SO BAD [MXM] [MAFIA] ✓

37: COME BACK

!!mild sexual content!!

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Skylar and Evangeline get along really well—in just the day she spends with him, he feels closer to her than he ever did to his actual parents.

She does eventually need to leave, though.

She doesn't do so until after Skylar has fallen asleep. The two essentially spend the entire day on the couch, hanging out and talking. Skylar was hoping that maybe she'd have some tips or advice on how to get through this, but she didn't have much. It appears as though there is no way to make this easier on himself. All he can do is hope that he's resilient enough.

It becomes clear that this won't be a regular occurrence either, unfortunately. She is still involved in the business operations, of course, and the only reason she was able to step away during such a crazy internal investigation into the accorders was because Ashton is in the process of taking over the empire entirely. She's also one of very few people he trusts to be around Skylar in such a weakened state, as well.

However, she can't stick around forever, and she does leave once Skylar falls asleep that night. He does so on the couch, head in her lap, while they watch an animated movie. That is one good thing he learned by talking to her, in terms of distractions.

Watching anything live action is bad, because it just means that the hallucinations will be all the more realistic. If he watches a cartoon, even if his hallucinations turn it into something scary, it's still... a cartoon.

When Skylar wakes up the next morning, it's to the sound of a door closing. Evangeline is nowhere to be found, but he does hear footsteps.

"Skylar? I'm home." Skylar hears Ashton's voice, which immediately relaxes him. For some reason he's really on edge with Crimson being gone. Then again, maybe Ash is home because they found him? That would be awesome, even though a part of Skylar really doubts it. Things are never that easy for him.

Skylar sits up, stretching and watching as Ash comes into the room a moment later. He's dressed in his usual accorder attire, and his eyes wander around the room for a moment before finally landing on Skylar. His expression minutely brightens, and Skylar stays seated as he tries to wake up.

"Where were you? It's been days." Skylar tells him, frowning. Seriously, Ashton has not come home in fucking days. Where has he been sleeping?

"Dealing with everything," Ashton says, walking closer. Skylar is still waiting for his eyes to adjust. "We figured out who was helping Crimson. Now we just need to find him."

Skylar nods, and he feels the weight on the couch shift. This signals that Ash has taken a seat next to him—right where his mother had been, the night prior. It takes a few more seconds for Skylar to adjust to being awake, but when he does, he's met with a brutal reminder.

Shit, that's right. He's on his fourth day without cytozine.

He is made acutely aware of this fact when he catches sight of the room, which is a familiar hellscape. Ink runs down the walls and covers the floor. There are monsters all over the place, some scarier than others, and they are all looking at him. Some are speaking, but there's so many that he can't tell what they're saying.

Skylar finally turns his head to look at Ash, and is relieved to find that he appears pretty normal. There is a hint of alarm on his features, though. Skylar must already look freaked out.