WHERE TO NOW? (M/M) 18+

Chapter 50

Okay so I've made a small YouTube playlist of all the songs I listened to while writing+editing this chapter. I've added the playlist into the External Link feature in Wattpad, which can be found all the way at the bottom of this chapter, just above the comment section (if I remember correctly)

I did try adding it to the banner above to make the listening experience a little smoother for all of you but it doesn't want to work unfortunately.

Also, some songs I used for specific sections of this chapter so they won't suit other scenes outside of the one I listened to them with. If you're wondering why a song doesn't suit the vibe, that would be because I wasn't listening to it for that particular section.

Now that that's out of the way.

On to the chapter😝

ps. She's a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng one. Strap in.

The Tipping Point

I couldn't sleep.

The blanket beneath me was thin, the floor unforgiving, but that wasn't the problem. The room was too quiet—too still. The kind of quiet that lets your thoughts speak louder than anything else.

Around me, the others had started to settle. Daz's soft, even breathing signalled he was already out cold. The kids shuffled in their sleep, little sighs and murmurs filling the space like whispers of something more peaceful. Skylar had finally put her knife away. Kieran lay back beside me with one arm thrown over his eyes, silent but still awake.

And me?

I lay there staring at the ceiling, the shadows of the furniture crawling over it like the night had claws.

I turned over.

Then turned back.

The floor creaked under me, even with the smallest movement, and I winced, trying not to wake anyone. My eyes drifted towards the door again. That same door Damien had walked through only hours ago. I'd felt his eyes on me before he left. Felt the heat of his presence still lingering in the room even though he was gone.

He hadn't come back.

I pushed the blanket off and slowly sat up, resting my elbows on my knees, fingers digging into my scalp.

Dammit.

Sleep wasn't coming. Not tonight.

My chest was too tight, my thoughts too loud. That quiet kind of ache had started to settle in—the kind you get when you know something's shifting and you can't stop it.

I rubbed my eyes, breathing slow and deep through my nose like that might calm the gnawing under my skin. But it didn't.

I kept thinking about him. His voice. The soft touch of his hands against my skin. And the way he had looked at me like he was trying to memorise something. Like he was already leaving.

The urge to get up crawled through my limbs, restless and sharp. I needed air. Or space. Or something that didn't feel like this suffocating room.

Quietly, I reached for my flannel.

Then, gently, a hand closed over my ankle.

"Where are you going?" Kieran mumbled. His voice was thick with sleep, distant and quiet. One arm was still slung over his eyes, shielding him from the soft moonlight coming through the window.