Page 107 of Two for Joy

“This is for the best.”

Chad tilted his head to see the top of the bed, the place where Romeo had cuffed his wrist. He yanked, rattled the handcuffs, then looked back at Romeo, betrayal widening his brown eyes.

“That’s not fucking funny.”

Romeo climbed off of Chad. “It’s not supposed to be funny. You need medical attention.”

“I need to be with you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Don’t you dare leave me.”

Romeo backed away, sorting his pants out. “I have to go, you’ll be okay—

“D—don’t,” Chad said. “Please don’t.”

“I’m gonna get you some help.”

Chad sat up, swayed, then fell back on the bed. The cuff clunked, and he yanked weakly at it, then sobbed. “You can’t leave me here. You can’t turn your back on me, too.”

“This is how it has to be Chad.”

Romeo couldn’t bear to stand there any longer and watch Chad break down. He turned his back on him, closed the door then hurried down the corridor.

Chapter Nineteen

Chad called for him, but he gritted his teeth and kept going. There was a thump from the bedroom, the sound of something scraping the floor, Romeo suspected Chad was using his last dregs of strength to drag the bed, but he didn’t stop to find out. He rushed down the stairs into the kitchen and found Marc’s house phone.

He knew the number for the station reception, had called it enough when complaining about the graffiti. He held it to his ear and tried to block out the sound of Chad sobbing for him. He ignored the sensation in his chest, like someone stabbing his heart with a corkscrew, and waited for the call to connect.

“Hello?”

“Is this Zac by any chance?”

“No, but I can put him on for you.”

“Thank you.”

He tapped his foot on the floor as he waited, then shut the kitchen door so he couldn’t hear Chad shouting his name.

“Hi, this i—”

“It’s Romeo.”

“Romeo…” Zac gasped.

He hummed. “Yeah, I thought you’d be interested to know the copycat was Marc Wilson. I’ve killed him at his house. Chad’s here, too, and he really needs some medical attention. I also left Neil tied up at his place and a man tied up in a layby near the Oston turn off. Hope you’ve got all that, bye.”

He hung up, tossed the phone aside. Chad called for him, and the urge to yell at him to shut up came and went. Chad didn’t understand that Romeo was doing was for the best, it was the only option.

He unhooked one of Marc’s coats from the entrance hall and stole a pair of expensive trainers before leaving the house.

Zac would get people there fast. Chad would be okay. But no matter how many times he repeated it in his head, it still hurt to leave him. His mother made him promise not to let love go if he found it, but he was running from it, leaving it behind when it was injured, and crying out for him to fix it.

He couldn’t.

Short term pain, for long term gain, that was how he needed to think of it.

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