•Damien’s POV•

I walk out of my room, heading down the hall and up the stairs. Once I weed my way down the halls and make it to Cody’s room I knock on the door before opening it.

I see a shirtless Skyler sitting on the edge of the bed, game controller in his hand and his attention a hundred percent on the video game that he’s playing.

I spot Cody cuddled up in the blankets on his bed, a pillow over his head and his relaxed demeanor meaning he’s fast asleep.

I raise a brow.

I know I shouldn’t just jump to conclusions. Skyler could’ve just as easily came into Cody’s room when he had woken up, but from the two suitcases I spot near the closet I highly doubt he ever left.

I don’t have a problem with Cody and Skyler sleeping in the same room, in the same bed. It’s just the fact that I know something is going on between them, and Cody just openly expressed to me yesterday that he doesn’t know who he wants to be with.

And if he ends up choosing Scarlet over Skyler, then him leading Skyler on like this will kill any chance he has of salvaging their friendship. He shouldn’t be fooling around with Skyler or Scarlet until he figures out who he wants to be with.

I don’t know if I sound like a dick right now, but I do know that I’m not trying to raise my brother to be an asshole. Cody’s a good person, but he’s still young. Sometimes he actually needs me to be hard on him, so that he can do the right thing.

I don’t generally like having these serious discipline conversations with Cody. I feel like they place walls between us when it comes to our communication but either way I know it’s necessary.

He’s probably going to get upset with me but I’m doing what I think is in his best interest.

This is where raising Cody gets complicated. Sometimes in certain situations I don’t want to be the bad guy, I want to be the cool older brother who lets him do whatever the hell he wants because I’m still young and I wish someone let me do whatever the hell I want.

But I can’t do that. I have to guide him in the right direction.

‘’Cody!’’ I yell, attempting to wake him up. The kid doesn’t move an inch. I sigh, about to enter the room fully, until Skyler speaks.

‘’I got you Damien,’’ Skyler says. He turns around on the bed. I lean against the doorframe and watch as he punches Cody’s leg.

I guess as a reflex Cody’s leg comes striking back, kicking Skyler right in the stomach. He hits the floor. I don’t even bother to try and hide the laugh that escapes my lips.

‘’Get away,’’ I hear Cody groan to Skyler.

‘’Get up a-hole, your brother wants you,’’ Skyler tells him, standing up from the floor and picking the game controller up.

Cody picks his head up from beneath the pillow and groans again. He gets up and I turn around leading the way out of the room as he follows me into the hall.

‘’Can we not go all the way downstairs, those are a lot of steps to go down.’’ Cody complains.

‘’Well downstairs is where the kitchen is and considering you’re about to help me make breakfast I think we have to go downstairs.’’ I tell him.

He groans again as we take on the stairs.

‘’Jesus you’re like the grouch this morning,’’ I comment, walking into the kitchen with him behind me.

‘’You know how I feel about my sleep being broken…twice. Where’s Steven anyway?’’ Cody asks.

I go into the pantry and take out the pancake mix.

‘’He’s taking a shower. Get the eggs out of the refrigerator and scramble them.’’ I tell him. I hear him snicker as I walk over to the cabinet to grab a bowl.

‘’You got him into bed with you that easily?’’ Cody teases. I roll my eyes. One of the side effects of waking Cody up on the wrong side of the bed; he’s more annoying than usual, and ironically irritable.

‘’That moment when you think you’re funny, but no one laughs. He needed to shower, manichino (dummy). Nothing’s happening between Steven and I, unfortunately.’’ I reply, adding water to the pancake mix in the bowl.

‘’It’s too early to insult me in Italian. I don’t even know what that means.’’ He says.

I grab a whisk, beginning to mix what’s in the bowl. I turn around and look at Cody.

‘’What do you mean? We used to speak Italian all the time. Ho letteralmente passato i miei fine settimana a insegnarti la lingua nativa, Cody.’’ (I literally spent my weekends teaching you our native tongue, Cody.) I fuss.

He glances at me, his brows pulled together in confusion.

‘’Something about tongue on the weekends.’’ He replies. I glare at him and he smiles. ‘’Sto scherzando, sto scherzando!’’ (I'm joking, I'm joking!)

‘’Yeah, you better be,’’ I say to him, rolling my eyes. I grab a skillet, placing it on the stove and turning the burner on. I search the drawers for a spatula.

I honestly hate cooking when I’m not at my house in California. I never remember where anything is. I slam the third drawer I search shut, frustration invading me.

‘’It’s right here,’’ Cody yawns, tossing me the spatula. I catch it, giving him an annoyed look to which he simply shrugs off.

‘’We need to talk about you and Skyler,’’ I tell him. I get some butter, putting it in the skillet to melt.

‘’I thought we already did,’’ Cody says.

‘’We did but now I have more to say. Cody you shouldn’t have sex with Skyler until you figure out how you really feel. You have to consider what might happen if you choose Scarlet in the end, doing this could ruin any chance you would have of still being friends with Skyler.’’ I advise him.

‘’Skyler and I aren’t having sex,’’ He replies tiredly. He rubs his eyes, moving over to get him a skillet as he turns the burner next to mines on. ‘’I mean we’re doing things, but we aren’t having sex. He knows how I feel and that I’m figuring things out, he understands that just because we’re messing around it doesn’t mean we’re a couple now.’’

I pour the pancake mix into the skillet.

Cody, very much like myself at times, is very stubborn. And when he’s being stubborn he’s not going to take any advice I give him. He’s more of a try and fail type of learner.

‘’Look, I can’t make you take my advice. You’re a teenager so I know you’re going to do whatever the hell you want in the end, but just think about what I said. No matter how cool they say they are, no ones fine seeing the person that they love with someone else. You don’t have to fool around with Skyler to figure out if you love him more or not, that’s not how love works Cody.’’ I say seriously.

‘’You’re making me feel like a bad person,’’ Cody complains, beginning to scramble the eggs in the skillet. I flip the pancakes over. ‘’I’m not even the one who initiated the kiss at the party but now I have all the responsibility in this fucked up situation. I have to figure out who I want to be with and then go and kiss the other persons ass so that they’ll remain friends with me and repair their relationship with their sibling. And then if I decide to be alone neither of them will ever talk to me or each other ever again.’’

‘’My goal isn’t to make you feel like a bad person. I’m trying to do the best job I can to raise you into a good person. I know this isn’t an easy decision for you. But you should really start dealing with everything soon. Like did you even call Scarlet and explain what happened to her?’’ I ask him.

‘’I just stopped blowing her phone up yesterday because she won’t answer or reply to any of my messages. But I wouldn’t even know what to say if she did answer. ‘Baby I’m sorry your brother shoved his tongue down my throat and made me question how much I really love you.’? If I say some shit like that she’ll never talk to me again and hate Skyler for the rest of her life. Right now she doesn’t know who kissed who so I’m assuming she’s equally pissed at us both. Skyler refuses to tell her it was him even though he doesn’t mind doing it over and over again and she won’t give me a chance to tell her, or even apologize for something that wasn’t my fault.’’ Cody rants.

‘’Well if you two do get back together how do you think she’s going to feel when she finds out you and her brother messed around?’’ I ask.

Cody shrugs.

‘’I think…I think I deserve to be ask how I feel,’’ He says.

I take the pancakes out of the skillet and put them onto a plate. I lean against the contour next to him.

‘’You’re my number one priority. I’m always going to want to know how you feel.’’ I assure him.

‘’Well I feel mad as hell, Damien. Every phone call that she sends to voicemail and every text message she reads and doesn’t respond to makes me want to throw my phone against the fucking wall. And he claims that he feels so strongly about me yet he see’s what I’m going through with his sister and he won’t even fess up and tell her that he’s the one who kissed me, so that I can at least have a fighting chance with her. So at least then she’ll agree to talk to me. These two people claim to be in love with me and they’re both being blind to the pain I’m going through.’’ Cody confides in me.

I see the tear sliding down his cheek and I pull him to me for a hug. I turn the burner off, letting him rest his head against my chest as he cries.

‘’No matter what happens, I got you bro. You don’t have to pursue your feelings for Skyler at all if you don’t want to. If Scarlet is your main concern, if not being able to talk to her and have her by your side is bothering you this much then handle it. I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to decide for you, I’m just trying to help. But just know at the end of the day I’ll support whatever decision you make.’’ I comfort him.

I place a kiss on his forehead, releasing him from the hug. He cleans the tears from his face using the back of his hand.

‘’You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna figure this out, it’ll be fine Cody.’’ I say, patting him on the shoulder. ‘’I’m about to go get dressed. Do you need anything before I leave?’’

‘’What about breakfast?’’ He asks me instead of answering my own question.

‘’I made that for you and Skyler. Steven agreed to hang out with me today.’’ I tell him. I can feel the smile that greases my lips as I say it out loud.

‘’I’m happy for you bro. How’s he doing though because he looked like shit when I answered the door for him earlier?’’

‘’Cody, I let you curse because we were having a moment, now chill the fuck out. He’s um…he’s dealing with some stuff and he’s…engaged.’’ I admit sourly.

‘’You wanna talk about it?’’ Cody asks. I shrug.

‘’He doesn’t know that I know. I brought him home last night and ran into her. I know it’s pretty biased of me to say this considering how I feel about him but she’s kind of a bitch, yet—‘’

‘’Extremely biased.’’ Cody interrupts.

‘’—I know if I ask him anything about his life he’s going to shut down and refuse to talk to me. So, I’m hoping if today goes well he’ll feel comfortable enough around me to actually talk to me.’’ I tell Cody.

‘’Well good luck, you’re gonna need more than luck though.’’

‘’Thanks,’’ I reply sarcastically.

I walk over to the refrigerator and grab two bottles of water before leaving the kitchen and heading for my room. I walk down the hall, making a left and entering, closing the door behind me.

I toss the waters on my bed before walking into my closet, which is basically another room entirely.

I threw on anything earlier because I opened my room door to see a surprising but very welcome face on the other side of it.

I strip out of my plaid pajama bottoms, stepping into a pair of black jeans. I take my muscle shirt off, grabbing a white t-shirt and slinging it over my shoulder.

Walking over to the clothing rack filled with jackets I search for an appealing leather jacket, considering my favorite one is gone at the moment.

I’m not going to lie, that is my favorite leather jacket that he has, but I’d let him keep it if he asked. But he’s not going to ask.

So I want my shit back.

I pull two black leather jackets from the rack, walking out of my closet and tossing them on my bed next to the waters.

I grab my sneakers, finding some socks in my drawer and putting them both on. I reach for the t-shirt around my neck just as my bathroom door opens.

My back is to the door as I slip the t-shirt on. I turn around, picking my jacket up from the bed.

‘’Did I apologize yet?’’ Steven asks. I look to him.

‘’You didn’t,’’ I answer. A part of me wanted to let him off of the hook but I couldn’t do that.

Steven getting plastered yesterday really opened my eyes about a few things.

And it left me questioning the one thing I want the most.

A future with him.

But that doesn’t matter, the doubts I have don’t matter because I’ve already made a decision to help him with his drinking problem.

‘’I’m sincerely, and soberly sorry, Damien.’’ He says smiling.

I give him a serious look.

‘’Too soon? Okay too soon. I’m sorry I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Damien, I feel horrible about cutting our conversation short yesterday. I feel even worse that you had to see me like that. I didn’t mean for that to happen it’s just that lately….,’’ Steven looks away from me. Clearly there’s something that he needs to get out. ‘’Look I don’t want to make excuses for what I did. I’m an adult and I shouldn’t have let it happen. I apologize.’’ He says instead.

 ‘’Wanna hear three words that always make me feel better?’’ I ask him, knowing he detects the mischievous tone hanging on my words.

‘’Damien,’’ He says. A warning edge in his voice.

‘’What?’’ I ask innocently. ‘’I was just going to tell you that I forgive you. Those three words always pick my mood up, maybe you should say it to me.’’ I say smiling. He flips me off.

‘’Oh, I think your mood is pretty high already,’’ He replies, laughing.

I laugh with him.

‘’We’ll get there,’’ I say shrugging. ‘’You can throw those in the hamper over there.’’ I tell him, pointing to my clothes hamper next to the closet door.

He puts his clothes in the hamper. I get the water bottles from the bed, turning to face him. ‘’Ready?’’ I ask.

‘’Let’s go,’’ Steven replies. I hand him the extra jacket on my bed. He smiles and looks at me. ‘’I’m going to bring you your jacket back, okay?’’

‘’You can keep it,’’ I offer. Steven arches a brow at me.

‘’Really?’’

‘’Hell no, wash and return kid.’’ I laugh. Steven rolls his eyes at me.

‘’Asshole.’’ He mumbles, putting the jacket on as he heads out of my bedroom door. I follow behind him.

‘’Cody, I’m gone!’’ I yell up the stairs as I pass by.

I grab my car keys off of the hook near the door, following Steven out of the front door and locking it behind me.

I unlock the car, climbing into the driver’s seat and putting my seat belt on. He gets in, doing the same. I start the car and turn to look at him.

‘’You work out, right?’’ I ask him. My hand reaches to fiddle with the nob that controls the heat in the car.

‘’Um, yeah occasionally.’’ He answers. ‘’Why?’’

I pull off of the curb and start in the direction of our first destination for today.

‘’I’ve really been neglecting my workout routine. So, here’s what we’re doing today, first we’re going to hit the gym for a quick session, then we’re going to go get breakfast and we’ll wing it from there.’’ I suggest.

‘’I’m really starving, can we do food first?’’ He asks.

‘’We could if you were driving,’’ I respond, ‘’But you’re not.’’

‘’You’re not funny,’’ He tells me.

‘’We’re going to get a smoothie from the gym before we start working out, you’ll be fine.’’ I promise.

‘’Mhmm,’’ He hums, leaning his head against the window.

The gym I go to is private, of course, owned and designed by Javier for his model clients. It’s also open to all his other employees as well. If I’m not mistaken I’m pretty sure he has public gyms in every state, and even a couple in some other countries.

If Javier is going to do something, he’s never going to half ass it. I remember one year he wanted a new layout for the agency website. The website design company he had been working with presented him with a bunch of different layout options to choose from.

But Javier, being the picky man that he is, didn’t like any of them. He thought that they all looked a bit too overused, and he wanted something fresh.

So instead of simply hiring another company, he made one. In one week ‘Cyber Stark Digital’ was the biggest web designer, creator, developer, etc. in the world.

He takes the phrase, ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself,’ to a whole new level.

I glance over at Steven as I pull into the parking lot of the gym. He’s fast asleep, his head still on the window, his arms folded across his chest.

I park near the entrance of the gym, turning the car off. I take my seat belt off. Reaching into the middle compartment I pull out my headphones, putting them in my pocket.

I nudge Steven’s arm gently, then a second time with more force when he still doesn’t wake up.

He takes his seatbelt off, stretching in the seat.

‘’I think it’s stupid that I took a shower just to come workout and sweat.’’ Steven groans, relaxing in the seat.

‘’You took a shower because you hadn’t in a couple of days.’’ I clarify.

‘’Two days.’’ He argues.

‘’Too many. C’mon, let’s go.’’ I say, getting out of the car.

He follows me, and we enter the gym. I greet the woman working at the front desk today. I’m not trying to boast or anything, but I don’t have to show my membership pass or anything of the sorts to get into anything that Javier owns. Besides the fact that he’s graciously made me the face of his modeling agency, if you’re hired by him and don’t know who I am you probably live under a rock. He markets my career nonstop.

I lead the way to the private locker rooms.

‘’So, he slaps his name on everything from perfume bottles to gym establishments?’’ I hear Steven ask.

I turn around to see him looking at the words ‘J.S. Fitness’ scrawled across the back wall.

‘’Why do you have to say it like that? He’s a businessman Steven, he owns a lot of businesses. If you have any questions about him I’ll answer them but don’t ask them like you’re trying to talk down on him. He’s a good man.’’ I say seriously.

‘’I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure him out.’’ He apologizes.

‘’Well maybe you should accept the job he’s still offering to you despite what happened at the meeting.’’ I mention. I reach my locker room, entering the code on the security pad and opening the door.

I let him enter first, walking in behind him.

‘’So about that smoothie,’’ He says, changing the subject.

I point to the small kitchen area. ‘’Make me one too,’’ I tell him.

I walk over to the closet, getting out two pairs of workout clothes. I quickly strip out of my clothes, deciding to just wear some gym shorts. I really hate having clothes stick to me when I’m sweaty. It’s just a disgusting feeling.

I put compressions sleeves on my knees. Grabbing Steven’s set of clothes and two sweat towels I turn around about to head over to him and nearly bump directly into him.

‘’My bad,’’ I say, stepping back. I reach his clothes to him, taking my smoothie from his hand. ‘’There’s a bathroom over there,’’ I tell him, pointing at the door to my right.

I gulp down my smoothie while he’s changing his clothes and by the time he exits the bathroom I’m ready to go.

‘’Do you need headphones?’’ I ask him, plugging my headphones into my phone.

‘’No,’’ He answers with a yawn. I look at him. He doesn’t look exhausted but then again he could be dealing with a wave of withdrawal symptoms right now. His brown eyes stare at me sharply as I continue to look at him. ‘’What?’’ He asks.

‘’You can stay in here and take a nap if you’re still tired. I’ll only be out there for like two hours.’’ I tell him.

‘’What? No, let’s hit the gym. I’m ready to knock this out so I won’t feel guilty when I eat like thirty pancakes later.’’ He says.

‘’Are you sure?’’ I ask again.

‘’Damien,’’ He says warningly, sounding almost exactly like Javier when he gets upset.

I feel like I have the type of name that’s really easy to say in a stern way. Like my name is the perfect name for some badass kid that you have to fuss at twenty times a day.

Anyway.

I shrug. ‘’Okay,’’ I say, letting it go. I hand him his towel. We leave the locker room. When we make it to the workout area I head for the treadmill first to get my blood pumping.

‘’Just find me if you need me,’’ I tell him. He nods and walks off towards the dumbbells.

I hit the treadmill for about thirty minutes, moving by the bars to do a couple pull ups. I use the dip bar until my arms literally give out then I make my way over to the leg press.

I cannot stress how much of a bitch leg day is, and I’ve skipped it two weeks in a row, but trust me I feel the pain of those two weeks right now.

By now it’s been like an hour and a half. I haven’t heard from Steven yet, so I decide to get a few reps in on the bench press and then find him so that we can get ready to head out.

As I’m putting the weights on the bar I sense a presence beside me, neglecting to look up I simply assume it’s Steven.

‘’You know I wasn’t going to say anything about you watching me change clothes in the locker room, but I have to tell you, friends don’tgawk, Steven.’’ I joke.

I figured he had been watching me when I bumped into him after I had changed my clothes, but decided not to say anything. I’m okay with him checking me out. I mean that’s what I want.

I want him to see me that way again.

‘’Well that’s why I’m hoping that we can be more than friends.’’ A familiar accented voice speaks.

I look beside me to see Otto smirking. I smile, going in for a hug. He hugs me back, not caring that I’m dripping with sweat.

‘’Hey man, I didn’t know you were in New York!’’ I say to Otto as I continue to adjust the weights on the bar.

‘’Yeah, I just flew in last night. I have a shoot in a couple hours, so I figured I’d hit the gym first.’’ He says.

‘’Aye I get it. I don’t have any shoots coming up in the next few days but this is my first time working out in about two weeks.’’ I admit. ‘’You wanna spot me?’’ I ask, laying down on the bench.

Otto stands above me. I reach up and lift the bar, bringing it down to me and extending my arms outwards again seeing his hands shadow mines.

‘’So, are you feeling any different about that date I asked you on back in California?’’ Otto asks me.

I laugh, tightening my grip on the bar.

‘’You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,’’ I tell him. He laughs as well, his smile revealing slight dimples in his cheeks that I don’t think I’ve noticed before.

‘’I know you said that you weren’t really looking to date right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just hangout sometime and see what happens.’’ He offers.

‘’It’s pretty bold of you to go after the bosses son,’’ I tease him.

‘’Believe it or not I actually asked Javier for his opinion on me pursuing you,’’ He says, nearly causing the bar to slip from my hands. Otto quickly grips the bar in his hand. I regain my fixture on the bar, prompting him to let it go as I continue to lift.

‘’Oh yeah? What’s he say?’’ I ask curiously. This is news to me. Javier never told me Otto asked for pointers on me. I mean besides being funny it’s actually kind of brave that he’d go as far as asking an intimidating man like Javier for tips on how to get me.

‘’He told me I wasn’t your type and then wished me good luck,’’ Otto admitted. I laugh, putting the bar back in its resting position before it can slip from my grip. I sit up on the bench.

‘’You didn’t believe him?’’ I ask Otto. I take the towel that’s tucked into the waistband of my shorts, using it to wipe the sweat from my face.

‘’Well everyone has a type Damien, but it doesn’t hurt to try something new every once in a while. I used to only be attracted to blondes but now I’m chasing after this one brunette that I can’t get my mind off of.’’ He flirts. He walks around the bench, offering his hand out to me.

‘’You’re smooth,’’ I say smiling as I take his hand and stand up. ‘’We do have something in common though,’’ I take a step closer to him, leaning into his personal space. ‘’I’m not into blondes either, they’re so tenacious,’’ I tease.

Otto laughs, shoving me lightly.

‘’Hey, I go for what I want,’’ Otto says proudly. ‘’Think about it though. We can just hangout for a while, no labels on it or anything. I’m in New York for three more days and then I’ll be in Europe for a while so text me.’’

‘’I’ll think about it,’’ I promise. We say our farewells and I began searching the gym for Steven.

Otto is actually a really good guy. And if I had any sense in me I would take him up on his offer and stop chasing after a guy who’s engaged. But I honestly can’t think of pursuing anything with Otto when I could possibly still have a chance at a future with Steven.

And it sucks that if Steven hadn’t shown up in my life for a couple of more months then I probably would’ve given him a chance. But now the only way that’s ever going to happen is if Steven looks me dead in the eyes and tells me he never wants to be with me again.

And I don’t mean like those bullshit lies he spewed to me in that parking garage. I mean if he sincerely tells me that I have no chance at ever getting him back, that’s the only way I’ll stop trying.

Yet at the end of the day I have to decide if what I want with Steven is worth ruining what he’s built for himself.

Who am I to take away what’s making him happy in his life right now just to make myself happy?

I don’t know if I want to ruin his relationship with this Mariana woman because I don’t know if he’ll resent me for it in the future.

I need to be straight forward with him about my intentions. I can’t make yet another decision for him because I know it’ll be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and he’ll never speak to me again.

‘’Hey, Yeiun!’’ I yell in his direction once I spot him over on the treadmill. He glances at me and rolls his eyes, climbing down from the treadmill.

‘’You’re so extra,’’ He complains, walking towards me.

‘’You like it,’’ I challenge.

‘’I like food. I’m just ready to hit the showers and go eat.’’ He says. We walk back towards the locker room.

‘’Who doesn’t eat before they go to someone else’s house?’’ I ask him.

‘’Someone who—who…Damie—‘’ Steven’s voice fades out and I feel his hand grip my shoulder loosely. I grab his hand quickly, turning around to see him falling to the ground.

My hold on his hand stops him from hitting the ground too harshly. Panic and worry flood my veins as I kneel down next to him.

‘’Steven,’’ I speak nervously, smacking his cheek gently. In seconds a crowd of sweaty people are swarming around us until I yell at them to get the fuck. The only person who stays is Otto.

I place two fingers on the side of his windpipe feeling his heartbeat. It was prominent but the fact that he still wasn’t opening his eyes or answering me only made my nerves even more on edge.

‘’What happened?’’ Otto asks.

I blatantly ignore him, continuing to call Stevens name, shaking him gently. I hear my phone ringing in my pocket but refuse to answer it. I feel someone’s hand on my arm pulling me back and I nearly snap and send my fist flying until I realize it’s one of the in-house medics at the gym.

I move out of his way, not releasing Steven’s hand from my grip.

‘’Did he hit his head? What’s his name?’’ He asks me. He checks Steven’s pulse.

‘’Steven. Um, no not too harshly. He only fainted why isn’t he waking up yet?’’ I demand, watching as the medic takes out a small flashlight from his chest pocket, lifting Steven’s eye lids and shining it in his eyes.

‘’Steven? Can you hear me?’’ The medic speaks to him, getting no response.

‘’Why isn’t he waking up?!’’ I yell again feeling my heart beat quicken. I close my eyes for a second trying to calm myself down. Now is not the time for me to loose my shit. But anger is flooding me because I don’t know how the hell to help him and I’m fucking worried like crazy.

‘’Mr. Vitalé there’s a call for—‘’

‘’Does it look like I want to fucking talk right now!?’’ I yell at the desk clerk, interrupting her from speaking.

I don’t mean to be so fucking rude but honestly, I don’t care right now.

‘’Steven? How’re you feeling? Are you feeling any chest or head pain right now?’’ I hear the medic ask, bringing my attention back to Steven.

I see his eyes open, his free hand that I’m not squeezing the life out of rubs across his face as he attempts to sit up, but both the medic and I push him back down.

‘’What? I’m fine. I’m fine, can I get up?’’ Steven persists, attempting to sit up again. I push him back down.

‘’You scared the hell out of me,’’ I say to him, the anger in my voice being replaced with worry.

‘’Damien, I’m fine. I’m just hungry. Can we go eat now?’’ Steven asks me as if he didn’t just faint. I give him a narrow stare. Does he know how many fucking emotions I’ve just experienced in the last two minutes?

‘’When is the last time you ate?’’ The medic asks Steven, allowing him to sit up but not get to his feet. Steven shrugs. 

‘’I don’t know. A couple of days ago maybe.’’ Steven answers.

‘’A couple?’’ I ask, the anger now slightly evident in my voice. What the hell is he doing to himself? I feel like hurting him for hurting himself by being so negligent.

‘’Here,’’ Otto says. I look over to see him handing Steven a cold bottle of water.

‘’Thank you,’’ Steven says, taking the cap off of it and downing half of the bottle.

I get to my feet, offering my hand out to Steven and slowly helping him to his feet.

‘’I got him, thank you so much,’’ I say to the medic as I keep my hand wrapped around Stevens bicep, slowly walking us to the locker rooms.

‘’Damien, I haven’t been taking very good care of myself lately, I’m going through shit. I thought we established that.’’ He says to me as I lay him down on the couch in the locker room.

I shake my head at him, walking over to the mini fridge and pulling an apple out of it. I walk back over to him, tossing him the apple.

‘’Don’t move. Eat this,’’ I say simply.

I walk into the bathroom, rushing through my shower and quickly putting back on my jeans and shirt.

I walk out of the bathroom to find the couch empty. Before I can even reach the door, it’s being entered by Steven. This is literally the second time he’s almost given me a heart attack today.

‘’I told you to stay here and eat the apple,’’ I say to him seriously. He looks at me nonchalantly.

‘’I went to go use the other shower, I didn’t want you to have to wait on me.’’ He replies. I sigh.

‘’Yeah, but I told you to stay here and eat the apple,’’ I repeat. Looking at him keenly. He mirrors my expression.

‘’I’m an adult now Damien, we’re not teenagers anymore. I don’t have to listen to you.’’ He defends.

‘’Adults take care of themselves, Steven.’’ I state.

‘’Jesus, lay off Damien,’’ He complains.

Lay off?

Me lay off?

He just fucking passed out in the middle of the gym, but I need to lay off?

He hasn’t eaten in who knows how many days, but I need to lay off?

He has a destructive alcohol problem, but I’m the one who needs to lay off?

All I’m trying to do is help him and yeah, I may pry a bit here and there but it’s because I fucking care. Clearly I care about him a lot more than he cares about himself if he’s filling his body with alcohol over food.

I scoff, waving my hand in the air dismissively. I know I fucked up in the past, but I do not deserve to get sidelined like this when I care as much as I do and I’m blatantly showing it.

Now he’s being an asshole.

‘’Fine Steven. Fuck it, I’ll lay off. Let’s go get something to eat, c’mon.’’ I say. I grab my jacket and my car keys, leading the way out of the locker room.
 

•°A/N°•

An update last week, an update this week...and update next week too?

Lol lets hope for the best.

This chapter felt really chill to me. How do you all feel about this chapter?

What are your thoughts on Otto and Damien?

Also if anyone is curious, this is what Otto looks like;

Who do you guys think was in the wrong at the end of the chapter? Damien or Steven?

Oh and if you haven't checked out the book trailer for this book yet please check it out! I really wanna know what you guys think!

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the story!

Please Vote!

Posted: September 19, 2018.