The Lost Angel [BxB]

michael

Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice.

'Inferno'
[Dante Alighieri]

♡ ♡ ♡

18: MICHAEL

Thick crimson blood pooled around Julien's head, the growing puddle creating a halo of brutality and despair. Rory dropped the hammer to the floor, his eyes glossy and tinged red, skin pale, and lips parted. The sound of his heavy breathing filled the foyer, as the rain bounced off the side of the house, a faint roar of thunder audible in the distance. The sculptures of the the angels Gabriel and Michael cast a shadow over the body.

Lalo cupped his hands around Rory's cheeks, forcing him to look into his dark hazel eyes. "Rory." He whispered, resting his forehead against Rory's. "It's okay." He murmured.

Rory was paralysed, his face washed white with fear, his stony eyes clinging onto the motionless body on the floor, "I-I-Is he...?"

Lalo gulped. He already knew the answer. Julien's skull was almost completely caved in. But nevertheless, he bent down to his knees as he pressed two fingers up to Julien's throat. His flesh was still warm, but there was no trace of a pulse. "He's gone." He whispered.

Rory slowly turned away as his eyes filled with tears. He ran to the nearest bathroom, collapsing onto the floor and throwing up in the toilet. Lalo chased after him, his head spinning, and heart pounding. He was suffocated by his fears. Rory would now know everything about his past, and worst of all, Rory was no longer innocent himself. He had blood on his hands too, and Lalo had forced him into that position. Lalo was responsible.

But despite everything, a flood of relief overcame him. Julien was dead, and it was exactly what he deserved.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay." Lalo whispered, rubbing Rory's back soothingly.

Rory leant back against the wall, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve and flushing the toilet. "W-W-What th-the fuck just h-h-happened, Lalo?" He cried, stammering and stuttering, his body shaking and hands trembling from the shock.

Lalo took Rory's hands in his, squeezing them comfortingly, "Rory, listen to me." He whispered. "Everything is going to be fine, but you have to trust me, okay?" He was anchoring Rory down by maintaining unbreakable eye contact, staring straight into his eyes, his emotions bubbling below the surface. He had to be the strong one. "That wasn't murder, you got it? It was a mistake. But the cops aren't gonna see it like that, so what we're gonna do is take care of it ourselves. Everything will be just fine, okay? You gotta trust me here, Rory, that's the only way this is gonna work—"

"W-What?" Rory's voice was weak and broken, his eyes simmering with pain and anguish. "N-N-No...we have to-to call the..." He gulped as a shudder shook his body, "We have to c-call the police."

Lalo shook his head, "Rory, no, that's not gonna work, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to protect you. If you get the cops involved, that's ten years in prison. At least."

Rory's eyes widened even further, "B-B-But he was g-gonna hurt you. H-He had a knife to your th-throat and...and it was d-defence!"

"I know." Lalo tightened his grip on Rory's hands to stop him from spiralling, "Even if you didn't mean to hurt him, it still constitutes as manslaughter. We can't call the cops. Please, you gotta listen to me, Rory. We have to get rid of the body, the evidence, the blood, our clothes—"

"He called you Maxi." Rory whispered.

"W-What?" Lalo stammered.

"He called you Maxi." Rory repeated, louder, angrier. "H-He was American. He knew you."

Lalo shook his head, "C'mon, Rory, I-I don't know what you think you heard, but you're tired and scared, and—"

"He came here for you." Rory snapped, clambering to his feet and backing away from Lalo.

Lalo's heart broke. The last thing he ever wanted was for Rory to be afraid of him. "L-Let me explain..."

"Who the fuck even are you?" Rory exclaimed, stumbling out of the bathroom and into the foyer, where Julien's body was still leaking with thick red blood. "Who the fuck is this guy?" He shouted, voice filtered by pure rage.

"Rory, just listen to me." Lalo held his hands up in surrender, vision blurred by tears. "My real name is Maximiliano Eladio Velez. I'm from New Mexico, and I was running away from the drug cartel. I am so sorry. Everything else is real, I am still real. I love you, Rory, okay? That was never fake. You have to believe me."

"B-Believe you?" Rory's face was contoured with fear, confusion, and anger. His eyes were hot and unforgiving. He was unrecognisable. He was no longer the same person that told Lalo he loved him just two weeks ago, snuggled up beneath the blankets and the moon. "I-I just killed a man for you! Y-You're telling me that you've been l-lying to me for almost six months?"

"I wanted to tell you." Lalo cried, "But nothing about this — about me — is legal! If you found out, I would've had to leave, and I didn't want to lose you." He sniffed. Months of silence, of turmoil, of inner conflict and desperately holding back the truth. Two weeks until his contract finished, and everything was finally coming out. "Rory, I am so sorry. We have to deal with this." He gestured to the blood soaked dead man laying on the ground, "And then I'll leave. And you will never have to see me again. I promise."

"Why should I trust you? Lalo, I-I fell in love with you. H-How could you do that to me?" Rory was in so much pain. Lalo had just gifted him a deep scar that would never fully heal. Rory would never trust anyone again, and every time he shut his eyes, he would see red. Every time he fell asleep, he would smell blood. The image of a dead man would forever be carved into the insides of his eyelids. He would never escape, and it was all Lalo's fault. "Th-The drug cartel?" He asked in exasperation. "I-I mean, what the fuck, Lalo?"

Lalo squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep breath, "When I was fifteen, I dropped out of high school and starting slinging. Pills, weed, heroin, crack, whatever. There weren't a lot of options for a kid like me. I had no money, no family, no aspirations. I was swept up by a gang, given a tattoo, and a job. I-I guess I just started climbing the ladder, without even meaning to." He explained, speaking fast and slurring his words. "My jefe...my boss, he...he started helping me out, whenever I-I did a favour for him...a sexual favour, y'know?"

"Your abusive ex boyfriend?" Rory spat out incredulously, "You were talking about a fucking kingpin? A drug lord you were shagging?"

"I wasn't shagging him!" He snapped. He hadn't even realised he'd used a British word. He was so used to hearing it in Rory's mouth. "He was raping me, Rory! A-And in exchange, he gave me a job driving the trucks. He didn't want me out on the streets, so instead, I transported everything over the border, into Mexico. It was safe, and it was easy."

Rory gritted his teeth, "If it was so easy, why did you come here, and fuck my life up?"

Lalo took a deep breath and tried to shield himself from being affected by Rory's heavy words, "S-Someone tipped off the Drug Enforcement Administration about our operation. Half our crew were picked up, and I was scared. Even if no one talked, the cops weren't gonna leave us alone until they had something. I was fucked. I-I had to get out, to get away from it all. So, I had fake documents made and flew to Madrid."

Rory's lower lip was trembling, and his hands were shaking. "A-And who did I just kill?"

"He's called Julien." Lalo sighed, "He's a really bad guy, Rory. You've done the world a favour, I promise."

Rory scoffed, "Fuck you."

"He killed a kid; a sixteen year old." Lalo said blankly, "And he raped hookers, then gloated about it. More times than I could count." He swallowed hard at the memory, "I used to have this little black cat, and when I messed up a deal, he killed her in front of me." He recalled, "Hate me as much as you want, Rory, but don't hate yourself. Some people just deserve to die."

"You're right. Maybe I should've let him kill you."

Lalo's heart shattered, and tears trickled down his cheeks. He nodded, "Maybe you should've."