{ #3 } Twisted Moon (MxM || 18+)

Chapter 16 - Making Decisions

Twisted Moon - Book 3 of the Black Moon series - Chapter 16: Making Decisions

(Camden's POV - Sun. 8 March 2015)

This is the third time in a row that Jess is trying to climb on the couch where I am seated. Each time, he takes a few steps back and tries to take a run-up, but his short legs won't let him jump high enough to haul himself up on the seating space and he ends up falling back, looking put out and yet determined to try again. This puppy is a small ball of excitement and joy, and I have really gotten used to his presence here, but that doesn't mean I will let him do whatever he wants.

"Stop it, Dumbie! You're gonna hurt yourself... No dogs on the couch I already said!" I scold him. "Go to your bed!" I order and after a whimper that sounds like a little growl, he reluctantly walks to the small mattress where he sits down and looks at me with his sad puppy face. I wish I could laugh at him but authority doesn't work if you don't take it seriously, so I try to keep a stern expression. "That won't work with me. Down, Dumbie!" I tell him and he eventually curls up with a heavy sigh.

Noah has been in his bedroom since after breakfast, saying he had a headache, but I think he is just trying to avoid me. He knows that he is supposed to provide me with an answer today as to what he wants to do in the future and my feeling is that he doesn't have a clue about it. At first, I thought he might be upset with how our conversation abruptly ended last night, but I doubt that this is really it. The rest of the evening was pretty quiet but we parted normally and on good terms.

I had a short day at the practice yesterday, glad to see that I had less last-minute appointment requests than I thought, but coming back home and finding out that Noah had self-harmed clearly abated my mood. As soon as I walked into the house and heard Jess whimpering at the top of the staircase, I knew that something was wrong, and my fears proved to be right when I found the boy slumped on the floor of his bedroom, blood running down his arm. It was more impressive than really serious in the end since the knife barely bit into his skin, but it still pissed me that he yielded to his urges after the conversation we had had earlier this week.

I can totally understand how people who self-harm usually get caught into a spiral of emotions that leads them to hurt themselves, but I really need to think of a way to help Noah with this; I just can't let him go on ruining his body with marks that may never fade, but more importantly, I don't want him to take the risk to make things even worse. What if he ever touched a bigger vein and bled himself to death because I am not there on time to save him? This is something I will need to work out with him as soon as possible.

Finding out that he hadn't had lunch either didn't help my irritation but I am glad that I still managed to rule in my anger. It required a lot of self-control, but the long walk in the woods achieved to appease me and we had a lot fun playing with Jess before we took him to his vet appointment. By the end of the day, I believe that both Noah and I had become quite relaxed and we enjoyed a nice and peaceful dinner. I even let him question me a bit; not that I am one to speak willingly about my past and my family - to be honest, it usually sets me in dark moods - but I thought it was only fair to answer some of his questions, especially if I expect him to be honest with me too.

Such a shame that Mark killed the mood with his call, though. Throughout the entire week, I kind of avoided the guys' calls, but I still replied to their texts asking why I hadn't been at the club at all; it wasn't that irrelevant to say that I was simply too busy at the moment, taking many appointments and finishing late in the evening. Now what really pissed me was Mark's reproachful tone when he told me that Aaron was upset that I didn't visit the club once this week. It is true that I usually spend a lot of time there, but damn! For one, this is not the first time that I am absent for a few days, and then, I haven't signed a contract for regular visits!