Their Little Beauty (MxMxM+)

Chapter Seventy-Two: Tall Tales

"Hey, Bri" Harlow breathed out, and Briar was officially freaked out. Why in the hell did the man look so... relieved to see him? Why was he visibly shaken as he looked over Briar's still bruised and battered body?

Why does he actually look somewhat guilty? I don't think I've ever known him to sincerely regret something.

"I know you must be mad at me, Bri. And I get it- trust me, I know how much I deserve it. But can we talk? I always hated it when you ignored me, so please don't just stare at me".

This idiot... you're sitting on my ability to speak, dickhead!

Using his left hand to do most of the work, Briar motioned to Harlow so he would stop sitting on the bed and instead gestured for him to go sit on the chair. Weirdly, the man hadn't questioned it, simply doing as he was asked. With his ass out of the way, Briar pulled back the blanket and retrieved his grossly warm tablet.

"What do you want, why are you back?" he asked, almost enjoying the look of confusion on his ex's face at the robotic voice that addressed him.

"Why are you using-".

"Because someone hit me over the fucking head with a metal baseball bat. I'm lucky to not be drinking through a straw".

Oh, how satisfying it was to hear the words spoken in a monotonous tone, utterly befitting the way Briar felt at this moment- nonchalant and vaguely relaxed. Because he knew why Harlow had come back the moment he saw him, and Briar was so mentally done with it all.

With the man's blonde hair being greasier than the bottom of a burger wrapper, face hairier than Quinn's legs and clothes that looked more worn and torn than a hipster's jeans, Harlow very clearly needed money.

Money that Harlow had already stolen from him once before.

Since he knows where I live and somehow managed to get into my private hospital room, he's clearly been watching me. But how much does he know? Does he know I have my own money now?

"I... made you this way? You can't talk?".

"Yes. And yes. You always did want to take away my independence, so congratulations. I'd clap, but, well, you also took away the use of my wanking hand".

Watching the shock on Harlow's face was interesting but overshadowed by the man's clear discomfort. See, Briar had never spoken to him in this way before- so honest, brutal and crass. Uncaring of consequences. Because in reality, what could the bastard do to harm him right now?

Harlow needed Briar, and for once, the young man was ready to exploit that.

"I-I never meant for this to happen. For any of this-" he motioned to the hospital room, "-to happen".

"Then, what, you were just going to caress my head with the baseball bat or smack me softly? Why else would you have been carrying it, if not to hurt me? You knew this was a possibility the moment you chose to carry a weapon".

"No! No, I swear, I only brought it to make sure you'd listen! Like, to make sure you wouldn't call the police or run away without hearing me out first. That big black dude wasn't supposed to be there- your housemates are usually all out on the third Tuesday of the month. But when he opened the door and looked at me, and shouted my name, I just... panicked".

Holy shit. He's been watching them too, not just me. He even knows about our date nights- where they go shopping for groceries while I normally decorate the table. He's... crazy.

"You panicked. I can understand why", Briar began, a little unsure of how to act now he realised just how unstable his Ex was. "But what was your plan? Why are you here?".