STUCK | MxMxM

Chapter 30

I can't gatekeep shit. here you go lol

stuck chapter 30

Theo looked at William's empty desk, tearing the skin of his bottom lip with his teeth as he guilt and nervousness overflowed in him.

"Why did he take the day off?" He asked.

"He said he thinks he's coming down with something. He never asks for days off so I didn't question him and just agreed." Joe replied.

...

Fuck... How he reacted to the boy's confession must've really hurt him. He hadn't meant to do it. It just... had been too out of the blue. And then there was Joe...

"Babe?"

His husband hummed.

"Considering everything, what is William to us now?"

Joe stopped what he was doing and leaned back in his chair, looking at him for prolonged seconds. "What do you want him to be?"

What did he want William to be?

IF he was honest, he wanted the boy to be as far away from him as possible because that was the only way to protect him. He had already hurt him way too many times.

When he failed to respond, Joe took the initiative. "Would it be okay with you if I said I enjoy his presence in our lives?"

Smiling with only one corner of his mouth, he looked at his man who felt guilty for letting someone beside him in. "You like him." He stated the obvious fact because if it had been anyone else, Joe'd be giving him a headache 24/7 wanting to get rid of them. "I'm more than okay with it, Joe."

The other got up and walked to him, circling his hands around his waist. "What about you?"

Looking down, he verbalized his exact thoughts: "I wish we never hired him."

Joe was taken aback by it, looking at him in question with a frown as his hold loosened.

He shook his head to let his husband know he was getting him wrong. "He started being attracted to us so even if we never started anything, he'd still be suffering. Had we never hired him, he'd go on hating me and being as far away from the mess I am as possible."

"So you like him too." Joe grinned, embracing him warmly.

He did. He liked William but for some reason, he was annoyed at Joe at the back of his mind. Because,... because Benji was as lovely as their assistant. But Joe had always treated him like the poor thing was his mortal enemy. He always said Benji led him to suicide and he didn't accept it no matter the many times Theo said he was wrong. So now, he was a bit annoyed that his husband was suddenly okay with bringing someone else into their lives. However, he kept it to himself.

***

His stay at Benji's home was pleasant from the first morning he woke up in the tiny apartment all on his own. No servants or alarms, no judging eyes, no nothing. The apartment was dead silent and there was a faint scent of fresh bread. Walking out cautiously, he found breakfast prepared on the island with a note:

Hey!

I'm sorry I'm not there when you wake up! I have to go to uni! Make yourself at home and if you want to go for a walk or something, there's a key in my desk drawer.

See you at 4 bestie!

It made him smile but he never left the safe house. He was tired so, after eating, he went back to sleep. When Benji came home, he gave Theo the biggest smile as he waved enthusiastically, shaking the bag he had in his hand. They watched a movie with its subtitles on as he ate so many snacks for the first time in his life. He hadn't been allowed to eat anything but whatever his father told the chef to prepare until then. Benji never made him talk since he was convinced he was deaf and somehow decided to not question his few words when they'd met the night before. Theo wasn't in the mood for talking either so it went on like that for a little over a week. He finally talked when he saw Benji trying so hard to learn sign language.