ᴛᴀɪɴᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

It had been three long days since Ciel killed Greg. Three days of avoiding Akira, of ignoring the ringing phone, of retreating into the silent chaos of his own mind. He couldn't bear to face her—not when his body still bore the bruises from the fight, and not when the weight of his actions was suffocating him. He wasn't sure how he felt, what he was supposed to feel. Every moment he wasn't at her side, the guilt gnawed at him like a silent predator. But he couldn't bring himself to call her back. Couldn't let her see him like this—broken, both physically and mentally.

He'd also missed three days of classes, a luxury he couldn't afford. His mother would be storming her way over to the college soon, given the amount of money she contributed, and the Principal—her lap dog—would be sure to inform her of every little misstep. Ciel had pushed it all to the back of his mind. He just couldn't deal with it.

Ciel groggily pulled himself out of bed, his body stiff and sore. The mirror reflected his face—still swollen, bruised, but not as bad as it had been. He winced as his fingers brushed over the bandage on his cheek. He tilted his head, inspecting the damage. "It doesn't look too bad now," he murmured to himself. A small consolation in the face of everything else.

He brushed his teeth, the cold water stinging against his skin, then took a long, hot shower, the steam offering momentary relief. When he finished, he got dressed, opting for something casual but presentable. He didn't want to face anyone, but he knew he couldn't hide forever.

Downstairs, Cayden was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on breakfast. He barely glanced up when Ciel walked in.

"There's pancakes in the microwave for you," Cayden said casually, as if everything was normal.

"Thanks," Ciel replied, his voice flat, as he took the plate from the microwave. The silence between them was thick, both of them still adjusting to their new reality. Neither of them knew how to act around the other after everything that had happened.

He sat down across from Cayden, shoveling pancakes into his mouth, focusing on the task to keep his mind distracted. After a long stretch of silence, Cayden spoke up.

"Uh, are you okay? You haven't been going to classes. Akira was asking about you. Did you two have a fight?"

Ciel didn't look up from his plate. "I'm fine. I just needed a break, that's all," he muttered, forcing a nonchalant tone. "I'll be back tomorrow anyway. If I miss any more days, Mom will be showing up to make sure I'm still breathing."

Cayden raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue further. He stood up, placing his empty dish in the dishwasher. "Alright, well, I'm heading out. See you later."

"Yeah. Bye," Ciel mumbled, barely registering his brother's departure. Once the door clicked shut behind Cayden, Ciel sank deeper into the couch, pulling out his phone. He winced at the screen—there were dozens of missed calls. Akira. Xoia. His mom. All of them had been trying to reach him.

Ciel ignored the calls from his mom for now; he couldn't deal with her wrath. Instead, he called Xoia. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello, Ciel... I've been trying to reach you for days. Where have you been? I'm scared... the police came by yesterday. Someone reported Greg as missing."

"Shh, Xoia, calm down, okay? Take a deep breath. Breathe," he said, his voice low and soothing, though his own heart was pounding.

She took a shaky breath, her voice still trembling. "I'm worried. They're going to find out. Greg... He would disappear sometimes, but he always came back. Now..."

"I know, Xoia. I know it's hard, but you need to stay calm. Don't make yourself look suspicious. You told the police that you broke up with him because he was abusive. That's all they need to hear, okay?" Ciel tried to sound more confident than he felt. "Just stay strong."