Puppy Love - 10. Chapter 10

Blaine hated to take Mark’s truck, but it was the only working vehicle and Blaine knew that he needed to leave. Throwing his stuff into the bed of the truck, Blaine wrenched the door open and climbed in. He was thankful to see that Mark had left the keys in the ignition. He chanced a last look at the house as he started the truck up and wasn’t really surprised when the front door opened and Levi walked out. Afraid he would break down; Blaine threw the truck in reverse and pressed down on the gas, causing a rain of gravel to fly out from beneath the tires. He forced himself not to look in the rearview mirror as he drove away from Levi and the comfort of what had become home.

Blaine didn’t know how long he had been driving when he pulled over on the side of the road. He had no clue where he was going, but he knew that he had to get away from Levi. He figured that once he was gone that Levi would be safe, and at the moment that was all he really cared about. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed in the number that he had hoped to never have to dial again. He cringed the moment he heard Christian’s voice answer.

“So, did you get my present?”

“Yeah, I got it. You can leave Levi alone now Christian. I’m not with him anymore.”

“You thought that it would be that easy, did you? C’mon Blaine, you don’t think I’m that big of an idiot, do you? You leaving just shows me how much he means to you.”

“Leave him alone Christian, I mean it.”

“Oh, but that takes all of the fun out of it Blaine. Just because you walked away doesn’t mean that I’m going to disappear.”

“Levi and Mark have nothing to do with this! Why are you going after them?!” Blaine yelled into the phone.

“Why the hell do you think? They mean something to you Blaine, so what better way to hurt you. On top of that, they were helping you. After everything that you did, they still helped you. If nothing else then they will pay for that.”

“You are one sick fuck Christian, stay away from them; otherwise you’re going to be dealing with me.”

“Blaine, quit trying to act like the tough guy, we both know that you are no match for me and never have been,” Christian said.

Blaine’s mouth dropped open and just as he started to say something he heard a dial tone buzzing in his ear. Shutting his phone off, Blaine sat there in shock for a minute. He had been sure that by leaving he could make it so that Levi was safe, and he couldn’t believe that Christian was still going to go after him. Putting Mark’s truck in gear, he had just pulled back onto the road when his cell phone rang from beside him. Glancing at the caller ID he was relieved when he seen that it was Levi. His decision made, he answered the phone just as he pulled a U-turn and headed back the way he’d come.

“Blaine, are you there?” Levi asked.

”Yeah, I’m here,” Blaine said morosely.

“Come back to the house Blaine, we’ll figure everything out. Even if you don’t want to be with me anymore, you can still stay here.”

“Levi, if I come back, I won’t just be living there.”

“Blaine…” Levi started, only to be stopped by a voice that chilled Blaine to the bones.

“So, you must be the new fuck toy,” Christian’s voice said from the background.

***

Skidding into the driveway, Blaine threw Mark’s truck into park. Throwing the truck door open, Blaine ran towards the house and felt his heart drop clear to his toes as he reached the open doorway. Stepping into the house his spirits plummeted even further as he looked around the trashed living room. The couch where Mark had been sitting was now pushed across the room. Not seeing Mark anywhere he hurriedly looked through the rest of the house. Neither Levi nor Mark was in any of the bedrooms. Heading into the kitchen Blaine tripped over something and looked down to see a leg lying across the doorway. Blaine hurried into the room and fell to his knees beside an unconscious Mark.

“Mark? Buddy? C’mon Mark,” Blaine said, sliding over and taking Mark’s head into his lap. He heaved a sigh of relief when Mark started to stir softly.

”Blaine?” Mark’s voice said softly.

“Yeah buddy, I’m here. Mark, where’s Levi?”

“He’s gone. Christian came,” Mark said brokenly, unable to put full sentences together. “Knocked out. Christian took Levi. Couldn’t stop him.”

“Christian has Levi,” Blaine said in a whisper, trying to make himself believe those words and trying to expel the fear that took over his entire body. He did not know what Christian hoped to gain by taking Levi, but Blaine was sure as hell going to find out. Moving out from under Mark, Blaine stood up and walked over to the phone. Picking it up he held it to his phone and was not really all that surprised when there was no dial tone. Cussing, Blaine hurried out the front door and made his way across the lawn to where Mark’s truck sat, the engine still running and the door standing wide open. Reaching in, he grabbed his cell phone off of the seat and quickly dialed 911 as he headed back into the house where he had left Mark.

When the dispatcher answered, Blaine quickly explained the situation and hung up despite being told to wait on the line until the police arrived. Walking into the bathroom, Blaine grabbed a washcloth and wet it before making his way back into the kitchen and placing the cool cloth against Mark’s forehead. He felt so useless just sitting there, but he had no idea what to do. He wanted to go after Levi, but he couldn’t very well leave Mark alone either. He was finally beginning to realize the truth of why he had walked out when he had. Sure, he had wanted to protect Levi, but the main reason he had run was that he wanted to protect himself. He felt so selfish when he thought of it that way, but he knew that it was the truth. He only hoped that Levi would forgive him, but first he had to find out where Christian had taken him and do whatever it took to get Levi back home.

Blaine was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his cell phone ringing. Looking around he tried to remember where he had set his phone after calling the police. Following the sound of the ringing, Blaine found his phone sitting on the sink in the bathroom. Grabbing the phone, Blaine only spared a glance at the caller ID before quickly hitting the talk button.

“Where is he,” Blaine said quickly.

“You mean you don’t know?” Christian’s voice came through the phone.

“You better not have hurt him,” Blaine growled, his free hand forming a fist.

“Now why would you think I would do something like that?” Christian asked sarcastically.

“Where did you take him Christian?”

“Why the hell would I tell you that? You think you’re going to be able to save him Blaine? You could never save anything, you should already know that.”

“I swear Christian, if you hurt him,” Blaine started, only to be interrupted.

“You’ll do what?” Christian growled. “You’ll hurt me? You could never hurt me Blaine, you know that. When you figure it out, come and find us, we’ll be waiting for you. At least I will be, not sure about your newest little fuck toy.”

“God damn you Christian,” Blaine started only to be answered by silence. Pulling the phone away from his ear, Blaine looked at the display and threw the phone across the room, watching as it shattered against the wall. Christian had hung up on him, again.

The sound of sirens broke the still silence of the morning and Blaine hurried to the front door to let the paramedics in. He was still having a hard time grasping the concept that the night’s events were not just a horrible nightmare. He wished that he could just wake up and have Levi curled up next to him, the way he’d woken up for the past couple of weeks.

The police arrived at the small house shortly after the paramedics and Blaine stood off to the side and watched them look over his best friend. The cops had asked him what had happened at the house, and Blaine hated that he could not tell them, because the truth was, other than the few words that Mark has uttered, he had no clue exactly what had happened. After announcing that Mark would be fine, the paramedics packed up their stuff and hurried out the door in response to a call that had come in about a car accident.

After the paramedics were gone, Blaine helped Mark to his feet and led him over to one of the cushioned kitchen chairs. After making sure his friend was as comfortable as possible, Blaine walked over and leaned against the counter, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

“Mr. Branson, I’m Officer Harris, can you tell me what happened here tonight?”

“Well, I don’t remember a whole lot,” Mark answered shakily. Despite his basically clean bill of health, Mark was still visibly shook up and Blaine could tell that he was not looking forward to the officer’s questions.

“Anything that you can tell us would be a big help right now,” Officer Harris told him, shooting a glance over to the other officer who had already introduced herself to Blaine as Officer Redding.

“Well, Blaine had left about twenty minutes before. His ex, Christian, had been by my house and had broken my kitchen window. When I came over here to make sure Blaine and Levi were alright, I found the tires on all their vehicles slashed.”

“How can you be sure that you know who it was?” Officer Redding said softly, shooting a glare at Blaine. Blaine knew that look, and he hated the shivers that went up his spine. Officer Redding clearly didn’t like the fact that Blaine had been in a relationship with another man.

“It was just a gut feeling at first,” Mark answered, his voice quivering. “After I came over here though, Blaine found a note on the windshield of Levi’s truck.”

“And where is this note?” Officer Harris asked.

“It was on the living room table, I’m not sure if it’s still there or not.”

Without waiting to hear anything else, Blaine walked out of the kitchen and went into the living room. It took him a few minutes, but he finally found the note that Christian had left. During the altercation it had found its way underneath the couch. Walking back into the kitchen, Blaine quickly handed the note to the man before taking up his stance at the counter.

“How many people have handled this note?” The officer asked Blaine and Mark.

“Me, Mark, and Levi,” Blaine answered.

“Well, we’ll check it for fingerprints, but there is a good chance that we won’t find any. The perp could have worn gloves, plus, with the three of you having handled it, any prints that were there could have been tampered with. Have you had any other problems with the man in question?”

Taking that as his cue, Blaine spoke up, telling the officers the details of when his truck windows had been bashed in. He was somewhat relieved when it was Officer Harris that continued to ask the questions because Blaine wasn’t sure he liked the gleam that seemed to enter the woman officer’s eyes. He told them about calling the police for his windows and about the restraining order that he had started the proceedings for.

“Have you had any contact with this man, this Christian Carmichael?”

“He called my cell phone tonight, after he took Levi,” Blaine answered.

“Could I see your phone?” Officer Harris asked.

“Yeah, but you’re not going to find anything in it,” Blaine said as he walked over and picked up the pieces from the floor. “I kind of threw it against the wall.”

“So, you have violent tendencies,” Officer Redding spoke up. “Was Mr. Carmichael ever a target of your anger?”

“If you’re asking me if I ever hit him, then the answer is no,” Blaine said defensively.

“I don’t think that’s what Officer Redding meant,” Harris said quickly, shooting a silencing look at his partner. “We’re just trying to get all of the facts straight so that we can find Mr. Turner quicker.”

“I’m sorry, but hearing that my ex had just kidnapped my boyfriend didn’t put me in the best of moods.”

“Mr. Riley, where were you when all of this was happening?” Harris asked.

“I was about ten miles away and had just turned around to come back. After what Christian had done earlier, I was afraid that the longer I stayed here the more danger Levi was in, so I left. I called Christian and he told me how wrong I was. After I headed back I called to tell Levi to make sure the doors were locked and to make sure he was okay and that was when Christian showed up. I remember, because I very distinctly remember him referring to Levi as my new ‘fuck toy’,” Blaine said, spitting the words through clenched teeth.

“So you weren’t here when he was taken?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know that it was your ex that took him?”

“Mark told me when I got here that Christian had Levi.”

“But, he was knocked out, so there’s no way that he would know that Mr. Carmichael actually took your current boyfriend,” Redding said scornfully.

“Officer Redding,” Harris said sharply, motioning with his head towards the door. Holding her head high, his partner walked through the kitchen and out the front door, followed closely by Officer Harris. Within moments Harris was back.

“I’m sorry gentlemen; we’re going to have to wait for another officer to arrive on the scene. I already radioed in and they will be here shortly,” he said before walking back outside.

“What the hell is that all about?” Mark said after the officer was gone.

“From the looks that I’ve gotten and the comments that have been made, I think we have one homophobic officer on our hands,” Blaine said, hating that his sexuality made it so that he was treated like less than a human being. He was grateful though that Officer Harris had recognized what was going on and had taken action to set things right.

Blaine was not sure how long he and Mark waited for the other officer to get there and he was impatient. He knew that the longer everything took, the less chance he had in finding out where Christian had taken Levi. Just as Officer Harris came in with the new officer, Blaine was startled by a phone ringing. Realizing that it was the house phone he ran into the living room and grabbed the cordless off of its cradle.

“Hello?”

“Blaine?” The voice answered weakly.

“Levi? Babe? Is that you?” Blaine exclaimed, almost dropping the phone.

“Yeah, it’s me. Can you come and get me?”

“Of course I’ll come and get you. Where are you? Levi? Are you okay?” Blaine said, the panic in his voice moving over the line.

“I’m fine, or I will be, just come get me Blaine, please?”

“Sure, just tell me where you are. Where’s Christian?” Blaine asked, knowing that there was no way that Levi would be able to call him if Christian was anywhere near, unless it was some kind of a trap that Christian had set up.

“I’m not sure, he took off.”

“K babe, just tell me where you are and I’ll come and get you.”

Blaine listened closely as Levi explained where he was. He didn’t know how he’d managed to get away from Christian, but he was so grateful that Levi was okay that he wasn’t going to ask any more questions at the moment. Hanging up the phone he turned to the two officers.

“I have to go,” Blaine said, turning and walking out the front door.

“Was that Mr. Turner?”

“Yeah, he’s at a small café a couple of towns over.”

“Well sir, we have to go with you, you can either ride in the back of the squad car or we can follow you,” Officer Harris said.

“Then follow me, but hurry the hell up,” Blaine said, suddenly realizing that he couldn’t leave Mark at the house by himself. He still had no idea about how Levi had gotten away from Christian, but he was not going to take the chance that Christian would come back and find Mark alone in the house. Heading back into the kitchen, Blaine helped his friend to his feet and led him out of the house. After helping him into the truck, Blaine climbed up into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut. The relief that he felt flooded his body, making him spin the wheels of the truck as he headed towards the café and his life.