Heartless || •OG• ✔️

Chapter 20 - Theo

Theo's bedroom was nothing short of disgusting. It was once meant for the military, but now it was confused on its own identity. A ceiling fan that gave the illusion it was elegant, but the unmade bed with covers cloaked with stains told a different tale. It didn't help that the bed frame creaked every time Theo so much as blew on it.

The poorly installed carpets were tearing near the wooden door, but the rest of it was intact for the most part. Theo gave credit where credit was due: the Evermore family did their best to make this place more than an appalling hideout.

Asa was sitting on the queen-sized bed, bouncing up and down it while his long-sleeved shirt hung off his wrists at the cuffs. His wide shoulders gave him more strength than he would have had otherwise. Asa wasn't the strongest of the bunch. Contrary to popular belief, Theo wasn't either. He had muscles and worked out often, but he much preferred diplomacy. He'd only fight if there were no other options.

Windows were a doorway, and Theo's window was a doorway to the nature that was too calm for comfort. His hands tapped along the windowsill, Asa still trying to find a cool spot on the bed so he could ease his worries.

Theo grunted from a sudden stab of pain, his hand instinctively holding his lower arm as if that would aid the ache in his shoulder. Gunshots were beyond painful. The wound felt like someone was taking a knife and twisting around the insides of his shoulder. Each nerve was pulled at, his veins pulsing and the skin around the area itching and bruising. Theo swore even his fingertips turned a shade of navy blue at some point.

"Do you think the others are against us?" Asa asked, his voice cracking through the room and smashing Theo's thoughts.

The bunker was a temporary stay that barely gave them any downtime. They had to make a plan rather quickly, and from there, they were in combat. After that, on the run to get to a hideout before they were tracked. If they still weren't tracked, that was. Ivan Belmour knew their location, and Charlotte had a phone. Theo wished he had the strength to scold her for that, but her and Jericho were named the unofficial leaders.

The point was, Theo hadn't had much chance to think about Asa's question. He didn't even have time to think about if what they did was right or wrong. Obviously, wrong was the blaring option Theo should have went with, but he did it with what he wanted to believe were good intentions. Jericho was a power-hungry asshole Theo loved, and giving him a role on the High Council would fulfill his dream. Gaining a whole organization that he and Asa could lead was Theo's dream. Charlotte would get the peace she craved. Their plan had no negatives. Unless it failed, that was. And guess how their plan ended?

No was the answer that scratched on the tip of his tongue. They were in the middle of no where, surrounded by a rival organization and a boss who was teetering between hating and loving them. That was as far as Theo could tell, anyway.

What Theo and Asa did was beyond risky. Theo very well knew it put Jericho in the crosshairs of the High Council. Simply hoping that nothing bad would happen was a childish thought, but Theo indulged in it when he made the decision to hire Myra to execute a Council member. Looking back, he realized he was so desperate for the power he promised Asa, he didn't consider how much he already had.

Before he answered, he grew the courage to go over and sit next to Asa. Their eyes were jolting between the floor and each other. Theo couldn't decide the best place to park his curious gaze, so he allowed himself to take in the rest of the surroundings.

The light peeking in through the window was the only light present, and there was a dresser on his left that had no clothes in it. The carpets felt soggy to Theo's shoes, but that could have been from the mud the group walked through earlier.

"I think they're cautious, but I don't think they'd leave us, if that's what you're really asking." Asa's closed mouth gave Theo more insight as to what was going on inside his troubled mind. "Jericho could have handed us over. Sure, he would've been punished, but it would've been better than this. He made his choice because a part of him has to still care about us. He has to."

"Are you convincing me or yourself that?" Asa asked.

Theo dipped his head at that. A hand reached out and rubbed Theo's shoulder. He wasn't sure what to make of the contact. It was a form of serenity, but he could sense the storm brewing inside Asa's head. Theo ended up taking the blob of flesh off his body.

"They're here to help us."

"For the first time in his life, Jericho was facing serious consequences, and I think he pulled that trigger because he was scared. Charlotte only helped us for her benefit. Jimin follows her everywhere, Kayden feels bad for Jericho so he followed too, Ariel's forcibly here, and any involvement from Ivan is likely for Jimin and Charlotte, not us," Asa said. "They're not doing this for us. They're doing it because it's the only thing they know how to do."

"You really think that?"

"I know that." Asa paused, his head swiveling to the window Theo was at not long ago. "Do you think what we did was wrong?"

There it was. The question Theo desperately wanted to avoid. It worked its way through his brain, snaking through the trenches of the darkest parts of his memories. Each second that ticked away had Theo's body reacting more. First was the clammy hands, then the shuddering spine, then the twitching eyes. It ended with him sucking in the breeze around him, his mouth shaped in an 'o' to bring in the most oxygen he could. Even with the added air, Theo barely had what he needed to speak.

"I don't know. If it worked, I think it would've been the best plan we've ever made. Everyone would be happy, and no one would have to suffer. I want to think our idea was good, but our execution was wrong. Maybe we shouldn't have even considered it."

"I regret it," Asa whispered, Theo peeking at him. "Intentions don't matter that much if they end up failing. We failed, Theo. We failed Jericho and Charlotte and everyone else here. Hell, a kid got dragged into this. They shouldn't have to face the consequences of our actions. We need to make it right."

"You're not wrong, but we should still wait it out and see what the others say. It's four against two, and one of us is injured. There's no point in going around asking what they think. No point in risking a fight."

"We were two against the world at one point," Asa replied, Theo wishing he could brush those words off.

"We'll feel the sun soon," Theo said, his hand doing his best to comfort Asa by rubbing his shoulder. "I swear." Asa pried his hand off, opting for an embrace instead. Theo accepted it as soon as it arrived, and their hands wrapped around each other. Their mouths remained shut for a few moments, then, Theo let out a breath. "Do you trust me?"

Asa froze up in his arms, and the past weighed down on them from above their heads. It was an all-seeing eye. Transparent, but it knew the secrets Theo could only pray he could hide. The secrets of growing up on the streets with nothing left. Finally finding a purpose in the one he was with currently. Now it was all jeopardized. Theo felt the remorse of that, and he knew it was his fault. If only there was a way to return to what had been, but the transparent eye gave him a blink of refusal that had him trembling in Asa's firm grip.

A million words could have spewed past Asa's lips, but none came for several beats. Theo wasn't sure if the silence was a consolation or a nightmare. One of the many he had now, too. But his heart steadied when Asa laughed, and the eye disappeared.

"I want to."

~~~
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