________________________________

Julia heard the sudden shot and paused down the hall, freezing for a moment before turning back around. "Julia, wait-" Hans began, but she was walking quickly towards the door, pushing it open to see Peter tucking a gun back into the belt of his suit pants.

She looked at the blood splattered across Sophie's face, who was sitting in a tense silence, just staring into space as if someone had pressed pause on her whole being and the lack of the third party in the room. "Peter," Julia breathed in shock, gaining his attention. "You just said you wanted to talk to him," she stressed, walking further into the room and around the table to see Richard crumbled in a heap... with blood pouring from his head. "These are slate floors!" She gasped,

"I apologise." Peter replied calmly, "I lost control."

"Oh, cut the crap," Julia sighed in irritation, "You brought that weapon with you on purpose, oh my god." She whines angrily, folding her arms. "We need to get the cleaners in here, I can't let this stain."

"I'll call them now." Hans said decisively, pulling his phone from his pocket and holding it up to his ear as he left the room.

"Peter, for gods sake." Julia carried on, "At least tell me why," she added, still stood with her arms folded as if she was exasperated by a minor inconvenience. Peter didn't reply, and instead apologised again for his behaviour. Julia was about to respond, but Sophie murmured something under her breath, gaining both their attentions as she slipped out of her daze and began to process what had just happened. "I'm sorry?" Julia asked, having not really heard.

"You're all murderers." Sophie whispered, still staring vacantly. "... You killed him." She whispered, slowly looking towards Peter. "You killed him!" She shouted, her voice shrill and strained as reality suddenly caught up to her. "Murderer!" She screamed, "You're a murderer!" She screamed and sobbed, catching Julia by surprise as Sophie pointed and screamed at Peter.

"Contrary to popular belief I am not a violent person," Peter replied, raising his voice a little as Sophie screamed profanities at him and Julia stared in surprise. "I did what I had to do." He added, unfazed by the screaming and crying emanating from Sophie's mouth.

"Sophie-" Julia tried to say, leaning forward to pull her back from leaning across the table and get her to calm down but she was violently shrugged off. "Sophie, please calm down-"

"Get off of me! You're all fucking murderers! Get off me!" She screamed, scrambling up and pushing herself away from them and stumbling into a corner, only to crumple down into a heap and burst into hysterical tears. Julia stared at her, watching her cry and felt unable to empathise... she glanced at Peter who sighed and adjusted the way he was standing. The sound of Sophie's cries filled the room and for a few seconds they rang off the walls like a piercing alarm that could wake the dead if they wanted to. Julia felt her temper snap and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"For the love of god, shut up!" She snapped loudly, causing Sophie to gasp quickly as the shock from Julia's statement rang into her ears. "What is wrong with you?" She asked Sophie angrily, who was staring up at her with tear stained cheeks and blood shot eyes. She was unable to respond, seeming to be so shocked by Julia's words she couldn't think. "You're crying for him? When only a few weeks ago you wanted to leave him for another man, are you serious?" Julia snapped, dropping the glistening veil that was her usual personality and showing her true face. "Give is a break with the crocodile tears, please. Darling."

"Crocodile tears?" Sophie replied in a hiss, her voice thick with emotion as she pushed herself up from where she was sitting on the floor. "He just shot my husband!"

"People die every day," Julia replied, rolling her eyes and throwing her arms up a little as she turned away from Julia to step over Richards body and wander around the room slightly. "This was the best outcome for you, now you have his money, his work pension, the house, and no husband to pretend to love for the sake of your children, you can do whatever you want now."

Sophie stared in shock, "You're insane." She spat, her eyes still teary.

"I'm realistic, darling." Julia correct, turning to face Sophie from across the round table. "I know exactly who you are, I've done my research. If you cared for this man, for either of these men, you wouldn't have stood for letting one rot in prison for sixteen years whilst the other trips over his feet to please you."

"You don't know what I went through," Sophie replied, wiping her tears before glancing down at Richard. She felt sick suddenly, and placed her hand on her chest as she felt more tears drop from her eyes.

"Incorrect. I do. I even know what Alice went through." Julia replied, "I know everything." She added, "What kind of mother..." she began, but didn't finish the sentence because by the look on Sophie's face she already knew what she was going to say. There was a silence between for a few seconds as Sophie's quiet gasping sobs filtered into the air. "Here is what you are going to do." Julia said, her voice lowering as she stared pointedly at Sophie's face. "And you're going to do exactly what I say or we will make sure you never see Alice again."

~

"I wonder where they went." Alice wondered out loud as she followed Magnus down an extravagant hallway to the library, since his theory was that if something was going on, this was a good place to start looking. "What if it's a secret meeting, we don't want to burst in and make it awkward."

"We're not bursting in, babe." Magnus replied, glancing over his shoulder to look at her with a smirk. "And since when were you so against snooping?"

"Since forever," Alice replied, smiling since Magnus's smirk had ignited warm, fluttering feelings in her chest. She quickened her steps and caught up with his stride, smiling up at him as they walked side by side to the library. "Do you think something's going on?" She asked as they arrived at the doors and Magnus leant his ear against it.

"I can't hear anything." He murmured, feeling Alice's gaze fixed on him as he hummed then turned the handle, opening the door and peering inside. "It's empty." He grumbled, disappointed suddenly but walked in regardless, thankful for the peace and quiet. Alice followed, closing the door behind her and turning around to look around the room as Magnus wandered in and lazily sat down on one of the plush red leather couches. "I just get this feeling that something is going on... either that or I'm so fucking bored I'm trying to make something up." Magnus said, watching as Alice wandered around the library, looking up at the tall bookshelves and wondering how many of these had actually been read.

"Maybe your parents were just caught up in the marriage flush and needed some alone time." Alice replied and giggled as Magnus made a sound of disgust. "I love this room." She whispered, enjoying the quietness and the smell of the books. "I want a room exactly like this in my future house."

"It's soundproof, you know." Magnus's replied, standing up and making his way over to Alice as she examined a book at random, seeing that it was a first edition of the jungle book. She was gazing down at the pages, tracing her fingers across the slightly rough paper in fascination as Magnus moved up behind her and slid his arms under hers... Alice smiled instantly, feeling the warmth of his body against her back and lent against him, enjoying the affection. "Maybe we should have our own alone time." He murmured, holding her securely. She smelt sweet, like her usual perfume and he breathed in deeply... enjoying the smell of her skin and hair.

"We had alone time last night..." Alice murmured softly, surprised by his level of affectionate behaviour and wondered what had changed in the last twenty four hours. It was as if something had switched in him, and he'd been unable to take his eyes and his hands off of her since they'd woken up.

"I want more." Magnus murmured, unwrapping his arms from around her body and smoothing his palms down her hips then across her abdomen. Alice inhaled deeply and slowly, gently closing the book and putting it down on a near by table and turned around to face her boyfriend. Her arms went around his neck and they lent into each other, locking their lips together as the heat and energy began to dance between them enthusiastically.

Carefully he pushed her back into the bookcase, securing her between him and the shelving. Their lips moved quickly together, completely in sync and well rehearsed as Alice moaned softly at his enthusiasm and mirrored it. She wanted to ask what was different, why he was so... loving... suddenly, but her thoughts went quiet as Magnus groaned, and murmured a compliment under his breath between their kisses.

Both their skins began to feel hot, as if they had climbed under a thick duvet and had no fresh air. Alice moaned softly again, bringing her leg up against Magnus's thigh and he reached down to hold it there, murmuring more lust fuelled compliments against her lips. Alice wanted to melt into the bookshelf holding her up but suddenly, the bubble they were in burst as the door to the library opened. "Maybe they're in- oh!" The sound of Julia's voice gasped and Alice and Magnus broke apart.

Alice looked sheepish, and turned bright pink from her chest up to her forehead, but Magnus only smirked and released a low chuckle as his parents tried to hide their smiles. "Well," Julia smiled, "Maybe we should've knocked, darlings. My apologies." She giggled softly, glancing at Hans.

"You were looking for us?" Magnus asked, smoothing his hand over his hair and pushing it back and away from his face. Alice focussed on controlling her racing heart beat and embarrassment by gently pressing her cheeks with her palms.

"Yes, we had the most wonderful idea, darlings." Julia beamed, walking further the room with a bright but determined smile. Magnus could sense that whatever it was, he was about to not have a choice. "Why don't you take Alice camping this weekend? It's only four, you could drive up for the evening, spend Sunday and Monday, then come back Tuesday morning. The scenery is just to die for, and the weather is meant to be wonderful."

"Camping?" Alice asked and Magnus stared at his mother, he glanced from Julia to Hans still stood by the door and saw the way he was looking at him. He was right, he didn't have a choice. Something had happened. "I have school on mon-"

"I'll give them a call for you," Julia said, cutting across Alice and smiled, "Don't you think it would be fun? They have yurts, barbecues.... hot tubs, hiking trails..."

"Sure," Alice agreed, glancing at Magnus who was still watching his father. She got the sensation too, like something had crawled across the back of her neck and she felt herself agreeing and not wanting to say anymore.

"Oh, fabulous! Hans, call Sarah and ask her to get the camping gear ready. Alice, darling, I have a few scruffies you can borrow for the trip. Magnus? You can take the SUV, but please remember to refill the tank when you're done with it."

The pair glanced at each other as Julia left in a flurry of organisation, calling for Alice to follow her moments after she'd left the library... behind the enthusiasm of Julia wanting Alice and Magnus to spend the weekend away, the two could tell that there was an ulterior motive... Magnus stopped by the library door, seeing his father lingering in the hallway, staring out through one of the bay windows as he rubbed his chin. "Dad, what's going on?" He asked, walking closer to him and intently staring at his face.

Hans exhaled heavily, taking a moment before he turned to look at Magnus. There was a second or two where they just looked at each other, and Magnus read his fathers facial expression like a book. "Did something happen to Alice's parents?" He asked in a low voice as he put two and two together. The hurry to get the pair of them out the house, the way his parents had hurried Peter off to show him something and neither Sophie or Richard had made a public appearance.

"It was Richard." Hans murmured, the simplicity of the sentence telling Magnus everything he needed to know. "Your mother is handling it." He added in a quieter voice. "It's best to get Alice out of town... her mother is pretty upset."

"... Was it Peter?" Magnus's asked and Hans lowered his gaze and looked away.

"I would keep this information to yourself." Hans simply said and Magnus inhaled carefully before nodding. The seriousness in his expression seemed to make Magnus feel strange, he excused himself and walked off, rubbing the back of his neck as he went to find Alice and his mother...

... Within an hour the two had changed, and had packed the SUV with equipment, food, and their bags and had set off down the long Johnson Mansion drive way even with the wedding anniversary party still in full swing. The campsite they were heading to was forty five minutes outside of town, up on a hill that looked out over the lake. It was medium sized, with a few yurts dotted around to make a miniature village. It was hardly true camping, but it was close enough to the outdoors that those who went considered it to be.

"When your mom said scruffies I didn't expect Gucci." Alice said ass she peeled open a can of Pringles and shook a few into her hand before giving some to Magnus. He just laughed in response after a few seconds, a low sound that made Alice grin since she understood his momentary hesitation. "Shut up, its all designer to me. I forget sometimes that mega rich people know the difference between cheap designer and expensive designer."

"Hermés, Chanel, Dior, Ralph Lauren, etcetera... tasteful. Gucci, Dolce.... mmm. Do I need to explain more?" Magnus replied and Alice giggled again.

"So why do you guys own it?" Alice asked, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed about the Gucci belt she'd spent so long begging her parents to buy for her. She'd seen Magnus glance at it several times over their period of knowing each other and cringed silently.

"Scruffies." Magnus's shrugged and Alice sighed. He glanced at her and smirked again, popping some of the Pringles into his mouth. He turned the radio on, since Alice was now looking out the window watching the scenery pass by. The sound of Nights by Frank Ocean flowed from the speakers and Alice sighed happily.

"Oh my god. I love this song so much," she gasped, turning it up slightly. Magnus glanced at her, looking over her face as she sang along, or rather spoke along to the words happily. He turned the song up more, listening to the lyrics to see why she liked the song, whilst also wanting her to enjoy herself as the feeling of something being off began to filter away the further they got away from Summerland, as if the hold it had over people was slowly losing its grip...

Once they arrived at the camp ground it was getting dark. It was just coming up to six o'clock, and they checked in... breathing a sigh of relief that Julia had called ahead to book them a yurt. The SUV was parked in the parking lot of the camp, and the pair walked back and forth to their yurt a few times to move food and their bags from the car to their designated living space. Alice hadn't been inside yet, but as she walked across the shredded wooden path leading back to where they were staying, she took a moment to stare at it.

It was a medium sized hexagon shape, made out of wood and a white thick material that gently fluttered in the wind. It had a small chimney, that began to gently smoke as Alice watched... meaning Magnus had lit a fire or... something was on fire. The area around had some trees and bushes, but it was mainly grass with a small area just outside to sit and Barbecue next to an open fire. She could see the another yurt through the trees about fifty yards away ahead of her, and another to her left past some bushes and more trees. They were private, but all connected together with pathways and seating areas.

The sound of nature around her was calming, with the bugs chirping and the wind rustling through the trees... It was chilly, but not cold, and the sky was clear excusing some clouds that idly wafted by. It had gotten dark quickly and Alice decided to hurry inside, holding the car keys tightly in her hand since she'd brought the final bags with her. The door was wooden, and closed quietly behind her as she stepped in, it locked but could also be covered by a curtain to make it more cosy. The interior was very bohemian with lots of colours and textures dotted around the place. Alice smiled, feeling tingles if excitement coursing through her veins... but felt strange that one moment she'd been at her boyfriend's parent's wedding anniversary celebration, and the next she was here... tucked away in the hills in the peace and quiet.

Magnus had in fact lit a fire, it was small and in a dome shaped oven with a clear door in the centre of the room. There was a wooden double bed opposite it, with an electric lamp hanging above, and fairly lights hanging across the beams above that. There was a seating area, and a bookshelf with some messily stacked books to Alice's left, some mismatched cream and white rugs across the floor too where there were large bean bags to relax on. There was a mini fridge and a small one ring stove opposite the door, but she doubted it was used often. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Outside," Magnus smirked, "Round the back. The water's heated for the shower... I think. It's solar." He added, then chuckled as he saw Alice's shocked expression. "This is weird, isn't it?" He said, standing up to his full height and almost brushing the beams with the top of his head.

"Your parents wanted us out of the house, didn't they?" Alice asked, and Magnus nodded... "Do they think we feel awkward being a couple around them or something?" She asked, laughing softly and placing the bags down by the others to one side of the bed.

"Maybe." Magnus replied, watching Alice intently as she pulled off the hoodie Julia had lent her and fanned her face. "Too warm?"

"I like it." She replied softly, "So... we're here now." She smiled, tying her hair up into a ponytail as the sound of the singing crickets from outside wafted in.

"Are you hungry?" Magnus asked, turning away from her and opening up the cooler box... He wondered if he should tell her the man who raised her, and who she had seen as a father for years and years of her life, had been murdered... but then depending on her reaction, her whole weekend with him could be ruined and they would've driven all this way for nothing. He hesitated, torn between following his father's blatant order, and telling his girlfriend the truth. But before thinking about it more he'd already changed the subject, getting caught up in Alice's excitement to light a fire outside and roast some hotdogs...