A Method to my Madness [4/5]
Title: A Method to my Madness
Author:
localjoke
Rating: PG to NC-17, this chapter being PG-13.
Pairing: Ryden sprinkled with Joncer, Gabilliam, and a few others.
POV: 3rd person.
Summary: Officer Jon Walker finds his day filled with an interesting interrogation when they save Brendon Urie, a film student at a local school, from jumping off of the Bay Bridge.
Disclaimer: While this story is based something that I've heard actually happened, I do not own the characters what so ever.
Beta: the ever lurkingunderthehero
Author Notes: Based on a story of a local kid mixed with the Spill Canvas song Natalie Marie and 1cc. This chapter is hot off the press since my loverly beta finished her job early. I'm so proud :'D Lots of crazies in this chapter, you've been warned!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
It was well into the afternoon but the interrogation room was still blinding with lights. Jon and Brendon had managed to get back to the questions while the younger man seemed more relaxed, which meant the next round of interrogation would go smoothly. Notepad in hand; Jon was ready to scribble things down aside from what he’d written down before. The paper read: Brendon Urie. Self-Destructive, bullied, too kind. Troubled youth with puzzling predicament. Believes ‘Ryan’ is fictional due to outside influence. Victim of cruel Prank.
“Now, Brendon.” Jon started, gaze lifting from the paper before him to the man on the other side of table. “How did you find out Ryan wasn’t real?”
Brendon’s hands were lodged between his knees, feet tapping the floor as he tried to word what happened correctly. “My roommate.”
“Gabe told you Ryan wasn’t real?”
Brendon shook his hand, hands slipping out to rub at his jean legs nervously. “Not exactly.”
Jon’s eyebrow arched. “Care to explain?”
“Well, Gabe brought a guy named William Beckett home one day months after Ryan and I stopped talking.”
“So, Willia-“
“No.” Brendon shook his head. “William wasn’t pretending to be Ryan.”
Jon sat back in his chair, chewing on the pencil’s end as he nodded at the younger man.
“Alright, tell me the story.”
It was the beginning of what would be Brendon’s last quarter at school and Gabe brought home a thin, tall man named William. Though Brendon didn’t want to admit it, William brought out the best in Gabe and the roommate he knew became nice, caring, and considerate. Gabe had even been doing more hours at the medical center he was working at, whatever it was called, just make sure the patients were cared for regularly. The older boy had undergone a transformation for the better but, as yin and yang, all good comes with bad and vice versa. While Gabe and William began to take Brendon under their arm he had a feeling that this relationship would not be good – though he liked William and how he’d made Gabe, there was that nagging feeling that something bad was going to come from the two dating. He didn’t know what.
A few days after meeting William, he and Brendon sat on the balcony of the small apartment and played music together. It was nice to have another guitar player around, but the decent evening instantly took a turn for the worse. In the middle of ‘Hey There, Delilah’ his phone vibrated and Brendon stopped to check it, finding a new message from the one person he didn’t expect – Ryan. William noticed the look on his face and frowned.
“You okay, Urie?” He asked, reaching out to pat his friend’s shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s just an old friend I don’t know if I want to talk to.”
William nodded his head and leaned against his guitar, strumming notes at random. “Read it.”
Without a protest Brendon opened the message. ‘I have aim and we need to talk. I’m ryanwitless.’
“I have to go. They want me to aim chat with them.” Brendon said with a sigh, raising his hand for a high five. “Good jam session, though?”
“Definitely.” William returned the high five, “And if you see Gabe, tell him I’m out here?”
“Sure thing.”
Brendon made a bee-line to his room where Gabe was laying on the bed, head shooting to Brendon with a nervous look. “Sorry, dude. I’ll get out of your way.”
Before the younger man could argue Gabe was off his bed and out of the room, leaving Brendon in a stupor. Instead of making a comment about porn he rushed to his laptop, opening up aim and signing on to the chat service – adding Ryan’s screen name to his buddylist. There was a moment of hesitation before he doubled clicked the name, opening up a new IM. Now he couldn’t think of what to say to the other man, staring at an empty IM box with nothing to write in it.
Before he could type, Ryan was sending him an IM which was weird, considering only seven people knew his aim screen name aside from his family – and Ryan was not one of them.
RyanWitless (5:42 pm): Hey. :]
RyanWitless (5:42 pm): Glad to see you online.
Brendon stared at the screen for a moment before typing back.
AbstractSymphany (5:44 pm): how did you get my aim screen name?
RyanWitless (5:45 pm): Gabe gave it to me.
Brendon looked around to see if Gabe was in the room, forehead furrowed in anger or confusion to which he wasn’t sure.
AbstractSymphany (5:47 pm): gabe told me he doesn’t know you. so how did you get my screen name?
RyanWitless (5:48 pm): I met up with him to apologize for lying. He gave me your screen name, I promise.
Ryan Witless is Typing…
As if by random coincidence, Gabe walked into the room looking for something and Brendon turned to him, an angry look on his face. “Gabe, did you meet Ryan and not tell me?”
Gabe froze in place, turning slowly toward Brendon. “I. Yeah, but I didn’t want to say anything because I knew it would upset you. So I gave him your aim screen name.”
Brendon’s face softened, taking a deep breath and nodding his head. “Alright, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying to me again.”
“Nah, he’s a good guy.” Gabe shook his head, waving at his roommate before picking up a pair of sunglasses. “Now have your fun. I’m going to go pester William.”
Brendon turned back to the computer to find Ryan was still typing, shrugging it off because maybe he was doing something on the other end.
AbstractSymphany (5:50 pm): writing a novel over there?
RyanWitless (5:51 pm): Sorry. Had to find my dog’s leash so I can take him for a walk. He’s all over my roommate. Lol.
AbstractSymphany (5:52 pm): you’re leaving already? :(
RyanWitless (5:54 pm): Yeah, sorry. But I’ll be back, I promise.
RyanWitless has signed off.
For a few minutes Brendon just sat at his desk and stared at his laptop before finally getting up to grab something to eat from the kitchen. As he fumbled around in the kitchen he noticed that Gabe and William had left, probably snuck out while he was having his short lived conversation with Ryan. Slowly he began to make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and that feeling of dread began to creep through him again, this time making him stop what he was doing and think about what had just happened.
Ryan. Gabe. Ryan. Dog. William. Gabe.
Slowly the pieces started to fit together in his mind and his body grew hot, hands shaking. There was no way Gabe would be pretending to be Ryan, no way. Gabe was his roommate and he would have noticed sooner if it had been Gabe but it made sense.
Gabe knew him best, Gabe knew he wanted someone special and what he was looking for and Gabe was sneaky enough to pull it off.
No. His mind shouted. No, no, no.
Hours past by and Brendon stayed in the kitchen, gazing at the floor as his mind ran through the possibility over and over again. No, he told himself, his roommate was not that kind of person. Suddenly the door opened and there was Gabe, alone and smiling while Brendon’s heart fell to the open floor – face void of emotion.
“Hey, dude. I just finished taking William home.” He stated, locking the door and tossing his jacket on the kitchen table. “How was your chat with Ryan?”
A lump formed in Brendon’s throat and, at that moment, he didn’t know if he wanted to talk about it with Gabe or simply punch him in the face. Overreacting in this situation would be bad, but he had enough fact behind him to know now that it was Gabe. It was Gabe the whole, fucking time.
“You’re Ryan.”
Gabe’s smiled faded and his eyes seemed guilty. “No, I’m not. He’s real though.”
“You’re Ryan, Gabe.”
It all made sense. The medical clinic had so many patients that Gabe could have taken a photo of and sent to Brendon, so many people he could have stolen the name from. Somewhere out there was a real Ryan with a nice boyfriend and didn’t want him.
“Look, you’re being weird.” Gabe said, turning to head toward the bedroom. “Come talk to me when you’re done with this blame game.”
Brendon’s rage took over, rushing toward the taller man in a fit of anger and knocking him down to the ground, trying to strangle him from behind. “You’re Ryan. You used me, you fucker.”
“Get off!” Gabe shouted, struggling to get the other man off of him. “You’re crazy!”
Crazy. That one word hit Brendon so hard that he stopped, leaning back and quickly moving away from Gabe – as far away as he could get in the small apartment. After a moment he huffed a laugh, shaking his head.
“I’m crazy?” He asked, “You’re the one who isn’t subtle with your schizophrenia. I’d rather be crazy than insane.”
Gabe laughed, getting up off the floor. “Wow, you’re a child. Blaming me for being someone who doesn’t care enough to visit you. You’re too good.”
On the other side of town Spencer and Alex were being shown to Ryan’s ‘visiting room’. Normally Spencer didn’t like taking people with him to meet his crazy best friend, but he figured that seeing the other man might help something in their case if anything. As they walked into the room Alex knew he’d heard the name Ryan before somewhere – but wasn’t sure exactly where off the top of his head – though his mind blanked out of thought when his eyes caught the sight of the man they were there to see. The kid was probably about twenty-one years old, already wearing slight stress wrinkles about his features, with messy hair and dark bags beneath his eyes that made them look browner than the hazel they were originally. While he smiled at Spencer’s presence there was a saddened emptiness to the smile, something hidden behind it that Alex didn’t know – though Spencer did.
“Hey, dude.” Spencer said, taking a seat in one of the chairs the hospital had so strategically placed in the room. “This is Detective Suarez, he’s my partner at the precinct and he’s heard a lot about you.”
“Hi.” Ryan said sheepishly, eyes falling to his hands as they fidgeted in his lap. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” Alex agreed, offering Spencer a confused look as his partner motioned for him to take a seat. He followed his orders.
“So, Ry. How are you holding up?”
Ryan continued to watch his hands like they were the most interesting things in the world, avoiding eye contact with the other men in the room. “Alright. Still don’t want to be here with Gabe around.”
Alex quirked an eyebrow at the comment. “Gabe?”
“Gabe Saporta. His half brother.” Spencer said, waving it off like it was nothing. “He works here when he’s not off at art school.”
Alex instantly froze. “Wait, wait. You’re telling me that Brendon’s roommate works here and he knows someone named Ryan?”
When the words escaped into the room Spencer felt his face flush, Ryan’s doing the same.
“B-Brendon?” The patient questioned, looking to Spencer confused. “He knows about Brendon?”
“Brendon was Gabe’s roommate at college and he said you weren’t real.”
That’s when that wave of realization swept of Detective Spencer Smith like it was a tidal wave. The whole time he’d ignored Brendon in the interrogation room he’d forgotten the one name he should have recognized the most. Ryan. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe, stopped for a moment, trying to place all of it in his head. Gabe was the reason Ryan had been submitted almost two years previous, saying that Ryan had made up an imaginary boyfriend to help him cope with girls not wanting him. His half brother had been older and wanted all of the attention and when Ryan told everyone what his friend’s phone number was, it ended up being Gabe’s. The boy’s name had been Brendon. Brendon. If Gabe had been Brendon’s roommate then he would have had access to both of their photos, their information, the way they lived and communicated. It was the perfect con for Gabe to get the apartment to himself and his family’s affection without any hassle.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Spencer finally spoke, voice dry. “I was so pissed off by the situation, I didn’t realize he’d said Ryan, or knew Gabe. I left the moment he started to sound like…” Spencer turned to Ryan with apologetic eyes.
Ryan’s mouth just sat, agape, for a moment. “So, Brendon’s real?”
“Brendon almost jumped off the Golden Gate today because he didn’t think you were real.” Spencer admitted, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat. His eyes traveled to Alex and then back to Ryan with a deep inhale, standing to his feet quickly. “Get your coat. They have to release you if the police need you and I need you for something.”
Ryan and Alex looked confused for a moment – Ryan more confused and sad – before they both stood to their feet and Ryan rushed out of the room.
“Stay here. I’m going to go get him released.” Spencer ordered Alex before marching off after his best friend. His not crazy best friend.
In that bright little room Jon was scanning his notes silently, trying to figure out what he’d do with the young man on the opposite side of the table. While he’d taken a fatherly liking to the student he knew that his admittance of assault could not be overlooked – especially without having proof that Gabe had done anything to him. The story was playing in his roommate’s favor but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of Jon’s stomach that told him to wait. Just wait one a few minutes before deciding what to do. His eyes shifted to the clock on his wrist, then to the notes, as Brendon scratched his bicep nervously on the opposite side of the table and waited for Officer Walker to speak.
The silence was broken almost twenty minutes later when Jon looked up from his notes with a disapproving look in his eyes. “Brendon, I don’t know what to do with you. You admitted to an assault charge and I cannot overlook that.”
Brendon’s face sank, eyes filled with that worry he’d had when he first arrived at the precinct. “But he was pretending to be Ryan the whole time. What was I supposed to do?”
Jon shrugged, “File a complaint, report him to the police, anything. But you assault someone on charges you can’t prove.”
Before Jon could wrap his head around a decision, Lieutenant Asher threw the door open and was in the room again – this time with handcuffs in one hand. Jon wanted to speak up in protest but Victoria wouldn’t have it. “You’re under arrest for assault and attempted suicide. Now you can let me cuff you or I can knock you out and cuff you. You choose.”
Slowly Brendon stood and held his arms out in front of him, Jon standing quickly as well with his brows furrowed with agitation – purposely standing in Victoria’s way. “You can’t barge in here like this!”
“I abso-fucking-lutely can. You were taking too long and this kid admitted to the offense.” She said, getting as close to Jon as she could. “And if you don’t move, I’ll take you in as well. Understand, Walker?”
Jon huffed, standing stationary for a moment before he moved aside. He wanted to stand up for Brendon but there was nothing he could do for the young man if he was in a cell as well. He turned to see Victoria spinning Brendon and cuffing his arms behind his back, an aggressive fire in her eyes. “Good. Cooperating will get you places.”
Victoria began to escort Brendon out of the room, his face filled with worry and sadness as he passed Jon – eyes almost pleading for him to do something.
“I’ll fight for him.” Jon called out, earning a laugh from Victoria.
“Yeah, you do that, Jon. You know I don’t like criminals in my town.”
And with that they disappeared into the halls of the precinct, leaving Jon in a room full of emptiness and self-pity.
Chapter 5
Author:
localjokeRating: PG to NC-17, this chapter being PG-13.
Pairing: Ryden sprinkled with Joncer, Gabilliam, and a few others.
POV: 3rd person.
Summary: Officer Jon Walker finds his day filled with an interesting interrogation when they save Brendon Urie, a film student at a local school, from jumping off of the Bay Bridge.
Disclaimer: While this story is based something that I've heard actually happened, I do not own the characters what so ever.
Beta: the ever lurking
undertheheroAuthor Notes: Based on a story of a local kid mixed with the Spill Canvas song Natalie Marie and 1cc. This chapter is hot off the press since my loverly beta finished her job early. I'm so proud :'D Lots of crazies in this chapter, you've been warned!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
It was well into the afternoon but the interrogation room was still blinding with lights. Jon and Brendon had managed to get back to the questions while the younger man seemed more relaxed, which meant the next round of interrogation would go smoothly. Notepad in hand; Jon was ready to scribble things down aside from what he’d written down before. The paper read: Brendon Urie. Self-Destructive, bullied, too kind. Troubled youth with puzzling predicament. Believes ‘Ryan’ is fictional due to outside influence. Victim of cruel Prank.
“Now, Brendon.” Jon started, gaze lifting from the paper before him to the man on the other side of table. “How did you find out Ryan wasn’t real?”
Brendon’s hands were lodged between his knees, feet tapping the floor as he tried to word what happened correctly. “My roommate.”
“Gabe told you Ryan wasn’t real?”
Brendon shook his hand, hands slipping out to rub at his jean legs nervously. “Not exactly.”
Jon’s eyebrow arched. “Care to explain?”
“Well, Gabe brought a guy named William Beckett home one day months after Ryan and I stopped talking.”
“So, Willia-“
“No.” Brendon shook his head. “William wasn’t pretending to be Ryan.”
Jon sat back in his chair, chewing on the pencil’s end as he nodded at the younger man.
“Alright, tell me the story.”
It was the beginning of what would be Brendon’s last quarter at school and Gabe brought home a thin, tall man named William. Though Brendon didn’t want to admit it, William brought out the best in Gabe and the roommate he knew became nice, caring, and considerate. Gabe had even been doing more hours at the medical center he was working at, whatever it was called, just make sure the patients were cared for regularly. The older boy had undergone a transformation for the better but, as yin and yang, all good comes with bad and vice versa. While Gabe and William began to take Brendon under their arm he had a feeling that this relationship would not be good – though he liked William and how he’d made Gabe, there was that nagging feeling that something bad was going to come from the two dating. He didn’t know what.
A few days after meeting William, he and Brendon sat on the balcony of the small apartment and played music together. It was nice to have another guitar player around, but the decent evening instantly took a turn for the worse. In the middle of ‘Hey There, Delilah’ his phone vibrated and Brendon stopped to check it, finding a new message from the one person he didn’t expect – Ryan. William noticed the look on his face and frowned.
“You okay, Urie?” He asked, reaching out to pat his friend’s shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s just an old friend I don’t know if I want to talk to.”
William nodded his head and leaned against his guitar, strumming notes at random. “Read it.”
Without a protest Brendon opened the message. ‘I have aim and we need to talk. I’m ryanwitless.’
“I have to go. They want me to aim chat with them.” Brendon said with a sigh, raising his hand for a high five. “Good jam session, though?”
“Definitely.” William returned the high five, “And if you see Gabe, tell him I’m out here?”
“Sure thing.”
Brendon made a bee-line to his room where Gabe was laying on the bed, head shooting to Brendon with a nervous look. “Sorry, dude. I’ll get out of your way.”
Before the younger man could argue Gabe was off his bed and out of the room, leaving Brendon in a stupor. Instead of making a comment about porn he rushed to his laptop, opening up aim and signing on to the chat service – adding Ryan’s screen name to his buddylist. There was a moment of hesitation before he doubled clicked the name, opening up a new IM. Now he couldn’t think of what to say to the other man, staring at an empty IM box with nothing to write in it.
Before he could type, Ryan was sending him an IM which was weird, considering only seven people knew his aim screen name aside from his family – and Ryan was not one of them.
RyanWitless (5:42 pm): Hey. :]
RyanWitless (5:42 pm): Glad to see you online.
Brendon stared at the screen for a moment before typing back.
AbstractSymphany (5:44 pm): how did you get my aim screen name?
RyanWitless (5:45 pm): Gabe gave it to me.
Brendon looked around to see if Gabe was in the room, forehead furrowed in anger or confusion to which he wasn’t sure.
AbstractSymphany (5:47 pm): gabe told me he doesn’t know you. so how did you get my screen name?
RyanWitless (5:48 pm): I met up with him to apologize for lying. He gave me your screen name, I promise.
Ryan Witless is Typing…
As if by random coincidence, Gabe walked into the room looking for something and Brendon turned to him, an angry look on his face. “Gabe, did you meet Ryan and not tell me?”
Gabe froze in place, turning slowly toward Brendon. “I. Yeah, but I didn’t want to say anything because I knew it would upset you. So I gave him your aim screen name.”
Brendon’s face softened, taking a deep breath and nodding his head. “Alright, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying to me again.”
“Nah, he’s a good guy.” Gabe shook his head, waving at his roommate before picking up a pair of sunglasses. “Now have your fun. I’m going to go pester William.”
Brendon turned back to the computer to find Ryan was still typing, shrugging it off because maybe he was doing something on the other end.
AbstractSymphany (5:50 pm): writing a novel over there?
RyanWitless (5:51 pm): Sorry. Had to find my dog’s leash so I can take him for a walk. He’s all over my roommate. Lol.
AbstractSymphany (5:52 pm): you’re leaving already? :(
RyanWitless (5:54 pm): Yeah, sorry. But I’ll be back, I promise.
RyanWitless has signed off.
For a few minutes Brendon just sat at his desk and stared at his laptop before finally getting up to grab something to eat from the kitchen. As he fumbled around in the kitchen he noticed that Gabe and William had left, probably snuck out while he was having his short lived conversation with Ryan. Slowly he began to make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and that feeling of dread began to creep through him again, this time making him stop what he was doing and think about what had just happened.
Ryan. Gabe. Ryan. Dog. William. Gabe.
Slowly the pieces started to fit together in his mind and his body grew hot, hands shaking. There was no way Gabe would be pretending to be Ryan, no way. Gabe was his roommate and he would have noticed sooner if it had been Gabe but it made sense.
Gabe knew him best, Gabe knew he wanted someone special and what he was looking for and Gabe was sneaky enough to pull it off.
No. His mind shouted. No, no, no.
Hours past by and Brendon stayed in the kitchen, gazing at the floor as his mind ran through the possibility over and over again. No, he told himself, his roommate was not that kind of person. Suddenly the door opened and there was Gabe, alone and smiling while Brendon’s heart fell to the open floor – face void of emotion.
“Hey, dude. I just finished taking William home.” He stated, locking the door and tossing his jacket on the kitchen table. “How was your chat with Ryan?”
A lump formed in Brendon’s throat and, at that moment, he didn’t know if he wanted to talk about it with Gabe or simply punch him in the face. Overreacting in this situation would be bad, but he had enough fact behind him to know now that it was Gabe. It was Gabe the whole, fucking time.
“You’re Ryan.”
Gabe’s smiled faded and his eyes seemed guilty. “No, I’m not. He’s real though.”
“You’re Ryan, Gabe.”
It all made sense. The medical clinic had so many patients that Gabe could have taken a photo of and sent to Brendon, so many people he could have stolen the name from. Somewhere out there was a real Ryan with a nice boyfriend and didn’t want him.
“Look, you’re being weird.” Gabe said, turning to head toward the bedroom. “Come talk to me when you’re done with this blame game.”
Brendon’s rage took over, rushing toward the taller man in a fit of anger and knocking him down to the ground, trying to strangle him from behind. “You’re Ryan. You used me, you fucker.”
“Get off!” Gabe shouted, struggling to get the other man off of him. “You’re crazy!”
Crazy. That one word hit Brendon so hard that he stopped, leaning back and quickly moving away from Gabe – as far away as he could get in the small apartment. After a moment he huffed a laugh, shaking his head.
“I’m crazy?” He asked, “You’re the one who isn’t subtle with your schizophrenia. I’d rather be crazy than insane.”
Gabe laughed, getting up off the floor. “Wow, you’re a child. Blaming me for being someone who doesn’t care enough to visit you. You’re too good.”
On the other side of town Spencer and Alex were being shown to Ryan’s ‘visiting room’. Normally Spencer didn’t like taking people with him to meet his crazy best friend, but he figured that seeing the other man might help something in their case if anything. As they walked into the room Alex knew he’d heard the name Ryan before somewhere – but wasn’t sure exactly where off the top of his head – though his mind blanked out of thought when his eyes caught the sight of the man they were there to see. The kid was probably about twenty-one years old, already wearing slight stress wrinkles about his features, with messy hair and dark bags beneath his eyes that made them look browner than the hazel they were originally. While he smiled at Spencer’s presence there was a saddened emptiness to the smile, something hidden behind it that Alex didn’t know – though Spencer did.
“Hey, dude.” Spencer said, taking a seat in one of the chairs the hospital had so strategically placed in the room. “This is Detective Suarez, he’s my partner at the precinct and he’s heard a lot about you.”
“Hi.” Ryan said sheepishly, eyes falling to his hands as they fidgeted in his lap. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” Alex agreed, offering Spencer a confused look as his partner motioned for him to take a seat. He followed his orders.
“So, Ry. How are you holding up?”
Ryan continued to watch his hands like they were the most interesting things in the world, avoiding eye contact with the other men in the room. “Alright. Still don’t want to be here with Gabe around.”
Alex quirked an eyebrow at the comment. “Gabe?”
“Gabe Saporta. His half brother.” Spencer said, waving it off like it was nothing. “He works here when he’s not off at art school.”
Alex instantly froze. “Wait, wait. You’re telling me that Brendon’s roommate works here and he knows someone named Ryan?”
When the words escaped into the room Spencer felt his face flush, Ryan’s doing the same.
“B-Brendon?” The patient questioned, looking to Spencer confused. “He knows about Brendon?”
“Brendon was Gabe’s roommate at college and he said you weren’t real.”
That’s when that wave of realization swept of Detective Spencer Smith like it was a tidal wave. The whole time he’d ignored Brendon in the interrogation room he’d forgotten the one name he should have recognized the most. Ryan. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe, stopped for a moment, trying to place all of it in his head. Gabe was the reason Ryan had been submitted almost two years previous, saying that Ryan had made up an imaginary boyfriend to help him cope with girls not wanting him. His half brother had been older and wanted all of the attention and when Ryan told everyone what his friend’s phone number was, it ended up being Gabe’s. The boy’s name had been Brendon. Brendon. If Gabe had been Brendon’s roommate then he would have had access to both of their photos, their information, the way they lived and communicated. It was the perfect con for Gabe to get the apartment to himself and his family’s affection without any hassle.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Spencer finally spoke, voice dry. “I was so pissed off by the situation, I didn’t realize he’d said Ryan, or knew Gabe. I left the moment he started to sound like…” Spencer turned to Ryan with apologetic eyes.
Ryan’s mouth just sat, agape, for a moment. “So, Brendon’s real?”
“Brendon almost jumped off the Golden Gate today because he didn’t think you were real.” Spencer admitted, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat. His eyes traveled to Alex and then back to Ryan with a deep inhale, standing to his feet quickly. “Get your coat. They have to release you if the police need you and I need you for something.”
Ryan and Alex looked confused for a moment – Ryan more confused and sad – before they both stood to their feet and Ryan rushed out of the room.
“Stay here. I’m going to go get him released.” Spencer ordered Alex before marching off after his best friend. His not crazy best friend.
In that bright little room Jon was scanning his notes silently, trying to figure out what he’d do with the young man on the opposite side of the table. While he’d taken a fatherly liking to the student he knew that his admittance of assault could not be overlooked – especially without having proof that Gabe had done anything to him. The story was playing in his roommate’s favor but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of Jon’s stomach that told him to wait. Just wait one a few minutes before deciding what to do. His eyes shifted to the clock on his wrist, then to the notes, as Brendon scratched his bicep nervously on the opposite side of the table and waited for Officer Walker to speak.
The silence was broken almost twenty minutes later when Jon looked up from his notes with a disapproving look in his eyes. “Brendon, I don’t know what to do with you. You admitted to an assault charge and I cannot overlook that.”
Brendon’s face sank, eyes filled with that worry he’d had when he first arrived at the precinct. “But he was pretending to be Ryan the whole time. What was I supposed to do?”
Jon shrugged, “File a complaint, report him to the police, anything. But you assault someone on charges you can’t prove.”
Before Jon could wrap his head around a decision, Lieutenant Asher threw the door open and was in the room again – this time with handcuffs in one hand. Jon wanted to speak up in protest but Victoria wouldn’t have it. “You’re under arrest for assault and attempted suicide. Now you can let me cuff you or I can knock you out and cuff you. You choose.”
Slowly Brendon stood and held his arms out in front of him, Jon standing quickly as well with his brows furrowed with agitation – purposely standing in Victoria’s way. “You can’t barge in here like this!”
“I abso-fucking-lutely can. You were taking too long and this kid admitted to the offense.” She said, getting as close to Jon as she could. “And if you don’t move, I’ll take you in as well. Understand, Walker?”
Jon huffed, standing stationary for a moment before he moved aside. He wanted to stand up for Brendon but there was nothing he could do for the young man if he was in a cell as well. He turned to see Victoria spinning Brendon and cuffing his arms behind his back, an aggressive fire in her eyes. “Good. Cooperating will get you places.”
Victoria began to escort Brendon out of the room, his face filled with worry and sadness as he passed Jon – eyes almost pleading for him to do something.
“I’ll fight for him.” Jon called out, earning a laugh from Victoria.
“Yeah, you do that, Jon. You know I don’t like criminals in my town.”
And with that they disappeared into the halls of the precinct, leaving Jon in a room full of emptiness and self-pity.
Chapter 5