Jason paced around Grant’s body, panicking, his mind racing with what was going to happen. Horrific memories blinded him, and he struggled to control his breathing. How could this have happened? He would go to prison for this – the same place his stepdad was just murdered in. What if someone there was his best friend? And Jason wasn’t just gay, he was a broadcast gay. You’d need to have none of your senses to not know Jason was gay. What the fuck was he going to do?
Without thinking about it too much, he rushed upstairs and packed a bag. Grant had money in the safe, so he checked that. There was about ten grand in there, so he took it, and he would have money in his own personal account too. His wages went in there, but Grant gave him money each month as well. Grant insisted on paying all the bills, so Jason had a lot saved up. The ready cash would be handy in case he needed to go into hiding. Why he was thinking like he was in a soap opera, he wasn’t sure, but his husband was lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. He needed to get out of here.
Once he had everything, whilst still travelling light, he grabbed his phone from Grant’s office. All the documents from his alleged infidelity were lying on the table, and they would incriminate him, so he scooped them all up. He took the stairs carefully, not wanting to trip as well. Grant was stilllying motionless. But of course he was; his husband was dead.
There was nothing else he wanted from the house. Adrenalin was still coursing through his body, but the crash would come soon. He just needed to decide where he was going. He opened the front door to leave and was stopped in his tracks.
“Jason!”
He turned and saw Grant’s eyes looking at him. They were pleading.
“Help me. Please.”
He dropped his bag on the floor, unsure of what to do. There was no way he was going to leave his husband on the floor without getting him help, but the thought of running appealed to him. Jason took out his phone and called an ambulance. He explained that his husband had fallen down the stairs and needed help.
They made him check Grant’s injuries and insisted Jason didn’t move him. His body was numb as he answered their questions. As the call ended, the sound of the ambulance arriving could be heard in the background.
“You were going to leave me, weren’t you?” asked Grant. His voice was soft and full of hurt.
“I thought you were dead. I was scared.”
“You should go, Jason.”
“What?”
“It’s clear you don’t want to be here. All I’ve ever done is love you, provide for you, and protect you, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. I’m not enough for you.”
Jason sobbed, unable to keep it in.
“Maybe you’ll want to be here with me again one day, and when you’re ready, you know where I’ll be.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m telling you to go, Jason. I don’t want you here when I come back. If I can’t have all of you, then I don’t want any of you.”
Before Jason could respond, the paramedics walked in. Jason had left the door open. There was a flurry of activity around Grant as they checked him over. They added a neck brace and spinal board before they started talking about moving him. It was all just noise to Jason as they worked around him.
“Are you coming, Mr Kincaid?” asked the paramedic.
Before he could speak, Grant cut in.
“My husband needs to stay here right now. I’ll tell you who to call to meet us at the hospital.”
What could Jason say to that? He watched as his Grant was placed on a trolley and wheeled towards the front door.
“Goodbye, Jason!”
The ambulance left with sirens blaring. Jason crumbled into a heap, sobbing. His husband didn’t want him here. He was just another person in his life who’d rejected him. Nobody had wanted him his entire life. There was one exception, though... well, four of them. But he’d fucked that up as well, just like he did with everything.
Jason cried for everything he had lost in his life – his parents, his siblings, his found-family brothers, and now his husband. Even Jane was leaving him. Jason wasn’t good enough for anybody, and he never would be.
Jason opened his phone and scrolled through his contacts, wondering who he could call. He didn’t have anybody. He swiped up the contacts screen, and one name appeared at the top like it was a sign: Charlie Davidson.
Without second-guessing himself, he hit dial, and within a few seconds he heard a voice he never thought he’d hear again. His brother from another mother sounded so happy to hear from him. It was all Jason needed for him to make a decision that would change his life forever.
CHAPTER 1
PATRICK
