STUCK | MxMxM

Chapter 21

Stuck chapter 21

It'd been about 15 minutes since Will had woken up and locked himself up in the bathroom. He'd washed his face about a dozen times and pulled his sleeves up and down just to have something to do as an excuse until he heard Mr. Walton's voice say his goodbye and the man left. He missed the man, yes, but he was not ready to face him again.

Yesterday, he was brought to their house and before he could say he didn't want to intrude, came a doctor to examine him. Apparently he'd been dangerously pale. In all honesty, he couldn't remember much with the amount of anxiety he was going through. He did remember being kissed by Mr. Carpenter though. And that, along with how their last encounter had gone down with the tattooed man were the reasons why he wasn't ready yet.

"William, are you almost done? Your breakfast is all cold." His boss said from the other side of the closed door.

"I'll-" Will had to clear his throat to fix his voice. "I'll be out in a second. Thank you!"

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he stared into his own eyes in hopes to figure out what the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling even meant. His brain hadn't given him a moment. As soon as he woke up, it started questioning him whether he liked Mr. Carpenter to the degree he liked the other husband too now and if yes, what did that mean for him? And did the two like him back and if yes, what were they planning on doing about it? If they didn't like him, or at least if Mr. Carpenter didn't like him, why had the man kissed him like that yesterday? He did beg his brain to stop but it just didn't listen.

He wasn't expecting to see Mr. Walton appear in the company so soon but here he was! Will looked up as the elevator made the opening sound and then he couldn't look away anymore. He'd forgotten just how handsome the man was. Even now, clearly having lost lots of weight and muscle, he was still perfect. He was wearing an oversized beige long coat on top of his white button-up. Three buttons were open and the tattoos that were on display made him that much hotter. Will's eyes travelled to the man's hand next. It wasn't bandaged anymore which meant the wound was probably already healed.

He was so awestruck, he forgot to get up. His head moved as he stared at the man while he walked right to him and stood tall in front of his desk.

"... Good morning." The man wasn't looking directly at him. He looked... nervous?! Like he was anxious to see Will.

"Good morning, Mr. Walton. How are you feeling, sir?" He forced himself to remain calm eventho he hated how distant the man felt at that moment.

"Please, William. Drop the honorifics. Call me Theo and call him Joe, too. It's okay." There was a brief glance at him before the man looked down again, fidgeting with something in his hand Will couldn't see.
Licking over his lips hesitantly, Mr. Walton put a velvet box on his desk, sliding it over toward Will. "I know this is some cliche rich people thing thinking we can buy forgiveness with money but... I didn't know how else to show how sorry I am for what happened." The man inhaled deeply before looking up at him, directly in his eyes. "There are no excuses, William. I messed up. And I'm so sorry for throwing things at you and accusing you like that. I want to promise that it will never happen again but..." there was a sad smile on that perfect face as the man looked to the side, ashamed. "I can't always control myself." The honey-brown eyes landed on him again as the tattooed fingers tapped on the box two times. "Please accept this as my sincere apology. And, don't hurt yourself for the contract situation any longer. It was time I got back to work anyway." The man didn't wait for his response and quite literally fled.

Will found himself staring at the closed office doors seconds later with an open mouth. His jaw only dropped further when he opened the box and saw a Patek Philippe watch inside! This thing... probably cost more than his entire year's salary... Rich people thing for sure...

Closing the box, he put it in a drawer to process it after work. He just couldn't right now!

It was around an hour later when he was called inside the office. Mr. Walton had a pile of folders on his desk, going through them one after the other with this exhausted look and posture. He looked like he was soulless. The man didn't even acknowledge his presence when he walked in.
Mr. Carpenter whispered his name and gestured for him to go closer. And then he whispered everything he wanted to say to him quietly. Was Mr. Walton's condition so crucial they had to whisper even when he knew it was them? Will's heart hurt thinking about the man's suffering. And he had made him come back to work with his stupidity when his condition was as such... He was a horrible person. Truly.

They had a meeting in the evening and the closer it got, the frown on Mr. Walton's face got deeper. When everyone had arrived and waiting in the conference room, the man called him to their office again.

"William, you don't need to be in the meeting." He said.

"But I need to take notes, sir. And to give you the documents you might need."

"I'm in a shitty mood right now and these people have a way to piss me off with their idiocy. I'm bound to lash out and I don't want you to be there when it happens." Mr. Walton looked on the verge of passing out. His was pale and his eyes were barely open. He hadn't eaten his lunch either, saying he didn't have any appetite. He was so snowed under with work and yet... he was taking care of Will. How good could a person possibly be?!

Perhaps his expression showed how much he admired Mr. Walton because the man asked: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're the best person I've met my whole life." It was out of his mouth before he could process it.

A beautiful but sorrow-filled smile appeared on the man's face. His lips were stretched but his eyes looked so so miserable.
"I'm afraid you haven't had a very fulfilling life if I'm the best one."
They were looking at each other for seconds. Will wanted nothing but to circle the desk, hold the man in his arms and just keep him pressed against himself in his embrace. However, he wasn't brave enough for that. Nor was it his place to do so. Their moment was cut off when Mr. Carpenter returned.

"Please allow me to join the meeting. I'll be okay. I want to be there."

***

Theo hated his lack of control over his anger. He didn't like lashing out at people but so far, no doctor and no pill had been able to fix him. In anyway. His head was throbbing, and the room had started to spin a little from a while back. He knew he had to eat but he really didn't feel like eating. Elizabeth had given him and earful but he just couldn't bring himself to. His body felt heavy as he dragged himself to the conference room, Joe and William on his back, following him. He was hanging in there through the meeting but then, while he was focused listening to the talk and looking at the documents, someone though it was a good idea to drop their apparently very heavy pen. The sound wasn't all that loud but it was enough to make him flinch. He looked atJoe immediately, nodding his head to reassure him he was fine. Looking up though, his eyes widened slightly as he saw 'him' standing in the far corner of the room. Everything blurred and 'he' was all Theo could see and hear. The same old wheezing sound that happened with every breath the man took due to excessive smoking filled his ears. 'He' took the first step forward and Theo's body froze. He couldn't even breathe. But... suddenly William was all he could see. His assistant... No, William, the boy he liked at the back of his mind, must've noticed his turmoil and come to his rescue on purpose. He must've seen him staring terrified and stepped there to disturb the hallucination. Theo looked down, getting filled with shame and self-hatred. With resentment for his father, for the mother he never knew, and for the fact that someone as crooked as he had to be in William's life.

Despite it all, he forced himself to focus again. In the end, he did lash out, yelling at them for what he would regret afterward. When the meeting was over, he told them all to leave, everyone, so that he could be alone for a little bit. As he sat inside the empty conference room, he let a few tears of desperation drop down. Today had been an awful, painful day. But Joe and William didn't need to know that.

A.N: i'm not sure if this chapter is as good as i wanted it to be but anyway, here you go!

I could only write now since I had a nap at 8 fucking PM after I felt quite braindead from life's exhaustion. Lol. Ain't life soooooo beautiful?!🙄🖕

How did you like this chapter?
🥲

Do you think there's hope for Them?

See ya!