✔️Playing Heroes [a BoyxBoy novel]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

A steady beeping noise was what woke me from my peaceful slumber. I knew it wasn't an alarm because, to be frank, I don't really set alarms. It wasn't until I fully regained consciousness that I realized that was the beeping of an IV machine. A needle was stuck in my left hand. How the fuck did I get there? What happened?

Then it hit me like a brick, sending me mixed emotions. I was embarrassed, horrified but most importantly... like a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest. I was greatly satisfied.

Images flashed through my mind, causing my cheeks to burn. I couldn't believe I actually did that in such a place. I had always been more decent than that and with better morals. But where Aiden was concerned, I knew that all of my morals flew out of the window. That also left the question...

Where do Aiden and I stand now?

What were we? In the past, I had done indecent things with faceless strangers before, but that had always been a one night stand with people that I knew I would never meet again, and for some odd reason, I didn't like the fact that what we were was so... blurred. I guess it was because if he decided to sleep with someone else, like when he decided to go and get that fucking hickey (I was still upset about that), I wouldn't have a single right to stop him because one thing was fact and that was that he was not mine.

A soft knock came from the door, clearing me from my thoughts. I cleared throat and tried to look composed.

"Come in," I said, my voice croaking a little bit. How long had I been out?

Kadmos' head peaked around the door and his lean frame followed. He wasn't in any better condition since the last time he and I had spoken. His eyes still had dark circles underneath them and his skin had a deathly pale to it.

I offered a slight smile as he sunk in the seat next to the bed. "Wow," I commented. "You look like shit."

"Thanks," he muttered. "I feel like it too. But, thankfully, it seems like all of our hard work is paying off. We've finally picked up traces of the Heart as well as finding a lead on Ashton. Everything seems to be adding up, so tonight we're preparing to check it out-"

"I'm coming with you," I started, reaching over to rip the IV needle from the back of my hand.

"I knew you were going to say that," Kadmos whispered, shaking his head and stopping my hand. "You're not going anywhere. Aiden had told me that you had been restless about what happened to your mother and finding Ashton. As a result of that, the nurse had told me that your body is greatly sleep deprived and overworked. You need to rest otherwise you will not only put yourself in danger, but you will also put everyone else in danger. You need to learn your limits if you even want to step foot in the battlefield." He sighed. "I didn't come here to argue with you, son. I just wanted to see how you're going, but in saying that, you shouldn't be so eager to fight. Your need for revenge will corrupt your thoughts."

Although what he was saying made sense, my marked hands balled into fists underneath the light blanket that covered my body. This could've been my chance to actually catch that asshole and make him pay, but because I was too careless, I had to stay in that damned infirmary room while everyone else got the chance to rip his guts out. I didn't feel right just sitting back and doing nothing. That meant that all of those weeks I spent pushing my body beyond unimaginable limits was for nothing. All of the fighting techniques I had practiced for hours a day turning out to be completely... useless.

"Just rest up, sport," Kadmos muttered, standing up and sympathetically patting my leg and leaving the room without another word.

No, how dare he feel sorry for me. I wasn't anyone to sympathize. I wanted to punch that pitiful look off of his face just to prove that I was fine. That I didn't have to "rest up" or any bullshit like that. I was fine.