They Who Slaughtered Hope 🌈| Slow Updates/Editing

Chapter 26

┏━━━༻☆༺━━━┓

𝚁𝚎𝚗

┗━━━༻☆༺━━━┛

𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 19𝘵𝘩, 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

Ren watched as Lennox sat there, quiet for a while. The club's din seemed to dim to a whisper, the world shrinking until it was just the two of them, their shared vulnerabilities, and the tentative hope flickering in Ren's chest.

The florist's reaction would decide whether Ren told anyone ever again.

He searched Lennox's face for any sign of judgement or rejection, but found none. It was almost like he had seen something like this before, in someone else, or maybe even himself.

"You've been running, Ren," Lennox said, his voice a gentle balm to Ren's frayed nerves. "But look at you now—you're not running. You're standing your ground. That takes more courage than you realise."

Lennox's hands, firm and reassuring, anchored him to the present, the moment of connection akin to a lifeline.

Ren didn't want to let go.

So, he held on tighter. He wouldn't lose this, not now.

"And you're not alone," Lennox continued, his thumbs tracing comforting circles on Ren's hands. "I see you, Ren. Not just who you present to the world, but the survivor of battles no one else sees. I see the Ren who's brave enough to be vulnerable. And that's the Ren I'm here for. That's... that's the Ren I believe in."

Every time he said Ren's name, something started inside his chest, although Ren had yet to put a name to it.

Their gazes met. "As for how I feel, I couldn't care less. I mean, my shop's failing, my brother won't open up to me, and... I'm starting to feel things I haven't felt in years. I have no right to talk down to you even if I wanted to. And compared to what you've gone through previously, with your parents and your sister... This situation with is just another obstacle you'll overcome with time. That doesn't mean it doesn't matter, per se, but it does mean that this too will pass."

"But—"

"Trust me, Ren. It will."

"Funny, I'm kind of supposed to be the one who asks that of you, not the other way around," Ren said, without thinking.

"What... what do you mean by that?"

A nervous laugh escaped his lips. "Oh, nothing, it's just nonsense. I must have had too much to drink."

They had only ordered one drink each, but he used the excuse anyway.

Too bad Lennox was too intelligent for his own good. "Ren... you're beginning to worry me."

"Worries are for the sober, Lennox. Lighten up. You've clearly got enough on your plate, don't add me to it. Unless we're talking about a different kind of plate."

A hint of colour reached Lennox's cheeks, in addition to the flush from their round of drinks. "I'm not. I really am worried about you Ren. It's been years and you aren't the least excited at the prospect of seeing your sister again. What's going on? I know you've told me so much already, but I... I want to get the full picture. Only if you're willing, of course."

Ren looked down into his glass, swirling its contents around. "It's just that... I'm afraid that she'll have the same reaction that my ex did. That she'll resent me for not telling her, for not coming to see her, all because I had no clue that she was still alive. My boss intervened at just the right time to conjure a story that I never questioned. For years, I was deceived by them. I still haven't processed it fully myself. I'm not sure if I'm able to. Even knowing what I know, I can't deny that they were there for me all those years. They cared for me, and gave me a home, and now, I have no clue as to why."