Soulmate Notebook

Chapter 14 - Roman

"Roman, I'm *fine*. I *meant* to fall on the floor. I *wasn't* on my way to *ignore* Remusssss. I *don't* need your help," Janus hissed in frustration. He wasn't used to somebody caring if he fell in the floor or not.

"Janus, you are not fine. I'm going to help you out of the floor and take you back to bed. You shouldn't even be out of bed," Roman replied, still helping the stubborn boy up, "Remus will be able to come see you in a couple of days, Janus, I promise."

"I *do* want my soulmates to see me *broken*. I *want* them to see how *strong* I am. They *don't* deserve somebody *worse* than me," Janus said as Remus came running down the hall.

"Janus, you were supposed to be in the bed of nails," Remus said as he immediately started to help Roman lift Janus.

"I need to go home, Remus. I can't stay here, and I *will* put you two in danger," Janus answered. The twins slowly walked with one of Janus's arms across their shoulders. Remus wanted to scream at Janus that he was never going back to that man, but he knew that Janus thought it was the best way to protect them.

The twins got Janus back to bed, and Roman started to hook him back up to the machines. When he looked back at Janus, he was lightly scratching at his scales. "Remus, can you go get some warm water and a towel?" Roman whispered to his twin gesturing towards Janus. Remus glanced over and then left to get the required items.

"I don't need help with my ecdysis cycle. I've been doing it alone since my very first one," Janus told Roman.

Roman sighed, "Maybe usually you could, but you are injured right now. You're lucky that your broken arm is your right instead of your left. I'm sure that ecdysis would be worse if you couldn't even get to part of the snakeskin."

"Here's the water and towel, Roman. I'm going to go back upstairs before mom catches me in here," Remus stated before heading towards the door.

"Remus, please *leave* I'm *not* scared right now. I *don't* feel *worse* when I have you near by," Janus said. Janus did look scared and hurt when Remus looked at him. Remus was under strict rules from his parents to not be down here.

"Remus, why don't you help me with his scales? I could use the extra hands, even if half of them are growing back instead of shedding," Roman tried to encourage his brother to stay with them.

"Alright, I'll stay to help with the scales, but then I need to go back upstairs," Remus said grabbing an extra towel. He dipped it in the water and gently rubbed it on Janus's facial scales. Janus hissed in pain from the contact with the scales that must grow back. Remus tried to comfort him by telling him that everything was going to be ok. He was being so good and still. He was super strong to do this. After about an hour the twins were finally done helping Janus get his scales wet.

"Thank you, they feel better for the moment," Janus said as his eyelids began to close. Remus placed a light kiss on Janus's forehead that was human.

"Sleep well, dearie, we love you and we will get you free one day, I promise," Remus whispered. Roman and Remus then left the room to let Janus rest for the rest of the night. They headed up the stairs in silence until Roman asked Remus a question.

"What did you mean that we would free him one day, Remus?" Roman asked.

"Nothing, Roman. It was just the first thing that popped in my head. You know I have no filter," Remus answered trying not to tell his brother that their mystery soulmate was abused daily. Roman decided that Remus would tell him if something was seriously wrong, so he trusted what his twin told him. Remus felt bad about lying to Roman, but he promised Janus that none of the others would know until he was ready to tell them.

"Hey, do you want to binge watch Disney, since neither of us are going to school tomorrow? We'll take turns watching what the other picks out," Roman suggested trying to cheer his brother up.

"I don't know Roman. Shouldn't one of us be watching Janus? Make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid again?" Remus questioned.

"Remus, Janus is asleep right now. Also, I put a camera in there so we can see if he tries to get out of bed on his own again. You need something to get all this gloomy stuff off your mind, Remus," Roman continued dragging Remus to his room, "We haven't had a Disney marathon in ages. Please, Remus?"

Remus rolled his eyes at his brother's antics but allowed himself to be dragged into the messy room anyway. They both immediately started talking about what movie to start with and who should get the first pick. They had watched about three movies, and they still hadn't heard anything from Janus. Remus wanted to go check on him, but Roman told him that he was still sleeping in bed.

"Roman, we should check on Janus. He may need help with his scales again," Remus suggested.

"You're not going to stop pushing this are you? Even though he is fine," Roman sighed as he stood up, "You stay here and pick out your movie, Remus. I'll go check on Janus real fast to put your mind at ease." Roman then left the room before Remus could object to the plan.

Roman finally made it to the medical room and peeked inside to see Janus still sleeping peacefully in bed. The machines looked like they were working, however Roman couldn't hear their beeping sounds. He tried to focus on the room so he could see through any illusions that Janus may have been able to put up. After tons of concentration, he was finally able to see what was really in the room. The window was open, and Janus was no where to be found, so Roman called somebody who could help. He didn't know that Janus was a master of evading people.

"Mom, Janus is gone," Roman said into the phone.