Ch.10: Communication101

Nicholas wouldn't admit it, but Valentino brought up a good point. What were the odds that the captors would kidnap the one boy their Master was friends with? It couldn't have been a coincidence, and if it were, then it really was a crazy one.

"What's on your mind?" Albert asked.

Valentino shrugged. "I think someone set Milo up for this."

Nicholas glanced at Valentino. Now that he wasn't drowning in pain anymore, he was a little more aware of his surroundings, especially the way Valentino was leaning against the door.

"Stand somewhere else," Nicholas said.

"Look, Albert," Valentino said, keeping his eyes on Albert while pointing at Nicholas. "He's the one talking to me. If we start fighting, you know whose fault it is."

Nicholas couldn't find it in him to be angry. The door was blocked, and he didn't like that. "Why are you blocking the door like that?"

"He's not trying to block it," Albert said, still sitting on the stool across from the couch. "He's just leaning against it. Don't worry."

"I don't care." Nicholas looked at Valentino again. "Move."

Valentino's expression was playful as ever, but his voice concealed a threat. "You sound pretty bossy for someone in your position, Nicholas."

Valentino clearly had no intention to move, but then Albert gestured him away from the door, and he finally relented and stood against the wall. Nicholas relaxed. He had been ready to start a fight over this, as meaningless as it was.

"Who would set Milo up?" Albert asked.

Judging by the distant expression on his face, Valentino had already suspected someone, but he didn't share it. Albert caught on; the realization made his eyes widen, and then he pinned Valentino with a cautious, uncertain look.

"Valentino, don't be rash with this."

Nicholas furrowed his eyebrows. Who did they suspect? Sasha?

"Anyway," Valentino said. "Whoever set Milo up was probably helping the man and the woman too. How else did they get out of the basement so fast? You blocked the way pretty well. There wasn't another way outside, was there?"

"No, don't think so."

"If someone helped them get out of the basement, then that person either went in when we got out or was hiding the entire time inside the house," Nicholas said. "But I didn't hear anyone else when I was still there. It was just the man and the woman. And if Milo felt like there was a third person, he would've told me."

The door of the bathroom clicked. Milo pushed it open and walked back into the room, his expression twisting every once in a while at the pain.  Everyone fell silent, abandoning the topic. Milo sat down on the couch next to Nicholas. Nicholas straightened and made more space.

Through his peripheral vision, Nicholas caught Milo peering curiously at him. He tried to pretend he didn't notice.

"Nicholas?" Milo said.

Dammit. Nicholas tilted himself slightly towards Milo, his eyes downcast.

"Why won't you look at me?" Milo's voice was soft and quiet. "Is there something wrong?"

Oh, Lord. Why was he so upfront? Nicholas would've very gladly avoided this subject, but now Milo asked, and Milo sounded a little sad, and Nicholas wouldn't leave him hanging.

"I…"

"Are you mad at me?"

Nicholas's eyes widened. "No! Why would I be mad?"

"Then why were you avoiding me?"

"I-I'm not," Nicholas said. "I wasn't. I just… I…"

The words wouldn't come out. He didn't know how to explain this.

"Tell me," Milo insisted.

"I feel… bad," Nicholas said. "I feel really, really bad. But it's not because of you."

"Why then?"

"I hate that I made you save me, and that's making me feel bad."

"You mean when I threw a stone at the man and helped you up the fence?"

"Yeah."

"That was my decision. You didn't make me do anything, so you don't have to feel bad."

Nicholas sighed. That didn't matter. What mattered was that a child had put himself in danger to help him. Milo had exposed himself to gunfire to throw that stone. Nicholas already owed Milo for refusing to leave him behind, and now he might as well give him his soul to repay the debt. If he didn't make things even, he'd never rest again. Ever.

"Nicholas," Milo sighed, as if disappointed with Nicholas's logic. "That's the same thing you said when I told you Albert and I stayed up all night to keep Valentino company. I did what I did because I wanted to, both times."

Valentino choked on air.

"You told Nicholas what?"

Milo froze. Then his brows slanted into a nervous frown, the realization dawning on him. He scratched the edge of his cheek. "I might've told him a few things about you and Albert…"

A pink tint crept along Valentino's cheeks, and he refused to look at anyone. Nicholas thought this was a funny reaction. A really, really funny reaction, because Valentino didn't even know that Milo had mentioned that he had cried yet.

Albert sighed. "Milo, that's really personal. You shouldn't say stuff like that to strangers..."

Nodding, Milo set his eyes shamefully on his lap. Then his brows wrinkled with worry, and he cut his gaze urgently back to Albert. “Wait. Did you tell my mom that I’m fine?"

Nicholas frowned. He didn't expect Milo to bring up his mom. With how he only ever talked about Valentino and Albert, Nicholas had assumed his parents were dead.

“I did,” Albert said. “I told her that you’re staying at my place for the rest of the winter break. She's got no idea about what happened though.”

Nicholas raised a brow. “So you wanna convince me she didn’t notice that her son has been missing for a few days?”

Albert nodded. “Sadly, yes.”

“There’s no way.”

“Nicholas, I raised Milo and I’m their gardener. That should tell you enough about how much his mom cares.”

Who could have a child like Milo and not care about him? Nicholas shook his head, baffled. “Okay, anyway, you have to tell her that Milo was kidnapped. Even if he's fine now, she still needs to know and call the cops.”

“No,” Milo said.

Everyone looked at him. Nicholas thought Valentino would be the first to object.

Milo shrugged. “Don’t tell her. She doesn’t need to know. And I don’t want her to call the cops. It’s over, no need to make a big deal out of it.”

"No need to make a big deal?" Nicholas gaped at Milo. "Milo, you were kidnapped. Your mom has to know and she has to call the cops."

"No."

Nicholas recoiled. "What do you mean no?"

"He said no," Valentino said. "Stop arguing."

Nicholas narrowed his eyes at Valentino. "Yeah? Then tell him what this is about if you want me to stop arguing. Come on, explain to Milo why you're the head of a cult. Tell him more about your job. I'm sure he's curious."

"I'm not," Milo said, his voice monotonous and robotic, his eyes unfocused and distant. "I don't care."

"Milo…?"

"I don't want an explanation. I want to stop talking about this."

The anger in Nicholas's chest melted, replaced by unease in the pit of his stomach. This was bad. Milo wasn't too tired to think. He was refusing to think, and that couldn't end well. Nicholas glimpsed at Albert and Valentino. Both wore wary, sad expressions.

"Albert." Milo stood and limped over to Albert. "When are we leaving? Take us to your place. I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Valentino has to talk to his boss when she arrives first," Albert said. "Then we'll leave." He patted his back lightly, directing him towards the bed. "Go get some more sleep.

Milo let out an exasperated breath. "Tell her to hurry."

Then he went back to the bed and curled up on the mattress. Valentino sat down beside him, and Milo shuffled closer, his head by Valentino's hip. Lightly, Valentino touched a strand of Milo's hair.

"You need a haircut," Valentino mumbled.

Even with his eyes closed, Milo shook his head firmly. "I want to grow it until it's as long as yours."

Valentino sighed quietly.

Nicholas looked in Milo's direction for a while, until something clicked. All this time, Milo had two brown eyes. His grey lens was gone, so Albert or Valentino had probably removed it. What about Nicholas's lens? It had slipped his mind. His hand shot up and he brushed his fingers softly over his eye.

"My lens?" Nicholas said, subconsciously looking to Albert for an answer.

"I took it out when you passed out in the car," Valentino said. "Albert told me to."

Nicholas grimaced. Valentino arched a brow, then he gazed thoughtfully at Nicholas's face for a while.

"Got a problem?"

Valentino pointed at the beauty spot below Nicholas's eye. "Fake?"

Nicholas touched it defensively. "Natural."

"Ah."

"Your hair?" Nicholas said. "Extensions?"

Valentino smiled, sliding his hair tie off until his blond hair fell down his shoulders and back. He ran a hand through his hair, parting it with his fingers, showing his scalp. Then he curled a strand around his palm and pulled. He looked at Nicholas again, pleased with himself.

"Natural," Valentino said.

Nicholas tsked and leaned back against the couch, his good arm across his chest. He tapped his finger against his opposite elbow.

"Do you need a painkiller for your arm?" Albert asked. "How are you feeling?"

Lolling his head aside, Nicholas inspected Albert's expression. His face was all sharp edges, and yet his hazel eyes were sincere and soulful. Again, Nicholas felt sick. He didn't know why, and he didn't answer Albert's question.

"I'm sure he's fine," Valentino said.

"Valentino, he's shot in two places."

"The bullets scratched him. Technically he wasn't shot."

"No, that's still considered shot," Nicholas said. "Didn't you see the wounds? And it hurt like hell."

"Oh, poor me."

Nicholas tensed. Shit. Only now did he realize that he'd sounded like he was pitying himself. That wasn't his intention. He only wanted to prove Valentino wrong.

"That's not what I meant!" Nicholas quickly said. "Self-pity is for losers. I don't do that shit."

Nicholas expected Valentino to tease him, to say something annoying, but instead his expression changed from taunting to apprehensive.

"Huh," Valentino said. "That's one thing we have in common, then."

Nicholas scoffed. Sadly, it wasn't the only thing they had in common.

It was a long time before an engine revved in the distance. With a racing heart, Nicholas perched on the edge of the couch, peeking outside the small window. Valentino and Albert gathered beside him as well. A black jeep appeared along the far road, gradually drawing closer and closer, until it swerved into the yard and parked.

"She's here," Valentino said. He glanced at Albert. "She's gonna want to talk to me and Nicholas. Stay with Milo, Albert. And don't worry about anything else."

Nicholas didn't know what to feel, or what to expect. But he knew one thing for sure: he wasn't about to make this easy.

• • •

Your thoughts on what's going on with milo? :( and what do you think sasha is gonna decide to do to nicholas?

Thank you for reading/voting/commenting ❤️ Quick reminder that I post a chapter every Saturday :) I have no idea why but I love writing this book wayyy too much so expect consistent updates!