Predator in disguise

Surface wounds

A smile tugged at the corner of Alec's lips and he lifted his arm, a flat white box balanced on his fingertips. "Special delivery."

I blinked, my jaw hanging wide open. "W-what are you doing here?"

Alec cocked his pierced eyebrow. "You going to invite me in?"

My fingers tightened their grip on the door, but, thankfully, Alec did not notice. The world was spinning again. I could feel the tears in my upper arm throb and pulse. I bit the inside of my cheek, hoping the pain would sharpen my vision. Though I wanted desperately to refuse and send Alec away, I knew he would not leave without questioning me. Perhaps I could convince him to go after I invited him in for a quick chat. But my wound was gnawing at me. I would have to keep focused and think quickly. The last thing I wanted was Alec fussing over me.

I stepped aside and made an invitational gesture with a sweep of my arm, clamping my teeth down on my tongue when the movement sent a wave of fire shooting through my arm. Alec stepped inside, his strides confident as his eyes darted around the small apartment. He placed the pizza box on the small, circular dining table and continued moseying about.

"It's not exactly penthouse standards," I said quietly.

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "I think it's great."

"Don't patronize me," I grumbled. "Or pity me."

Alec turned, his face serious. "I wasn't. Really, Jace. This place is warm, dry, quiet. Better than what I had at one point in my life."

That caught me off guard. My mouth opened as closed as I fumbled for something to say. Alec cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked awkwardly.

Great. Small talk. I shook my head. There was no time for this. I did not know what Alec wanted from me, but I could not coddle him. At the moment the best I could be towards him was curt. My arm, from my elbow up to my shoulder, felt hot and wet. The bandages were not staunching the flow of blood. I was grateful for having pulled on a black long sleeve t-shirt. If the fabric was growing damp with blood, Alec gave no indication that he could see it.

"What are you doing here, Alec?"

Alec's blue eyes flitted across the room, avoiding contact with mine. "I just...I hadn't heard from you in a while and I wanted to check in."

"I'm an adult, for God's sake." My voice came out as a harsh hiss, and I continued in a softer tone. "You don't need to check up on me."

"I know. Jace, when I told you to leave the other night, I didn't mean you had to stay gone. But I was wondering if maybe my...actions...had scared you away...for good."

Your actions? Scare me away? You think I'm a homophobe, Alec?

I hung my head to hide my expression as I suffered through another onslaught of pain. The fingers of my left hand clenched tightly around my denim pant leg. I couldn't let Alec stay any longer. It took all my strength just to stay vertical.

"Can we not talk about this now?"

"Jace--"

"You kind of caught me at a bad time, Alec," I said hurriedly. "I need you to leave. Now."

Alec's mouth pressed into a thin line. He looked ruffled and slightly offended, but he gave a slight nod and said, "All right."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief, but I quickly became flustered again when Alec made no move towards the door. He was staring at me, his head cocked to the side. I locked gazes with him nervously.