inquinatum; chapter 02
Chapter 02;
PG-13, however, some m/m and swearing. Read at your own risk. :)
* * * * *
But better to get hurt by the truth
than comforted with a lie..
- Khaled Hosseini
It was still early morning, a quiet peaceful sunny morning. I don’t know why I was up so early, but I couldn’t sleep more. Walking down the stairs of our massive modern house, I tried to keep my step quiet, afraid the echoes might wake Caius.
I still had time, and there was nothing to eat for dinner. Caius and I had an argument yesterday, so this was like a make-up dinner, hopefully. I didn’t know if it would work, he was so unpredictable but being in a bad relationship with him was worse than being stung by wasps for hours. Preparing the meal, I constantly checked the time. Just because I was in a bad situation with him, didn’t mean I couldn’t go out with Bender or use it as an excuse for being late…
Packing everything up to finish cooking it later, I glanced at the time once more. It was time to go. Taking my bag, I headed for the door, still keeping quiet.
Apparently I wasn’t quiet enough, because as I reached the door, a cool voice sounded behind me.
“Where are you going?”
I tensed lightly, grit my teeth. Damn! I didn’t get out in time. “Out.” I simply replied.
“Out where?”
“To the coffee shop, with Bender.”
“Why? It’s so early, and you saw him two days ago.”
“Because he’s my boyfriend, Caius!” I snapped back, and immediately regretted it. Caius’s eyes darkened further and I quickly averted my gaze to avoid sinking into the black holes that pulled me in like a sandpit. Without another word, I turned to walk out, acutely aware of his eyes boring into my back.
If I could ever have heard his thoughts in that moment, I would have run away and never come back.
*****
“I thought you wouldn’t ever turn up!” Bender’s grin widened softly as I approached.
I laughed a little, “I’m only late by a few minutes.”
Bender looked at me carefully for a moment, then gestured to a chair, “Sit down.”
He sat opposite me and watched me some more. “Your smile won’t fool me, tell. What’s up?”
I bit my lip, I couldn’t hide anything from him - it was pointless to even try. Bender knew me too well for any lie to get past him. “It’s Caius again.” I said simply, looking down at my hands.
A long sigh came from Bender, as if he had been expecting that to be the answer, but didn’t speak, allowing me to continue. “He’s been acting weird again. Going out somewhere all the time without telling me and yet demanding to know where I was going, being possessive, rude, and the list just goes on. It’s like he forgot about the promise he made.
I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”
Bender sent a look of sympathy, but his voice was a little different. “I told you, he wouldn’t last long. It’s been what, a month since your last fight? That’s not long. Besides, who is he to you anyway, apart from being your adopted brother, or you his - it doesn’t matter. You’re not family by blood, he didn’t raise you, you’re not his to control.”
I opened my mouth to protest that in some ways, yes he did bring me up, but Bender shook his head, “In any case, I don’t see why you’d just move in with me. I don’t share the apartment with anyone, and he won’t be hounding down on you every second any more.”
“It’s not that simple.”
I sighed softly. Behind me, I could hear some commotion going on but I didn’t pay any attention to it. I knew who it was, the usual teenagers bullying their usual victim, a frequent visitor of the café. It happened everyday, nobody bothered to try stopping it.
“If I just leave, I’m sure Caius will find me. Even if I leave the country, I am positive he will find a way to find out where I went, where I live, turn up and question me. You know I know Caius, and you know him too. He’s determined, and strong-willed. Unpredictable.”
Bender gave a soft growl, and shook his head, “You have to stop this. Stop this fear of him finding you, and this submissiveness that you display all the time. The only reason he’s still being a dick is because you’re letting him. You’re letting him control you by being all quiet and doing as he says.”
“I’m not!”
“Trust me you are. Stand up and tell him that you don’t have to tell him everything, tell him that he doesn’t have to know. It’s not a right to ask, it’s a privilege, and he’s pushing it. You could go to court and sue him for it.”
I sat in silence, absorbing and processing everything he had just said. Something made me feel uneasy though, and it wasn’t the two teenagers laughing at their poor victim behind me. It was as if someone was watching.
“Can we please go somewhere else, I feel like I’m being watched. I feel uneasy…” I murmured softly, and to my surprise, Bender nodded. Maybe he felt it too.
We stood and left the table, walking away from the coffee shop, unaware that our senses had not been lying to us.
*****
We headed off to the park nearby that was recently remade. The fresh grass, trees and flowers all smelt green and healthy. The flowers gave off a strong pleasant smell. Here I felt much more at rest.
I walked up to the cement seats and sat down, taking a deep breath. “It’s so nice out here. I miss coming here. Good thing they restored it, it was getting a bit ugly.” I smiled softly.
Bender chuckled, “Yes. It’s much cleaner now. It’s good for the people working in the offices too, to go out for a bit and have a walk and relax. Good thing it’s quiet during the day. Sadly they also cleaned the lake, now I can’t drown Caius in there and hide his body.”
I laughed, “Whoa, calm down there Bender. I know you don’t like him, but a lake is uncivilised, try a moat maybe?”
We laughed some more, swapping jokes and enjoying the nice fresh air.
But as much as I didn’t want it to, the inevitable came up anyway.
“Think about it,” Bender said slowly after a pause, “My offer is still open, no matter what.”
“It’s not going to happen,” I stood up and turned, walking slowly away from Bender, averting my gaze to avoid his eyes. “Not any time soon.”
“Why?” Bender persisted, following me with a frown on his features. I didn’t look back.
“I can’t just leave him.”
“You can’t leave him, but he can leave you, disappear for days, disappear for weeks with a lame excuse of just ‘work’.” Bender moved past me with a soft sneering tinge in his voice but a calm expressionless face. “He’s got you wrapped around his finger and in a blindfold.”
My lips parted in slight surprise but fury as well. “What are you on about?”
A tiny smile touched his lips, “What if there’s something he’s not telling you, Micah? Have you ever thought about it?”
Feeling a little bit exposed, and that this conversation was better done somewhere private, I moved to the new little gazebo that had been placed in place of the old one. Sitting down at the table, I turned to Bender. “What do you mean he’s hiding something from me? Why would he do that! It’s not like we’re in a relationship and he’s having an affair. What could he not want me to know and go out of his way to hide it?” I challenged him, refusing to believe the slightest bit of it.
“Christ, Micah, stop being so stubborn. Think about it,” Bender replied with a frown, trying to keep his voice from raising, “What kind of an excuse is ‘work’ when he randomly disappears for a few days, five days, a week - what kind of work does he have? Did he even ever mention that to you? How the fuck do you think he got such an expensive house in such a short amount of time, huh? Tell me!”
We argued back and forth, completely oblivious to everything around us. Only after a small pause of silence did I feel it.
Looking up, I glanced to the side to see if anyone was watching us or listening to us. There was nobody there.
“Did you feel that…?” I asked softly, keeping my voice low.
Bender frowned, but didn’t say anything, looking in the same direction as I was. His silence meant only one thing - he had felt it too.
I stayed silent for a few more minutes, simply watching. There was no movement, nothing, nothing at all to even so much as suggest that someone was there.
Nothing, nothing at all.
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A/N: Another update!! I'm sorry it took so long, and it's weird format, too dark/too light? What do you think? Constructive criticism/feedback is welcome!! :) Thank you for reading ^.^