Gave's Gone

Gave's gone. You won't see him from now on. He's weak and doesn't deserve my protection anymore.

Gave has been disobeying me for days now. This is brought upon the fact that he met Pete at his lowest, while I'm nowhere to be found. I accept it. I am in the wrong for not being attentive to him. So I did what I always do, remove people from Gave's life who threatened to gain his trust and shatter him even more.

"I told you to leave him to me. Why won't you listen? I'll take care of the rest. Just stay away from him, or I'll be damn mad, and I don't know what more I'll do to you."

Gave is doing it again. He'll start to trust people, hoping they'd understand the world we're in, and once they know, they will not think twice and leave, leaving him devastated and hurt again.

"I only want what's best for you. Can't you see? Pete is no different. If you continue meeting him, he'll soon be caged like you are now."

We are here at our little hideout, the place that knows all Gave's sorrow and the haven where I remove people hurting him. There is only one person that I have no control over, his greatest love, his Papa.

Gave moved slowly, almost without strength, facing Vegas. His eyes are red and hollow, his face bruised all over, and his hands bloodied from the shackles tightened in his wrists. I had the urge to remove him from the cage, free him from his punishment and let him be outside again.

I reached to touch his hands, but he slammed them hard on my palm. I was getting furious now. How come Gave is getting harder to tame these days? I really shouldn't have left him alone to find comfort from Pete.

Blood in my hands, I reached inside my pocket and hid my clenched fist. The soft fabric dried out all that's left of Gave's blood, leaving only a few smears of red.

"I know what you're doing, Vegas!" That was the first time Gave dared to call my name.

"You only want Pete for yourself and are just using me and your protective lies so I wouldn't be close to him. I saw how you look at him like a predator. I want him for myself. I found him first, and I won't hurt him like you plan to do."

That was the end of my patience. The weak Gave should be gone. I will no longer give him a chance to be out again. He'll stay in this cage until he learns I am the only one he needs. Such weaklings don't have a place in this world.

"You should rest now, Gave. I'll wake you up when everything is alright. Don't worry about Pete. He'll soon join you here."

I held my hand in front of Gave's eyes, willing him to close them. I've done this before. When Gave was in high school, he had someone he liked. The thing is, he's only using Gave to get through projects and assignments at school. I should be a hero and get rid of him but Gave never permitted me to.

In the end, I did to him what I hated to do most, make him disappear until he learned his lesson. And I'd willingly do it again, all for his safety and protection.

"Rest well, and I'll take care of Pete. I'll wake you up when he's here so you'll be together." I do not trust anyone, but with Pete, I am certain he'll never hurt Gave, but he'll need to stay in the same cage where I can see them both. That's the least I can do for Gave.

Now I'm on my feet, ready to find Pete and lure him to my cage.

* * * * *

It's never hard finding him. You just need to feel where the positive energy is, the place where the sun doesn't feel like fading, and the feeling is somewhat light and worry-free. That's how I end up finding him in this small alleyway at the back of Gave's faculty.

He's wiggling a broom, ferociously taunting his enemies.

"I thought the ages of brooms as swords have already passed. I guess I was wrong.", I whispered under my breath.

My men here are doing great scaring him. It'll only need a few more seconds before the hero Vegas arrives.

Pete's clumsiness leads him to an injured forehead. It was not my intention to hurt him, not just yet, but he had already done it to himself.

I ordered my men to finally retract and give Pete some space. This was the perfect time I save the damsel in distress and gain his trust.

"Blood." I was about to point out a cut on Pete's forehead when he dropped to the guard, seeming lifeless. If I hadn't been there, I would think my men had done something to him.

"Your job's done here. Let me not see you again."

I bought Pete to the nearest clinic and had him checked by the nurse.

I had flashes of Gave in a hospital bed as I draped a blanket over his beaten body. This was when a gang in school bullied him for being too intelligent and a teacher's favorite.

I see Gave in you, Pete. Maybe you and he are the same. Do you want my protection too?

And although it's hard for me to let go of Gave, he needs this rest to be away from all the madness of the world. And when I've cleaned it up, he'll wake up to a world where no one can harm him anymore.

No. Pete doesn't need my protection. He's not one of us; he will never be part of our world.

Pete finally woke up. It's now time. Let the games begin.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you so much dear readers, for giving me my first 1000 reads. I just had the courage a few days ago and dared to make all my daydreams come alive. I never thought that in a matter of days, I'd have many people read my works.

Let me know if you liked each chapter. Your kind words would indeed fire me up.

Comment your thoughts and wishes for the story, as I want to learn from you too.

God bless your kind soul, my dear readers! 😘😘😘🙏