Ricky was beyond heartbroken when I told him Chris' ruling. He clung to me as he broke down, and I know now, I will never forgot the way he looks when he cries. He's still so beautiful, but in the way an explosion is beautiful. It's a tragedy wrapped in warmth and glow, laced with black ash.

After years of knowing Chris, I knew there was no convincing him out of this. The only person he ever would cave for is Angelo. When Angelo finds out, he'll make Chris bring us back to Voodoo. Until then we've got to ride this out. Nothing is forever, even pain. To be honest, leaving Ricky isn't the most painful part. No, the thing that hurts me the most is knowing where he has to go.

I didn't want to think about it. If there really is a God, he'll watch over Ricky and make sure he survives. I know that little raccoon is tougher than he looks, but I just can't keep from worrying. I do care about him a lot, more than anyone I've ever met. There's just something different about him that catches my eye and always makes me smile. Now I have to lose that... fuck.

Ricky sat on the couch in my dressing room as I took my stage makeup off. He had the night off while I didn't. However, we've been trying to savor every last minute together. Tonight is our last night at Voodoo. I never thought that would be a bad thing for me to say...

We were making small talk as always. Just joking around about our night of work, customers and such. Then we both shared looks of concern when we heard a huge slam, followed by aggressive yelling. I got up and went towards the door, opening it cautiously. Ricky came up behind me to look, but I protectively kept him inside the room. I stayed in the doorway myself because I didn't want him involved in whatever was happening.

Down one side of the hall, Angelo was knelt over Chris on the floor, trying to help him with a bleeding nose. On the opposite side, two bounces were trying their best to keep Kuza back. He fought them while screaming words of hate.

"I can't fucking believe you! YEARS of friendship and you do this shit to me?! You're not a real man, Cerulli! Real men face their fucking battles! You're a Goddamn coward and fucking hypocrite! It's okay for YOU to fuck Angelo, but God forbid any of us have a fucking relationship or life!"

Even if more the shit he was saying was true, you can't say that shit to Chris. He is still our boss. Kuza does get away with a lot because he's close with Chris, but I don't think he'll be getting away with this. The bounces dragged him far away from Chris. He eventually gave up fighting and walked into his dressing room. Kuza slammed the door, leaving behind an awkward silence.

Angelo helped Chris up, leading him into another one of the backstage rooms to treat him. Jake, one of the bouncers, fell against a wall. He sighed as he looked at us, giving us a sympathetic look. I glanced down at Ricky. He was worried and just as lost as I was. I kissed his forehead and he groaned, letting his head fall against my chest.

| • |

The next morning, we were all called in to the club for a staff meeting. All the employees had to come in anyways to collect their checks for the week. I'm not used to seeing the whole staff together. It was odd, and rare it ever happened.

"Thank you all for coming." Angelo said as he stood in front of us all.

"Wait a minute. Where's Chris?" Ryan asked.

He sighed. "He had a meeting across town. He's very apologetic that he couldn't be here, but he still wants us to proceed. Some of you may already be aware, but for those of you that aren't, we've decided to cut down on staff at this location. Many of our employees will be moving to the other two clubs; Hocus-Pocus and Witchcraft. As well as some of you are going to some of Chris' other businesses."

Huh, yeah. Other businesses. That's one way to put it. Obviously Ricky and I weren't the only ones getting shipped off. Something about this whole situation sinks. There's a piece of the puzzle missing. Chris wouldn't do this for no reason.

"Who's leaving?" Balz asked.

"Andy, Ricky, Devin, Nikki, Jeremy, Kyle, Bret, and Matt." He responded.

Matt... That's what Kuza was pissed about last night. Chris is tearing the two apart, just like he's doing to Ricky and I. Not to mention, he's breaking up Andy and Ashley, and Bret and Alex. There was obviously some motivation in who he chose, but I believe there's more to the story. Why the Hell is he just sending us all off all at once?

| • |

I stood outside the club with the wind whistling in my ears. Ricky was clinging to me while we waited on his ride. This was our last time together. For now, at least.

"Here." I heard him mutter as he slipped something in my hand. "Keep it. I want you to have it."

I glanced down to see his key necklace. "Oh, Angel." I sighed, softly kissing his cheek. "Thank you. I'll keep it as a promise we'll see each other again. And, I want you to keep this." I pulled off my ring that I love and gave it to him just as the cars pulled up. "Stay safe."

"Come on, Ricky. It's time to go!" Bret called for him as the others waited on him.

Ricky quickly stole a kiss from me. "You too, Devin. Don't forget about me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." I replied.

He smiled in a bittersweet way. Ricky hesitantly ran off with the others, getting forced into a black car. I can't believe we let it get this far. This is only temporary. I just had to keep telling myself that. This will all pan out as it should. It has to.