Page 162 of His Boys to Protect

Their Sky really was gone.

Chapter 57

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WARD

WARD COULDN'T take it anymore. Watching Charlie desperately search the apartment? It was too much.

He felt so empty. He'd been left. Again. The worst part was that he'd known it was coming. There had been something in Skylar's eyes lately. Something Ward hadn't been ready to face. Deep down, he'd known this was going to happen. He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.

Especially after last night.

Ward let his head fall back against the wall with athunk. Last night had been amazing. More intimate than anything he'd ever experienced in his life. And not just in the physical sense. It had been his first time having sex without a condom, but the connection had gone so much deeper than that.

The trust required. The walls coming down to allow each other in. To be able to share something like that without fear. He'd thought last night would have changed everything for them.

And it had, apparently. Just not the way he'd expected.

Ward looked at Charlie. The poor boy was completely distraught, and Ward felt helpless to do anything about it. Nomatter what he said, no matter how tight he held the boy, Charlie was inconsolable.

And Ward felt the same. He was barely keeping it together. There was an itch right under his skin, a desperate urge to scream and rage and cry just like Charlie. It took everything he had to hold it all inside, knowing it would only scare the boy.

He couldn't hold it in much longer. For Charlie's sake, they needed some space from one another.

Ward got up, grabbed his phone, and called Dakota.

“Hello?” the boy answered almost immediately.

“Dakota? It's Ward.” He turned and eyed Charlie, still sitting on the floor in the bathroom, then headed to the farthest corner of the living room, as far from Charlie as he could get. “Listen, is there any chance you could take Charlie for a few days?”

“What? Why? What's wrong? Is he okay? Is–”

“He's okay,” Ward rushed to assure him. “For the most part.” Ward sighed. “Sky left.”

Silence greeted him. After a long moment, Dakota swore. “Fuck! Likeleftleft?”

“Yeah.”

“Goddamnit.” Harsh breaths sounded over the line. “Charlie's a wreck, isn't he?”

“Yeah.” Ward glanced at the bathroom. Charlie still sat there, his phone on the floor, his hands over his ears. “I can't just leave him alone here tomorrow when I go to work.”

“Shit. Yeah. You're right. Bring him over. Or I can come get him. I'll make up a room. I'm pretty sure the one he likes is vacant right now.”

“I'll bring him while you're doing that,” Ward offered.

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks, Ward.”

Ward ended the call, then paused to make sure he was calm enough before he strode over to the bathroom. He croucheddown at Charlie's side, watching the boy. After a moment, he slowly reached out and rested a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

“Charlie? Hey, buddy. Can you listen for a second? When you're ready.”

The boy was silent for a long moment. Finally, he lowered his hands but didn't look up, his shoulders high and tense.

“I'm gonna take you to go stay with Dakota for a few days. Is that okay?”

Charlie rolled his head, his gaze wandering about. He was silent for so long, Ward started to wonder if he'd even actually heard him. Eventually, Charlie gave a dejected nod.

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