Protective Shadows (The Protective Series, Book 2)

Chapter Twenty

[Asko's P.O.V]

Jed may as well been dead weight against me. I kept one arm around his waist to steady him, while we waited for the hotel's elevator to rise up to the seventh floor where we were staying.

His pupils were constricted, leaving more ocean blue around them. His breathing was slow and ragged, and he could barely stand up for more than ten seconds, even if he tried to without my help. He ended up stumbling into the elevator wall on the way out. I held him close to my side once more, drawing the key to our room from my pocket as we walked along the hallway.

"Your hair is so soft!" He gasped in awe, his slim fingers playing and pulling at my hair. "How do you get it so soft?"

I sighed, turning the key in the lock and pushing the door open with that hand, since the other was stopping him from falling to the ground. "Alright Jed, get in."

He staggered forward, almost hitting the floor if not for my quick thinking, wrapping my arms around his stomach from behind him. He fell forward in my arms, almost dragging me down with him, his weight pulling against my arms. I groaned, managing to lift him up, and froze.

Standing silhouetted against the white wooden framed balcony doors, was Devon.

His eccentric sense of fashion was to be admired in a way, but also feared. He wore a purple sequenced coat that hung just above his thighs, open over a white t-shirt that read 'Gay or straight? Kiss me and find out', matched with a pair of golden glittery pants and black Converse.

His auburn mullet had been tidied, spilling in a neat, straight river over one shoulder. If he was a complete heterosexual, than I was Santa Claus.

"You know," Devon breathed, stepping closer towards me and Jed. "I expected this sort of behaviour from Janne, but not from blonde skater boy here. How many grams has he taken?"

I shrugged, because I honestly had no idea. I had found the empty bag on the inside of his coat pocket, but there had been no indication as to how much had been in it.

"Let him sleep it off then," Devon sighed, turning to open the balcony doors.

The gentle breeze that blew in was cold, but comforting on my sweaty skin, blowing the ankle from Devon's pants like a flag rippling in the wind. But that wasn't what emphasised me, or his bright pink socks that he had chosen to wear underneath.

A red fading mark, the size of a bullet, marked his ankle socket.

"No way," I whispered to myself, glancing beside me to where Jed was struggling to stay upright, leaning his arm on my shoulder to try and stay balanced. "Jed, can you see that? Please tell me you do."

Wearily, Jed lifted his gaze towards Devon, and turned rigid like me, swallowing, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Shit."

Breathing a sigh, Devon lowered his head, pulling the doors closed. He turned on his heel sharply, shifting his heated gaze from me to Jed, a smirk quirking up at the side of his mouth. Horrible, deformed yellow teeth briefly flashed, but were soon covered by his lips once more.

"Y-you w-work for Corey!" I yelled, backing away as slowly as I could. If I moved faster, I knew he would have me at a disadvantage, and I would be as good as gone. "You're a traitor!"

"I tried telling you that!" Jed scolded, folding his arms across his chest. "Janne and I both hated him right from the start, and you didn't listen!"

Devon scoffed, rolling his brown eyes. "No one ever listens to the little kid, Jedediah, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, considering you're going to be dead by the end of the night anyway, just like Janne. At least then you can both be together forever, like you originally wanted, so there's no need to thank me."