Fix You

CHAPTER 12: "All Coming Back To Me"

During the last few days, Red had been struggling with nightmares. Vicious scenes that always lead to death; Lizzie's death, and his family's death. He always woke up I'm cold sweat, his shirt clinging to his body. Lizzie was always there to comfort him, soothing him, and telling him that it wasn't. It a creams and they can't hurt him anymore. Red tried to stay calm but he couldn't help but to wonder if those dreams were snippets of his lost past.

It had been five months now, and all throughout he would always have dreams that were always a bloodied mess, but these dreams from the last fees days were the most gruesome ones. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about the death of Lizzie. Why did she always had to die in his dreams, and God forbid that happens he doesn't know what to do to himself. His past was locked somewhere in the deep crevices of his mind and he doesn't know if he wants to explore that past. And from what he had been told it wasn't at all something to remember if he were to be asked. During the last five months he had found peace, and salvation. A feeling that he haven't felt, not since of what he can remember.

The barking of their dog; Jennifer's laughter; Carla giving him a sweet kiss - he didn't expect anything less when he walked through the snow but those little things, the things he loved and had missed so much. The thought of that was all he needed to keep him going.

When he finally reached the door and searched for the keys in his coat pocket he noticed the door was left ajar. Instinctively he knew something was wrong. Instead of pulling out his keys he went for the gun he had been carrying with him every day since the night Katerina vanished and he led the Cabal into believing that her daughter had died in the fire. He knew they soon learned he was alive but at least the girl was safe. Why they hadn't come for him sooner he didn't know. For a while he even began to hope they'd leave him be thinking he didn't know anything.

He slowly entered the hallway, carefully not making a noise. Everything seemed normal until he entered the kitchen. The floor was covered in blood. All there was, was blood. He swallowed, his hands started shaking but he somehow managed to pull himself together. He followed the blood trail to the dining room and prayed it wasn't Carla's or Jennifer's.

In the living room he saw a man lying face down on the floor who was seemingly the source of the blood. Red didn't bother to check his pulse. He walked past him and in the corner of his eye noticed a movement in the living room.

He released the safety of his gun and walked towards the living room. When he took a glance around the corner he almost caved in. The Christmas lights on the tree illuminated the walls of the room but instead of making it look romantic it added plain horror to the sight Red had to discover - Carla was tied to a chair not moving and Red hoped she was just unconscious.

He walked over to her and held her head. "Carla? Can you hear me?", he said quietly. Blood ran down her forehead but at least she was still breathing. Red was just beginning to untie her when he felt the cold barrel pressing against the back of his head.

"Mr. Reddington. What a pleasure. Put that gun away, will you?", a male voice said. Red didn't recognise the voice. He put the gun on the floor and wanted to turn around but the man pressed the gun harder against his head and released the safety. "I wouldn't do that if I were you.", the man said.

"Where is my daughter?"

"Oh don't worry. Little Jenny is fast asleep in her room. What a pretty little girl you have, Ray. She looks just like her mother. I won't hurt her. Your wife on the other hand... she really is a fighter - knocked out my associate with a lamp stand, so I fear I had to restrain her while I was waiting for you. Took you longer than expected to get here."

"What do you want?"

"What I want, Ray, is for you to back off."

"Leave my family alone and I'll do that!", Red said.