Saving Me [MxM]

Chapter 17

The phone fell out of his hand when the line cut, leaving Varian with the insistent dial tone as it clattered onto the counter and skidded towards the wall. His hands gripped the edge, knuckles white as he doubled over and tried to breathe, though no air seemed to enter his lungs.

Cold trickles of sweat ran down the back of his neck to the small of his back and he shivered. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut and slowly he sank to his knees on the floor, clutching at his chest and the jab of pain that shot through him. The need to breathe hit him hard, and finally he gasped, drawing short quick breaths into his lungs.

His shoulders shook as he trembled, and he heard the shrillness of the weak gulps of air as he willed his lungs to work. They were coming. After all this time they were coming for her, and there was nothing he could do. Nothing he could possibly sacrifice to keep her with him.

Somewhere towards the hall he heard his name, but it was muffled under the rushing of blood in his ears and the pained breathes he sucked down. The room spun, the edges of his vision blurring.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, shaking him, the voice from earlier calling his name and sounding choked. He snapped his head up to see Venerra standing at his side, her eyes wide and yellow. Her cheeks were wet, eyes glistening with moisture.

“Varian? What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

The hand clutching at his chest tightened before he let go of his shirt and reached for her. “Venerra,” he murmured, taking her hand as she offered it. He clasped it gently, pulling her down to sit on the floor with him. “Venerra, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” she asked, sniffling. “For what? I’m okay, really.”

He shook his head, forcing himself to look at her. “You have to go somewhere,” he said, his voice breaking before he cleared his throat, trying to swallow past the lump lodged in it. “Tomorrow someone will come to see you so you can go, okay?”

“No.” Venerra said. “Varian, I want to stay with you and Nathan.”

“I know,” he answered, reaching up to wipe her cheeks dry. “I know, I do. But you have to go.”

She shook her head, jerking away from him. “No! Don’t make me go! Varian, please.”

“I don’t want you to go, Venerra,” he told her, his voice wavering. “But you have to go.”

“Why?” She demanded, and for the first time in her life, Varian watched the yellow in her eyes bleed black.

Flinching, he tore his gaze from her, reaching up to cover his mouth as he tried to think of something to say to his sister. She was angry. And it’d been at him.

“Because you’re special,” he murmured, sniffing quietly and shaking his head. “Because they want to know you, Venerra. And I can’t fight them anymore.”

One moment she stood there in the kitchen, her body rigid with anger before it broke and she burst into sobs. He went to her and folded her into his arms, one hand smoothing her hair and the other pressing her against him. She clung to him, and he held her as long as he could before she tired herself out.

Gently he pulled her into his arms and carried her to her room, setting her down on her bed. She reached for him as he pulled the blanket up over her and tucked it under her chin. Bending down, her kissed her forehead, running his fingers through her hair. “I love you, Venerra. I always have.”

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“...You good?”

Nathan’s head jerked up, seeing Vince sitting on his bed with a few notebooks in front of him. When had he gotten back to the dorm? He could have sworn he was just standing outside…