"A Sanctuary Safe and Strong"(Marianas Trench)

Chapter 6

The brunet opened his hand, turning the bullet over in his palm while Josh watched. "I'm okay, Matt," he said softly. 

"I know. You keep saying that. You're okay and you're alive and you'll be fine." The younger man closed his fist around the bullet again, looking up to meet the singer's eyes. 

"Dude, all of that. Believe it." Josh ducked his head and played with the frayed edge of the blanket between his fingers. That was as close as he could get to talking about everything with Matt. He just couldn't do it. His own emotions were running a little high now, but Matt's were higher and it all made for a bad combination. 

"I'm trying." 

The door opened once again and both of the men looked up to see the familiar police officer stroll back in. "Hello again, gentlemen." The officer extended his hand once more to Josh, awkwardly shaking with his left instead of his right. Then he offered his hand to Matt. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to you before, although it looks like you still have my card. I'm Officer St. Ledger," he said, pointing to the small table next to the bed. 

Matt managed a thin smile but Josh simply nodded. His pain medication was starting to wear off and the light throbbing in his shoulder and chest was back. The singer brought his arm back down, resting it along his side and realizing that the less he moved his right side, the better he felt.  

"If you're up to it this time, I'd really like to try to get a statement from you about what happened." St. Ledger pulled his small note pad from his pocket once again, along with the pen and held it in front of him, waiting for Josh's response. 

"Yeah, um...that's fine," the singer agreed, nodding. 

"Before you start, here." Matt held the bullet out to the police officer, who set his paper and pen on the foot of the bed and placed the metal object into a small baggie, sealing it and tucking it into his pocket.  

"Evidence," he explained to both men.  

St. Ledger picked up his pad and pen once more, waiting on Josh. "Tell me everything you remember.  

The singer pulled his eyes from the officer to the guitar player, and Matt wasn't about to miss a trick. He was perched on the edge of the chair with his elbows on his knees again, staring straight at Josh. The blond swallowed hard and took a deep breath. 

Brief streaks of sunlight through windows, the artificially sweet taste of a cold drink, echoing noises from deep inside the house. The search for the mysterious sounds and the hope that it was someone he knew. The flash of black as he was slammed against the wall, the horrific pain he felt as he was kicked twice by a heavy steel-toed boot. The deep gravel in the stranger's voice as he threatened Josh over and over again. The darkness that crept into his vision. The bullet as it tore into his body, finally sending him into unconsciousness. The blood that he knew was covering his body. Finally discovering his cell phone and calling for help. Waking in the hospital.  

The whole story took about ten minutes to reiterate to the officer, but by the time he was done, the blond was shaking under the blanket and Matt had pulled his chair closer to lay a hand on Josh's arm while he spoke the last few words explaining his story. 

Officer St. Ledger finally nodded, quietly closing his note pad and tucking that and his pen into his pocket. "Thank you. I've got it all documented. By the time you're out of here later tonight, I'll show up at your home with a photographer and crew to see what we can do about getting a little more evidence so we can do our best to try to catch this guy. We'll try our hardest not to let him get away with this, Mr. Ramsay." 

Josh rolled his eyes at the formal name again, but didn't bother to correct the man. His energy level was dipping dangerously close to zero again and he just wanted to go back to sleep. His head felt heavy and his eyelids felt heavier. The words being spoken to him were barely registering now. "Sounds good," he mumbled, settling back into the mattress and closing his eyes. "Sorry...just...so tired."