Chapter 5

Once more, happy valentines everybody! Hope you enjoy.

Toris sighed heavily at their ongoing investigation. At this point it was suspected that Alfred F. Jones was kidnapped, if not dead. The young male either had the worst luck in history or was involved with something pretty bad. Honestly, he was most likely dead, but Arthur Kirkland wouldn't hear of it. Toris felt bad for the man, really. But the chances were very slim.

Blood that had been identified as Alfred's had seemingly started in the kitchen, where there were some small signs of a struggle. The blood had led out, and there had been quite a bit of it before they reached the river. The trail ended there, the grass around the bank flattened, obviously something heavy was dragged, like a body, either unconscious or dead.

They hadn't found out Alfred was missing for several hours at least, meaning the body would have made it out to the ocean, and honestly, they might never find it again. The tide could have pulled it out for anybody's guess. Still, on the off chance that Alfred was still alive they would keep looking for a couple days.

The sky was beautiful, no, it was better than gorgeous. The wind smelled amazing, it felt even better across his face and he couldn't help but grin. He was in a grass field, recently mowed, he knelt down on the grass, feeling the earth underneath him. There were colorful, bright flowers here and there. It felt right to be here, a bit empty, but that was alright for the moment.

He half expected himself to be woken up by something, somebody calling his name gently, or shaking his shoulder, or a slap across the face. But no, he wouldn't be woken up, not from this. It wasn't a dream and his joy soared at that.

"Hey Ivan." Alfred said. He looked down at the object in front of him, smiling softly at the tombstone. Ivan Braginski. It had his date of birth, December 30. That was coming up actually. It didn't have any little cheesy comment, or any comment actually. He sat down completely before it, rubbing his bandaged arm. "Ah... I know we weren't really close or anything, but I've seen people do this a lot in movies. Mostly people who were close to the well... I've heard that the dead can hear you if you do this, and even if that's not true, I wanted to come by."

Alfred placed the sunflowers he brought down, laying them against the grass, it felt wet but he didn't care about that. He shifted the book bag on his back that he had gotten out of the crawl space where he had kept it hidden for years. "I remember you saying something about not hating sunflowers and it seemed wrong not to bring something. Anyway... I wanted to say thank you. I mean, really. Thank you, so, so much. I'm sorry you got killed, I am. But... You helped me a lot. I know it doesn't seem like it. I mean hell, you just busted some things, right?"

He rubbed at the tear forming in his eyes. "You know, when you came in, I knew you were the murderer. Any idiot would guess that, you had a gun. When I first saw you, I thought you were going to kill me. I wasn't scared. I remember thinking 'thank god, finally.' I couldn't help it, I thought that it'd be over. But you didn't pull the trigger. You just smiled this really empty smile. A-And I knew you weren't going to kill me. Only somebody who's made to smile, pretending nothing's wrong with their life... Only they smile like that.

"I don't even know who you are, not really. I wish I did, I wish we could have been born somewhere else, far away, maybe grown up together. I... I would really have liked that. You... God, I don't remember the last time it was that I had that much fun, ever. I'm sure I did but..." Alfred faltered, looking back up at the sky, smiling a bit. "You know, I tried some food, and it tastes so much better out here. I don't know what it is, but freedom makes everything feel so much better." He closed his eyes, leaning into the wind.

He stayed like that happily for several moments before opening his eyes again, "It feels amazing. And I'm not going to go back either. I feel like running around and doing everything I possibly can! I don't have a ton of money, but at least enough to get started!" Alfred moved and laid on his back on the grass, staring up at the sky. "I'm going to buy an RV, and then I'll go traveling. I know I'll probably run out of money for food, but I don't want a house, or to get a job! I just want a car I can sleep in when I'm not going places! Probably sounds stupid, I know, but I don't ever want to stop.

"I'm scared as shit though... That Arthur will find me. I can't... I don't want to go back. Not ever. I can't go back to any of my family, Arthur made sure of that. I mean, Mattie'd probably still take me, but that'd be the first place Arthur will look for me. I don't mind. I'll see Mattie again, I want to go and see the world first though! Then maybe I'll have stories to tell him.

"I wanted to tell all this to you because... I never had the strength to leave. It's always been sort of in the back of my mind, it was lost somehow, I lost hope, I guess. There was always something holding me back, I had no place to go, I had nobody to help me, that maybe I deserved it somehow, and well, Arthur would always find me. He'll be looking for me around now, I know that and he probably won't stop until he's found me, but he won't look here. I mean, I knew you for a day. Ten bucks says he's buying a ticket to go to Canada right now. I'm not too worried about Mattie, he's stronger than I was. He always has been. I don't know how it's going to be, I'm scared as shit and I know I'm going to be looking over my shoulder from now on. Even if I tried doing my best to hide… he'll still look, I know he will. It's just his way."

Alfred folded his hands on his stomach, watching the clouds roll by slowly, shifting lazily in the wind. "But... Then you came along, and you showed me freedom again and it was small, but it was everything I needed. And you died. I keep thinking back on it, and I realized, you weren't going to stay long, maybe a couple minutes as the cops drove by the street and then you were going to leave. But... You found out what was happening. And you stayed, if only for an hour. Such a short time, just to give me a small amount of happiness. And it ended up killing you.

"I never cared if I was killed, but... Seeing somebody else killed, especially you and after everything... Well... If you could stay, knowing you could get arrested, just to give me a bit of freedom... That's the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me. It gave me strength, I don't think I can explain it." Alfred muttered, closing his eyes, corners of his mouth twitching up. "But it's worth it. Being out here, being free for the first time since... Ever. I don't care what happens next, even if I am scared, I know now, that it's worth it."

He sighed, "So yeah... Thank you. I hope that we can meet again. I'd really like that. The news painted you out as a terrible guy, but I don't care if you killed somebody, even your own father. You were the best friend I could ever hope to have. I ah... Hope you don't mind, the bus trip was long and... Lost some blood, so I'm kind of tired, I'm just... Gonna..."

Alfred let himself start fading off. His jaw and back hurt, but he paid no mind to that, they had been hurting since much easier today, he had been resting strangely on the seat with his face pressed against the glass, the cold on the window seal had chilled his body to the core as well. Here was much, much better. Things were never really easy, Ivan would know that, if anybody. Things would be very hard, what would be easy was to just go back to Arthur and stay, where the world never changed, where he knew what to expect. Where he was safe. Going back or just staying there would be easy, the easiest and most secure thing he knew.

His fear of Arthur finding him dimmed his happiness, but he was determined now. Determined never to go back. And he planned on keeping that promise to himself, if for nothing more than in the memory of Ivan. The feel of freedom just felt... Good. Everything felt good. The wind felt amazing and smelled so great. He had been allowed in the backyard sometimes, but this was something else entirely. He didn't have to wait for Arthur to call him back inside, he could stay out as long as he wanted. He could go anywhere he wanted, or do anything.

Smiling, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

There was a rough short of shaking from his shoulder. What? Somebody was trying to wake him up... Was everything just a dream? Was he really back at Arthurs? But everything had felt so real. His heart sank, he didn't know how much longer he could go on like this. He blinked his eyes open, humming a bit, turning his head to see a furious looking Arthur. That's what he expected to find, but instead a woman drew her arm back. "I-I'm sorry! I just... Ah-" she said nervously.

"He should not be sleeping there!" Another voice hissed. Alfred became aware of the grass under him and the sky was darker than before. He sat up quickly, standing up even as the blood rushed to his head, temporarily blacking out his vision and making him sway. He shook his head to clear it.

"Ah right sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, I just..." He stopped when his vision cleared and the dizziness fading, getting a good look at the woman before him. She was pretty tall, just a little shorter than himself, she had well... Ah... A huge chest. But her short hair was a familiar ashen color and her eyes a pale violet.

"Oh, i-it's alright! I'm sure it was an accident." She said, waving her hand in front of her rapidly, her face expressing one of concern.

"You do not have to apologize, he is the one trespassing." Alfred looked to the other female, pouting a bit. He was pretty sure that graveyards were public area's. She was shorter than the woman beside her, younger too, by the looks. She had the same color hair, maybe a shade lighter, and it was very long, a hair tie at the top. She wore a dark blue dress, she probably would have been very pretty if she wasn't scowling at him with what looked like intent to murder. In her arms she held sunflowers.

It suddenly dawned on Alfred, and he connected the dots. These were Ivan's two sisters. Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding. "Oh shit!" Alfred said, stepping off the grass that was in front of Ivan's grave. "Right, sorry!" Alfred said, "I didn't mean... You must be his sisters, right?"

The oldest looked surprised, as if that was the furthest thing she had expected to come out of his mouth. "You knew Vanya?"

"Um... Wait, who? Ah... Vanya?"

"Oh, I am sorry, I m-meant Ivan."

"Okay well, yeah I knew him, I mean... Not well, but..."

"I-I am sorry, I am a little surprised, I did not know he had any friends."

"None? Oh well..." Alfred stuffed his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulder. "Ah... I don't know if we could be called friends..."

"You brought those?" She asked, pointing to the sunflowers.

Alfred nodded, feeling his cheeks warm up. "Ah well... He mentioned something about sunflowers. It seemed the least I could do." Especially since Ivan wouldn't have died if he hadn't stayed with him to make him feel better. The sudden image of Ivan lying dead by his feet came to mind and he shook his head to try and clear it.

The younger girl moved towards the gravestone. "Where did you know him from?" The older asked, regarding him curiously.

"Oh well..." What was he suppose to say? 'Hey, I met your brother a few short hours before he was shot in front of me. Currently I'm starting to wonder if it's my fault he's dead, and y'know, I think it kind of is.' Yeah, that sounded totally like the thing to say. Problem was, he couldn't think of any believable excuse. Ivan killed a person protecting his sibling, he was a protective type, he wouldn't have gone out of state often if ever. And it was a smaller town, people knew each other, he clearly wasn't a local either.

Right then however, Natalia kicked at the flowers he had brought. This drew both their attention away. "Natalia! What are you doing, that was very rude!" The younger didn't seem to care, kneeling down and putting the ones she was carrying down on the grave instead. "I am so sorry, she is usually better behaved than this."

"Ah yeah, no, not your fault." He felt sort of irritated with the younger sister though. But... He guess he could let it go. They were Ivan's sisters. Honestly, he didn't have much right being here in all honesty. Even with that thought he still felt irritated. But it wasn't the older sister's fault.

Natalia didn't seem to pay either of them mind though, sitting there for a little before standing back up, regarding Alfred coldly. Then again, from what he remembered, she'd been raped by her father, she probably wasn't keen about some random male showing up anywhere near her family. Alfred knew he wouldn't trust him if the situation was reversed.

"Well, how about you come over for lunch?" The oldest said, looking at him hopefully.

"Huh, oh no, I really shouldn't-"

"Please?" She said, "Not many know Ivan! A-and fewer came to say their respects."

Alfred winced a bit. Yeah, after being a convicted killer, Alfred could imagine. He shouldn't though, he really shouldn't. She would just want to know where Ivan and him knew each other. What they had talked about. The second he could improvise for easy. The first? Not so much. But she was looking at him with such... Desperation. Tears even coming to her eyes. They had probably been alone with this. At least they had each other, but sometimes that wasn't enough.

Well, just a little couldn't hurt, right? "Um... Well... If you're sure." Part of him was hoping she'd back out.

She didn't. Instead she seemed to brighten, smiling even through little tears had escaped her eye. "Yes! Thank you!"

"You should send him away. He will only cause trouble." The younger hissed, glaring at Alfred. Well maybe not everybody was pleased with his decision, but he couldn't please everyone.

"Don't be so rude!" The older chided again, looking upset with her sister's comment. Alfred was starting to get the impression that the attitude was actually pretty commonplace considering how exasperated the eldest sibling sounded. She turned back to give a weak smile to him, which he offered back in full to show he wasn't upset. It would take more than a few negative comments to drive him off. "So... You will come over then?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Oh good! We do not live too far, you do not mind walking, right? I did not see any other cars so I assume you walked here."

"Well I took a taxi so I wouldn't get lost. But no, I'd love to go for a walk." He smiled at the thought. How long had it been since he had gone for a walk? Forever. He made a note to himself to go hiking sometime very soon.

"Oh? A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally! It's cool!" Alfred nodded, "But I can totally wait until you're done here. No rush, trust me." He said, taking several steps back to give them room. She nodded in appreciation and he turned and walked towards the entrance of the cemetery. He paused halfway there, debating if he should just sneak away. But... That seemed low, and when remembering how the woman had asked him to stay... He couldn't bring himself to leave.

And that's how he found himself in the kitchen/dining room of the small house not half an hour later. He felt uncomfortable being there though. It had been kind of nice, it was homey and obviously lived in. And there were pictures of the family, one where Ivan and his sibling were children even. It made him happy at first, but then sick to his stomach, "Do you want anything specific?" The oldest asked him, looking at him. The younger girl had gone to the back of the house as soon as they went home, Alfred assumed to her room.

"Ah no, you don't have to make me food, I'm alright, really." Alfred said, looking back at her. "I ah... Ate just before coming." She seemed to hesitate before nodding and sitting down at the table across from him. "I didn't mean to ah... Intrude or anything-"

"Oh no, it's no problem."

Alfred nodded, smiling, "Yeah, well thanks for inviting me over and everything. I'm Alfred by the way." He said, the walk over had been silent, but now was a good time to talk. No point coming here for awkward silence.

"Ah, Alfred? That name sounds familiar, perhaps Ivan mentioned you... But I'm Katyusha, I know some people have a hard time pronouncing it, so most call me Kat."

"Kat, right. Though I doubt Ivan mentioned me. Maybe I've just got one of those names?" He suggested. Like Ivan would have ever been able to tell his sisters about him, probably for the best anyway. "So um... How have you been doing since... Well..." Ivan died. Because of him. But he needed to know how his family was doing. Alfred remembered once being told that the death of a person didn't just ruin one life, but several. He believed that.

Katyusha looked down at the table sadly, "Not too well... And I think Natalia is worse off, she was very attached to Ivan." Alfred nodded in understanding. It did makes sense. "It must be very hard for her. I wish I could do more, but she is… Distant." She muttered, though looking up at Alfred as though realizing he was there for the first time, "Oh, I'm sorry, just telling you all of this all of a sudden!"

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine!" Alfred smiled, waving his hand, "It's the least I could do, really!" He assured, smiling at her. She seemed to calm down a bit from that, giving a nod. "It can't be easy… Losing a sibling." Alfred didn't know what he'd do if he lost Mattie.

"Yes… I suppose not." She muttered quietly, looking down. "It is hard… Losing him, he wasn't that old after all. Not extremely young but…" Her eyes became misty quickly and she sniffed a bit. Guilt rode over Alfred heavily then, engulfing him completely. "Natalia… She is trying to be strong, I know. But it is still hard. She does not want to leave this house either, but with just my income I can't… All of our savings went towards the funeral and I- Oh, here I am worrying over something like that and talking about how Ivan's funeral costed money. I really am so terrible." She was all out sobbing by the time she was finished, words following broken and in a language Alfred didn't understand.

He moved closer to her, putting his hand on hers to comfort her, seeing as he didn't know her that well, he hoped it would suffice. "Hey, no it's not wrong to think like that, really. It's understandable to worry about money, that doesn't make you a bad person. And you're thinking of Natalia too, right? It's good to be thinking about other things, especially for your younger sibling, don't worry about it." He said, trying to cheer her up. She continued crying, but she looked up at him and her sobbing wasn't as bad. Suddenly however, she was hugging him against her chest, which made his face heat up, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, patting her back, feeling more than a little awkward, but doing his best to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry for breaking down like that…" This had to be about the tenth time she was apologizing.

"It's fine." Alfred smiled, taking a drink of the coffee she had made. They had talked a bit more. Mostly about Ivan, Alfred heard some stories of when he was younger, a small child who was actually picked on alot and scared of a lot of silly little things. It sounded kind of ironic, but it also hurt Alfred to hear of the others life, thinking it was over. But financial issues were in the mix to. Katyusha obviously had a lot on her mind, and she wasn't one to filter things that troubled her it seemed.

It didn't sound very good. The house apparently wasn't much, but since it was their fathers, they had to pay a tax so they could have it. Which Katyusha was going to use the savings. They didn't get anything after their father died. Since Ivan was the one that killed him, they didn't get the money they should have from the life insurance after he died. And since the will only mentioned Ivan, and Ivan was a murderer, they weren't given any of their fathers money. But, they were allowed to keep the house, which they needed to pay off again, even though their father had paid it off years ago.

Such was what happened when one died. Katyusha had spent her own money on the burial of their father. She had gotten quite a bit after selling her own home, and it covered the cost. But for Ivan they had to use the leftovers of that money and any savings they had. To put it simply, they were broke and living in a house they couldn't afford. It was quiet the desperate situation by the sounds of it. Alfred felt sorry for them, he really did. The last thing a person should have to worry about after losing a family member is money and where they were going to live. If they were going to be kicked out of their home with no place to go.

It would take thousands to pay the house off. How much money did he have? He shed away from the thought almost as soon as he had it. That was all he had, he needed it to buy food, find something he could live in - like an rv like he said. He'd worked years to save it up and he had finally gotten out and he could use it... But... They might lose their home and end up with even less than he had with him right then. Alfred turned the cup in his hand, staring at the black coffee inside. They had lost their brother too, who was obviously very dear to them. And wasn't it his fault that Ivan was dead?

He could survive, he knew how to get by with little to nothing. It wouldn't be easy, but he could still do it. It wasn't impossible. Alfred shifted a bit and looked up at her, "Ah listen... If I give you something, will you take it?"

She looked up as he broke the silence that had fallen between them, "Ah... I suppose..." She said hesitantly, probably wondering what it was.

Taking a breath, he opened up his bag. He couldn't even have a bank because he never went out for on, and he was paranoid that Arthur would find it. He grabbed the box he kept the money he'd saved up, scooting it over to Katyusha. It was taped down at the bottom. Pulling his hands back, he waited as she took it curiously, giving him a glance as if questioning if she was allowed to open it. Smiling, he nodded his head. She undid the tape and the top sort of slid up a bit on it's own, which was why he'd taped it down in the first place.

To have something to do he grabbed the coffee cup before him and played with it, suddenly feeling anxious about her reaction. She opened the lid off the top and gave a small gasp, putting a hand to her mouth. She looked up at Alfred and he resisted the urge to look away, wanting her to know that he was serious in honestly wanting to give her this. "No, I cannot accept this!" She said, putting the lid back on. Alfred put his hands on hers, resting on the box still.

"Please, you have to! I-I was going to give it to Ivan... But I want you to have it instead. He really did a lot for me, and this is the least I can do. Please, say you'll take it." He pleaded with her. She hesitated before giving a small nod. Alfred sighed in relief and drew his hands away, offering up a smile, "Thank you." It showed how desperate somebody was by how quickly they accepted money. He didn't need it anyway, they needed it more, and now he had his freedom, and that was all he needed for now.

"Alright." Katyusha said quietly, "But could you give me your phone or address? So we can stay in touch."

"Ah... I'm kind of a wanderer. I don't have any house or phone." He said as he rubbed the back of his head with a smile.

"Then I really can't accept this!" She said quickly, pushing the box towards him.

"No, please. I don't need it, I'm serious. I can't take it back. Not now. Just, trust me on this, I can't have it." There must have been some desperation in his own voice that she seemed to pick up on, because she hesitated before slowly bringing the box towards her and standing, going over to the fridge and putting the box on top. Alfred knew she wouldn't insist on giving it back then as she sat back down without it.

"What is it that Ivan did for you?" She questioned.

Alfred smiled, "He gave me hope." Katyusha gave him a look, showing she knew it must have been more, but she must have caught onto the fact that he didn't want to talk about it, at least not right then. So, she left it.

Instead, she said, "Stay with us then, at least for awhile, it's the least we could do. Please?"

Alfred knew better, he was suppose to be running away from Arthur, and if they ever found out that he helped convict their brother of being more cruel than he was in reality, then well... What then? He didn't want to find out. He didn't deserve the hospitality she offered, he knew that, and yet for some reason, hearing her own desperation like he himself had had not long ago he gave a weak smile and said, "Sure."