I'll Help You Hide From Them

The Book

I stroke the door to Ralph's house when I enter, watching the paint crumble underneath my fingers.

"Sorry about the mess." Kier tells me as he runs on ahead.

I look around with a smile. There's laundry discarded on the floor and there's even some old toys on the floor too, probably from when Kier was a kid.

"Hey Kier?" I call.

He replies with a "yeah?"

"How old were you when Ralph took you away from your parents?" I ask, looking up as Kier returns with the book.

"Six, why do you ask?" He questions.

"Just curious." I smile, taking the book and flicking through.

"I can't do that, every time I'd open a page it would be on a girlfriend of mine, well, they're all ex girlfriends now." Kier sighs.

I stop when I get to a certain page, seeing a picture of myself naked on a bed. When I look at the date, I see that it was long before we were partners.

My eyes flicker over some of the notes he made on me to see if I can remember everything.

"At first, Drew was just in need of someone to talk to after believing that he'd failed his undercover assignment.

"The more the night went on, the more drunk he became. I couldn't let him walk home alone in his mental and physical state so I walked him to his apartment. I don't know if it was just the drink talking but he was a funny little guy. I didn't want to see or even think about him getting hurt.

"When we got there, he invited me in. It was immediately clear that this man lived alone and had trouble connecting with people. He offered me some beers but handed me a glass of water from the tap. It was safe to say he was totally hammered.

"I cooked him dinner from what there was in his fridge and cupboards. It's almost like he was preparing for hibernation. While he was eating, he started sobering up.

"He seems like a great guy, his sense of humour isn't just alcohol in him and he is actually surprisingly smart, I'm almost certain that he didn't fail the assignment since he's making me question my performance.

"After dinner, he got me to carry him to his bed, tucking him in like a child. While I'm carrying him, he says the strangest thing. "If I kiss you, it's not because I'm drunk, no one has ever done all this for me. Stay the night please, I'm still scared of the dark."

"Why would no one try to take care of this charming young man? He's funny and good looking. He needs at least someone to be there for him.

"With that, I decide to start leaning in for a kiss. He looked nervous, was this his first kiss? His breath, although frequent, was soft and light with a faint scent of alcohol. The second our lips touched, I felt an unusual spark as if I've been caught off guard by an electric shock. He's magical."

I stop reading this, covering my mouth when I start to remember that night.

That was the first time I'd ever made love to someone. The drink only gave me a little more confidence but I smile at the thought that he'd also enjoyed it.

Gosh, I can't believe that he cared that much about me in the lowest point in my life. No one had ever even moved just a finger to help me but he could sense that I was lonely. I used to dislike pickup artists but Ralph knew what he was doing and used his skills to help me get my confidence.

I miss him so damn much. He wasn't just my partner, he was my best friend. I would've taken a bullet for him-

What if that's what's happened? Someone was trying to kill me and he was just in their way.

I can feel my hands shaking on the book at that thought.

No, the shot was too mathematical, it went from the back of his head straight through his eye. If they wanted to kill me, I'd be dead.

Kier looks over my shoulder to see what page I was reading, giving me a confused look when he sees that the picture is of me.

"You slept with my brother?" He challenges.

"We were still in the academy at the time, I was so drunk I barely even remember it." I defend.

"I take it it's not good for my brother if they see that you two slept together." Kier works out.

"For Ralph, it won't matter. I'll be suspended for a while if they suspect something was going on between us while we were partners." I admit. "I can convince Laurence but if it got out, it's outta anyone's control."

Kier gives me a grave look. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll hand it to Laurence. He'll keep it discreet when he discovers that it was long before we were even working together." I decide. "Ralph was my only friend. Laurence has warmed up to me over the years but even reading this account of what our... he was the first friend I'd ever had." I admit. "He shouldn't have died the way he did, I should have."

Kier looks at me with a sorry expression. "Don't say that. It's not your fault."

We both flinch when we hear a disguised voice. "It is his fault."

My eyes widen in horror when I recognise it from the time I was kidnapped.

Before I have time to react, I notice Kier's eyes widen at someone behind me in alarm. I'm struck at the back of the head and everything goes black.