Stand for Love

Wow! Another chapter and it's all thanks to my lovely followers and readers. I love you guys a lot. You inspire me to share more stories with you. I hope this just chapter will interest you a lot. Feel free to drop your comments at the end. Most importantly don't forget to vote. Nice reading...

*****

Nicholas sat in his office, on his chair wondering why he was faced with the greatest decision. For the past two days he's been absent minded, thinking about Adrian. In those two days he's not been himself. He's been kinda of rude to Jake though the guy has not put up any argument with him. He's been really thinking but his wedding is only five days away. Everything is in place. He just needs to think.

He figured he needs to speak to Adrian one more time so that he could think clearly and for once get his head straight. Nicholas quickly got up, got his jacket and used the elevator to go to the bottom floor of his building. He didn't need any guard or driver so he drove himself to Jake's house.

He honked at the gate and the guard opened it. He was immediately filled with so much desire, excitement and heat of seeing Adrian after not seeing him for two whole days. Without turning off the engine, Nicholas quickly got out and ran to the door.

His heart was racing. He was going to see Adrian finally, kiss him even if it was the last time before he got married. He needed to tell him that he'll always be in his heart even after the wedding.

Nicholas quickly moved his hand to the knob and to his disappointment the door was locked. Strange, Nicholas thought. He thought Adrian was always home but it was strange to find the door locked especially during lunch hour.

Nicholas had a hunch that something was not right. Adrian specifically told him that he is always at home. Maybe he had gone somewhere but Nicholas was gonna ask the guard at the gate.

"Hey," Nicholas signaled the guard who immediately came.

"Yes, sir," The guard bowed. "How may I be of help?"

"Has Adrian gone somewhere?" Nicholas asked his heart racing.

"I don't think so, sir." The guard said. "I haven't seen Adrian today. In fact...I haven't seen Adrian for the last two days."

"What?" Nicholas yelled, wondering where Adrian had gone. Could something bad have happened to him? "Where has he gone?"

"I don't know, sir." The guard said softly. "All I know is that he is not here."

"Are you sure?" Nicholas said. He was feeling scared after what the guard had said. He wondered if the abuse had been too much that Adrian decided to run away. Jake hadn't even mentioned anything.

"I'm sure, sir."

"Alright, thanks." Nicholas said as he dismissed the guard. He couldn't believe that Adrian was nowhere to be seen. He needed to come to terms with it but he was gonna ask Jake about it. Only if he heard Jake's answer would he be able to settle down.

Whatever it was, Nicholas needed to be sure that Adrian was safe and sound. Until he gets an assurance that Adrian was alright, he knew he would be panicking.

*****

Nicholas was back at his office. It was around 5.45 pm and he knew Jake would pass by his office due to the wedding and all. While he waited, he really prayed for God to help Adrian and let him find happiness if at all he had run away.

Nicholas heard the door opening and he looked straight at Jake who came in smiling. He was looking so cute but Nicholas didn't care at all. All he wanted to hear about was Adrian's whereabout but he couldn't just ask Jake straight to the point. He had a plan to know where Adrian was.

"Hey, baby," Jake smiled as he planted a short kiss on his mouth. Nicholas kissed back but he was wearing a frown on his face.

"Baby, please, I hope you are not in a bad mood." Jake said.

"I'm not in a bad mood." Nicholas said in a serious tone. "It's just that I'm starving."

"What?" Jake exclaimed, staring at his boyfriend for long. "Don't tell me you've not eaten."

"Of course, I haven't eaten." Nicholas said in a raised voice. "That boy you told to bring my food hasn't done that for two days now."

"Oh," Jake gasped. He was mad inside. It was probably a trick question to find out Adrian's whereabouts but Jake knew he was smarter than that. "I'm so sorry about that." Jake said, his face looking down as if he was sad. "I forgot to tell you because you were in such a bad mood the last two days."

"Oh, yes I was in bad mood." Nicholas hollered. "Your house help hasn't brought anything to me."

"I'm truly sorry," Jake apologized. "He...he run away,"

"What?" Nicholas yelled.

"Yes," Jake said softly. "Two days ago, he ran away with his sugar daddy. The truth is..."

"Sugar daddy," Nicholas muttered.

"Yes," Jake answered. "We are all surprised. Two days ago, we came home to find him having...sex with him in our living room. Actually we came home early due to the wedding so...we kinda caught him in the act. That same time he ran away with the older man."

Nicholas couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nicholas had a sugar daddy? It was impossible. He was so sweet, innocent and...no it just wasn't possible.

Nicholas felt weak in the knees but he held on to the table and looked confident to Jake. Adrian had chosen his path. Maybe he needed to do the same. He hadn't known Adrian that long anyway.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked.

"Yeah...I'm...I'm fine." Nicholas lied. "It's just that I am hungry."

"Let's go to dinner then," Jake said as he glanced at his watch. "It's almost 6.pm."

"No," Nicholas said as he tried to put up a smile. "I think I'll just go home and have dinner with my family. They are expecting me."

"Oh, I understand." Jake said. Deep inside, he was fuming. He couldn't believe Nicholas had just done that to him five days before their wedding. They had a lot to do in the few days they had left.

"I'm sorry," Nicholas apologized. "If you want..."

"No," Jake said softly. "It's really fine and besides, my family is waiting for me."

Nicholas knew that Jake might have been suffering inside his heart. He knew that he had to do something to cheer him up. Honestly speaking, Nicholas was hurting inside but he had to move on and not mess his relationship with his fiancé.

"By the way, my mother...wanted to see the both of us tomorrow for the fitting." Nicholas said, trying to pull himself together.

"I'll come back home early tomorrow." Jake smiled. "Around 2.pm. I'll be there at 3."

"Alright," Nicholas muttered.

Jake leaned forward and kissed Nicholas deep on the lips. He left quickly after giving him a beautiful smile. Nicholas smiled back faintly and watched as Jake left. Nicholas found himself breathing so fast as soon as Jake left. He felt such pain, such a fool for abandoning his fiancé for someone he didn't know very well.

Nicholas was hurt. He was deeply hurt but he knew he had to move on. Maybe it was for the best that Adrian had run away. Nicholas just prayed that Adrian had finally found happiness even if it was with an older man. Fuck, it hurt!

Nicholas furiously thrust his fists on the table and he winced in pain. He was still nursing his fist when he suddenly saw a key about two keys on the table. He knew those were not his own keys and if he could remember correctly, those keys belonged to Jake. They were his house keys. He quickly moved his face and sat on the chair sinking in his own thoughts.

Nicholas sat on that chair trying to forget about everything that had happened the past three weeks. It was about an hour later when he came to his senses and realized that he was not gonna be in his senses for some time.

His phone rang and it was from Jake. He quickly gathered some confidence and answered.

"Hey," Nicholas said softly. "Are you missing me already?"

Jake laughed. "Yeah, but I was just asking if I left my keys in the office?"

"Uh ah," Nicholas said, holding the keys in his hands. "I can bring them if..."

"No," Jake hollered. "I'll just pick them when I come to your house tomorrow."

"Alright," Nicholas answered.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Nicholas chuckled. He was really nervous and had no idea how to react anymore.

****

Nicholas lay on his grandmother's lap. It was haven every time he was in trouble, confused or even happy. His grandmother's lap was everything he could ever wish for when his mood was not right.

He couldn't have wished for anything more at that time. For a second he felt safe and was able to think clearly.

"Can you tell me what seems to bother you?" Elena asked her grandson who has been confused of late. "You haven't said anything since you came back home. Tell me, did you finally talk to that boy?"

"No," Nicholas muttered. "He's gone."

"Gone," Elena couldn't understand a thing.

"Yes, grandmother," Nicholas mumbled as he felt a hardening in his chest. "He ran away two days ago."

"That's bad," Elena said.

"Yeah," Nicholas said softly. "But if he's happy then I just have to accept that and move on."

"So what's next?" Elena asked.

"I think I made a mistake and I am gonna rectify that."

"I don't understand." Elena said.

"I have to make it up to Jake." Nicholas said, trying to sound confident. "I don't know how but I think..."

Nicholas suddenly got up when an idea hit him. He could just surprise Jake at his house the next day. It would be good and he knew Jake would really love it. That was what he was gonna do. He was gonna go to Jake's house, surprise him and probably make love to him just like he loves it.

*****

Nicholas quickly pulled his car inside Jake's compound. He was really nervous and happy at the same time. He had a bottle of champagne, some flower petals and a beautiful watch for Jake. He had rushed to the mall early and bought a beautiful gold watch for Jake. He just hoped Jake loved the watch.

Nicholas got out of the car and was ready to get all the items out for the surprise. He opened the back door when the guard came to him.

"Morning, sir," The guard greeted.

"Hi,"

"Um...sir," The guard stammered. "There is no one around and Adrian is..."

"Yeah," Nicholas mumbled. "I know what happened. Jake told me everything. Adrian had run away."

"Run away," The guard exclaimed. "I didn't know Adrian had run away."

"Wait, what?" Nicholas couldn't understand anything. Wasn't a guard supposed to know everything that was happening in the house?

"How come you don't know that Adrian ran away two days ago?"

"I'm really sorry, sir," The guard muttered. "I'll be honest with you. The last I heard of Adrian was a night about three days ago. I was doing my rounds and I heard him crying. My colleague and I exchange our duties at this gate and I can assure you that Adrian has never left this house."

Nicholas was really confused. He couldn't take what the guard was telling him. Jake had told him that Adrian had run away and now the guard was telling him that Adrian never even left the house. Something was definitely not right and as usual Nicholas wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"But that's impossible." Nicholas hollered. "Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?"

"Because that was what I knew." The guard muttered. "But it got me thinking and I wondered when Adrian really left the house. I have a hunch that Adrian is still in the house probably being punished because he might have done something really bad."

Somehow, Nicholas hoped what the guard had told him was all true. He really hoped it was really true because though he was happy that Adrian had escaped he still wished Adrian was back so he really hoped and prayed for what the guard had said to be true.

"Are you sure of what you are telling me?" Adrian's heart was racing, his eyes were wide open and his hands were shaking. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Adrian or he would never forgive Jake and his family members.

"Sir, I'm not sure." The guard gulped. "All I know is that I never saw him leave this compound. The truth is, Adrian is a really nice boy and though he doesn't talk much he is really nice. That is why I'm worried about him."

"If you what you are telling me is true..." Nicholas paused, trying to calm himself down. "...then we need to check it out."

"I don't have the keys, sir." The guard said. He was trembling while he talked. He was playing with fire and if his employers found out that he had done that, they would definitely kill him.

"But I do," Nicholas said as he removed the keys from his trouser pocket. "Let's go in."

Nicholas quickly closed the car door and rushed to the entrance door of the house. He was nervous as he was about to find out the truth. He really hoped Adrian was inside because he still had some unfinished business to attend to.

Nicholas opened the entrance door and got even more nervous. It was quiet inside and it seemed like the house hadn't been cleaned for a long time. The only place where he knew was Jake's room but he was lucky the guard was with him.

"Here we are," Nicholas said, looking around the whole house.

"Upstairs," The guard exclaimed. "Let's check his room."

Nicholas rushed upstairs, being led by the guard until they reached a room at the far end. Once the guard opened it, Nicholas looked all around and noticed that the room was definitely not in a good condition. It was small, a small bed, table, mirror and that's all. Nicholas stood in the middle of the room while the guard checked around.

"He's not in here."

Nicholas and the guard left the room to go check the other rooms. They checked Jake's room, Cynthia's room and other rooms. They even checked the whole house but nothing was found. Jake was telling the truth after all. Adrian had run away and the sooner Nicholas accepted it, the better it was gonna be for him.

"He's not here," Nicholas muttered. "I guess Jake was telling the truth after all."

"I'm really sorry," The guard said softly. "I thought he was in here but..."

"It's okay," Nicholas said, taking a deep breath. "At least we tried and don't worry, I won't say anything to Jake."

"Thank you very much, sir." The guard gushed, kneeling down to thank Nicholas.

"Don't worry," Nicholas smiled faintly. "I'm sure wherever he is, he is happy."

The guard smiled and then got up. Nicholas lost all hope but he still had a task. He glanced at his wrist watch, two hours before the time Jake had said he would be home. It was still enough time for Nicholas to prepare the surprise.

Nicholas smiled and turned to leave before he saw a room at the far end, next to Adrian's room. He hadn't seen that room. It was like it had magically appeared.

"Wait, what's in that room?" Nicholas pointed to the room at the far end.

"Oh," The guard muttered. "That is just a room which is empty. Nothing is in there. In fact, it has not been used since I began working here."

"Oh," Nicholas muttered, his eyes still glued at the door. There was nothing in there and he had a task at hand.

"Will you help me get some stuff from the car?" Nicholas asked. He couldn't move his eyes away from the door at the far end.

Nicholas started moving but he stopped in his tracks. He found himself impatient and had no idea why. Something stopped him and his gaze at the door was glued. He couldn't move his eyes away from it. It was like that very room was calling him.

"Wait," Nicholas hollered. "Let's check that room first."

The guard nodded and they both found themselves at the door. Nicholas took a deep breath and slowly touched the cold knob. This was his last chance to ever see Adrian and prove that he had not run with his sugar daddy.

As much as Nicholas didn't want to find Adrian in that room, he really prayed for him to see Adrian even if it was just once. Adrian was young, innocent and cute. Nicholas couldn't still believe Adrian would do that.

Nicholas slowly moved the knob, ready to open the door but he was disappointed. It wouldn't open at all. That got him wondering a lot and he was determined to find out the reason the door was locked. It was the only room in the house that had a door locked.

"It's locked," Nicholas said, trying with whole his power to open it. "Is there a key somewhere?"

"Yeah," the guard said. "But I have no idea where. I am sure there is nothing there."

The guard was probably right but the suspense was killing Nicholas. He would never be calm unless he found out what exactly was in that room.

"No," Nicholas said softly, touching his head. "Let's check it out. I have a strange feeling about it."

"Alright," the guard said. "I'll try to look for the keys."

The guard left and Nicholas knew that he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He had to speed up the search for the keys before his future in-laws came back. He went to Jake's room and did a clean search in the drawers. He was lucky enough to find a bunch of keys. They were quite a few.

Nicholas quickly got out of Jake's room and went back to the room he was determined to open. He found the guard already back trying a key in the key hole.

"It's not working," the guard said impatiently.

"I think one of these will open." Nicholas said, handing the keys to the guard.

The guard took the keys and Nicholas waited impatiently as the guard tried the keys one by one. It was gonna be long but it was worth the wait if he really wanted to find Adrian. Nicholas waited for almost ten minutes and he kept on growing more impatient. Maybe he really needed to let it go before his future in law found him snooping around the house.

It would be inappropriate and really embarrassing for a man of his class and level, a man well respected and talked about by all. He didn't need to waste all of it because he wanted to find Adrian who was probably somewhere having a good time with his sugar daddy. Besides, Jake hadn't lied to him because Jake had no idea about what had happened at the office, right?

Nicholas sighed deeply. "If it isn't working just let it go." He said, walking away to go outside to begin his surprise.

Nicholas walked about a distance before he heard a short, barely audible sound from the guard.

"It's open,"

Nicholas quickly turned and ran towards the room. He stood there and he knew that the moment of truth had come, the time to really find out if Adrian had really run away with a sugar daddy or it was all an allegation.

Nicholas went to the knob, touched it and slowly opened the door. It opened with a swift and he looked all around the room but it was too dark to see.

"There has to be a switch somewhere in here," Nicholas said, searching the wall with his hands.

"Oh, wait," the guard said. "I'll go get a torch downstairs."

It didn't take long and the guard came back, gave Nicholas the torch. Nicholas slowly pressed on the tiny button, his heart racing miles away. As soon as the torch went on, Nicholas' heart stopped beating for a second. His jaw dropped, his eyes and mouth gaped and his body felt cold, too cold.

His heart couldn't take what he saw. Adrian was lying in that dark, cold room, lifeless. Nicholas had no idea whether he was still alive but he prayed so.

"Adrian!" Nicholas shouted, running towards him. "Oh, my God, Adrian,"

Nicholas ran with his heart, his body and his mind. He ran quickly to Adrian and pulled him from the floor onto his legs. He wasn't even thinking anything but Adrian felt cold. When the light shone on him, his nose was bloody and some on his clothes too.

Nicholas was hurt, he was really hurt. His heart couldn't take what he saw and he eventually shed a tear.

"Adrian," Nicholas sobbed. "Adrian, please, wake up, don't leave me."

But Adrian was just laying lifeless, cold in his big, strong arms without even blinking. It was all so confusing and he didn't know what to do. Not to talk about what to think.

"Sir is he alive?" the guard asked.

"I don't know," Nicholas gulped. "But he can't die like this." He sobbed. "Adrian, please wake up. Wake up Adrian. Don't even think of leaving."