Aiden [Book Two]

21

"Aiden..."

The sound of Nathan's own voice was enough to wake him from his long overdue rest.

The brunette rarely woke up without significant stimuli because of being a heavy sleeper, so it was surprising that he stirred at all after the last few incredibly intense days.

During the first night after the attack, neither boy got any sleep.

Aiden was in such physical and emotional pain that he couldn't shut off. He spent the entire night clutching at his boyfriend, whimpering and crying with every tiny movement. Every sharp shock inflicted another round of traumatic thoughts, filling his head with horrendous memories of being assaulted, beaten, and threatened with sexual assault.

No matter how tight Nathan held on, kissing the vibrant orange strands and whispering sweet words, he couldn't break through the stress response until Aiden became too exhausted to stay awake.

The young couple finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning and slept until late afternoon, cuddled together. That night, both boys slept like rocks, overwhelmed by the situation.

Throughout the day, Chris and Grace frequented the bedroom with offerings of medicine and soup, checking on the teenagers and, most importantly, gauging the welfare of their only child.

He was yet to disclose what happened to anyone but his boyfriend and after two strenuous days; the parents had a lot to ask. But they knew he wasn't ready.

If Aiden replicated his attack in Croydon, it would be weeks before they extracted any coherent story out of their fragile baby.

At least this time, he had Nathan to help him through it.

Mumbling the boy's name again, the brown-haired boy shuffled and fidgeted, settling down again before he realised something was wrong. His body felt too lightweight.

Nathan cracked an eye open as he patted his chest, searching for the redhead who'd fallen asleep in his arms, but there was no sign. The other side of the bed was cold, showing it had been vacant for a while.

Something prickled the back of the older boy's neck as he sat upright, like a foghorn of warning.

The bedroom remained dark as it had for hours, except for the muted light of the television as it showed yet another soundless retail programme on a loop. Bleary-eyed and exhausted, it was hard for Nathan to work out what they were trying to sell, but it appeared to be some kind of gym equipment.

"Aiden?"

There was no sign of the younger boy in the bedroom. He didn't sit at the desk reading comic books or watching a movie on his laptop, and he wasn't drawing little pictures to keep his mind busy.

For a moment, the brunette pondered the idea that his boyfriend had gone downstairs, but he pushed that thought away immediately. His lover couldn't handle being too far away from his only source of comfort right now. Which meant there was only one place he could be, and it filled Nathan with a sickening dread.

The bathroom door sat slightly ajar, the faintest sliver of yellow light pouring into the bedroom. It should have filled the room with warmth, but the older boy shivered knowingly.

Grumbling and grunting, the elder climbed out of bed, right hand pressing against his achy shoulder as he headed to the bathroom, calling out again but getting no response.

It wasn't fair; none of this was fair.

Aiden hadn't suffered an actual panic attack since he left the hospital because he'd been in a constantly heightened state of distress for days. But now, he was deep in the throes of his darkest nightmares and couldn't get out.