Please, Don't Leave Me

Chapter 23

         A few months later, Marc was with Nathaniel looking at colleges. it was getting close to graduation, and the two had decided to go to the same college. They had Nathaniel's laptop resting on the pillow as the lovers cuddled, Nathaniel scrolling down the web page trying to find a college that both offered art and had a dorm on the campus. Unfortunately, they found no choices that they could agree on. "Hey, Nate...? What if we bought or rented a home close to a college....? That way we can actually make sure that we can sleep together." Nathaniel looked at his feminine lover, his eyes widening before stars appeared in them. He loved the idea! He lifted Marc's face and gave him a delicate kiss before they both decided to give their search a rest. Nathaniel smiled and got up off the bed. "Alright, Babe. I chose the movie last night. So you choose the movie tonight," he said playfully. Marc giggled before searching through Nathaniel's vast collection of movies. That was when Marc saw a movie he hadn't watched in years: The Neverending Story. Nathaniel looked at the cover then at Marc. "You know that movie is going to make you cry, right?"

          Marc blushed and crossed his arms in a pout, "No it won't..." Nathaniel smirked and ran a hand up from Marc's belly to his chest. "Let's make a deal, then. If you cry, I top you tonight," he winked as Marc blushed more,"But if you don't cry, I'll let you top me for the first time." Marc's eyes widened as he looked at his tomato-haired lover. Was he sure it would be alright? Nathaniel smiled, showing that he meant it. Marc smiled and agreed to the terms. He gave Nathaniel a soft kiss before going downstairs to pop some popcorn. While he was down there, however, he saw someone outside the window watching him. When a car drove by and he saw that it was his ex, his eyes widened, and he froze in fear. Andrew smirked and threw a rock right at the window, shattering it. Marc still stood there frozen, even when Andrew stepped through the window and walked toward him. Thankfully, Nathaniel heard the glass break and had grabbed his father's pistol. The second he saw Andrew, he fired between Marc and Andrew, missing Andrew by merely a hair. "Get away from him, Andrew. I don't know how you got out. The judge sentenced you to life in prison." Andrew rolled his eyes, "look here, Tomato. I have my connections everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Now, stay out of my way, and no one will get hurt." Nathaniel wasn't believing anything Andrew was saying, so he walked towards the two and stood in front of Marc protectively. "You're not taking him away from me." Andrew growled angrily and drew a pistol of his own from his jacket and pointed it directly at Nathaniel's chest. "I'm only going to say this one more time. Stay out of my way, and no one will get hurt," he said with a dangerous tone. However, Nathaniel was not wavered in the slightest,"And I'll say this one last time. You're not taking him away from me. You had your chance, and you fucked it up royally. He deserves love, not gang bangs and shit you did to him." Andrew cocked his pistol in warning then aimed it at Marc, who had tried to sneak away. Nathaniel's eyes widened before he acted by instinct, pulling the trigger and shooting Andrew in the stomach.

          As Andrew'seyes went wide and he dropped, all the adrenaline left Nathaniel's body. He fell over backward and simply sat there staring at what he had just done. "M....M....Marc..... G.... G..... Get me...... the ph... ph... phone......" Marc ran upstairs then immediately returned with Nathaniel's cell phone, which he used to call the police and an ambulance. In the meantime, Nathaniel regained himself slightly and took off his own shirt and tore open Andrew's. In his current state, Andrew was in too much pain to care what his rival was doing until he felt a pressure on his wound. He looked over and saw Nathaniel pressing his own shirt into the wound to help lower his loss of blood. Marc had gotten a bucket, and Nathaniel would squeeze blood out of the shirt into the bucket when his shirt would no longer absorb anything. Occasionally, Marc would swap out with Nathaniel, who would run to get a towel or any cloth he could find. Andrew was still in too much pain to speak, but he had a sort of peace as if he were dying; that is, until he looked at Marc and saw the worry in his eyes. He was still so innocent, and it made Andrew's heart ache. The tomato was right; he had his chance more than once, and he blew it each time. When Nathaniel swapped with Marc again, Marc washed his hands before filling a water bottle with water. He then walked over and gently lifted Andrew's head, "Help is on the way.... but it may take awhile, so have some water...." Andrew'seyes met Marc's, and it was the first time they had ever truly understood each other. Andrew saw everything he did to Marc in Marc's eyes, and Marc saw the image of a man terrified of dying alone in Andrew's. See this made Marc start crying softly; yes, Andrew had hurt him, but he didnt want Andrew to die. Andrew's eyes softened as he weakly reached up and caressed Marc's face, ".....Tears don't suit you..... Little Rainbow...... Neither does worry....." He winced as he spoke, scaring both of the lovers, "If I make it through this...... there is no way of knowing what will happen to me...... But Marc, you have such a strong heart, it can make a bastard like me have a change of heart...... And Tomato....? Don't fuck it up...... If you do.... I will haunt you......" He tried to smile, but it proved to painful as his eyes fluttered. That was when the ambulance arrived on the scene. The paramedics carefully got Andrew on a stretcher and in the ambulance while the police talked with the boys. After they explained the situation, Marc ran toward the ambulance and jumped in, Nathaniel hot on his heels. Marc sat down and gently took one of Andrew's hands as Nathaniel held Marc close. At this point, Andrew was comatose, but when he felt Marc holding his hand, he smiled calmly knowing he wasn't alone.