All about control

things I can/things I can't (march)

Theo doesn't sleep that night. It's nothing new. Sleeplessness had become the norm, what with his wolf snarling and making wounded noises about being abandoned and pouring over the last time he saw Liam. There is none of that now, only the sound of Liam's quiet breathing from where he lays curled up on Theo's couch.

His head is blissfully quiet for the first time in weeks. In theory, nothing should be keeping him up. But he can't bring himself to even try shutting his eyes. Liam's sleeping figure is right across from him, close enough to touch, and he is almost too terrified to blink for fear that he will suddenly be alone again. Liam's foot is a warm weight against his own, a solid and steady reminder that this isn't in his head, that Liam actually showed up to his apartment, planning to leave with Theo's hoodie without saying a word.

His chest aches as the night's events replay in his head. Liam crumbling in on himself, the repeated sobbing apologies nearly drowned out by the erratic beating of his heart and the way Theo's own was breaking. He wraps his arms tighter around his legs at the memory, resting his chin atop his knees, paying rapt attention to the rise and fall of the beta's chest. The soft inhale and exhales settle his own pulse, grounding him back to the moment.

The closer he looks at the sleeping wolf, the more he sees that he was not the only one affected by the distance. He tries not to think too hard on the fact, but his eyes are always drawn back to Liam's face. Dark circles, akin to a raccoon, linger under his closed eyes as blatant as the slight sunkeness of his cheeks. His stomach churns at the reality that even through his apparent rage, Liam was still trying to find peace and normalcy in Theo. Even if only in the form of a hoodie. He fails, unable to think of anything other than that.

By the time he lifts his head, the sun is rising, casting his apartment in a warm glow. He knows he needs to get up, needs to tell Mason that Liam is safe, but most of all he needs to call Jenna. She deserves to know her son is safe and will be returned home after he wakes up.

Theo extracts himself from the couch, careful not to jostle Liam too much. The beta only stirs for a second, curling in tighter on himself, pulling Theo's spare blanket under his nose as he continues to sleep. Theo walks on heavy feet into his kitchen, staring at his discarded phone on the counter. It's early enough in the morning that he knows Jenna is awake, probably staring at the front door waiting for her son to walk through it.

He heaves a sigh, ignoring Mason's multiple missed texts and instead pressing the call button on Jenna's contact. She picks up on the second ring, voice bordering on hysterical.

"Oh, Theo, thank god. Have you heard from Liam? We've been trying to reach him all night, but when we tried to contact you we didn't get an answer. We thought," She stops herself then, voice strained with heavy emotion, unable to finish her thought.

Radio silence from her only kid and the one person she knows is always with him. A parents worst nightmare potentially becoming a reality. She clears her throat, continuing. "He's been so upset lately, and we haven't seen you around. I don't know what's going on but please tell me he's with you. Please tell me you guys are safe." He can hear the tears in her voice, the quiet shake of fear between the words. He wishes he had messaged her sooner.

"He's safe," he chances a glance in Liam's direction, thankful he's still sleeping. "He's with me, but he's sleeping right now." He's not sure what else to say, doesn't want to divulge any details of what happened last night, isn't sure he would even be able to give her any reasonable excuses for what happened from the moment he left the preserve and walked in on Liam trying to make a clean getaway.

Jenna's relieved cry sounds over the phone through muttered thanks. Theo can't bring himself to do anything but swallow all of his emotions threatening to spill over and out of his mouth.