The house had quieted and the clock read that it was just after midnight but Reese couldn't sleep. Not knowing what lurked just down the hall in the guest bedroom. He waited for hours, dreading the sound of his uncles feet padding down the hall to Reese's room but it never came.
Just when he was close to finally drifting off, he heard them.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound of footsteps coming closer and closer to his room. He held on to the hope that they would just continue past.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
But then they stopped right outside Reese's door. Reese held his breath as the knob started turning, slowly, inch by inch, revealing his uncle on the other side.
The male slipped in once the door was open wide enough before closing the door behind him. Reese watched, his heart thumping in his chest.
"Reese," his uncle said, sitting beside him on the bed without invitation. "How come it feels like you've been avoiding me?"
Reese swallowed. "I haven't."
He flinched when his uncle placed a hand on his cheek. "You ran away when I was so eager to see you after all these years."
"I'm sorry."
"Shh," his uncle whispered as he climbed on top of him.
This is when Reese started to panic. "What are you-"
"Shh," his uncle said again, placing a hand over Reese's mouth. "You wouldn't want your parents to hear you."
This is when the struggle began. He tried to push his uncle off. As if surprised he wouldn't go down like the weak little kid he used to be, he managed to get the upper hand on him for a second before he was shoved back down on the bed. Reese flung his hand out, reaching out to grab anything. He felt his phone, saw the screen flash bright as he turned it on but then his uncle flung it out of his hand.
"Stop!" Reese yelled just as his uncle bashed his head into the wall. He felt dizzy for a second but that was all it took for his uncle to rip his shirt off. He kicked out but his uncle grabbed his leg, dragging him down, tearing the sheets off his bed in the process of Reese's struggling.
He threw his hand out again, knocking his lamp off the nightstand. It created a loud crash and just as he heard his parents door open, his uncle flipped them around so that Reese was on top of him.
Reese's parents flung the door to Reese's room open just as Reese's fist flew into his uncle. "Reese!"
Before he could process what was happening, his father was pulling him off of his uncle while his mom checked his bleeding lip.
"He called me in," his uncle was saying. "He said he wanted to apologize for running off when I arrived. I didn't expect this."
"Reese, what the hell is wrong with you!" His father was screaming at him but he couldn't process the words as he slowly realized what had just happened.
He did the only thing he could think to do in that moment.
He ran.
He left his phone behind in his haste and his shirt. He ran out into the cold winter night, slipping on ice and falling on his ass only to get up and run again. He ran until he could no longer feel the cold nipping at his skin.
He ran without a destination.
Or at least, he thought he didn't have a destination.
Until he ended up outside of Julian's house.
He didn't realize how far he had run and with the adrenaline leaving his system, he collapsed at the front door, falling against it as the cold started flooding into his system.
His pajama pants were soaked, as well as his cheeks as everything that had happened caught up to him. He banged his head against the door, hoping the physical pain would keep the tears from falling but it only made him cry harder.
A second later, the door opened and he fell into a pair of legs. Julian's legs. He was also shirtless with untied pajama pants hanging loose around his hips. "Reese, what the-"
Reese stood up and the threw his arms around Julian before he could give it a second thought. But when Julian hissed and drew back, a new fear unfurled in Reese's chest and the tears started falling harder. "I- I'm sorry," he cried. "I di- didn't k- know where el-se t- to go. I- I'll l-leave. I'm s- sorry."
Julian grabbed Reese's hand, pulling him inside and shutting the door. "No, Reese, it's not that. Fuck, you're just cold."
Then he pulled Reese back into his arms, wincing but this time holding on tight. Julian continued to hold him until Reese's breaths evened out and the tears were no longer falling.
First he brought him over to the couch, giving him blankets and a sweater before going out to the kitchen and coming back with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. He placed it in Reese's hands before taking a seat beside him on the couch.
They sat in silence, allowing the hot chocolate to bring warmth back to his body. Once he was done, he sat the empty mug on the coffee table.
He couldn't meet Julian's eyes.
"Reese," his voice was soft as he slipped his hand under his chin, tilting his head up so Reese was forced to meet his eyes. "Can you tell me what happened?"
He shook his head quickly. The thought of Julian finding out what happened- Absolutely not.
Julian sighed and Reese looked at him, noticing how tired he looked. He owed him something. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to Julian's- Only to be pushed back gently. "You don't have to do that to distract me. If you're not comfortable talking about what happened, I won't force you."
"Maybe I just want to kiss you." He had learned from Angel that if he wanted this to work, he would have to try and be more... Accommodating. He knew this was what Julian wanted, even if he wouldn't admit it. So he pressed their lips together again, pulling himself into Julian's lap.
But once again, Julian pulled away. "I'm sorry, Reese. But you're not using me as a distraction for whatever happened tonight."
"What?" Reese pulled himself up off the couch, away from Julian. "That's what you think I'm doing?"
Julian frowned. "Reese, I didn't mean-"
"Fuck you. I was only doing what you wanted. But if you don't want me, I'll find someone who does."
He had always been prone to anger. Anger was better than being hurt and it hurt being rejected by Julian. He didn't want him. That's the only reason he would keep stopping Reese's advances.
"Reese, wait! Don't go back out there tonight-"
He slammed the door shut behind him, cutting off Julian's voice. Going there had been a mistake. An unintentional mistake. Maybe he was right. Maybe all Reese needed was a distraction and if Julian wouldn't give it to him, he knew who would.
YOU ARE READING
Desperate Measures (On Hold)
Romance(Book 4) After losing everything he had in his life, Reese Gillian was forced by his parents to work at a coffee shop instead of wasting his life away at home. Here, he meets a mysterious stranger who seems to care a little too much about Reese's we...
