Page 29 of Under Your Care

“If you stay here, he’s either going to kill you or throw you away once he gets bored. Have you even considered that he could have these kinds of relationships with other patients? He’s just using you, Lane. You’re convenient and young and easily manipulated.”

Greyson wouldn’t do that to me, right? He’d been so perfect to me. But, he was out of the apartment for most of the day now. He could be doinganything out there.No.

“He’s not… He’s not like that…” I stuttered.

“If a teacher fucks a student, is that okay? If a doctor fucks a patient, is that okay? No, it’s not. And almost every time, there’s more than just one victim.”

My breath began coming rapidly. My chest felt like it was being crushed by the weight of the world.

Oliver continued, “Lane, would someone with your best interests in mind really keep you from contacting your own parents? What is he worried about you saying to them? If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he wouldn’t care.”

“Please, go. Just go, please. I can’t– I can’t–” I stammered between breaths. I stood up, faltering and almost losing my balance.

“Lane, please. Come with me. Don’t become just another victim,” Oliver insisted, standing up and taking both of my hands in his. “Please. For me.” I vehemently shook my head, pulling him towards the door. “Think about it. I’ll help you.” Pulling the door open, he looked at me a final time - disappointment and worry swirling in his eyes - and left.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, I collapsed to the floor, sobbing. Nausea suddenly and violently wracked my body, causing me to throw up the contents of my lunch and snack. Rolling my body away from the vomit, I curled into a ball, shivering and covered in a cold sweat.

Was Greyson like Tate?

My immediate answer was no. Hell no.

Right?

Oliver’s cruel words and possible truths pounded against my skull. Had I just lost my best friend? I would if I stayed with Greyson. What if Oliver was right? He’d always had a bad feeling about Greyson. What if Greyson had been lying to me when he said that we were meant for eachother. What if he said that to other people to get them to sleep with him? It would shatter mecompletely if everything had been a lie. Was it better to leave now before he got tired of me? My hands trembled as I hugged myself, squeezing tight. I had never felt so lost as I did at that moment.

Where would I even go if I left? Greyson’s brothers were literal assassins and he was a hobby killer. Would they kill me to make sure I didn’t snitch? I’d have to go far away. I couldn’t stay with Oliver or my parents - they’d find me immediately. I wasn’t sure what Greyson had done with my car, so that wasn’t an option. What if Oliver was wrong? What if Greyson did love me and I was running away from my soulmate?

I loved my princess room. I loved how carefully he washed me in the bath, shampooed my hair, and looked at me so tenderly when he toweled me off. I loved how even on days he had to go out, he always ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me. I loved how he was slowly getting used to Chloe. She had even sat on his lap the other night while we were watching a movie.

If I left right now, I couldn’t tell Oliver anything. Greyson would go to him first for answers. I shakily picked myself up off the floor, stumbling through the apartment to my bedroom. I felt like throwing up again when I thought about how much thought he must have put into this room.

That couldn’t have been a lie, right? Right? I felt untethered, adrift.

I hastily packed a tote bag and put Chloe into her carrier. She stared up at me with her big eyes and I couldn’t help but sob. What if I was making the biggest mistake of my life? I didn’t want to leave. I wanted this day to have never happened. I wanted to be in bed, Greyson’s hand stroking my hair, making everything feel okay. My chest felt like it was cracking open. I didn’t want to leave. But, if I didn’t leave and got hurt, it would be my fault - right?

I didn’t want to leave.

I dry-heaved as I carried my bag and the cat carrier out the front door. I left my phone on the dining table, along with a poorly-written goodbye note. Once I was out of Greyson’s apartment building, I found the closest bus stop and waited. It wasn’t long before I was boarding, taking my seat, and wiping the tears from my red-rimmed eyes.

I didn’t want to leave, but I had to.

Chapter 13

Greyson

I was going to fucking kill Oliver.

I had ignored the alerts from my home monitoring system, knowing that he was supposed to visit Lane. Even so, my fingers itched painfully to check my phone each time it vibrated in my pocket. I had two back-to-back appointments - the first one went slightly long, resulting in not being able to check the cameras until after the second had finished. Once I saw the footage, my vision went red with rage. I sped home from the office, calling my brothers on the drive. To their pleasure, I tasked them with interrogating Oliver for any information about where Lane could have gone. Lane had left his phone at my apartment, and I regrettably hadn’t chipped him yet, so GPS tracking was out of the equation. I never should have allowed that fuckingratto speak with him. Lane’s letter further confirmed that his friend had polluted his thoughts with lies.

Daddy,

I’m so sorry, but I have to go. I don’t want to. I want to stay here foreverand ever and spend everyday with you. I’m just really confused right now. Oliver talked to me about some stuff and it feels wrong, but I’m so scared that it’s right. I won’t tell anyone about you or your brothers, I promise. I would never. I’m not that special anyways, so I think you should be able to find a replacement boy easily. If Oliver’s wrong about you, I will never forgive myself for leaving you. I think you’re perfect. But, what if that’s all a lie? I’d kill myself. I couldn’t live with myself if you hurt me like that. So, I’m leaving before it can happen. It hurts so much to leave, but I can do it and I’ll be okay. I’m so sorry. Thank you for everything (if you weren’t just using me). Please don’t search for me. I don’t even know where I’m going. Please don’t be mad at Oliver. He just wants me to be safe. Also, I’m sorry about not cleaning up the vomit – I didn’t have time. I had to go before I changed my mind.

Lane.

Lane had used my card to withdraw two-hundred dollars from an ATM several hours south in Portland. After that transaction, there hadn’t been any activity to be tracked. I wasn’t sure how Lane was expecting to survive outrunning me with such a measly amount of funds, considering how I spent much more than two-hundred daily on his care at home. Was he planning to sleep on the streets with his cat? I clenched my jaw, frustrated at myself for allowing his friend to see him alone. I should have expected Oliver to try something like this, he’d been in Lane’s ear from the start. As my phone rang, I stabbed the screen to answer without checking who was calling, hoping that Lane had come to his senses and was calling me from a payphone to pick him up.

“Grey! There’s our happy camper,” Hayes drawled. “The pup isn’ttelling us anything. He’s insistent that while he did tell Lane to run away, he was hoping for Lane to come to him for help, not to run off alone. Lane hasn’t been in contact since Oliver left your place. We’ve checked his phone records and it seems like he’s telling the truth. How do you want us to proceed?”

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