Aftermath [malexmale]

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I woke up feeling like shit.

My head felt like someone had stuffed firecrackers into my ears and set them off all at once. Ears ringing and eyes crusted shut, the hot sunlight pouring in through my window to sear across my naked back, the sound of waves crashing on shore in the distance.

Worst of all was that I remembered everything that happened last night. It was easier to cope with it when I was drunk because I couldn't focus, but now I knew what I'd done and what Dorean had done. In my drunken stupor, I'd given Dorean permission to touch me, then I turned around and insulted him right after he told me that he liked me.

Damn, I'm really good at this socializing thing.

Not.

I grunted and buried my face against the bed sheets, groping around for a pillow before I found one and placed it over the back of my head so I was trapped between pillow and blankets and bed.

I couldn't believe I had done such a horrid thing, and that Dorean had actually even... And did he actually like me or was he caught up in the moment?

No. Dorean wasn't like that. When he said something, he meant it and while I knew I should be happy, and I really was, I still couldn't help the nagging at the back of my mind that something about it was dangerous. What if Hades really did take Dorean away, no matter what I did? Or what if something happened to Dorean and I never saw him again?

I couldn't go through with that again. I'd lost everything before. I wouldn't be able to survive if it happened again. Just thinking about it upset my stomach even further, to the point where I had to crawl out of bed and go to the toilet, hunching over and retching into it. I leaned against the toilet seat, struggling to catch my breath before wiping a hand across my face and slumping back against the wall. I heaved a heavy sigh, closing my eyes and tilting my head back against the tiled bathroom wall.

I did want to be with Dorean and while I tried to convince myself that my side was the safest place, it wasn't. Even worse, he had become a hindrance. If Hades could use Dorean to manipulate me, who else could do that when they figured out about him? I didn't even want to imagine what other dangerous entities could manipulate me because of Dorean's presence.

No, it was just too dangerous.

And bringing him here in the first place had been a horrible mistake. I didn't think I'd become this attached to him.

I sat there for a while longer before finally getting up, taking a quick shower and throwing on some jeans and a black t-shirt. I emerged from the room to the warmest scent of toasted bread and eggs, and hot rich coffee. I paused in the archway to the kitchen to see Dorean looking at a cook book while nibbling on toast. As soon as he caught me moving from the archway, his brows furrowed and he picked up his things, moving to the living room. I sighed wearily, moving into the kitchen to get some breakfast, munching down some toast and gulping a mug of coffee before I went to the living room.

Dorean sat on the sofa, flipping through channels, his empty plate sitting nearby. He was frowning, obviously still pissed off about last night.

What was I supposed to say?

The truth, I suppose.

Or close to it.

"If you want to go back to Adrian's, I can send you." I said at last. Dorean stiffened, then snapped the television off and grabbed his plate, heading into the kitchen and brushing past me as if I hadn't even spoken. I frowned, watching him go into the kitchen and wash off the dishes before sticking them into the dishwasher, using his tail to hit the button as he shot me a dirty look.