41 This isn't what it looks like

"What are you doing here?" Heath asks again, louder—harsher, like hail raining down on the supposedly empty room.

His head, which has been aching since morning, throbs when the trespasser doesn't turn around to face him.

While still on the floor, the Omega replies, "I'm just getting my stuff. I'll be leaving now."

"Really?" Heath cocks an eyebrow, one finger massaging an aching temple. "/Your/ stuff? In Damon's room?"

When Kaiden doesn't answer, Heath feels anger rising within his gut.

This impudent little slut, he thinks to himself, like hell he'll believe that.

Before he can stop him, Kaiden stands and walks past Heath. He doesn't miss the way Kaiden hurriedly puts something in his pocket, and in his mind, that's enough for him to brand the Omega as a creep and a thief.

With his bad mood worsening by the second,  he chases after Kaiden. He stops the Omega from descending the stairs by yanking his arm backward, making them stumble together.

Heath doesn't make an effort to catch their fall, too busy yelling, "Give me that!"

Kaiden yelps in pain when he lands on his butt, but despite that, he quickly stands up, not daring to look back at the Beta who is still on the floor.

Heath feels his blood pressure rise at being ignored again, so he pushes himself off the floor and follows the Omega without a second thought. He doesn't yell this time—doesn't talk. He only huffs in anger as he reaches a heavy hand towards the Omega three steps below him.

However, just as he's about to make contact, the right shoulder he's aiming for moves to the side. His hand touches air and with the way he's leaning forward, all his weight is pushed to the front.

Gravity does the rest.

The last thought Heath has before everything turns dark is how painful it's going to be.

He doesn't see Kaiden reaching out with a panicked expression on his face, trying to save him from falling.

--

When Damon hears that Heath visited his office but left immediately due to not feeling well, he knows he has to go home to check on him.

Heath has a bad habit of underplaying his sickness, and it's been one of Damon's many concerns since young. On the way to the Lin Manor, he calls the physician to be on standby in case it isn't a 'simple headache.' There's a greater chance that there's more to it than that.

Arriving at his residence, he misses the way Cherry is fidgeting in the living room, not because he doesn't mind—no, but because something else catches his attention.

There's no slow motion, no way to delay the inevitable. In fact, it happens way too fast.

He sees Heath, his lover, roll down the stairs, landing on the bottom with a loud thud. Then, he hears a scream, or is that from two voices?

Damon doesn't know. He's too focused on the one still standing on the stairs.

It feels like forever before he truly grasps what's happening in front of him. His eyes scan the scene again—slowly moving from Heath's unconscious body to Kaiden's outstretched hands.

The Omega is frozen in place, visibly trembling, when he says in a weak voice, "This isn't what it looks like."

From the distance, Damon smells his distress, his panic, and his guilt. The mixed scent of sour strawberry and burnt batteries stirs a storm inside him, an unfamiliar emotion he doesn't have time to name.

He pulls his phone out, calling the doctor. He does so in a calm manner, unlike the torrent he's feeling. Then, without breaking eye contact with the Omega, he calls the cops.

--

Kaiden can't hear anything.

He knows they're saying something, asking him something, but the ringing in his ears is too loud. The light in the interrogation room is bright, unforgiving, leaving him no space to hide. The tears that streak down his cheeks are hot, but even that feels nothing compared to the cold metal on his wrists.

Where is he again?

Ah, right—he's at the police station.

He wants to curl in on himself, to become smaller, because maybe then he'll be able to leave. He wants to lie in his bed, in the safety of his nest, not here surrounded by angry-looking men in uniforms.

The person across from him says something again and only then does he try to focus. He hears the words 'assault' and 'attempted murder' but it doesn't make sense to him.

Are they saying he's a murderer? Are they accusing him of pushing Heath down the stairs?

That's not true. He's not the type to do something like that. This is all just a big, /big/ misunderstanding.

If he tells them what really happened, then they'll let him go. Right, they'll let him go because he did nothing wrong.

He opens his mouth to speak but the words won't come out. He tries again, tries harder, yet all that he utters is a hiccup. The hiccup turns into a sob, and it isn't long before he's bawling. His crying fills the room; his shoulders shake with the intensity of his tears.

The cold metal on his wrists bites his skin when he attempts to wipe his face, another reminded that he's now being branded as a criminal. The person across the table has stopped speaking, watching him with eyes full of indifference.

When the crying dwindles, enough so that Kaiden can speak, the man says, "Look, kid. It'll be easier for you if you just confess."

Kaiden shakes his head, denying his claim. What is there to confess when he did /not/ do anything? How is it his fault when Heath fell on his own?

The man leans back on the metal chair, releasing a tired sigh. "It's bad enough that there's a witness," he says as if he's persuading Kaiden, "but you just had to mess with someone from the Lin family."

Kaiden says nothing, too tired to fight back. The man stares at him for minutes, observing his pitiful form. Silence hangs around them, bouncing on the three walls and the one-way mirror.

When the man is certain that there's nothing more he can do, he stands to leave, but not before saying, "Guess you'll have to spend the night here, kid."

Kaiden slumps on his chair. This time, he doesn't even have the strength to cry.