The rest of the morning passed in a strange haze.
Vinny could not stop thinking about the words Griffin had spoken.
You are mine.
The sentence echoed through his head long after the conversation ended.
Part of him should have been frightened.
A normal person would have been frightened.
Instead, he found himself sitting on the couch beside Griffin, sipping tea while a movie played in the background, feeling oddly comfortable.
The realization disturbed him.
Every now and then he would glance toward Griffin.
Each time he did, Griffin was already looking at him.
Not watching the movie.
Not checking his phone.
Just watching him.
It should have felt unsettling.
Instead, it made his chest warm.
"Why are you staring at me?" Vinny finally asked.
Griffin smiled.
"I like looking at you."
Vinny rolled his eyes.
"You always say things like that."
"Because they're true."
The simple confidence in Griffin's voice made Vinny look away.
Outside the large living room window, the afternoon sun painted everything gold.
For a few moments neither of them spoke.
Then Griffin suddenly stood.
"Come with me."
Vinny blinked.
"Where?"
"It's a surprise."
That answer immediately made him suspicious.
"You know normal people usually tell someone where they're taking them."
Griffin laughed.
"You trust me enough to live in my house."
"That's different."
"How?"
Vinny opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Griffin looked entirely too pleased with himself.
Half an hour later they were driving through the city.
Vinny sat in the passenger seat, watching familiar streets pass by.
The further they drove, the more uneasy he became.
Eventually he recognized where they were.
His neighborhood.
His heart immediately dropped.
"Griffin."
"Hm?"
"Why are we here?"
Griffin kept his eyes on the road.
"I thought you might want to see your family."
Silence.
Vinny stared at him.
For several seconds he genuinely thought he had misheard.
"You what?"
"You miss them."
Vinny looked away.
The answer came too quickly.
Too accurately.
He did miss them.
Every day.
Every night.
He missed hearing his mother complain about bills.
He missed Liz making fun of him.
He even missed the awkward silences at breakfast.
Guilt twisted inside him.
Two weeks.
Two whole weeks.
His family had no idea where he was.
"They probably hate me."
Griffin's hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel.
"No."
"You don't know that."
"I do."
Vinny frowned.
Griffin glanced at him.
"They love you."
The certainty in his voice caught Vinny off guard.
A few minutes later Griffin parked several houses away from the Dara residence.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
Vinny stared through the windshield.
His home looked exactly the same.
The small garden.
The faded paint.
The front steps.
Everything.
Yet it felt completely different now.
As if he were looking at someone else's life.
"You don't have to go in," Griffin said quietly.
Vinny swallowed.
"What if they're angry?"
"They will be."
The honesty surprised him.
"But they'll also be relieved."
Vinny looked down at his hands.
His fingers were trembling.
"I'm scared."
Griffin's expression softened.
For a moment all the possessiveness disappeared.
All the intensity.
All the obsession.
What remained was something almost gentle.
He reached across the center console and took Vinny's hand.
"I know."
The simple gesture grounded him.
After several minutes, Vinny finally opened the car door.
The walk to the house felt endless.
Each step grew heavier.
By the time he reached the front porch his breathing had become uneven.
His hand hovered over the door.
Then he knocked.
Nothing.
A few seconds passed.
Then footsteps.
The door opened.
Liz froze.
The world stopped.
For a moment nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Vinny opened his mouth.
"Hi."
The slap landed before he finished the word.
His head snapped sideways.
The sting spread across his cheek.
Neither of them spoke.
Then suddenly Liz threw her arms around him.
The force nearly knocked him backward.
"You idiot."
Her voice cracked.
"You absolute idiot."
Vinny felt her shaking.
She was crying.
Actually crying.
Something broke inside him.
His arms wrapped around her automatically.
"I'm sorry."
The words came out as a whisper.
"I'm sorry."
Behind Liz, another figure appeared.
His mother.
The moment she saw him, the color drained from her face.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
For several seconds she simply stared.
Then she crossed the distance between them.
Vinny barely had time to react before she pulled him into a fierce embrace.
The force of it hurt.
He did not care.
His mother was crying too.
The sound shattered him.
"I thought you were dead."
The sentence hit harder than any slap.
Vinny felt tears burning his eyes.
"I know."
"I thought I lost you."
"I'm sorry."
The words sounded pathetic.
Tiny.
Meaningless.
But they were all he had.
Behind him, Griffin remained near the sidewalk.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not interfering.
Not speaking.
For once he stayed in the background.
As mother and son held each other, a car slowly rolled down the street.
None of them noticed.
The vehicle continued past the house.
Then stopped around the corner.
Inside sat a woman wearing sunglasses.
She lowered them slightly.
Her gaze remained fixed on the Dara residence.
Specifically on Vinny.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"Found you."
The woman reached for her phone.
A photograph filled the screen.
It was a recent picture of Vinny.
Several more photographs followed.
Dozens.
Different dates.
Different locations.
Different angles.
She stared at the newest image through her windshield.
Then she sent a message.
Three words.
Target confirmed alive.
A response arrived almost immediately.
Good.
Maintain observation.
The woman smiled.
Meanwhile, completely unaware, Vinny finally stepped back from his family.
His eyes found Griffin standing quietly in the distance.
Watching him.
Waiting for him.
And for the first time since returning home, Vinny noticed something strange.
Griffin looked worried.
Not jealous.
Not possessive.
Not angry.
Worried.
As if he knew something nobody else did.
As if danger had just arrived.
And Vinny had walked directly toward it.