the door and switching off all the lights and headed to their bedroom, switching the lamp on. He lay there for a few moments until Laura joined him in bed, pulling the duvet over the two of them. The man switched off the lamp - he felt his girlfriend turn around to face him, he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I love you so much. Goodnight honey." listening to her reply, knowing that it'd make her feel somewhat more at ease - he drifted to sleep cuddling Lauren.

Being a Rookie Cop wasn't easy. Luckily for him though he'd had prior experience as a Security Guard dealing with shitty people in Cedar City. It was another day as a Cop for him, and he was fully committed to ensuring that he succeeded in this career - he wanted to prove to himself and his family that'd he make something for himself and for once he wanted to be congratulated on his efforts. The man truly believed that by being a cop not only would he be able to contribute to the city although he'd also be able to catch the sick fucker that was murdering innocents, achieving a promotion of some sort. Being a cop wasn't such a bad idea, and frankly so far Ben enjoyed it, although the only downfall was just how much of a prick one of the Detective's was to him at work, when around their families it was different. His name was Mason, and fuck he needed to cut him some slack. Although he was his subordinate and he had zero authority over the man, therefore at all times he had to follow through with direct orders. Pain in the fucking ass - he just wanted to make a difference out there in the city already. Pretty sure patrolling the City grounds wasn't going to be doing anyone any favours at the moment.

Taking a sip of his coffee Ben continued to cruise Cedar, nothing seemed to be on the radar at the moment. Things were too quiet - it was peculiar. Ben placed his coffee down, his thoughts wondering to how Lauren and Easter were doing with the case. His girlfriend was overseeing all primary jurisdiction whilst Easter his family friend was in charge of Forensics; people he heavily cared for being on board on such a dangerous case. It made him anxious. Lauren and himself had made a pact, that they'd inform each other on their whereabouts at all times if they weren't together in order to stop any anxieties that may come along. He'd have to check in on Easter - see how she was doing. He wanted to be on top of things at all times if possible, and truthfully he still didn't want to accept the fact that John was gone. Fuck that psycho was going to pay. He wanted to make sure of it. Benjamin sighed tapping is fingers on the steering wheel. Momentarily the radio began to go haywire - there was an incident, something at the Mayor's Office and he was needed there immediately. Ben switched the patrol lights of the car on and the sirens began to flare, pressing down on the accelerator he sped down towards the incident muttering "Here we fucking go again."

The only thing missing now was his partner, where the fuck even was he!?