Fic: Check. Mate.
Title: Check. Mate.
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: J2
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jared Padalecki is a boss of a questionable business. He chose his queen a long time ago. Jensen just doesn't know it yet. Jensen returns to his hometown to search for his friend's killer in the underworld swamp and runs into his bully from high school days again. Jensen loathes Jared and the memory of the past. Jared sees only one way to win Jensen over: He must help him find the murderer - even against Jensen's will.
Author’s Notes: Written for AomaSade for j2_reversebang. Thank you so much, jdl71 for the willingness to beta in such a short notice!
“Who is it this time, Mrs. Wyndham? Oh, is that you, Bruno? What is it now?” Jensen smiled widely as he ruffled the husky’s ear. He loved the dog. His owner, Mr. and Mrs. Wyndham lived next door. But he hated it every time they came with Bruno to his clinic. There must be something wrong with Bruno. Such a naughty dog.
“He's not been home for three days,” said Mrs. Wyndham. “We guessed he chased a rabbit or something in the field. Then he wouldn’t eat when he came back. Wonder what’s wrong with him, Doc Ackles.”
“Hmm, hope it’s not poisoning.” He nodded to Nurse Kristin who was standing beside Mrs. Wyndham. “Have we checked Bruno’s weight and body temperature?”
“Already, Doctor,” said Nurse Kristin while handing him a tablet with Bruno's details on the screen.
“Thanks,” said Jensen, distracted, as he studied the data. Then he checked Bruno's ears, asking for some cotton buds and cleaning the insides of the ears.
“It’s wet and a bit dirty. We’ll check for bacteria and other things. Do you mind if we do a thorough blood check, Mrs. Wyndham? I want to see what’s really wrong with him.”
Mrs. Wyndham shook her head, “No, no. Go ahead, Doc.”
“Thanks.” Jensen got a syringe and alcohol-soaked cotton from Nurse Kristin to take Bruno’s blood sample. He rubbed the cotton on Bruno’s hind leg and gently pushed the needle in. “Take it easy, big guy. There you go. That’s a good boy.” He patted Bruno’s head. “Now you need to wait for a moment, okay?”
Jensen addressed Mrs. Wyndham again, “We're going to need about half an hour. You may wait outside with Bruno.”
“Do you think he needs some liquid drip, Doctor?”
“He doesn’t show any signs of dehydration. He must have found some water somewhere.”
“All right, Doc. Thanks. I’ll just wait.”
It was nothing serious about Bruno. He could just go home and be an outpatient, but the medication should be administered diligently. And Jensen required him to be taken back to the clinic after a week just for a check-up.
Mrs. Wyndham hugged Bruno tightly as though she’d never want to let go. “Thank you so much, Dr. Ackles. You’re the best!”
Jensen blushed. “Just doing my job, Mrs. Wyndham.” He petted Bruno. “And he’ll be just fine.”
“Yes, he will.”
There were no other patients for the time being so Jensen saw them out. “Take care, Bruno.” He waved as Mrs. Wyndham and Bruno got into her truck and left the parking lot.
The traffic wasn’t heavy at all, it being in a small town, although it could be considered as the main road there. Jensen purposely chose the location for his clinic as it was not far from the farms or the residential areas there. He wouldn’t have to go very far if he had to visit one of the farms.
Southfield. It was definitely not Chicago. Southfield was too small compared to that hometown of Jensen’s. It didn’t have cool parks or beaches or a riverwalk. Southfield was tiny and quiet, but that was what Jensen had looked for some five years ago after he got his degree and license to run his own clinic.
All he wanted to do was get away as far as he could once he graduated from Northwestern. Even during his study he’d only returned home for Christmas, and when he said home, he really meant it. He'd literally never left his house during the holiday.
The day was late. The last patient had left. Jensen closed the door after Nurse Kristin said goodbye. Then he went through the back door to the pavilion behind the clinic where he resided. It was not big, just enough for him. It only had one room for everything: living room, dining room, and kitchen, and another room as his bedroom. Jensen loved staying there. He didn’t have to go far for work.
Jensen grabbed a loaf of sandwich bread from the upper cabinet, and a bottle of mustard, mayonnaise, and butter from the cabinet next to it. He thought he still had smoked ham and lettuce in the fridge, and he was right. Added with some slices of cheese, his dinner is complete.
He perched on one of the high stools at the kitchen counter and checked out his tablet while munching on his sandwich. The next day he was going to Farmer Barrett’s place. The man had talked to him about the accident that happened to one of his horses, some sick pigs, and a cow who was ready to deliver a calf. Jensen got all the data on his tablet. He preferred to always be ready when he had to leave his clinic. It wasn’t as if Farmer Barrett’s place was close by. He drove almost an hour the last time he went there.
Jensen was almost done with his humble dinner when suddenly his cellphone that he left on the table in the sitting room rang. He arched an eyebrow. An emergency call? His clinic did offer a house visit service but so far it had never been in the evening. Mostly morning and to the farms. This couldn’t come from one of the local farms as they usually operated in the daytime.
Jensen reached the phone and checked the screen. It was an unidentified number. He usually never answered such a number. For a moment he just stood there, waiting for his cellphone to go silent.
It did.
Then it went off again.
Realizing the caller wouldn’t let him be alone, reluctantly Jensen grabbed his cellphone and clicked Answer.
“Ackles. Who is it?”
There was a sound of hard breathing and then, “Jensen? Jensen, this is Chad!”
Chad? His best buddy from high school Chad?
“Chad! What’s going on? Are you all right? You don’t sound-”
“Jen, you’ve got to help me. I’m-I’m in trouble. I got involved in-”
“Chad, please. Calm down. Where are you?”
“You know, the bar we used to go to every weekend?”
“In Chicago? Scott’s Tavern?”
“Y-yeah.”
“What happened? Are you alone?”
“They, uh, they’re looking for me. Jensen, listen carefully. If anything happens to me, know that I’m-I don’t mean to use at all. It was just-”
“Use? Chad, what do you mean? Are you using drugs?” Jensen’s heart sank. Worried was such an understatement. What was really going on? Was Chad in trouble?
“Jen-”
Chad’s voice was suddenly cut off. Jensen gasped. The line was dead. “Hello? Chad? Chad, are you there?” Jensen’s heart raced as he stared at his cellphone as if the thing were about to go poof, too.
He pressed the cellphone against his ear. Nothing. Just the low humming sound coming from the other end. Jensen clicked several times until Chad’s number appeared on the screen and clicked the small picture of a green telephone. He waited for a moment until he heard the waiting tune. Once. Twice. Five times. No answer. Damn it, Chad. Where are you?
Jensen tried calling him again. And again. But finally, he gave up. He sank himself to the couch and threw his cellphone there. Suddenly he realized his hand was shaking. Jensen rubbed his face as he shuddered. What'd he do now? Jensen wondered if it would be wise to ask Chad’s folks about what their son just told Jensen.
But Jensen didn’t have other contacts from his hometown. He’d left some time ago. Other than that, he couldn’t say he had many friends in high school. Chad was his best and only friend of his.
Jensen would probably have died long ago had Chad not been on his side during his painful days in high school. Chad might have been this skinny tall lad with too slanted eyes and a wide, innocent smile, but he could always have been able to read Jensen if something had been amiss, let alone if there had been bruises or tears on Jensen’s faces or arms or any other parts of his body.
Once Jensen got out of the class that was different from Chad’s during recess and went missing for a couple of minutes. He just realized then how worried Chad was at that time. He’d practically turned the school upside down. He went from class to class, cafeteria, the labs, the basketball court, the restrooms on each floor, until finally, he found Jensen lying on the grass just outside the parking lot.
“Jensen, Jensen!” Chad’s voice was high-pitched as he shook Jensen awake. “Jensen!” he called once more before Jensen opened his eyes. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings at first.
“Chad, wh-” Jensen grappled to sit up but Chad pressed his shoulder down. “What the hell, let me go.”
“Are you sure?”
But Jensen offered his hand and Chad grabbed it and helped him up. “Uh.” Jensen squeezed his head. He felt like he’d crashed into a semi.
“How’d you feel? What happened, Jen?”
Jensen squinted as he gazed around. “Where am I?”
“Outside, on the parking lot. Gosh, you look terrible. Y-your face-and your shirt, so dirty and rumpled.”
Jensen looked down at himself and he grinned. “You should see the other person.”
“Who? Was it that Padalecki kid? He always seems to get a beef with you.”
Jensen frowned. “Jared? No, no. He wasn’t here.” Chad was sure that Jared Padalecki, the city’s rich kid, was always one of those who kept bullying him, but Jensen couldn’t recall him being around just now.
“Then who?” Chad demanded still.
“Uh, Michael, Tom. I can’t remember anyone else.”
Chad nodded. “That’s enough to say to the principal. Now, are you strong enough to get up and walk to the infirmary?”
Something Chad said terrified him. “No, don’t tell this to the principal, please.” They were going to eat him alive.
Chad looked livid. “Jen, they are killing you, literally.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine. I’ll stay strong. I’ll stay away from them as much as I can after this. But please, please don’t say anything to anyone, especially the principal.”
Chad squeezed his eyes shut. “What about your parents?” he asked then, quietly.
Jensen snorted. “Haven’t you ever met them, Chad? Surely you’ve realized by now how they are.” Jensen’s father was never home. Neighbors said he was a bodyguard of some rich guy or what Jensen never knew. His dad was an ex-military who never seemed to be able to stand being at home once he was done his time in Afghanistan. As for Jensen’s mom, she was mostly drunk every time her husband was away. In other words, she was always drunk.
Jensen grabbed Chad’s arm. “Just-take me to the infirmary now.” He grimaced as he pulled himself up.
“Where does it hurt?” asked Chad as he helped Jensen up.
“Everywhere, Chad. Everywhere.”
Jensen stayed at the infirmary for the rest of the day. When school was over, Chad came to the infirmary.
“They allow you to go, right?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“Chad-”
“What? Like I never drove you home before.”
Jensen looked down. “I don’t feel like going home.”
“Huh? What’re you saying?”
Yeah. Jensen knew his mother wouldn’t even notice his condition, being always drunk like that. That was exactly why Jensen hated it. He wanted-wanted her attention. Which was next to impossible. He felt miserable. He wished he had someone who cared. He hated that he was this close to tearing up.
“Jen?”
“Uh, what?”
“You know you’re always welcome at my place. My mom is, well, rather fond of you, you know.”
Jensen almost choked on his tearful snort. He wiped his eyes quickly, hoping Chad didn’t see that. He could only nod after that, knowing full well how wide his grin must look.
In the morning, Jensen tried to call Chad again, and he got nothing. The phone rang until a female recorded voice said that no one was able to answer it. What a useless thing to have.
Jensen wished Chad was all right, but he didn’t know for sure until he did. Finally, he decided to do what he’d originally not wanted to.
Jensen dialed a number he’d memorized more than his own house number. He recognized immediately the voice that answered it.
“Mrs. Murray, it’s me-”
“Jensen! Are you still in… where are you again?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. I’m still in Southfield. Mrs. Murray, I wonder if I can, uh, talk to Chad?”
The pause that followed was abrupt and awkward. Chad’s mother cleared her throat.
“I, uh, Chad’s not home at the moment. Do you, do you have a message?” she asked then.
Jensen shook his head quickly. But realizing Mrs. Murray wouldn’t be able to see it, he immediately said, “No, that’s okay. I’ll call him later.”
“Sure.” Mrs. Murray sounded relieved. “Do you have any plan to come home, Jensen, here to Chicago?”
Coming to Chicago meant facing a lot of his demons, something Jensen would rather try to avoid for so many different reasons.
“Definitely, Mrs. Murray.” For Chad, though, he’d do anything. Especially now when he hadn’t heard back from that closest buddy of his after such a shocking call.
Right after talking to Chad’s mother, Jensen booked a flight but he couldn’t get the earliest one. Then he called the clinic. Nurse Kristin was there already.
“Sure, Doc,” she replied when Jensen told her he was flying to Chicago and couldn’t come to the clinic at all that day. “How long will you be away?”
“Two days, I guess. Three days top.”
“Do you want me to contact Dr. Kane?”
Dr. Kane-Christian Kane-was his friend and sometimes co-worker. He had his own clinic downtown but he often helped out at Jensen’s clinic just like Jensen lending a hand at Chris’.
“That’ll be a great idea, Kris. Thanks. Tell Kane I’ll call him as soon as I can.”
“Sure. Have a safe flight, Doc.”
“Thanks, I will.”
The Murrays’ house still looked the way it did when Jensen left Chicago nigh five years ago. The red bricks and big windows in the front still made Jensen feel more at home than he did at his own house. He smiled to himself as he looked longingly up to the wide double doors. The feeling was still the same, too.
Jensen jogged up the stairs to the doors, knocked at them, and waited several seconds until someone answered him.
A pair of rather old eyes stared at him before recognition shone in them.
“Jensen! You really came!”
“Of course I did, Mrs. Murray,” Jensen managed to say before he was engulfed in her embrace.
“It’s Sarah.” Sarah hugged him for some moments before she released him. Still having Jensen’s arms in her hands, she asked, “How are you doing, son, really?”
Jensen smiled. “Never better.”
“You won’t lie to me, will you?”
“Never. I’m happy with where I am right now. I work at the best place and I love my patients.”
Sarah laughed. “I can imagine. You always loved Rex, Chad’s dog. Now what, you get to meet two, three dogs a day?”
“Not just dogs. Sometimes there are cats, rabbits, horses, and cows, too.”
“That’s seriously awesome! I bet they’re all so cute.”
“And a handful, too! But I wouldn’t switch them with anything else in the world.”
Suddenly Sarah tapped her own forehead. “Silly me. Why didn’t I ask you to come in the house first?”
Jensen chuckled and followed her as she let him in.
Sarah looked over her shoulder. “Where is your bag, Jensen? I don’t see it anywhere.”
“Of course I left it at the hotel, Sarah. It’s too heavy to carry it anywhere.”
Sarah turned around, disappointment clouding her eyes. That surprised Jensen. He’d never guessed it. Surely she’d never think Jensen would just barge in and demand to stay in this house, right?
Yet apparently, that was exactly what Sarah had thought.
“Jensen, had I known you’d really come, I’d even pick you up at the airport. What were you thinking, you have a home here but you’re staying at the hotel? I don’t know what Bob will say when he hears this.”
Bob was her husband, Robert Murray, Jr. Jensen gazed at Sarah, feeling so overwhelmed he squeezed her tight in his arms.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think… I just thought, uh, it’d be so rude of me to come here and ask to stay the night.”
“Jensen, you should know we’ll always be here for you.”
“Yes, and thank you. I’ll check out immediately. Tonight I’ll stay here.”
Sarah kissed him on the cheek. “That’s more like it. Now, you’re way too late for lunch. But would you like some coffee and cakes?”
Jensen grinned widely. “Absolutely. By the way, is Bob still working at the office? And where’s Chad? I don’t hear his voice anywhere.” Finally, he got to ask the very reason he’d come up to Chicago.
“Please, have a seat. Yes, Bob’s at the office right now. But,” her face turned worried. “to tell you the truth, I have no idea where Chad is. We haven’t heard from him since last night.”
“What?” Jensen was alarmed. “What do you mean? Did he tell you where he went when he left? He still lives here, doesn’t he?”
“Of course he does but no, he didn’t say anything before he left yesterday. We thought he was just going to hang out with his theater friends. Usually, nothing happens.”
Jensen remembered Chad’s panicked call yesterday. It was definitely not “nothing happened.” Chad was an actor; Jensen knew that. But he wasn’t the type who needed some booster before going on stage, as far as Jensen was concerned. Maybe Chad had changed then? Who knew.
So Chad’s mom didn’t know anything about it. That meant Jensen had to find out by himself. He was lost in his thoughts as he chewed Sarah’s cake.
“… here?”
Jensen belatedly realized that she asked something. “I’m so sorry. You’re saying…?”
Sarah waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. Just wondering what time you’re going to go get your belongings from the hotel.”
“Oh right. Just after I enjoy your delicacies, Sarah.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rush you. Please, take your time. You must be tired. You just arrived, right?”
Jensen nodded. “From the airport, I checked in to the hotel and came directly here. Fortunately, I didn’t have to spend too much time at the hotel.”
Sarah gazed at Jensen, smiled softly, and rubbed his forearm. “I’m so happy you’re here, Jensen. And sure Bob and Chad are, too.”
Jensen placed his hand on hers. “Me too. Very much.”
“Aah,” Jensen sighed as he threw himself to the bed in his room at the hotel. It was actually nice to stay here where he didn’t have to care about other people, but he had promised Sarah he’d stay at her house.
Jensen felt his eyes heavy. The cakes he had just now made him so full he wouldn’t be able to eat anything else for dinner. And the coffee. It was the best he’d ever tasted. Sarah was so good to him. Slowly he eased into the dreamland without him even realizing it.
Jensen awoke with a start and scrambled around to find his cellphone. The number 10 flashed across the screen.
“Huh?” he mumbled, incomprehensible. Then he jumped and shouted to himself, “It’s 10 pm! Jeez! The Murrays must have all gone to bed.” He gathered all his belongings. He hadn’t really unpacked them anyway. But then he realized something. Was it too late to check out?
Jensen decided he’d go to the Murray house. If no one answered him because it was too late, he’d just return to the hotel. But if it wasn’t, he would stop by, go back to the hotel, and check out tomorrow. He was sure Sarah wouldn’t mind.
The Uber he took suddenly halted in the middle of the road. Jensen looked up from his cellphone.
“Why are we stopping?”
The Uber driver cleared his throat. “Uh, is that where we’re going?” He pointed out at the house about 100 meters away.
“Yes, of course…” Jensen faltered, too. Sarah’s house looked so crowded with… police cars?
After several meters going, Jensen thought he’d rather stop and continue on foot. “I’ll get down here,” he said to the driver.
“Okay, man.” Relief was obvious in his voice. Seemed he’d rather not deal with the police.
There was no yellow ribbon around the front yard so nothing had happened there. But it didn’t look good for the Murrays. Jensen saw Bob in front of the house, and waved.
Bob saw him, too. “Jensen!” he called out, jogging down the flight of stairs.
Jensen rushed to him, but a police officer stopped him. “Who are you? Do you know the Murrays?”
Bob cut him out. “He’s an old friend. Let him through.”
The officer let him go though he looked reluctant. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Jensen immediately ran to Bob, who hugged him tight at once, startling Jensen. What was going on?
“Bob, what is it?” he said as Bob’s grip loosened up. He looked as if he’d been crying.
“Come on in. Sarah is in the sitting room.” Sarah was his wife. Jensen had just left her a couple of hours ago. Now it seemed as if all hells had broken loose.
“Jensen…” Sarah cried in his arms.
“Sarah, why are all the cops here?”
“It’s Chad. They found him-at an alley. It’s his body…”
Jensen wasn’t listening anymore. He was back here because of Chad. But he never thought it would go this far. Chad was…dead?
He froze. He was no longer responsive to what Bob and Sarah were doing or saying. It was completely out of his comprehension. Chad was always there for him. Always. He couldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t leave Jensen. Ever.
“Jensen?” Perhaps it was Bob calling him, but he barely cared.
“Leave me alone.” Then he left.
Death was not an alien concept in the Padalecki household. Jared’s family’s kind of business made them often deal with this problem though they might not have to do it with their own hands. As a firearms dealer, it was inevitable. People, after all, shot and probably killed others using the guns sold to them.
But to hear death in an unnatural fashion come upon a schoolmate gave quite a shock to him, not that Chad Michael Murray had been close to him in the past.
What Jared actually remembered about him was Chad’s best friend, Jensen Ackles.
Oh, come on! Who he had been kidding, of course, it was Jensen he had in mind. What could he say? He’d never be able to get him out of his head. Jared was always thinking of him. Past, present, and future.
Jensen was always perfect. His eyes, his nose, his lips. The way he smiled, the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled when he laughed. The way sometimes his eyes seemed lost in a world only he understood when he sat alone on the bleachers at their school’s football field.
Jensen was really too pretty for his own good. But he definitely didn’t deserve the cat-calling he got. Jared remembered how those jocks, which he was shamefully a part of, often cornered Jensen and touched him. Jared knew he never took part in all of that, but he didn’t stop them, either. He was just as bad as his friends.
Jared didn’t know-didn’t want to know-what was on Jensen’s mind when he closed himself off on those bleachers. Jared should have known, though. What more could Jensen want than to get away from this place, what with all the bullying he kept getting? Jared was to blame, too, and to ask forgiveness when school was almost over seemed too little… too late. The best way was just to let Jensen go without Jared saying anything. Let time heal all his longings.
But Jared needed to forget about Jensen right now. Because he was… irrelevant. Jared was to attend Chad’s funeral and comfort the Murrays. Nothing else.
He unclasped his seat belt and got out of his car. Cars lined the road near the graveyard, some old black sedans looking like the government’s making Jared stop to think. But he shook his head. Nah. It meant nothing.
Jared walked slowly up the small hill toward some people in all blacks gathered around a casket. He took a shuddered breath. He couldn’t imagine how Chad’s family felt this time. Jared wasn’t close to Chad at all, yet he could feel the loss.
Getting closer, Jared could make out the familiar faces. Bob, Sarah-and he froze. The one standing next to them-was it really…? All of a sudden his breath tightened and he felt light-headed. The freckled face that still haunted him even now.
Jensen.
For a moment there Jared didn’t know whether he would turn around and leave, or run toward the man and sweep him off his feet, ending all dreams he’d been having all these years. He knew things wouldn’t end prettily if he did the latter, though, so he opted to just stand there in a distance and watch the solemnity of it all.
When the funeral wrapped up, Jared left before the others had the chance to catch up with him. He just had to wait.
Dead.
Chad.
They rhymed, Jensen thought, close to hysterical. The previous night when the cops came with that news, Jensen had almost grabbed one standing before him and shaken him until his teeth rattled. No! Chad can’t be dead. He just can’t! But Sarah’s hand on his forearm had stopped him, grounded him. And Jensen had drawn very deep breaths and nodded subtly at her. Yes, he’d be okay. For now.
But this morning, seeing Chad’s body lowered down into the ground, Jensen had only one thing in mind: it wouldn’t just go away like this, Chad buried, the case reported to the police. No. The case could just be buried, too. Jensen wouldn’t let it. He’d find the murderer.
“Where are you going?” Sarah asked him when the last guest had left the house. Sarah stared at Jensen’s eyes and she took a deep breath, looking miserable and lost. “You’re not going to stay here, are you?”
Jensen looked down, shaking his head. “No, I’m sorry. Just too many memories of Chad here. I just can’t…”
“No, sorry, of course not. We understand.” Sarah squeezed Jensen’s hand, which he took to his heart.
“God, Jesus. What right do I have? I should have-I mean, you’re his mother, for God’s sake. I should’ve realized. You must miss him so much.”
“Jensen, it’s okay. You were his closest friend. Chad loved you so much.”
“Oh, Sarah.” Jensen couldn’t stand it anymore. All his emotions rose to the surface and he began to shake. He felt so, so alone.
“Jensen, you’re trembling.” Sarah grabbed him and held him close as Jensen broke down. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “I got you. I got you.”
Jensen clung to Sarah like she was his lifeline. He didn’t feel too alone now. “Thank you,” he mumbled and withdrew, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Sorry. I’m not usually like this.”
Sarah still hadn’t let him go. “Don’t be sorry. You can always count on us. You know that, right?”
Jensen nodded several times. “T-thank you.”
“You’re our family. No need to thank you.”
There was nowhere else Jensen would rather be than near Chad. He went back to the cemetery. The earth was still wet around the headstone. Chad Michael Murray. Jensen mouthed his friend’s full name and just now realized how lovely it was. How fitting with the owner, who was always cheerful and full of spirit.
Chad mentioned something about drugs but not once did Jensen believe that Chad had been a user. Something was terribly wrong and Jensen swore he’d do what he could to find what had really happened.
Jensen knelt down on one knee and rubbed Chad’s name. It felt coarse to his fingertips but he didn’t care.
“You know what really makes me sad?” Jensen whispered. “It’s been years since I last saw you. You have no idea how much I miss you now. I-I thought we’d meet this coming Christmas. But now you’re gone.”
There was no reply for sure and Jensen drew a deep breath.
“Yeah. You’ll see. I’ll find who murdered you. I promise.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss. Were you two together?”
Jensen startled and turned around, getting on his feet.
“Who… Ja-Jared?”
“Yup. Jared Padalecki. You still remember me?”
“Are you really asking me that?” Jensen couldn’t believe what he heard. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to forget people who had bullied him, including Jared, but certainly not in a positive light.
Jared looked down. He seemed to be ashamed. “I get it. You’re right. I deserve it.”
“What are you doing here? Are you following me?” asked Jensen.
Jared gazed at Jensen now. “As a matter of fact, I am. It’s going to be dark soon. I wouldn’t be hanging around by myself if I were you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look, Jensen, Chad was murdered and I bet it’s not finished yet, the things about that.”
“What are you saying?” Jensen squinted. “Do you know anything about it? Oh my God. Were you the one who had him killed? I know who you are, Padalecki. I know what your family is.”
Jared’s face went deep red. “That’s not fair. I know I made mistakes during high school. I hurt you, like, a lot. But that-that accusation is totally unfounded, Jensen.”
“Then why do everything you did, following me, talking about Chad’s murder? You want to threaten me or what?”
Jared sounded hopeless when he replied, “It’s the opposite. I want to tell you it’s dangerous out here. I don’t want you to be harmed.”
“You want to protect me?” Derision dripped from each and every word Jensen said. He would not trust Jared with his life if the man were the last person on earth. He turned to go.
“If you just allow me.” Jared’s soft voice stopped Jensen in his track.
“I don’t know,” said Jensen without turning to face Jared.
“I don’t blame you but you have my words. I will find who killed Chad, too.”
Jensen struggled inside. He really felt alone right now and Jared’s offer made him want to believe in the man. But Jared had hurt him in the past. What if it was just another way to cause more pain to Jensen? No. He just couldn’t afford to get more damaged than he already did. It wasn’t as if there were no reasons that made him flee Chicago.
“No,” said Jensen, still with his back to Jared.
“No?”
“No, I don’t want your protection or help to find Chad’s murderer. I don’t need you. Please just leave me alone.”
“Jen-”
“Just-go away. Go home.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been a federal agent for nearly 20 years, but losing a colleague had never gotten any easier. And Chad-he was a good man. Still young but good nonetheless. And he’d been a competent agent, too. Jeff wondered what had gone wrong with his undercover job.
“How in was Chad?” he asked his boss, Kripke.
“Very deep.”
“Any leads about what could have gone wrong?”
“Not yet. Investigations are still undertaken. We have some suspicions that his cover was blown by someone in the Valentis, or perhaps by a mole here.”
Jeff grumbled. That word always left a bad taste in his mouth. He had lost a partner because of a mole. If it turned out that Chad died because of it, Jeff was ready to kill someone.
There was a knock at the door and Jeff looked up.
“Come in,” said Kripke.
Misha Collins from the IT department peeked inside. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, yes. Come on in.” Kripke waved his hand, looking obviously annoyed. “What have you got from Murray’s cellphone? Any clues on who might have known who he really was?”
“Not really,” Collins replied. “The usuals, Mark and Ross Valenti calling him to meet at Scott’s Tavern. There’s a new number, though. Murray had never contacted this number before. It’s owned by a man named Jensen Ackles.”
“Jensen Ackles?” Jeff lifted an eyebrow. He’d never encountered that name before but he could check his log later.
“Have you found out who that is?” asked Director Kripke.
“Yeah. Our database said that he is a vet who lives in Southfield, Ohio.”
“A vet-veteran?”
“No. A veterinarian. He has a clinic in that town.
“Why would Chad call someone living so far away?” Kripke pondered.
“I didn’t get anything else about him, Sir. Perhaps except the fact that he used to live here in Chicago until college. He went to Northwestern.”
“Okay. Good job, Collins. You can go now.”
Jeff could see the disappointment on the man’s face. Perhaps Collins thought Kripke would involve him more in this case.
“Right. Let’s go get Ackles,” said Kripke after Collins left.
“You really think he has something to do with Murray’s death?” asked Jeff.
“I don’t know what I think, Morgan. But I don’t have any other leads. Maybe we can start with that man.”
“I can always ask people around in that bar, but the idea to find out things from this Jensen Ackles is not too shabby, either.”
Not far from the director’s office, in a corridor, someone whispered into his cellphone, “I got a name. Jensen Ackles. Chad talked to him. You might want to get to the man.”
After having breakfast at the hotel, Jensen decided to go to Chad’s house again. He needed to know if there had been any news from the cops.
Sarah welcomed him at the door and hugged him close. “Why don’t you just stay here? You shouldn’t be alone,” she said.
“I just-I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re never going to impose on us. You’ve been like our own boy since you were little. And now, you’re our only boy.” Sarah began crying, and this time Jensen gathered her in his arms.
She sniffled and withdrew after some time. “I’ve cried too much,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Chad wouldn’t like me to, I guess.” She took a deep breath. “All right. Are you hungry, Jensen? You haven’t had breakfast, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, I have, back at the hotel. I’m fine, Sarah.” Suddenly something crossed his mind. “Hey, I have an idea. You know, the room I’ve got there is not bad. In fact, it’s quite big. What do you say if we swap places?”
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah, you and Bob stay a night there, and I will be your house sitter. You both need a change of scenery, I guess.”
“Can we do that?” A small smile broke on her face.
“I will say why not? So, do we have a deal?” Jensen offered her his hand.
Sarah chuckled. “I have to ask Bob first, of course.”
“Oh right. Of course,” said Jensen.
He stayed for a couple of hours. It turned out that Bob was out at the police office so Sarah couldn’t ask about Jensen’s idea yet. Jensen checked his watch. He had planned to go to Scott’s Tavern to see if he could find anything about Chad’s murder.
“Sarah.” He placed his hand over hers. “I’ll talk to you again about our plan, okay?”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah, just meeting some old friends” He knew he shouldn’t lie to her but he was sure Sarah wouldn’t like it if he told her he was going to the place where they found Chad.
“All right. I’m not sure what time Bob will come home. I’ll talk to him as soon as he does.”
“Great.” Jensen kissed Sarah’s cheek. “Take care, okay.”
“You too, son.”
Standing on the side of the road, Jensen took out his cellphone and clicked the Uber app. He was glad it didn’t take a long time to him to get a ride, which would arrive in about five minutes.
While waiting, Jensen checked the emails and messages he had gotten. Nurse Kristin wrote that everything went smoothly at the clinic with his friend Christian helping there every day. Jensen wrote back telling her that the thing was not too good in Chicago and he might have to stay a while longer.
Jensen was paying most of his attention to his cellphone when he heard a car approaching. Finally, he thought. He looked up and frowned. It was a big van-like vehicle, dark-colored, nothing like what an Uber driver usually drove. Jensen shrugged. Perhaps he was mistaken. It mustn’t be his ride. He walked a bit farther from where he was originally standing. Curiously though, the car followed him.
And it stopped right in front of him. Then the back door slid open and two men jumped out of the car. Jensen jerked back when one of them grabbed him, the cellphone tossed out of his hand.
“Let me go!” Jensen shouted as both men were now on his left and right, their gloved hands tightening over his upper arms.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man came upon them, kicking the men hard and sending them sprawling backward and forward, one hitting the car with his head and the other kissing the stone pavement. For a split second Jensen only stood there mesmerized before the mysterious man pulled him away.
“Come on! We have to get away from here.”
Just then Jensen realized who it was. Jared. But how…?
“How do you know-”
“Later,” cut Jared quickly. “We have to move. Now.”
They both dashed to a car not far from there. Jared’s, apparently. Jensen climbed up inside once Jared unlocked the car remotely with the key.
“Who are they?” asked Jensen as Jared started the car.
“The Valentis.”
“Who are they?” Jensen couldn’t for the life of him remember he’d heard about them before.
“Drug lords,” said Jared, shortly.
Jensen’s jaw dropped. “Are they the ones who killed Chad?”
“Most probably.” Jared kept his eyes forward as he maneuvered through small streets so that those Valenti brothers wouldn’t be able to track them. “The question is, how they’re able to find you, or connect you to Chad’s death?”
“Well,” Jensen said slowly. “Chad did call me the night before he died.”
Jared turned sharply at Jensen. “He did, huh? Why didn’t I know that earlier?”
“You never asked,” Jensen replied lightly.
“Okay. Next time I’ll ask you anything about this. But then, who told them that?”
Jensen stared at Jared, who was still facing forward. Fear crept into him. He wondered if he’d end up like Chad. Jensen tried to think about something else.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked.
“My place, of course. Where do you think we’re going? They know Chad’s place and the fact that you might stay there. The hotel where you’re staying? Only a matter of time they’ll find out about it. You’re not safe out there, Jensen.”
“How do you know I’m staying at a hotel and not at the Murrays’? You even said I might stay at Chad’s. Other people will just assume I’m staying there. But you-you know exactly where I am. Have you really been following me, Padalecki?”
“Can’t you just trust me, Jensen?”
“Trust you? You’re not exactly the poster child for trust even since we were in high school. Why would I now, all of a sudden? Gosh, you might even be the bad guy here, while those two men were the ones who tried to save me.”
Jared said nothing to what Jensen was saying. Jensen didn’t say anything, either. But doubts slowly crept into him. What if what he just said was the truth? After all, he didn’t know who the Valentis were. Jared could have been making it up about them.
They got into the Astor area now and Jensen frowned. He knew the houses here were amongst the most luxurious in the state. He also knew that Jared was from money, but he never guessed how rich he was. But then seeing that Jared was from a Polish-Russian mafia family, Jensen thought, yeah.
Getting out of the car and then entering the house from the tall front door, Jensen was actually quite impressed. He’d never thought the interior would be like this, classy, modern, and minimalist, after seeing the outer side part of the house that looked old.
Jensen liked the light brown ambiance of the wall and the light crème color of the couch. The living room was wide open with a hearth on the wall farthest from the door and a painting filling the entire wall on the left. Honestly, the house was completely different from what Jensen imagined a mafia house should look like.
“You want to sit down or what? Or are you still afraid of me?” Jared asked.
Jensen scoffed. “Afraid of you? Where did you get that idea?”
Jared exhaled. “If you’d not been afraid of me, you’d have stood up to me and my friends.”
Jensen felt his blood start to boil. “So now you’re calling me a coward, huh? You want to blame the victim?” If only Jared knew the humiliation Jensen had to face when he had to admit to himself that he was indeed being bullied. He was ashamed, for God’s sake, for not being able to fight back. Now to have the very person bullying him in the past called out to him was like a nail on his coffin. Jensen never thought of himself as suicidal, but at that time it felt as if death were the best way for him.
Jared gaped. “What? No! I wasn’t blaming you. You’re misunderstanding me here. I want-wanted you to actually fight back because… because I liked you! You were this perfect student, straight-A marks, and, and you were very beautiful. My friends, they knew I liked you so they teased me a lot. When you were around, they would just come upon you because they wanted to see my reaction.”
“And not helping me was certainly the reaction of someone who admitted they like me,” said Jensen bitterly. “Sometimes you even took part. Calling me names, and… and…”
“Do you think it was easy for me? Admitting to like you at that time would be character suicide for me.”
“So you’d rather hurt me than say you were gay in front of your friends. Fine.” Jensen walked toward the door. “So much for wanting to protect me. Goodbye, Jared.” Jensen opened the door and stepped out, leaving Jared’s stunning mansion. He did after all need to talk to Bob Murray about his plan.
“Jensen, come back!”
Jensen had just walked for a couple of meters when he heard Jared call him. Jensen didn’t even look back. He kept walking. But Jared managed to catch up and suddenly he was beside Jensen.
“Wait,” Jared said amidst his gasping breaths and grabbed Jensen’s upper arm. “You’re right. I’m completely to blame here. And I-I was the one being coward. Not you. I’m so sorry.”
Jensen looked at Jared in the eye. “Jared, please let go of my arm. Okay, you’re forgiven, but I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
“God, you still don’t understand. I have liked you for years.”
“So what? You can’t force someone to like you back.”
“I will do anything to make up every wrong I’ve done to you.”
“It doesn’t mean I’ll like you back in the end.”
“I didn’t ask you to. I swear. All right? Shall we go back now?”
Jensen checked his watch and looked away to the road and back to Jared. “I do actually have to go. I promise to talk to the Murrays about something.”
Jared looked worried. “Jensen, it’s not safe for you to go anywhere, let alone the Murrays’ house. You just experienced yourself.”
“But they are going to worry if I don’t show up. And I can’t call them, either, since my cellphone got tossed away “
Jared seemed to dwell on it for a moment. Then he said, “Okay, I’ll take you now to the hotel. You stay inside your room at all times and wait for me. Don’t go out. I will pick up the Murrays and take them to the hotel as well. We are going to have lunch there. How about that?”
“Hmm. That’s a good idea. All right.”
“Remember, you just open the door to me, okay?”
Jensen was a bit taken aback by Jared’s demeanor. He’d never guessed the extent of the man’s protective strike toward him. But Jensen felt he was about to find out more after this.
Part 2: https://iorhael-dreams.livejournal.com/140848.html
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: J2
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jared Padalecki is a boss of a questionable business. He chose his queen a long time ago. Jensen just doesn't know it yet. Jensen returns to his hometown to search for his friend's killer in the underworld swamp and runs into his bully from high school days again. Jensen loathes Jared and the memory of the past. Jared sees only one way to win Jensen over: He must help him find the murderer - even against Jensen's will.
Author’s Notes: Written for AomaSade for j2_reversebang. Thank you so much, jdl71 for the willingness to beta in such a short notice!
“Who is it this time, Mrs. Wyndham? Oh, is that you, Bruno? What is it now?” Jensen smiled widely as he ruffled the husky’s ear. He loved the dog. His owner, Mr. and Mrs. Wyndham lived next door. But he hated it every time they came with Bruno to his clinic. There must be something wrong with Bruno. Such a naughty dog.
“He's not been home for three days,” said Mrs. Wyndham. “We guessed he chased a rabbit or something in the field. Then he wouldn’t eat when he came back. Wonder what’s wrong with him, Doc Ackles.”
“Hmm, hope it’s not poisoning.” He nodded to Nurse Kristin who was standing beside Mrs. Wyndham. “Have we checked Bruno’s weight and body temperature?”
“Already, Doctor,” said Nurse Kristin while handing him a tablet with Bruno's details on the screen.
“Thanks,” said Jensen, distracted, as he studied the data. Then he checked Bruno's ears, asking for some cotton buds and cleaning the insides of the ears.
“It’s wet and a bit dirty. We’ll check for bacteria and other things. Do you mind if we do a thorough blood check, Mrs. Wyndham? I want to see what’s really wrong with him.”
Mrs. Wyndham shook her head, “No, no. Go ahead, Doc.”
“Thanks.” Jensen got a syringe and alcohol-soaked cotton from Nurse Kristin to take Bruno’s blood sample. He rubbed the cotton on Bruno’s hind leg and gently pushed the needle in. “Take it easy, big guy. There you go. That’s a good boy.” He patted Bruno’s head. “Now you need to wait for a moment, okay?”
Jensen addressed Mrs. Wyndham again, “We're going to need about half an hour. You may wait outside with Bruno.”
“Do you think he needs some liquid drip, Doctor?”
“He doesn’t show any signs of dehydration. He must have found some water somewhere.”
“All right, Doc. Thanks. I’ll just wait.”
It was nothing serious about Bruno. He could just go home and be an outpatient, but the medication should be administered diligently. And Jensen required him to be taken back to the clinic after a week just for a check-up.
Mrs. Wyndham hugged Bruno tightly as though she’d never want to let go. “Thank you so much, Dr. Ackles. You’re the best!”
Jensen blushed. “Just doing my job, Mrs. Wyndham.” He petted Bruno. “And he’ll be just fine.”
“Yes, he will.”
There were no other patients for the time being so Jensen saw them out. “Take care, Bruno.” He waved as Mrs. Wyndham and Bruno got into her truck and left the parking lot.
The traffic wasn’t heavy at all, it being in a small town, although it could be considered as the main road there. Jensen purposely chose the location for his clinic as it was not far from the farms or the residential areas there. He wouldn’t have to go very far if he had to visit one of the farms.
Southfield. It was definitely not Chicago. Southfield was too small compared to that hometown of Jensen’s. It didn’t have cool parks or beaches or a riverwalk. Southfield was tiny and quiet, but that was what Jensen had looked for some five years ago after he got his degree and license to run his own clinic.
All he wanted to do was get away as far as he could once he graduated from Northwestern. Even during his study he’d only returned home for Christmas, and when he said home, he really meant it. He'd literally never left his house during the holiday.
The day was late. The last patient had left. Jensen closed the door after Nurse Kristin said goodbye. Then he went through the back door to the pavilion behind the clinic where he resided. It was not big, just enough for him. It only had one room for everything: living room, dining room, and kitchen, and another room as his bedroom. Jensen loved staying there. He didn’t have to go far for work.
Jensen grabbed a loaf of sandwich bread from the upper cabinet, and a bottle of mustard, mayonnaise, and butter from the cabinet next to it. He thought he still had smoked ham and lettuce in the fridge, and he was right. Added with some slices of cheese, his dinner is complete.
He perched on one of the high stools at the kitchen counter and checked out his tablet while munching on his sandwich. The next day he was going to Farmer Barrett’s place. The man had talked to him about the accident that happened to one of his horses, some sick pigs, and a cow who was ready to deliver a calf. Jensen got all the data on his tablet. He preferred to always be ready when he had to leave his clinic. It wasn’t as if Farmer Barrett’s place was close by. He drove almost an hour the last time he went there.
Jensen was almost done with his humble dinner when suddenly his cellphone that he left on the table in the sitting room rang. He arched an eyebrow. An emergency call? His clinic did offer a house visit service but so far it had never been in the evening. Mostly morning and to the farms. This couldn’t come from one of the local farms as they usually operated in the daytime.
Jensen reached the phone and checked the screen. It was an unidentified number. He usually never answered such a number. For a moment he just stood there, waiting for his cellphone to go silent.
It did.
Then it went off again.
Realizing the caller wouldn’t let him be alone, reluctantly Jensen grabbed his cellphone and clicked Answer.
“Ackles. Who is it?”
There was a sound of hard breathing and then, “Jensen? Jensen, this is Chad!”
Chad? His best buddy from high school Chad?
“Chad! What’s going on? Are you all right? You don’t sound-”
“Jen, you’ve got to help me. I’m-I’m in trouble. I got involved in-”
“Chad, please. Calm down. Where are you?”
“You know, the bar we used to go to every weekend?”
“In Chicago? Scott’s Tavern?”
“Y-yeah.”
“What happened? Are you alone?”
“They, uh, they’re looking for me. Jensen, listen carefully. If anything happens to me, know that I’m-I don’t mean to use at all. It was just-”
“Use? Chad, what do you mean? Are you using drugs?” Jensen’s heart sank. Worried was such an understatement. What was really going on? Was Chad in trouble?
“Jen-”
Chad’s voice was suddenly cut off. Jensen gasped. The line was dead. “Hello? Chad? Chad, are you there?” Jensen’s heart raced as he stared at his cellphone as if the thing were about to go poof, too.
He pressed the cellphone against his ear. Nothing. Just the low humming sound coming from the other end. Jensen clicked several times until Chad’s number appeared on the screen and clicked the small picture of a green telephone. He waited for a moment until he heard the waiting tune. Once. Twice. Five times. No answer. Damn it, Chad. Where are you?
Jensen tried calling him again. And again. But finally, he gave up. He sank himself to the couch and threw his cellphone there. Suddenly he realized his hand was shaking. Jensen rubbed his face as he shuddered. What'd he do now? Jensen wondered if it would be wise to ask Chad’s folks about what their son just told Jensen.
But Jensen didn’t have other contacts from his hometown. He’d left some time ago. Other than that, he couldn’t say he had many friends in high school. Chad was his best and only friend of his.
Jensen would probably have died long ago had Chad not been on his side during his painful days in high school. Chad might have been this skinny tall lad with too slanted eyes and a wide, innocent smile, but he could always have been able to read Jensen if something had been amiss, let alone if there had been bruises or tears on Jensen’s faces or arms or any other parts of his body.
Once Jensen got out of the class that was different from Chad’s during recess and went missing for a couple of minutes. He just realized then how worried Chad was at that time. He’d practically turned the school upside down. He went from class to class, cafeteria, the labs, the basketball court, the restrooms on each floor, until finally, he found Jensen lying on the grass just outside the parking lot.
“Jensen, Jensen!” Chad’s voice was high-pitched as he shook Jensen awake. “Jensen!” he called once more before Jensen opened his eyes. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings at first.
“Chad, wh-” Jensen grappled to sit up but Chad pressed his shoulder down. “What the hell, let me go.”
“Are you sure?”
But Jensen offered his hand and Chad grabbed it and helped him up. “Uh.” Jensen squeezed his head. He felt like he’d crashed into a semi.
“How’d you feel? What happened, Jen?”
Jensen squinted as he gazed around. “Where am I?”
“Outside, on the parking lot. Gosh, you look terrible. Y-your face-and your shirt, so dirty and rumpled.”
Jensen looked down at himself and he grinned. “You should see the other person.”
“Who? Was it that Padalecki kid? He always seems to get a beef with you.”
Jensen frowned. “Jared? No, no. He wasn’t here.” Chad was sure that Jared Padalecki, the city’s rich kid, was always one of those who kept bullying him, but Jensen couldn’t recall him being around just now.
“Then who?” Chad demanded still.
“Uh, Michael, Tom. I can’t remember anyone else.”
Chad nodded. “That’s enough to say to the principal. Now, are you strong enough to get up and walk to the infirmary?”
Something Chad said terrified him. “No, don’t tell this to the principal, please.” They were going to eat him alive.
Chad looked livid. “Jen, they are killing you, literally.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine. I’ll stay strong. I’ll stay away from them as much as I can after this. But please, please don’t say anything to anyone, especially the principal.”
Chad squeezed his eyes shut. “What about your parents?” he asked then, quietly.
Jensen snorted. “Haven’t you ever met them, Chad? Surely you’ve realized by now how they are.” Jensen’s father was never home. Neighbors said he was a bodyguard of some rich guy or what Jensen never knew. His dad was an ex-military who never seemed to be able to stand being at home once he was done his time in Afghanistan. As for Jensen’s mom, she was mostly drunk every time her husband was away. In other words, she was always drunk.
Jensen grabbed Chad’s arm. “Just-take me to the infirmary now.” He grimaced as he pulled himself up.
“Where does it hurt?” asked Chad as he helped Jensen up.
“Everywhere, Chad. Everywhere.”
Jensen stayed at the infirmary for the rest of the day. When school was over, Chad came to the infirmary.
“They allow you to go, right?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“Chad-”
“What? Like I never drove you home before.”
Jensen looked down. “I don’t feel like going home.”
“Huh? What’re you saying?”
Yeah. Jensen knew his mother wouldn’t even notice his condition, being always drunk like that. That was exactly why Jensen hated it. He wanted-wanted her attention. Which was next to impossible. He felt miserable. He wished he had someone who cared. He hated that he was this close to tearing up.
“Jen?”
“Uh, what?”
“You know you’re always welcome at my place. My mom is, well, rather fond of you, you know.”
Jensen almost choked on his tearful snort. He wiped his eyes quickly, hoping Chad didn’t see that. He could only nod after that, knowing full well how wide his grin must look.
In the morning, Jensen tried to call Chad again, and he got nothing. The phone rang until a female recorded voice said that no one was able to answer it. What a useless thing to have.
Jensen wished Chad was all right, but he didn’t know for sure until he did. Finally, he decided to do what he’d originally not wanted to.
Jensen dialed a number he’d memorized more than his own house number. He recognized immediately the voice that answered it.
“Mrs. Murray, it’s me-”
“Jensen! Are you still in… where are you again?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. I’m still in Southfield. Mrs. Murray, I wonder if I can, uh, talk to Chad?”
The pause that followed was abrupt and awkward. Chad’s mother cleared her throat.
“I, uh, Chad’s not home at the moment. Do you, do you have a message?” she asked then.
Jensen shook his head quickly. But realizing Mrs. Murray wouldn’t be able to see it, he immediately said, “No, that’s okay. I’ll call him later.”
“Sure.” Mrs. Murray sounded relieved. “Do you have any plan to come home, Jensen, here to Chicago?”
Coming to Chicago meant facing a lot of his demons, something Jensen would rather try to avoid for so many different reasons.
“Definitely, Mrs. Murray.” For Chad, though, he’d do anything. Especially now when he hadn’t heard back from that closest buddy of his after such a shocking call.
Right after talking to Chad’s mother, Jensen booked a flight but he couldn’t get the earliest one. Then he called the clinic. Nurse Kristin was there already.
“Sure, Doc,” she replied when Jensen told her he was flying to Chicago and couldn’t come to the clinic at all that day. “How long will you be away?”
“Two days, I guess. Three days top.”
“Do you want me to contact Dr. Kane?”
Dr. Kane-Christian Kane-was his friend and sometimes co-worker. He had his own clinic downtown but he often helped out at Jensen’s clinic just like Jensen lending a hand at Chris’.
“That’ll be a great idea, Kris. Thanks. Tell Kane I’ll call him as soon as I can.”
“Sure. Have a safe flight, Doc.”
“Thanks, I will.”
The Murrays’ house still looked the way it did when Jensen left Chicago nigh five years ago. The red bricks and big windows in the front still made Jensen feel more at home than he did at his own house. He smiled to himself as he looked longingly up to the wide double doors. The feeling was still the same, too.
Jensen jogged up the stairs to the doors, knocked at them, and waited several seconds until someone answered him.
A pair of rather old eyes stared at him before recognition shone in them.
“Jensen! You really came!”
“Of course I did, Mrs. Murray,” Jensen managed to say before he was engulfed in her embrace.
“It’s Sarah.” Sarah hugged him for some moments before she released him. Still having Jensen’s arms in her hands, she asked, “How are you doing, son, really?”
Jensen smiled. “Never better.”
“You won’t lie to me, will you?”
“Never. I’m happy with where I am right now. I work at the best place and I love my patients.”
Sarah laughed. “I can imagine. You always loved Rex, Chad’s dog. Now what, you get to meet two, three dogs a day?”
“Not just dogs. Sometimes there are cats, rabbits, horses, and cows, too.”
“That’s seriously awesome! I bet they’re all so cute.”
“And a handful, too! But I wouldn’t switch them with anything else in the world.”
Suddenly Sarah tapped her own forehead. “Silly me. Why didn’t I ask you to come in the house first?”
Jensen chuckled and followed her as she let him in.
Sarah looked over her shoulder. “Where is your bag, Jensen? I don’t see it anywhere.”
“Of course I left it at the hotel, Sarah. It’s too heavy to carry it anywhere.”
Sarah turned around, disappointment clouding her eyes. That surprised Jensen. He’d never guessed it. Surely she’d never think Jensen would just barge in and demand to stay in this house, right?
Yet apparently, that was exactly what Sarah had thought.
“Jensen, had I known you’d really come, I’d even pick you up at the airport. What were you thinking, you have a home here but you’re staying at the hotel? I don’t know what Bob will say when he hears this.”
Bob was her husband, Robert Murray, Jr. Jensen gazed at Sarah, feeling so overwhelmed he squeezed her tight in his arms.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think… I just thought, uh, it’d be so rude of me to come here and ask to stay the night.”
“Jensen, you should know we’ll always be here for you.”
“Yes, and thank you. I’ll check out immediately. Tonight I’ll stay here.”
Sarah kissed him on the cheek. “That’s more like it. Now, you’re way too late for lunch. But would you like some coffee and cakes?”
Jensen grinned widely. “Absolutely. By the way, is Bob still working at the office? And where’s Chad? I don’t hear his voice anywhere.” Finally, he got to ask the very reason he’d come up to Chicago.
“Please, have a seat. Yes, Bob’s at the office right now. But,” her face turned worried. “to tell you the truth, I have no idea where Chad is. We haven’t heard from him since last night.”
“What?” Jensen was alarmed. “What do you mean? Did he tell you where he went when he left? He still lives here, doesn’t he?”
“Of course he does but no, he didn’t say anything before he left yesterday. We thought he was just going to hang out with his theater friends. Usually, nothing happens.”
Jensen remembered Chad’s panicked call yesterday. It was definitely not “nothing happened.” Chad was an actor; Jensen knew that. But he wasn’t the type who needed some booster before going on stage, as far as Jensen was concerned. Maybe Chad had changed then? Who knew.
So Chad’s mom didn’t know anything about it. That meant Jensen had to find out by himself. He was lost in his thoughts as he chewed Sarah’s cake.
“… here?”
Jensen belatedly realized that she asked something. “I’m so sorry. You’re saying…?”
Sarah waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. Just wondering what time you’re going to go get your belongings from the hotel.”
“Oh right. Just after I enjoy your delicacies, Sarah.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rush you. Please, take your time. You must be tired. You just arrived, right?”
Jensen nodded. “From the airport, I checked in to the hotel and came directly here. Fortunately, I didn’t have to spend too much time at the hotel.”
Sarah gazed at Jensen, smiled softly, and rubbed his forearm. “I’m so happy you’re here, Jensen. And sure Bob and Chad are, too.”
Jensen placed his hand on hers. “Me too. Very much.”
“Aah,” Jensen sighed as he threw himself to the bed in his room at the hotel. It was actually nice to stay here where he didn’t have to care about other people, but he had promised Sarah he’d stay at her house.
Jensen felt his eyes heavy. The cakes he had just now made him so full he wouldn’t be able to eat anything else for dinner. And the coffee. It was the best he’d ever tasted. Sarah was so good to him. Slowly he eased into the dreamland without him even realizing it.
Jensen awoke with a start and scrambled around to find his cellphone. The number 10 flashed across the screen.
“Huh?” he mumbled, incomprehensible. Then he jumped and shouted to himself, “It’s 10 pm! Jeez! The Murrays must have all gone to bed.” He gathered all his belongings. He hadn’t really unpacked them anyway. But then he realized something. Was it too late to check out?
Jensen decided he’d go to the Murray house. If no one answered him because it was too late, he’d just return to the hotel. But if it wasn’t, he would stop by, go back to the hotel, and check out tomorrow. He was sure Sarah wouldn’t mind.
The Uber he took suddenly halted in the middle of the road. Jensen looked up from his cellphone.
“Why are we stopping?”
The Uber driver cleared his throat. “Uh, is that where we’re going?” He pointed out at the house about 100 meters away.
“Yes, of course…” Jensen faltered, too. Sarah’s house looked so crowded with… police cars?
After several meters going, Jensen thought he’d rather stop and continue on foot. “I’ll get down here,” he said to the driver.
“Okay, man.” Relief was obvious in his voice. Seemed he’d rather not deal with the police.
There was no yellow ribbon around the front yard so nothing had happened there. But it didn’t look good for the Murrays. Jensen saw Bob in front of the house, and waved.
Bob saw him, too. “Jensen!” he called out, jogging down the flight of stairs.
Jensen rushed to him, but a police officer stopped him. “Who are you? Do you know the Murrays?”
Bob cut him out. “He’s an old friend. Let him through.”
The officer let him go though he looked reluctant. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Jensen immediately ran to Bob, who hugged him tight at once, startling Jensen. What was going on?
“Bob, what is it?” he said as Bob’s grip loosened up. He looked as if he’d been crying.
“Come on in. Sarah is in the sitting room.” Sarah was his wife. Jensen had just left her a couple of hours ago. Now it seemed as if all hells had broken loose.
“Jensen…” Sarah cried in his arms.
“Sarah, why are all the cops here?”
“It’s Chad. They found him-at an alley. It’s his body…”
Jensen wasn’t listening anymore. He was back here because of Chad. But he never thought it would go this far. Chad was…dead?
He froze. He was no longer responsive to what Bob and Sarah were doing or saying. It was completely out of his comprehension. Chad was always there for him. Always. He couldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t leave Jensen. Ever.
“Jensen?” Perhaps it was Bob calling him, but he barely cared.
“Leave me alone.” Then he left.
Death was not an alien concept in the Padalecki household. Jared’s family’s kind of business made them often deal with this problem though they might not have to do it with their own hands. As a firearms dealer, it was inevitable. People, after all, shot and probably killed others using the guns sold to them.
But to hear death in an unnatural fashion come upon a schoolmate gave quite a shock to him, not that Chad Michael Murray had been close to him in the past.
What Jared actually remembered about him was Chad’s best friend, Jensen Ackles.
Oh, come on! Who he had been kidding, of course, it was Jensen he had in mind. What could he say? He’d never be able to get him out of his head. Jared was always thinking of him. Past, present, and future.
Jensen was always perfect. His eyes, his nose, his lips. The way he smiled, the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled when he laughed. The way sometimes his eyes seemed lost in a world only he understood when he sat alone on the bleachers at their school’s football field.
Jensen was really too pretty for his own good. But he definitely didn’t deserve the cat-calling he got. Jared remembered how those jocks, which he was shamefully a part of, often cornered Jensen and touched him. Jared knew he never took part in all of that, but he didn’t stop them, either. He was just as bad as his friends.
Jared didn’t know-didn’t want to know-what was on Jensen’s mind when he closed himself off on those bleachers. Jared should have known, though. What more could Jensen want than to get away from this place, what with all the bullying he kept getting? Jared was to blame, too, and to ask forgiveness when school was almost over seemed too little… too late. The best way was just to let Jensen go without Jared saying anything. Let time heal all his longings.
But Jared needed to forget about Jensen right now. Because he was… irrelevant. Jared was to attend Chad’s funeral and comfort the Murrays. Nothing else.
He unclasped his seat belt and got out of his car. Cars lined the road near the graveyard, some old black sedans looking like the government’s making Jared stop to think. But he shook his head. Nah. It meant nothing.
Jared walked slowly up the small hill toward some people in all blacks gathered around a casket. He took a shuddered breath. He couldn’t imagine how Chad’s family felt this time. Jared wasn’t close to Chad at all, yet he could feel the loss.
Getting closer, Jared could make out the familiar faces. Bob, Sarah-and he froze. The one standing next to them-was it really…? All of a sudden his breath tightened and he felt light-headed. The freckled face that still haunted him even now.
Jensen.
For a moment there Jared didn’t know whether he would turn around and leave, or run toward the man and sweep him off his feet, ending all dreams he’d been having all these years. He knew things wouldn’t end prettily if he did the latter, though, so he opted to just stand there in a distance and watch the solemnity of it all.
When the funeral wrapped up, Jared left before the others had the chance to catch up with him. He just had to wait.
Dead.
Chad.
They rhymed, Jensen thought, close to hysterical. The previous night when the cops came with that news, Jensen had almost grabbed one standing before him and shaken him until his teeth rattled. No! Chad can’t be dead. He just can’t! But Sarah’s hand on his forearm had stopped him, grounded him. And Jensen had drawn very deep breaths and nodded subtly at her. Yes, he’d be okay. For now.
But this morning, seeing Chad’s body lowered down into the ground, Jensen had only one thing in mind: it wouldn’t just go away like this, Chad buried, the case reported to the police. No. The case could just be buried, too. Jensen wouldn’t let it. He’d find the murderer.
“Where are you going?” Sarah asked him when the last guest had left the house. Sarah stared at Jensen’s eyes and she took a deep breath, looking miserable and lost. “You’re not going to stay here, are you?”
Jensen looked down, shaking his head. “No, I’m sorry. Just too many memories of Chad here. I just can’t…”
“No, sorry, of course not. We understand.” Sarah squeezed Jensen’s hand, which he took to his heart.
“God, Jesus. What right do I have? I should have-I mean, you’re his mother, for God’s sake. I should’ve realized. You must miss him so much.”
“Jensen, it’s okay. You were his closest friend. Chad loved you so much.”
“Oh, Sarah.” Jensen couldn’t stand it anymore. All his emotions rose to the surface and he began to shake. He felt so, so alone.
“Jensen, you’re trembling.” Sarah grabbed him and held him close as Jensen broke down. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “I got you. I got you.”
Jensen clung to Sarah like she was his lifeline. He didn’t feel too alone now. “Thank you,” he mumbled and withdrew, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Sorry. I’m not usually like this.”
Sarah still hadn’t let him go. “Don’t be sorry. You can always count on us. You know that, right?”
Jensen nodded several times. “T-thank you.”
“You’re our family. No need to thank you.”
There was nowhere else Jensen would rather be than near Chad. He went back to the cemetery. The earth was still wet around the headstone. Chad Michael Murray. Jensen mouthed his friend’s full name and just now realized how lovely it was. How fitting with the owner, who was always cheerful and full of spirit.
Chad mentioned something about drugs but not once did Jensen believe that Chad had been a user. Something was terribly wrong and Jensen swore he’d do what he could to find what had really happened.
Jensen knelt down on one knee and rubbed Chad’s name. It felt coarse to his fingertips but he didn’t care.
“You know what really makes me sad?” Jensen whispered. “It’s been years since I last saw you. You have no idea how much I miss you now. I-I thought we’d meet this coming Christmas. But now you’re gone.”
There was no reply for sure and Jensen drew a deep breath.
“Yeah. You’ll see. I’ll find who murdered you. I promise.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss. Were you two together?”
Jensen startled and turned around, getting on his feet.
“Who… Ja-Jared?”
“Yup. Jared Padalecki. You still remember me?”
“Are you really asking me that?” Jensen couldn’t believe what he heard. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to forget people who had bullied him, including Jared, but certainly not in a positive light.
Jared looked down. He seemed to be ashamed. “I get it. You’re right. I deserve it.”
“What are you doing here? Are you following me?” asked Jensen.
Jared gazed at Jensen now. “As a matter of fact, I am. It’s going to be dark soon. I wouldn’t be hanging around by myself if I were you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look, Jensen, Chad was murdered and I bet it’s not finished yet, the things about that.”
“What are you saying?” Jensen squinted. “Do you know anything about it? Oh my God. Were you the one who had him killed? I know who you are, Padalecki. I know what your family is.”
Jared’s face went deep red. “That’s not fair. I know I made mistakes during high school. I hurt you, like, a lot. But that-that accusation is totally unfounded, Jensen.”
“Then why do everything you did, following me, talking about Chad’s murder? You want to threaten me or what?”
Jared sounded hopeless when he replied, “It’s the opposite. I want to tell you it’s dangerous out here. I don’t want you to be harmed.”
“You want to protect me?” Derision dripped from each and every word Jensen said. He would not trust Jared with his life if the man were the last person on earth. He turned to go.
“If you just allow me.” Jared’s soft voice stopped Jensen in his track.
“I don’t know,” said Jensen without turning to face Jared.
“I don’t blame you but you have my words. I will find who killed Chad, too.”
Jensen struggled inside. He really felt alone right now and Jared’s offer made him want to believe in the man. But Jared had hurt him in the past. What if it was just another way to cause more pain to Jensen? No. He just couldn’t afford to get more damaged than he already did. It wasn’t as if there were no reasons that made him flee Chicago.
“No,” said Jensen, still with his back to Jared.
“No?”
“No, I don’t want your protection or help to find Chad’s murderer. I don’t need you. Please just leave me alone.”
“Jen-”
“Just-go away. Go home.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been a federal agent for nearly 20 years, but losing a colleague had never gotten any easier. And Chad-he was a good man. Still young but good nonetheless. And he’d been a competent agent, too. Jeff wondered what had gone wrong with his undercover job.
“How in was Chad?” he asked his boss, Kripke.
“Very deep.”
“Any leads about what could have gone wrong?”
“Not yet. Investigations are still undertaken. We have some suspicions that his cover was blown by someone in the Valentis, or perhaps by a mole here.”
Jeff grumbled. That word always left a bad taste in his mouth. He had lost a partner because of a mole. If it turned out that Chad died because of it, Jeff was ready to kill someone.
There was a knock at the door and Jeff looked up.
“Come in,” said Kripke.
Misha Collins from the IT department peeked inside. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, yes. Come on in.” Kripke waved his hand, looking obviously annoyed. “What have you got from Murray’s cellphone? Any clues on who might have known who he really was?”
“Not really,” Collins replied. “The usuals, Mark and Ross Valenti calling him to meet at Scott’s Tavern. There’s a new number, though. Murray had never contacted this number before. It’s owned by a man named Jensen Ackles.”
“Jensen Ackles?” Jeff lifted an eyebrow. He’d never encountered that name before but he could check his log later.
“Have you found out who that is?” asked Director Kripke.
“Yeah. Our database said that he is a vet who lives in Southfield, Ohio.”
“A vet-veteran?”
“No. A veterinarian. He has a clinic in that town.
“Why would Chad call someone living so far away?” Kripke pondered.
“I didn’t get anything else about him, Sir. Perhaps except the fact that he used to live here in Chicago until college. He went to Northwestern.”
“Okay. Good job, Collins. You can go now.”
Jeff could see the disappointment on the man’s face. Perhaps Collins thought Kripke would involve him more in this case.
“Right. Let’s go get Ackles,” said Kripke after Collins left.
“You really think he has something to do with Murray’s death?” asked Jeff.
“I don’t know what I think, Morgan. But I don’t have any other leads. Maybe we can start with that man.”
“I can always ask people around in that bar, but the idea to find out things from this Jensen Ackles is not too shabby, either.”
Not far from the director’s office, in a corridor, someone whispered into his cellphone, “I got a name. Jensen Ackles. Chad talked to him. You might want to get to the man.”
After having breakfast at the hotel, Jensen decided to go to Chad’s house again. He needed to know if there had been any news from the cops.
Sarah welcomed him at the door and hugged him close. “Why don’t you just stay here? You shouldn’t be alone,” she said.
“I just-I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re never going to impose on us. You’ve been like our own boy since you were little. And now, you’re our only boy.” Sarah began crying, and this time Jensen gathered her in his arms.
She sniffled and withdrew after some time. “I’ve cried too much,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Chad wouldn’t like me to, I guess.” She took a deep breath. “All right. Are you hungry, Jensen? You haven’t had breakfast, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, I have, back at the hotel. I’m fine, Sarah.” Suddenly something crossed his mind. “Hey, I have an idea. You know, the room I’ve got there is not bad. In fact, it’s quite big. What do you say if we swap places?”
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah, you and Bob stay a night there, and I will be your house sitter. You both need a change of scenery, I guess.”
“Can we do that?” A small smile broke on her face.
“I will say why not? So, do we have a deal?” Jensen offered her his hand.
Sarah chuckled. “I have to ask Bob first, of course.”
“Oh right. Of course,” said Jensen.
He stayed for a couple of hours. It turned out that Bob was out at the police office so Sarah couldn’t ask about Jensen’s idea yet. Jensen checked his watch. He had planned to go to Scott’s Tavern to see if he could find anything about Chad’s murder.
“Sarah.” He placed his hand over hers. “I’ll talk to you again about our plan, okay?”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah, just meeting some old friends” He knew he shouldn’t lie to her but he was sure Sarah wouldn’t like it if he told her he was going to the place where they found Chad.
“All right. I’m not sure what time Bob will come home. I’ll talk to him as soon as he does.”
“Great.” Jensen kissed Sarah’s cheek. “Take care, okay.”
“You too, son.”
Standing on the side of the road, Jensen took out his cellphone and clicked the Uber app. He was glad it didn’t take a long time to him to get a ride, which would arrive in about five minutes.
While waiting, Jensen checked the emails and messages he had gotten. Nurse Kristin wrote that everything went smoothly at the clinic with his friend Christian helping there every day. Jensen wrote back telling her that the thing was not too good in Chicago and he might have to stay a while longer.
Jensen was paying most of his attention to his cellphone when he heard a car approaching. Finally, he thought. He looked up and frowned. It was a big van-like vehicle, dark-colored, nothing like what an Uber driver usually drove. Jensen shrugged. Perhaps he was mistaken. It mustn’t be his ride. He walked a bit farther from where he was originally standing. Curiously though, the car followed him.
And it stopped right in front of him. Then the back door slid open and two men jumped out of the car. Jensen jerked back when one of them grabbed him, the cellphone tossed out of his hand.
“Let me go!” Jensen shouted as both men were now on his left and right, their gloved hands tightening over his upper arms.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man came upon them, kicking the men hard and sending them sprawling backward and forward, one hitting the car with his head and the other kissing the stone pavement. For a split second Jensen only stood there mesmerized before the mysterious man pulled him away.
“Come on! We have to get away from here.”
Just then Jensen realized who it was. Jared. But how…?
“How do you know-”
“Later,” cut Jared quickly. “We have to move. Now.”
They both dashed to a car not far from there. Jared’s, apparently. Jensen climbed up inside once Jared unlocked the car remotely with the key.
“Who are they?” asked Jensen as Jared started the car.
“The Valentis.”
“Who are they?” Jensen couldn’t for the life of him remember he’d heard about them before.
“Drug lords,” said Jared, shortly.
Jensen’s jaw dropped. “Are they the ones who killed Chad?”
“Most probably.” Jared kept his eyes forward as he maneuvered through small streets so that those Valenti brothers wouldn’t be able to track them. “The question is, how they’re able to find you, or connect you to Chad’s death?”
“Well,” Jensen said slowly. “Chad did call me the night before he died.”
Jared turned sharply at Jensen. “He did, huh? Why didn’t I know that earlier?”
“You never asked,” Jensen replied lightly.
“Okay. Next time I’ll ask you anything about this. But then, who told them that?”
Jensen stared at Jared, who was still facing forward. Fear crept into him. He wondered if he’d end up like Chad. Jensen tried to think about something else.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked.
“My place, of course. Where do you think we’re going? They know Chad’s place and the fact that you might stay there. The hotel where you’re staying? Only a matter of time they’ll find out about it. You’re not safe out there, Jensen.”
“How do you know I’m staying at a hotel and not at the Murrays’? You even said I might stay at Chad’s. Other people will just assume I’m staying there. But you-you know exactly where I am. Have you really been following me, Padalecki?”
“Can’t you just trust me, Jensen?”
“Trust you? You’re not exactly the poster child for trust even since we were in high school. Why would I now, all of a sudden? Gosh, you might even be the bad guy here, while those two men were the ones who tried to save me.”
Jared said nothing to what Jensen was saying. Jensen didn’t say anything, either. But doubts slowly crept into him. What if what he just said was the truth? After all, he didn’t know who the Valentis were. Jared could have been making it up about them.
They got into the Astor area now and Jensen frowned. He knew the houses here were amongst the most luxurious in the state. He also knew that Jared was from money, but he never guessed how rich he was. But then seeing that Jared was from a Polish-Russian mafia family, Jensen thought, yeah.
Getting out of the car and then entering the house from the tall front door, Jensen was actually quite impressed. He’d never thought the interior would be like this, classy, modern, and minimalist, after seeing the outer side part of the house that looked old.
Jensen liked the light brown ambiance of the wall and the light crème color of the couch. The living room was wide open with a hearth on the wall farthest from the door and a painting filling the entire wall on the left. Honestly, the house was completely different from what Jensen imagined a mafia house should look like.
“You want to sit down or what? Or are you still afraid of me?” Jared asked.
Jensen scoffed. “Afraid of you? Where did you get that idea?”
Jared exhaled. “If you’d not been afraid of me, you’d have stood up to me and my friends.”
Jensen felt his blood start to boil. “So now you’re calling me a coward, huh? You want to blame the victim?” If only Jared knew the humiliation Jensen had to face when he had to admit to himself that he was indeed being bullied. He was ashamed, for God’s sake, for not being able to fight back. Now to have the very person bullying him in the past called out to him was like a nail on his coffin. Jensen never thought of himself as suicidal, but at that time it felt as if death were the best way for him.
Jared gaped. “What? No! I wasn’t blaming you. You’re misunderstanding me here. I want-wanted you to actually fight back because… because I liked you! You were this perfect student, straight-A marks, and, and you were very beautiful. My friends, they knew I liked you so they teased me a lot. When you were around, they would just come upon you because they wanted to see my reaction.”
“And not helping me was certainly the reaction of someone who admitted they like me,” said Jensen bitterly. “Sometimes you even took part. Calling me names, and… and…”
“Do you think it was easy for me? Admitting to like you at that time would be character suicide for me.”
“So you’d rather hurt me than say you were gay in front of your friends. Fine.” Jensen walked toward the door. “So much for wanting to protect me. Goodbye, Jared.” Jensen opened the door and stepped out, leaving Jared’s stunning mansion. He did after all need to talk to Bob Murray about his plan.
“Jensen, come back!”
Jensen had just walked for a couple of meters when he heard Jared call him. Jensen didn’t even look back. He kept walking. But Jared managed to catch up and suddenly he was beside Jensen.
“Wait,” Jared said amidst his gasping breaths and grabbed Jensen’s upper arm. “You’re right. I’m completely to blame here. And I-I was the one being coward. Not you. I’m so sorry.”
Jensen looked at Jared in the eye. “Jared, please let go of my arm. Okay, you’re forgiven, but I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
“God, you still don’t understand. I have liked you for years.”
“So what? You can’t force someone to like you back.”
“I will do anything to make up every wrong I’ve done to you.”
“It doesn’t mean I’ll like you back in the end.”
“I didn’t ask you to. I swear. All right? Shall we go back now?”
Jensen checked his watch and looked away to the road and back to Jared. “I do actually have to go. I promise to talk to the Murrays about something.”
Jared looked worried. “Jensen, it’s not safe for you to go anywhere, let alone the Murrays’ house. You just experienced yourself.”
“But they are going to worry if I don’t show up. And I can’t call them, either, since my cellphone got tossed away “
Jared seemed to dwell on it for a moment. Then he said, “Okay, I’ll take you now to the hotel. You stay inside your room at all times and wait for me. Don’t go out. I will pick up the Murrays and take them to the hotel as well. We are going to have lunch there. How about that?”
“Hmm. That’s a good idea. All right.”
“Remember, you just open the door to me, okay?”
Jensen was a bit taken aback by Jared’s demeanor. He’d never guessed the extent of the man’s protective strike toward him. But Jensen felt he was about to find out more after this.
Part 2: https://iorhael-dreams.livejournal.com/140848.html