The sound of yelling in the hall peaked her interest as she slowly walked up to her door and listened. One of the voices was unmistakable, it was Devon James. She was yelling at someone that Kathryn Hayes couldn’t make out. Kathryn’s curiosity got the best of her and she reached down and opened her door just a crack and peered out into the hall.

"You are not moving in here," Devon James said, "so get your shit and get out."

"Wait a second," a man responded, "who do you think you are?"

"I’m the person that’s evicting you," Devon replied as Kathryn watched. Smiling, Kathryn rolled her eyes. What was Devon’s problem. The guy hadn’t done anything but move into the apartment. Why was Devon reacting so strongly to it. Was it because it was Julia Taylor’s apartment? So what? Julia Taylor was nothing more than a backstabbing whore who deserved what she got. Still, Kathryn was interested in what was going to happen, so she watched as Devon pulled the man’s door shut, locking him out in the hall.

He looked somewhat surprised by what had just happened and it made Kathryn smile. "Dumb ass," she whispered to herself as she saw Devon return to her own apartment, leaving the man stunned in silence and standing in the hall alone.

He glanced up and down the hall but did not see Kathryn watching him. She rolled her eyes at him. "Weak and pathetic," she said to herself. "He’s probably a fag," she thought as she shut her door. Smiling, she returned to her bedroom and sat down on her bed surrounded by a sea of pictures.

Glancing down all around her, she smiled, but her smile soon turned into a frown when she noticed a single picture staring back at her. "You sneaky little bitch," she said as she grabbed the picture. "I thought I got rid of you," she added as she reached for a pair of scissors on the nightstand beside the bed.

"No worries, I cut you out of everyone’s life before, I can do it again," she said as she snipped off a portion of the picture and let it fall onto the floor amongst many other scattered pieces. She smiled again. "There, that’s better," she said as she placed the photograph on the bed with the others.

Kathryn Hayes sat there and looked at all of the pictures on the bed, pictures without Julia Taylor. "That’s so much better," she repeated with a smile.

"Who is he?" Kathryn Hayes questioned as she stared out of Devon James’ peephole at the apartment across the hall. "Have you seen him? What does he look like? When did he move in? How come I didn’t know about it?" She questioned.

"Slow down," Devon said as she sat on the couch with the remote control in her hand. "His name is Drake, I think. I don’t know who he is and I forgot what he looks like. All I know is that he moved in this morning."

"How could you not know what he looks like?" Kathryn questioned as she continued to stare through the peephole at his door.

"How the fuck would I know?" Devon rejoined. "I don’t spend all of my time staring out of the peephole like you."

"I don’t spend all of my time doing that either," Kathryn said over her shoulder.

"Sure you don’t," Devon responded as she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Kathryn said as she turned away from the door. "I’m sure we’ll run into him sooner or later. I mean, he lives on our floor."

"So what? James lives down the hall and we never see him, do we?" She questioned.

"That’s true," Kathryn said with a frown. "I haven’t seen James in weeks. Maybe somebody should go into his apartment and check on him or something."

"He’s out of town on business," Devon responded.

"How do you know?" Kathryn questioned. "For all you know, he could have hung himself days ago."

"You’re such a morbid bitch," Devon noted.

"I am not morbid!" Kathryn responded.

"But you’re still a bitch," Devon laughed.

When Kathryn Hayes stepped out of Devon‘s apartment, she noticed that her newest neighbor had left his door open. As was usually the case, curiosity got the best of her and she walked to the apartment and peered inside.

"Hello," she said softly as she noticed that Gage Matthews was standing inside along with the new guy. "How’s everything going?" She questioned. She realized that Gage’s face looked serious and she glanced from him to the new guy.

"It’s going pretty good," he responded.

"He just found something of Julia’s" Gage commented.

Kathryn glanced at Gage then back at the new guy. "Something of Julia’s"

"Yeah, it looks like a diary and some letters and stuff," the new guy said as he motioned to Gage, whom he had given the stuff to.

"What?!" Kathryn nearly screamed as she advanced toward Gage. "Let me see those," she said as she reached for Julia’s diary. Gage backed away.

"Not so fast," he said as he held Julia’s personal effects behind him. "These are Julia’s private thoughts, I don’t think she’d want anyone to read them," he said, hoping that Kathryn would just back off. He wasn’t sure about what Julia had written in the diary and he’d only just gotten the new guy to give them to him.

Kathryn glanced at him curiously. "What do you think she wrote about?" She questioned.

"I don’t know," Gage responded as he headed for the door, "but I don’t think we should be reading through her diary," he added as he left.

Kathryn Hayes paused for a moment and watched him go. She wouldn’t press the issue any further, not in front of a complete stranger, but she would get to the bottom of it. That much she was certain of.

"Gage, open the door. I know you’re in there, I can smell the weed in the hallway," Devon said as she stood in the hallway knocking on his door. "Open the door dumb ass!"

"Alright, alright," Gage Matthews said as he opened his door. He smiled at Devon, his eyes small. He had a stupid expression on his face and a joint in his hand. He handed it to her. "Want a hit?" He questioned.

"Fuck you, I don’t do drugs, loser," Devon said as she pushed his hand away. "Put a shirt on, I need your help."

"What do you need?" Gage questioned as he puffed on the joint and blew the smoke in her face.

Devon waved the cloud of smoke out of her face and rolled her eyes. "I dropped my cell phone down the incinerator chute."

Her response caused Gage to laugh uncontrollably. "How the hell did you do that?" He questioned as he puffed on the joint again, thoroughly amused by Devon’s situation.

"I don’t know," Devon responded. "I was holding it in one hand and trying to push my bag down the chute with my other hand and I lost my grip on the phone. Will you just go put a shirt on and help me find it?"

"You want me to dig around in the incinerator for your phone?" Gage questioned.

"Do you have something better to do?" Devon asked.

"Yeah, get high," Gage responded.

"You can get high later," Devon informed him, "right now you’re going to put a shirt on and you’re coming downstairs with me to find my cell phone."

"How is this my problem?" Gage questioned.

"Because I said so," Devon explained. "Go put a fucking shirt on already."

"Fine, fine," Gage said as he shook his head. "Don’t get your panties in a twist, I’ll help you."

"Just shut up and get dressed," Devon demanded.

"Jesus, I’m going, I’m going," Gage responded.

"This is disgusting," Gage Matthews said as he stood amongst a sea of trash bags. "I can’t take this anymore," he said. His high was quickly dissipating and he was starting to fully realize the situation that he had gotten himself into.

"Just keep looking," Devon demanded. "I know it has to be here somewhere," she said.

"I think I’m going to throw up," Gage warned as he put his hand up to his mouth.

"You’re such a little girl," Devon sighed. "Where’s your phone?" She asked with desperation.

"You can’t have my phone," Gage responded, shaking his head.

"No, dummy. Call my number with your phone and we’ll be able to hear it ring," she explained.

"Why didn’t we think of that earlier?" Gage questioned as he pulled out his phone and dialed Devon’s number and waited. It took a moment, but they heard the familiar ring tone and Devon glanced in that direction.

"There it is," she said with relief as she waded through trash bags in that direction and grabbed it. She paused for a moment, staring down at the bags.

"Well, it’s about time. Let’s get the hell out of here," Gage pleaded.

"Wait a second," Devon said as she reached down and picked up a book.

"What? You’re picking through other people’s trash now?" Gage questioned.

"No, stupid. It’s a diary," Devon explained as she glanced down at it. "It’s Julia’s diary."

Gage Matthews leaned back on his couch and sighed. "Stupid, stupid stupid," he said to himself as he took another sip from his bottle of wine. "She found the fucking diary. Now what are you going to do?" He questioned himself.

He hadn’t thought about what going down to the incinerator with Devon would entail. In retrospect, he should have gone down himself and found the phone for her. He knew she would read the diary and she would discover that he had an affair with Julia. What would he tell everyone when they found out? How would he explain it?

He sighed and stood up after hearing a knock on the door. "Who is it?" He questioned as he shuffled in that direction.

"It’s Kathryn," the voice responded.

Gage wasn’t in the mood for company right now. He had to come up with a plan to get the diary back before Devon read it. He opened the door anyway. Kathryn Hayes smiled at him. She was holding two bottles of wine.

"I was all alone and bored," she said, "so I thought I’d come over and hang out if you have nothing better to do."

Gage Matthews looked at Kathryn, then averted his attention to the wine. She was right, he had nothing better to do. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a way to steal the diary back from Devon. Getting drunk was probably the best way to get through the eventual turmoil. He welcomed Kathryn into his apartment.

"Where are the glasses?" Kathryn questioned as she stepped inside.

"In the cabinet over the sink," Gage replied as he returned to the living room and turned on the radio.

"So, what did you do with Julia’s diary?" She questioned from the kitchen. "Have you read it?" She asked.

Gage sighed. "No, I haven’t read it," he replied. He didn’t want to tell Kathryn that he had thrown it away because then she would have asked why he didn’t just give it to Jesse, and he didn’t want to get into all of that.

"Why not?" Kathryn questioned as she entered the living room with two large glasses of wine. "Aren’t you the least bit curious?" She asked as she handed him his glass.

"Not really," Gage Matthews responded as he took a big sip from his glass.

"Really?" Kathryn asked as she watched him intently. "Not even the least bit?"

"Nope," Gage answered as he took another sip.

Kathryn set her glass down and stared at him. "So where is it?" She questioned. "Come on, you have to let me read it," she pleaded.

"No way," Gage said as he shook his head. He was feeling a little lightheaded and he suddenly wanted Kathryn to go away. He didn’t want to spend another night listening to her go on and on. He leaned forward and the room began to spin. "Whoa," he said as he paused. "I don’t feel so good . . ."

"Of course you don’t," Kathryn Hayes responded as she watched him. "I put GHB in your drink, silly."

"You what?" Gage questioned as he glanced at his glass. He looked over at Kathryn.

"Why did you do that?" He asked, trying desperately to maintain focus.

"Because I want that goddamned diary," Kathryn said with a smile.

"You can’t have it," Gage said.

"Oh please," Kathryn sighed. "You just don’t want anyone to find out that you fucked poor innocent Julia."

Gage was quickly slipping away. "How did you . . ."

"How did I find out? Oh come on, Gage, I know everything," Kathryn responded with a smirk. "I even know some things that you don’t know," she explained. "Like, for instance, you went and got that slut knocked up. And did you know that she got an abortion?" Kathryn questioned. "What a hoe bag."

"Kathryn," Gage said as he started to lose his balance and teeter off the couch. "How much GHB did you give me?" He asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Kathryn questioned. "You’re the one who takes the drugs, you tell me," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial. I used this whole bottle," she explained.

"Oh my God," Gage said as he fell onto the floor. "What did you do?"

"Where is the diary?" She questioned.

"I don’t have it," Gage responded.

"Where is it, Gage?"

"Fuck you," Gage mumbled before his eyes rolled back in their sockets and his body was overcome with violent spasms.

Kathryn Hayes shook her head as she watched him. "Damn," she said softly. "Damn it all to hell," she sighed.

"Jesus Christ, it’s smells horrible on this floor," Jesse Martinez said as he stood outside of Devon James’ apartment. He glanced around as he covered his nose, and knocked on the door. Devon answered a moment later.

"What is that smell?" Jesse questioned when he saw her.

"I don’t know," Devon said, "it’s coming from Gage’s apartment. I called the maintenance guy."

"Where’s Gage?" Jesse questioned as he stepped inside.

"I don’t know, he won’t answer the door. I don’t think he’s home," she explained as she shut her door and followed Jesse into the living room. "I haven’t seen him in a week."

"He has money. Why doesn’t he just hire someone to clean his place?" Jesse questioned.

"Who knows why Gage does what he does, or what he doesn’t do in this case," Devon said as she shook her head. "So what’s up?" She questioned as she sat down on the couch.

"That detective came to see me again," Jesse explained.

"Detective Skubisz?" Devon questioned. "What did he want?"

"He wanted me to confess to Julia’s murder," Jesse said as he sat down beside her.

"That son of a bitch," Devon said, "we should sue him for harassment."

"Don’t worry about it," Jesse said with a sigh.

"No, he can’t keep harassing you like this," Devon explained. "He’s out of control and so is that partner of his, that Nakamura bitch. I’m gonna knock-a her out if she gets in my face again. Do you know that she flat out told me that she believes that I killed Julia?"

"They’re just doing their jobs," Jesse explained.

"Well they’re doing it wrong," Devon said as she heard a noise in the hall and got up from the couch and crossed over to the door, staring out of the peephole.

"Where are you going?" Jesse asked.

"Nowhere," Devon said as she watched Drake Talbot step out of his apartment and walk down the hall. She opened the door slightly and saw him knock on James’ door. A moment later the door opened and Drake stepped inside. Devon shut the door and smiled as she turned back to the living room.

"What was that all about?" Jesse questioned.

"Kathryn’s been here every day this week," Devon explained. "I think her nosiness is rubbing off on me. I swear that new guy is gay," Devon said. "He goes to visit James every day."

"So what?" Jesse questioned.

"So James is single and from what Kathryn and I can tell, so is Drake," she explained. "They live alone and they’re both attractive men. What do they do every day in James’ apartment?" She asked.

"They both work at NYU," Jesse explained. "James is an English professor and Drake is his assistant."

"How do you know?" Devon questioned.

"Because I don’t spy on people through peepholes," Jesse explained. "I actually talk to them."

"Screw you," Devon said with a smile.

"What’s going on?" Devon James questioned as she stepped out of her apartment. She saw the police officers in the hallway outside of Gage Matthews’ apartment. Jesse Martinez followed her outside and stood next to her.

"There’s nothing to see here," a police detective said. He was standing with his back to them, but as he turned around, he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Devon, Jesse. How nice to see the two of you," he said.

"Skubisz," Devon said with a sigh. "What are you doing here? Trying to pin another murder on innocent people?"

Szymon Skubisz laughed. "It’s funny that you say that," he said as he shook his head and took a step forward. "What do you know about Gage Matthews?" He questioned.

"What about him?" Devon questioned.

"Well, he’s dead," Szymon responded.

"He’s what?" Devon James questioned.

"Are you serious?" Jesse Martinez inquired as he tried to look past Szymon and into the apartment. "What happened?"

"That’s what I’d like to know," Szymon said. "When is the last time you saw him?"

"About a week ago," Devon explained. "I accidentally dropped my cell phone down the trash chute and he helped me find it."

"I haven’t seen him for about a week," Jesse admitted.

Down the hall, Kathryn Hayes opened her door and stepped out. "What’s going on?" She questioned as she walked toward them.

"Gage is dead," Devon responded.

"Oh my God!" Kathryn said. "What happened?"

"Look folks, just go back into your apartments. If we have any questions for you, we’ll knock on your doors, but we need this hallway clear for the officers and medical examiners," he explained.

"Was it murder?" James asked from the other end of the hall. Devon, Jesse and Kathryn glanced at him. Szymon Skubisz turned in his direction.

"What makes you think it was murder?" Szymon questioned curiously.

"I’m just wondering," James said. Drake Talbot was standing next to him. "We’ve already had one murder in this building."

"We’re still investigating," Szymon said as the medical examiner began to roll the body out on a gurney. He stopped by Szymon and whispered to him.

"Looks like an overdose," he said. "We’ll know more when we get him back to the morgue," he explained.

"Keep me informed," Szymon said as he glanced both ways at the crowd of onlookers.

"I can’t believe Gage is dead," Devon James said as she sat in her living room wearing in a neatly pressed black blazer with black slacks. "During the entire service I just kept thinking about how much he annoyed me, but at the same time how much I actually enjoyed hanging out with him," she explained.

"I know what you mean," Jesse Martinez said with a sigh. "It’s strange now one day someone can be in your life and how the next day they’re gone." He glanced away. "It was the same with Julia," he sighed.

"I know," Devon said with a nod. "I just wish I could have told him how much I actually liked him," she explained.

"I think he knew," Jesse said as he glanced at her.

"You think so?" Devon questioned. "All I ever did was treat him like shit. I never told him that I had these feelings for him," she explained, "and now I never will. It was different for you and Julia. She actually knew that you loved her, but I never told Gage . . . Maybe if I did, this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe I could have helped him."

"Don’t do this to yourself," Jesse Martinez said softly. "You had nothing to do with what happened to Gage. The medical examiner said it was an overdose. Gage was into drugs. It was a risk he was taking every time he did that stuff."

"I know," Devon responded, "but I can’t help but to feel like there’s something I could have done."

"We’ll never know," Jesse sighed. "I felt the same way when Julia died. I stood up every night wondering if there was something I could have done, but that way of thinking doesn’t help," Jesse explained. "It’s dangerous to start thinking about what might have been because deep down we know that it’ll never happen. All we can do is focus on what we can do now," he told her.

"I don’t know what I want to do now," Devon said.

"Me either," Jesse agreed, but deep down in his heart, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to be with Julia Taylor.

“Jesse?” Kathryn questioned as she pushed the door open and stepped into the apartment. “I hope you don’t mind, the door was open.” She glanced around quietly before calling out to him again. “Jesse?”

Stepped further into the apartment, Kathryn glanced at the table beside the kitchen and saw her basket lying there. Beside the basket, one single cupcake had been set aside, untouched and uneaten.

She smiled. Jesse had found her gift. She wanted so desperately for him to like her. She knew that she could help him through his grief and he would grow to love her just as much as she had grown to love him.

“Jesse? Are you home?” She questioned.

Stepping further into the living room, she took in the sight of his painting of Julia. It really was a beautiful painting. She admired Jesse’s skill. The way he painted her was beautiful. Still, the eyes were wrong and she knew that it hurt him more than anything that he couldn’t capture them correctly.

Standing in front of the painting, Kathryn imagined that she could pose for Jesse one day and that he would memorialize her with an equally beautiful painting. A sound in the bedroom caught her off guard and she froze for a moment to listen.

“Jesse?” She called out as she turned toward the bedroom. “It’s Kathryn. I came to check on you,” she explained as she neared the bedroom.

As she entered the bedroom, she realized that it was much darker than the rest of the apartment. The heavy drapes on the windows were pulled closed and only a tiny crack of light entered the room. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that Jesse wasn’t there.

She turned to leave, but she heard a faint whimper from the bathroom and steeled herself as she stepped toward the door. “Jesse?” She questioned as she reached out and placed her hand on the door to the bathroom and slowly pushed it open.

A gasp escaped her lips.

Jesse Martinez glanced up at Kathryn and smiled. His wrists were crimson red and his face was stark white.

“I got your cupcakes, Julia,” he said, his voice low and devoid of life. “You came back for me,” he smiled, “you came back for me . . ."

"Oh my God, Jesse, what have you done?" Kathryn questioned with horror.

"Thanks a lot," Cecilia Nakamura said as she handed the vendor her money and turned away from his stand, hot dog in hand. Sge took a bite as she approached Szymon Skubisz. He had been talking on the phone, but he snapped it shut as she approached.

"What’s up?" She questioned before taking another bite.

"Just got a call from the M.E.’s office," he responded. "Jesse Martinez committed suicide this morning."

"What?" Cecilia questioned with surprise. She actually had to paused to swallow her food so that she wouldn’t choke. "He killed himself?"

"His neighbor found him in the bathroom. Apparently, he cuts his wrists. They rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late, he died in the ambulance."

"Jesus Christ," Cecilia sighed. "He was the prime suspect in Julia Taylor’s case," she noted.

"Yeah, and any chance we had of a conviction in the case just flew out of the window," he sighed. "This is just great, another unsolved murder."

"Don’t take it too hard," Cecilia said, "the case was drying up anyway. All we had was circumstantial evidence. We couldn’t place Martinez as the killer."

"Still," Szymon said as they began to walk down the street. "I can’t help but to feel like there was something we missed."

"What do you mean?" Cecilia questioned.

"I don’t know, I can‘t explain it," Szymon said as they walked. "I just feel like something was supposed to happen that didn’t," he said as a young man stepped right into his path. He bumped into him and shook his head with frustration. "Hey kid, why don’t you watch where you’re going," he said.

"I’m sorry," the young man responded as he glanced at Szymon.

"Hey Cayden," his friend called out as he approached them. "Are you okay? Is this guy bothering you?"

Szymon regarding the young man’s friend with a curious expression.

"I’m fine Mason," Cayden said softly as he glanced back at Szymon again. "Let’s go," he added as they started to walk away.

Szymon Skubisz paused for a moment and glanced back at the young man he had bumped into. He watched him until he reached the corner and then the young man glanced back and stared directly at him. For a moment, Szymon Skubisz felt his heart skip a beat.

"Earth to Szymon," Cecilia Nakamura said as she stepped in front of him. "I just got a call from dispatch, we need to move," she said as she started in the opposite direction from where the young man and his friend were walking.

Szymon remained still and watched the young man for a moment until he was lost in the crowd on the busy city street. Szymon sighed as he turned away and started to follow Cecilia Nakamura until he too became just another face lost in the crowd.

"So you’re really doing it," Devon James said as she lingered in the doorway of Kathryn Hayes’ apartment, "you’re really moving out," she said as she stepped inside and picked up one of Kathryn’s stuffed animals and examined it.

"I have to," Kathryn said softly as she crossed over to Devon and smiled. "This is the chance of a lifetime. I get to dance all over Europe," she explained. "I can’t pass that up."

"I know," Devon said with a smile. "I’m just being selfish. I’ve lost everyone, Julia, Gage, Jesse, now you. What happens to me now?" She questioned. "What do I do?"

"You’ll find something to do," Kathryn assured her.

"I don’t know about that. Mrs. Mulberry won’t go out to clubs with me and I’m not exactly the best of friends with her slutty granddaughter Sarah," she added. "What am I going to do?"

"Have you thought about moving?" Kathryn questioned. "This place has nothing but bad memories. You shouldn’t stay here, you should go somewhere else, where you can make new friends and new memories," she explained.

"Maybe you’re right," Devon said with a nod. "I just can’t believe that they’re all gone. Gage overdosed and Jesse committed suicide, and they still don’t know who killed Julia. I wish I could have done something," Devon said, "I wish I could have asked them all why it happened."

"Some secrets you take to your grave," Kathryn Hayes said to her.

"What do you think things would have been like if none of this had ever happened?" Devon questioned. "Do you think everyone would be better off? I mean, what if Gage and Jesse didn't die, what do you think we'd all be doing right now?" She questioned.

"I don't know," Kathryn responded, "but I imagine things would be quite different, don't you?"

Cayden King stood in the hallway and glanced both ways. He was trying to muster enough courage to knock on the door. He had two options, he could walk away and forget about it or he could knock on the door. Despite the fact that everything in him was telling him to walk away, there was a small part of him that actually wanted to knock on the door.

He thought about what it would be like if he did walk away. He would still have to see this person every day. They would still be around one another and they would still run into one another on a regular basis. If he didn’t knock on the door, things between the two of them would be awkward. On the other hand, he really wanted to know what would happen if he did knock on the door. If he didn’t knock on the door, he would never know what might have been, and it was because of that that he reached forward and gave a gentle knock on the door.

He didn’t have to wait long for Drake Talbot to open the door. Drake smiled at him. “Cayden,” he said softly, “You came.”

“Yeah,” Cayden King said softly.

Drake poked his head out of the door and glanced both ways. “Did anyone see you come here? If my father found out about this, he‘d be furious.” He explained, slightly nervous.

“No, I don’t think so,” Cayden responded. “I did exactly what you said, I took the subway all over town.”

“Great,” Drake said as he reached for Cayden’s shirt and pulled him inside of the apartment. He closed the door behind them and pressed Cayden up against the wall, kissing him. Cayden kissed back. The excitement of the situation was overwhelming and he gave in.

Drake pulled away. “God, I wanted to do that for ages,” Drake said with a smile.

“Me too,” Cayden responded. “You know, it’s pretty funny, I almost moved into this apartment,” Cayden explained, “but at the last minute my mother convinced me to move into the dorm, and thank God. I think it was the best decision I ever made,” he said.

“So you’re the reason I almost lost this apartment,” Drake said with surprise. “I had the choice of staying with my father or finding my own place and I tried to get in here but they told me the apartment was rented. A week later they called me back and said it was free.”

“Yeah, I was going to move in up until the last minute. I’m actually kind of glad that I didn’t,” Cayden explained. “After my parents found out that I was gay, they disowned me. I couldn’t afford this place on my own,” he said.

“I can barely afford it,” Drake explained. “My father actually helps with most of the bills,” he explained.

“Then I guess your father isn’t as bad as you make him out to be,” Cayden said.

“No, he’s worse,” Drake laughed. “Man, he would have a coronary if he knew you were here,” Drake said as he leaned in close. “And he’d drop dead on the floor if he knew I was kissing you,” he said before pulling Cayden into another kiss.

“Why can’t you just tell him about us?” Cayden questioned.

“Are you crazy? You don’t know my father,” Drake explained. “He has his career and life to worry about. If word got out that he has a gay son, he’s be finished. That’s why he treats me more like a possession and less like a son,” Drake explained.

“I know people who treat their possessions better than your father treats you,” Cayden noted.

“Forget about my father,” Drake Talbot said as he guided Cayden King into the bedroom. “I’m sure we can think of something else way more interesting,” he explained.

“Lead the way,” Cayden said softly.

"So what do we have?" Detective Szymon Skubisz questioned as he entered the alleyway and joined his partner Cecilia Nakamura. The rain was pouring down on them and quickly getting rid of any evidence that they could collect. He glanced around the crime scene. The responding officers had already cordoned off the area, but a group of on-lookers has already gathered to see New York City’s latest casualty.

"Freaks," Skubisz muttered under his breath. "Look at them, they’re taking pictures," he said. "Hey Lester," he called out to one of the uniformed officers. "Stop standing around, take care of the crowd," he said as he turned to Nakamura.

"The vic is a nineteen-year-old student from NYU," she began as they walked over to the body. "As far as I can tell, he doesn’t like in either of these two buildings," she said. "What we do know if that he can’t fly," she explained.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Szymon questioned as they approached the body.

"It means that he was either pushed or jumped from one of these buildings," Cecilia said. "We’ve got CSI checking out both rooftops, but I have to tell you, Szymon, this kid had no reason to kill himself," she explained. "He was an honor student. He moved here from New Hampshire on a scholarship. He had everything going for him," she explained.

"So you’re thinking this is a homicide?" He questioned.

"What other reason would a perfectly healthy, otherwise normal kid have to jump off of a building and kill himself?" She questioned. "Especially a building he didn’t even live in?"

"I don’t know," Szymon said as he glanced up at the building to his left. "God," he said, "this building is a deathtrap. Julia Taylor, Gage Matthews, Jesse Martinez, and now this kid," he sighed as he glanced up at windows. "Who’s next?"

He turned to the body lying on the ground. "What reason would someone have to kill this poor kid?" He questioned as he glanced down at him. The rain was washing the body clean as Szymon watched. He looked down at the young man’s face. "God," he said softly. "It’s the kid we ran into on the street," he sighed. "What was his name?" He questioned.

"Cayden King," Cecilia Nakamura said softly.