Devil's Eye

Chapter 24

5' 8"-5' 9"

The words that Noah had just pronounced gave him chills. They bounced off the crypt's wet walls and flew back at their owner like an avalanche of regret. It definitely wasn't what Morgan wanted to say. He didn't have a chance to prepare himself for it. This rushed confession turned out to be so tough to bear that, for a moment, Noah felt like he was about to be pressed against the dirty floor. Morgan froze like a condemned prisoner, waiting for the executioner to chop his head off with an axe. Ethan was supposed to be the executioner who was now gimleting Noah with his dark-gray eyes. Thomson continued standing beside the eerie-beautiful sarcophagus while also wearing an eerie-beautiful, expensive black suit, white shirt, black tie and shiny men's leather shoes. The black mask and the gloves were a perfect match for the outfit of a handsome, rich hermit who didn't want to have any sort of connection with the open world. Especially now, after hearing Morgan's words.

'You should just tell him that it was a joke,' his inner voice suggested, 'Or just correct yourself and say that you like him as a friend or a person. Be quick!'

Noah felt this idea was disgusting. Yes, a love confession at the cemetery inside the nasty, dark crypt wasn't his dream, and there was nothing romantic as well. There was only dampness and frowziness. However, he was responsible for what he said; he couldn't lie about it. Besides, Morgan had understood a lot about their relationship with Ethan the night before.

"You're aware of it, though, aren't you?" Noah added, after being silent for a couple of minutes. Ethan, just as Morgan thought, didn't look surprised. Astonished. Anxious, maybe. Or what else was a person supposed to feel after hearing a confession like that? Noah didn't know for sure. He had never been in such a position before. Still, if Ethan hadn't known about Morgan's feelings, he should've at least gasped. Thomson didn't gasp. He had known about it, and maybe he had known about it even before Noah understood his own feelings.

Ethan was staring at Morgan with his gray eyes, not saying a word. He was looking at Noah so carefully, like he was trying to spot a lie or self-profit. Didn't Thomson believe him? Or did he react like that to anything that wasn't a part of his conception of the world?

Noah thought that demanding an answer from Ethan was too cruel at that moment, considering how awful he looked. Neither Ehtan's perfect black suit nor his white shirt or shiny shoes could hide how vulnerable he was. Thomson would've never admitted that he was going through an emotional crisis. The worst thing Noah could've done in this situation was to dump his pathetic, irrelevant and needless confession on Ethan's head. Morgan, what have you done?!

"Now, since we've dealt with everything, how about we start walking towards the car?" Noah smiled forcefully, even though the storm inside him was getting bigger and bigger after each second. He was desperate to find out Ethan's answer. Right here, right now! Immediately! Then, another thought hit Morgan's head: if the affection was mutual, Ethan would immediately tell him about it. He would, wouldn't he? And if it wasn't... Anyway, there was a reason why Thomson was silent. Then it was a 'no', wasn't it? Or a 'yes', but Ethan wasn't in the mood to talk about it right now?

Of course, it's a 'yes'! He was flirting with you, after all!

Or maybe it was a 'no'. Maybe he just liked watching your stupid reaction.

Ethan didn't make a single move after Noah's words. Neither did Morgan.

"You don't understand what you're talking about when you insist that you like me," Ethan finally said, frowning. Morgan was even surprised that Thomson decided to get back to the subject and not just move on after Noah had given him such an opportunity, while suggesting to go towards the car. Though he even flinched after hearing Ethan's utterance.