Cole had stayed until past noon that day, cleaning up any evidence. He found the pistol that Carson had chucked into the river, and got rid of the girl's body. He even took the time to cover her blood with dirt and leaves, trying to make it look like nothing had ever happened there. After he was finished, it was as if this little place by the stream was still pure and innocent. There was nothing, at least nothing a human could discover. This was so familiar to him (disposing of bodies and evidence) that it was like instinct. There was hardly any thought needed to be put into it; he just did it, and did it well.

However, as a precaution, he drove his Chevelle to an inconspicuous part of the West end. He parks it in an alleyway behind some old warehouse, and sadly it's shitty enough to look like it belonged there.

It was one hell of a walk to their apartment from there. And the entire time, his mind raced with worries and theories and random memories (both new and old). He remembered seeing Carson all dolled up and beautiful, smiling at him. Then a flash of the absolute fear in his eyes when he saw Cole for who he was. It made his eyes start to burn again as he choked back the desire to tear. What am I to do? He had plenty of time to regret what he had put his sweetheart through. There was still no guilt for what he did to that girl. It's like he wasn't capable of it.

When he finally reaches River Dale and sees their building, he doesn't see Carson's truck and a painful knot in his gut strikes right away. No, please. No, no, no, no. He races up the stairs, dashing to their door and trying to open it frantically. Digging into his pockets and getting out his keys. He's such a wreck he drops them, "Oh, fucking come on! REALLY?!?!" A little girl (one of their neighbors) lets out a shocked gasp at hearing the cuss word and she runs, yelling for her mother and leaving her dolls and toys in the hallway. Cole doesn't even pay it any mind. He had more important matters to attend to. "Carson?!" He slams the front door (on accident) as he rushes in, looking from room to room, checking for any sign of someone leaving in a hurry.

And then, in their bedroom, he sees Carson there. Sweaty, tired and now overwhelmed by relief of seeing he hadn't left, he stares at him with a juvenile expression of knowing he'd fucked up bad and begging forgiveness. But this is going to take me so long to gain back his trust. But he's still here. He didn't leave like he promised. He didn't leave! "I'm, I'm sorry I just didn't see your truck and I thought .. well, you know."