blood runs red ✓

XVI

'it's not consent if you make me afraid to say no'

- unknown

august

August limped home the same night, praying Sean wouldn't notice anything, or talk about the call he made earlier. It was incredibly hard concealing his moans as he called his boyfriend. The lie he told was slightly unrealistic, too.

He wondered how he'd explain the limp, if he noticed.

I tripped and hurt my leg. Yes, that sounds like a good enough excuse.

August rolled his eyes and mocked himself in his head. Of course, Sean wouldn't believe that. In fact, he would probably give him an actual injured leg to limp on. 

He mentally cursed Ares. The control he had over him, only after a short time of knowing each other, was frustrating. This was definitely how he pulled so many girls, and guys, August decided.

August sighed, knowing he was just another guy. Even if he'd yelled at the boxer and made his voice heard, he knew Ares was fucking someone else in his spare time. Multiple other people, probably.

Why did I have to fall for a literal manwhore?

August laughed to himself, knowing Ares would fuck the shit out of him if he heard him say that. He thought about it, and found that he wouldn't really mind if that happened.

August realised he smelt like Ares' cologne, and couldn't possibly sneak in through his kitchen with the pain in his rear end. He prayed to anyone and everyone out there that Sean wasn't waiting for him.

His prayers failed. 

"You're home early." Sean said sarcastically. 

"That's great, erm, anyways-"

"Don't even try it." Sean rolled his eyes. "God, you'd think that after all this time, you'd be smarter."

"I am." August began. "I'm just tired, and I want to go to bed."

"Come here, first, baby. I just want to kiss you." Sean pouted. "I've not seen you much recently. I've really missed you." 

Sean was right when he said August should've been smarter. Even after years of abuse, he found it hard to differentiate nice Sean from the manipulative one. Especially now, when he snuggled into his boyfriend's chest only to get pushed away.

"You smell like someone else."

Sean scanned the entire man's body, as if he'd be able to see the lies written on him. 

"I just tried out some of the tester cologne at Walmart for fun." August lied easily. 

"Oh really? Take off your shirt."

Fuck, shit, fuck.

"Do I have to? It's really cold down here." 

Sean scoffed. "It's like seventy degrees, August, don't be stupid with me. You know I don't like when you're stupid."

Or when I eat, sleep, breathe, talk-

"Zone out and I'll bash your head into the wall."

"Sorry." August apologised as a reflex. The word came out of his mouth so often he thought it lived in there permanently. 

"Take off your fucking shirt before I do it for you." 

"Sean, please-"

"You wouldn't deny if you had nothing to hide."