Tip of the Tongue [BoyxBoy - Complete - CMS Bk. 1]

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ren jolted awake. He gasped, sucking in the scream lodged in his throat. He swallowed his tongue and he choked. His eyes were wide as he looked around.

This was Ashton's room. He was lying in Ashton's bed.

He kicked the thick duvet off. Sweat ran down his face and down his back. His clothes stuck to him. Small hot flashes ran down his body like chills, but he was frantic as he jumped off the bed, circling it as he surveyed the large room. The sun shined through the windows. In the daylight, the room was grander than it had been before. The gold details shined and though it seemed Ashton liked dark colors, the bright light made it feel less like a prison.

Ren remembered the pain. He remembered waking up to the Mantels watching over him. And he remembered how Ashton had left him to suffer at the hands of his mother.

Ren was blind to the rage. He grabbed the heaviest thing he could find—a thin lamp. He ripped the cord out of the wall and pulled the shade off of it. The shade fell to the ground and rolled away somewhere under the large bed in the center of the room. He held the base of the lamp tightly in both hands. He walked to the opposite side of the door that led out to the hallway and toward the desk pushed against the wall.

That was about the time when he heard the yelling.

He braced himself, his grip tightening even more as he heard a flurry of footsteps getting closer to the door.

The yells were muffled until the door flew open.

"Where is he? I swear to God if I don't find him—"

Margret Cornelli stopped mid-scream as her eyes met Ren's.

Ren lowered the lamp in shock.

"Mom?"

There were no words that would make sense to him at that moment. He vaguely remembered her journal and the mention of the Mantels, but it didn't click until now that she might actually know them.

There were a series of emotions that flashed across Margret's face. First there was relief. The stress hidden in her brows fell away, smoothing out the harsh lines that made her look ten years older. Then, there was joy. It was different than the kind of happiness he was used to seeing on her face. This was grander, like she'd received everything she'd ever asked for. But the last emotions she settled on was disappointment and anger.

Ren flinched as her eyes narrowed on him.

"You're never leaving the house again. Ever." Ren looked away as her words hit him. His stomach was heavy and his eyes watered. He didn't understand this feeling.

She yanked him into a tight hug. She kissed his cheek, her hands clutching so tight to his back that the hug became uncomfortable, but he didn't try to get away. He basked in the touch, wishing he could stay in her embrace a little long. He longed for the days when he could ask for small innocent intimacies like this. The days as a child had been stolen from him and he hated being an adult.

"What were you thinking? I thought they got you," she whispered.

He didn't know what she was talking about for a second. Then, it hit him.

The Hunter Society.

She thought they hurt him.

If she knew he'd been held at gun point by them, she'd kill him herself.

Someone cleared their throat.

Margret pulled away and turned around.

The Mantels—all four of them—were standing in the hallway. Ren's eyes immediately went to Ashton who was standing with his arms crossed behind the other three. He was slightly hidden by the shadows and he wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the floor, his face void as usual. Ren couldn't just let it slip by. He clung to the obvious disconcertment.