A Lover's Decision

Chapter 24

The clock just read twelve-thirty, but Rhyn rolled out of bed. He was restless, his mind whirling with different thoughts and ideas. He couldn't sleep no matter what he tried.

He went to the bathroom before going to his desk. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well work on character development. His outline was finished, but his professor said he needed extra character development. Most of that came to him while he slept. Since sleep was nonexistent right now, he would work.

He stared at the worksheet in annoyance. He never had any issues writing. Why was it any different? Was it because he had unfinished business with Myles? Was that it? Was it because Myles hand't called him or done anything to get in contact with him? Was he mad? Was he sad? Was he hurt?

Before he knew it, he was scribbling page after page of material. Every ounce of emotion flowed from his hand to the pages. His handwriting wasn't as neat as he'd like, but he'd go back and write them over. He had to get everything out before he could do that.

Rhyn was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn't hear his door open. He definitely didn't see the person who came in either. He kept his head bowed over his desk as he worked.

Myles sat on Rhyn's bed and watched the fever pitch in which he wrote. He had never seen him this focused before. He was hunched over his desk, head near resting on the glass top. Whatever was going through his mind had worked him up until he was unable to see past his little bubble.

He hurt Rhyn. He knew he had the moment he walked out. But Myles hadn't been able to follow him. His dad had caught him in the kitchen as soon as Rhyn was gone, and the fight had started all over again. He had left his house and had gone to the gym to work off some of his aggression.

His dad didn't understand his feelings. He had married Myles's mother out of convenience. It had been a business marriage much like he was trying to push on Myles, but it had been a happy one. Delaynee Smartt Dane had had four miscarriages before she'd had Myles, and once that'd happened, she'd been a doting mother. If she was here, she would have told Martin to leave his son alone. She would never have judged him.

Unfortunately, she'd passed when Myles had been in high school. Since then, Martin had done everything he could to push Myles into doing what he wanted. He'd let him major in sports science as long as his minor was business. He got a basketball scholarship but he wasn't allowed to let his grades slip below a 3.5 GPA. So many things had been piled up on him in hopes he would give in.

One thing Martin never understood about his son was Myles never backed down from a challenge. If he wanted to put pressure on his son, Myles would work under it and excel. He liked challenging himself. He liked to see what he could overcome. Now, Martin was pushing him into a corner, and he wasn't about to like what happened. It was like corning a wild animal, but with wild animals, they showed their teeth.

Myles had found the one thing he wanted to protect. At first, it had started out as trying to befriend Rhyn after that fateful night. As he got to know him, he wanted to continue to get to know him. Then he wanted to spend time with him. It finally morphed into wanting to be with him because Rhyn had made him feel like a person instead of a commodity. He'd rather lose his father's money than lose Rhyn.

He watched the hand pause over the paper and heard the sigh. Rhyn popped his neck then turned in his chair. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other. Myles watched Rhyn's mouth tighten before it quivered. He grabbed his arm before he could turn away.

"Rhyn?"

The whispered voice was enough to make Rhyn want to cry. Myles's big, warm hand came up and rubbed his face. It was so comforting that Rhyn couldn't help it. As soon as he closed his eyes to let the feeling sink in, a tear slid down his cheek.