Thomas Sinew Pulled The Trigger

Prologue

(This is Alec Sinew)

***

It is not very often that bad luck visits Alec Sinew. No, his life, from the day he was born, has always been filled with unlikely opportunity and tolerance. His studies were no challenge, Alec made trustworthy companions to spend time with. He even gave birth with the love of his life as soon as he became an adult, in his little town in Arizona. Alec and Rane were happy, lovesick, everyone said that they were the perfect couple. Rane's stubbornness gave way to him being easily persuaded by Alec when something needed to change, and Alec was so organized that having someone as spontaneous as Rane balanced out the stress of adulthood.

They were okay, perfectly fine, until Rane started disappearing from time to time, leaving Alec alone with their child. Alec couldn't complain, seeing as his husband was making three fourths of the money in their house; Rane probably had business meetings to attend to. But you see, raising an omega is no easy task; at firstborn they are Senseless. The child cannot hear, taste, smell, etc and therefore helpless. In order for the omega to gain his or her senses, both parents must give a daily dose of pheromone and attention; around the age of three, if things are developing well, the child will have full range of motion.

But Thomas, their son, only had one parent to take care of him. His other father barely came home and his daddy started to get stressed out. And so, due to neglect and an untimely fever, he died.

This was Alec Sinew's first day of bad luck.

***

Heaven is no longer shining down on Alec Sinew; it is mascaraed by a thick, black blanket of cloud. In his home it is dark, chilly evening air seeping through the windows and letting in a draft every now and then. A chorus line of bass rattles everything within range; sparks of light kill unfortunate things. Beside him the covers shift.

A quick tug of thick muscle in his neck is all it takes for Alec to stand to attention. "Thomas!" he gasps. The blanket resting on his son's right side has shifted. The new folds would have been unnoticeable to most, but Alec has been laying there, on their full sized, whitewash framed bed, for quite some time.

His breath fall in huffs as Alec pushes his tired body up from the elbows and over little Thomas' corpse, weak muscle straining at the effort. He knows the dead can't come back to life but maybe God has spared him a small mercy. He is hoping for a divine voice to reinstate his faith:

You didn't kill your son. He's still alive.

He places the palm of his hand over sickly pale flesh, sweeping his thumb over the jugular with pressure, at hope of finding a pulse.

No such luck.

The omega curls up tight beside Thomas and hugs his corpse close, despite the bile stains down his shirt. He is used to the cycle of twitching, checking, and disappointment, and would repeat it ten times more. Who could blame him though? If your child died but you weren't there to officially confirm it, wouldn't you want to double check just to make sure?

The answer is 'Yes'.

Humans are stubborn that way.

Stubborn, just like Alec's husband, who insisted on venturing into the storm to buy medicine, maybe to save the day again. They used to work together to solve all of their problems, one planning and the other acting, all while simultaneously accomplishing tasks without difficulty. But what once was a perfect machine, turned into a plane running on autopilot and less fuel than it started out with from the beginning. Rane and Alec have thrown themselves out of sink with seemingly no reason to give. His husband, although biologically correct, has become less passive and increasingly aggressive, to Alec's observations on a daily basis. This used to be okay with him because obviously some sort of power play would come in eventually, but Alec couldn't figure out what he had done wrong for Rane to shut him out completely and rarely come home for dinner. They both have jobs, the both have a child. But love...he isn't so sure they share it anymore. The both of them are different in terms of personality, but as far as socializing and hobbies, their main concern was family. There is no time to love anyone else but each other.

Alec has no doubt that Rane went to retrieve medicine, and he completely understands how difficult it is to maneuver through traffic in a storm, but the pigheaded alpha hasn't come home yet and he left over eight hours ago.

To add on, the lines are dead, so Alec couldn't call him even if he tried, there's no electricity or running water anymore leaving the house absolutely freezing, and he has no one to go to for help. This would be the point that Alec carry himself over to the neighbor's house, but like many others, they have travelled on vacation in their large mini vans for Thanksgiving. With his last resort out the door, Alec has himself (and Thomas) stuck in a ditch, with no other way but a steep climb out of there. A very dangerous risk he would rather not take, for fear of getting hurt. He's already ruined one life, no need to take another.

Alec slides his knee between Thomas' thigh so that they lock together, then laces his fingers in a placating manner over his chest where his heart would be. His cheek remains caked between the crease of Thomas' jaw and shoulder, more for being able to rub them together like they used to. Right after dinner, bellies stuffed full and mouths rinsed of mint, the two of them would be wrapped up in each other arms just like this every night while he told him heart stopping tales of a princess or prince locked in a tower. Unlike the uncharacteristically empathetic villains and happy endings Alec concluded with, time and life have taken a reverse effect to their bedtime stories and incorporated it to their lives. Thomas and Alec are now the princes locked in a tower with no way out. Only instead of living to see the end, one ended up dead and the other can feel monsters lurking in the shadows.

All in all, the entire situation is becoming very taxing on Alec's body; he can feel the shock taking over and with Thomas' dead corpse pressed at his front, the cold, infected flesh only encourages the shivers to rattle his bones. The omega can feel exposed skin from his toes starting to numb, the same effect on his fingers even as he wrings them in Thomas' tee shirt to keep warm. His breathing is labored from exertion, white dots dance dizzyingly even as Alec has his eyes closed. He realizes, not so helpfully, that Thomas is the only one with a blanket; the omega is disgusted by his growing want to snatch the material from his silhouette, and to atone, kisses his son's neck in apology.

Eventually the stormy weather lulls him to sleep, like a heavy shot of morphine injected through his veins, thunder acting as a replacement for the missing alpha in his life. It feels as if the storm is paying particular attention to his family, like it knows what has happened there and wants to join in on the sorrow.

There's always room for one more. You're allowed to grieve as much as I am. Alec reminds the moody, Arizona sky. His heart slows its frantic beating, a lion like behavior to stretch his jaw as he yawns through the drowsiness. Alec lets his jaw fall slack and indulges in temporary relaxation. Maybe tomorrow his sleep deprived conscience will finally understand the new crime on his hands, the glass and décor fairly redecorated downstairs, but for now, with no more wedding band putting him ten feet under and exhaustion creeping through his bones, setting them firmly in place, Alec will sleep away his last moments of peace with a corpse to bring him comfort.

It is midnight, and Rane Sinew has not come home.