Reap the Earth at Which you Stand [boyxboy]

Chapter VI

~Monday 6th November 2017~

I don't want your fucking help!

Dakota's mind taunted him with the memories of the full moon, forcing him to flex the fingers of his left hand impulsively, almost to check that they were still looking normal. The claws had receded some time during that night, not that Dakota could remember when. He had fallen asleep in the bathroom, or rather cried himself into slumber, woken by the dawn light streaming through the window.

Pete had stayed with him all night, just waiting outside the bathroom, apparently not caring for his own wellbeing, since he didn't even sleep. Dakota sobbed a lot that day, and barely left the bathroom nonetheless. Pete brought him meals, still remained just outside, talking occasionally, but not forcing the boy to speak about what happened. There was some silent agreement between the two of them not to mention it. Dakota only hoped that that bled over into Pete's loyalty to Loral, he didn't need his big brother finding out what happened.

"Cold?" Pete broke the silence in the car, glancing briefly at Dakota, who merely nodded, not taking his eyes off the surroundings out of the window. He couldn't help counting down the minutes until they reached the Arizona house. Usually, Dakota would at least attempt to hold some sort of conversation with Pete, even just to prevent the silence from consuming them, yet he simply wasn't in the mood. He didn't know how to talk to the man anymore, not whilst being painfully aware of what he had done to him.

"I put some more painkillers into your bag in case your stitches start to irritate you," Dakota almost wanted to smile at Pete's thoughtful gesture, if he had been able to force that emotion to present itself visibly anyway, "you can always give me a call if you think they're not healing right, Loral can give you my number."

"Thanks," Dakota murmured flatley, practically leaping out of the passenger seat once Pete had pulled in at the side of the road. For obvious reasons, he couldn't drop Dakota off directly at the house, so he had to stop a little way down the road that led to his home instead. Usually, Dakota wouldn't be too pleased, especially since it was rather cold out that day, but he didn't care anymore. He just wanted to get home, shower, and try to forget everything that had happened over the past few days.

"Take care, Dakota," Pete flashed the boy a smile as he drove off, leaving Dakota there to trudge up to his house in the cold, alone. Along the way, Dakota couldn't ignore the thoughts of Vasile any longer. He wanted to see the man, for no reason other than to yell at him. He wanted to scream and cry and tell him how much he had ruined his life. Yet, at the same time, he refused to give in to him. Vasile wanted to see him, he had said to go to the penthouse and meet with him when Dakota was ready. Well, then the boy was going to do just the opposite. For as long as possible, he would avoid the man at all costs.

Dakota shivered when he finally entered his home, thankful for the heating being on so high, instantly beginning to seep into his clothes, warming him to the bone. He shrugged off his jacket, hanging it up by the door and wandering up the stairs. He had hoped to remain quiet enough not to disturb anyone else in the house, but clearly luck wasn't on his side that morning. Instead, he just walked straight into his mother at the top of the staircase.

"Dakota, where on earth have you been?" Veronica scolded, thankfully not tugging Dakota into a tight embrace as she so often did. He wouldn't have been able to conceal the pain that would have caused, and he had yet to formulate any viable excuse for the injuries he had incurred.

"Didn't Loral tell you?" Dakota didn't want to risk falling into a trap with his mother and giving a contrasting story to his brother, that would just be a foolish way to give himself away.

"He said you were working on something, some hunt, but nothing more than that. You know how foolish it is for you to go off on your own," perfect, Loral had done exactly as Dakota had instructed him. At least he hadn't deviated from the plan like many of their other brothers would. Simplicity was a better idea, easier to work with.