Ready to hide

Why were you here?

"We could go to the lake. There was a hiding spot from that gang nearby." Alec said as I brushed my teeth. It was early in the morning, okay, actually it was eleven o'clock but I slept particularly well that night because Alec was with me.

"And how should that help us?" I asked confused. I hoped he understood me because it was difficult to speak clearly when you had toothpaste and a toothbrush in your mouth. Alec brushed his hair next to me.

"Maybe they left something behind. We never take everything with us either. Something always remains." he let me know. I spat out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth out. That made sense and could actually help us.

Celine was working. Only Blake, Elliott, Alec, and I were here. Maybe Blake and Elliott would come with us, who knows. Celine wasn't feeling too well this morning and I actually wanted her to stay at home, but she insisted on going to work. She had been feeling this way for a few days and I fear that she would soon get sick. This stress can cause physical pain.

"How was it in jail?" I asked, now brushing my hair myself. Alec turned to me and leaned against the counter. It was still not easy for me to think about what it must have been like for him.

"It was bearable, just a little... lonely." he explained to me. I could imagine that, because finding friends in jail wasn't really easy. "I had a nice roommate. He talked nonstop and it was sometimes quite exhausting, but actually he was really nice. I even told him about you." Alec admitted. I frowned and now turned to face him so we could look each other in the eye.

"About me? What did you tell him?" I asked in surprise. I mean, I actually thought Alec was someone who doesn't tell a lot to strangers. He smiled a little.

"He always wanted to know something about me, and at some point I gave in and started telling why I was here in New Jersey and how much I miss you." he said. I smiled, took a step forward, and wrapped my arms around his waist. Alec bent down a little to put his lips gently on mine. Missing him was something I never wanted to experience again.

"I think we should go." I said after our lips parted again. He nodded with a smile and together we disappeared from the bathroom.

About half an hour later we were in the car and were on our way to this lake, which was supposed to be nearby. I didn't know if we would actually find anything or if it was just another trail that didn't work. Elliott and Blake were also there as there was nothing else they could do.

We stopped near the lake and got out of the car. Alec took us to the place where we could possibly find something. Solving cases has always been my job, but this was different because it wasn't about strangers, it was about me and those I loved. This time it was life and death for Alec, Blake, Elliott, Celine and even me. It was a completely different feeling. It was a lot more stressful.

"Let's split up. That would probably be better." Blake suggested and Alec nodded. Those were the familiar words in a horror movie, but we weren't in an abandoned house that was haunted. So Elliott and Blake went in a different direction than Alec and I. The lake was not really small and since we didn't know exactly where they were, we had to search everywhere.

At first glance I couldn't see anything. Everything looked pretty deserted and actually as far as I could see, there was absolutely nothing. It would be pretty stupid to leave something important behind, but who knows, maybe they weren't intelligent.

"You said you told Hodge why you were here, I mean here in New Jersey." I said and started a conversation. It was just going through my head. Alec nodded and looked up. "Why were you here?" I wanted to know. From all states, what brought him back to New Jersey?

"Um, you, to be honest." he replied, whereupon I first frowned. Because of me? Did he want to talk to me? "You know, I never really got over you and neither did Elliott about Celine. We wanted to know if you were okay, so we looked after you like we did every year." he explained to me as he continued to look around.

"Wait, do you mean that you have been here once a year to see us in these all three years?" I asked to make sure I understood everything correctly. Alec nodded and looked me in the eye. "Why didn't you speak to me? How could I have not seen you?" I asked. I would have noticed Alec, wouldn't I?

"We have always been watching you from afar. I didn't just want to walk back into your life. I wanted you to get over me. We really just wanted to make sure you were okay and happy." he explained to me. I smiled because that was really nice. "I found something." Alec said now and bent down to pick it up.

I took a few steps closer and looked at what Alec was holding. It seemed to be a piece of paper with something written on it. The sheet was dirty and it was difficult to read anything. It seemed to have been torn from a notebook.

"Every life has its level of suffering. Sometimes this causes our awakening." Alec read out loud. That was on the note? What did that mean? Was that somehow important? I assumed less of that.

"Wow, that's deep. Whoever wrote that was probably poetic." I replied with a grin. This sentence wouldn't help us. Maybe he was an author or the sentence was buzzing in his head.

"Wait, there was a name here." Alec said and narrowed his eyes to see it better. I never understood how that should help, but it seemed to help. "Nolam ... Nolan!" he stated and we looked at each other. Nolan? That can't be. Impossible.

"No, that can't be. Was there a first name too?" I asked, but Alec shook his head. Crap. Nolan, the name that each of us knew. Liam Nolan. "Do you think it is.."

"I shot him, Magnus." Alec interrupted me. Yes, that was clear to me. "Liam is dead, he can't be. I mean, there are other Nolan's too." Alec said. He was right, but it was a very strange coincidence.

Liam Nolan was a criminal Alec shot three years ago. He was the leader of the largest gang in the world, which was the source of all our problems back then. However the gang parted with his death. You never heard from them again.

"Maybe it's one of his brothers?" I asked. Alec sighed and shrugged. That would be possible. Or maybe it was just a completely different Nolan. Either way, we had to find out more about it. "We have to show that to the others." I noticed and Alec nodded.