Page 52 of Three for a Girl

Chad halted his shudder by pressing Romeo’s love bite on his neck. It was fading, but the dull pain took away the memory of the needle before the scalpel. His fingers drifted higher on their own accord, touching the throbbing in his neck.

The monster’s hands on him, crushing the life from him.

His eyes.

Chad had always seen the dark glint in Romeo’s eyes, kept at bay, buried at the heart of him. It was the first time the swirling fury in Romeo had been directed at him, the desire and need pulsating in his face, making his lips twitch and his nose flare.

Romeo had always said there was a part of him that wanted to kill Chad, would always want to, but it was the first time Chad had seen it.

He’d come face to face with the monster and it was terrifying.

Chapter Eight

Chad took a steely breath looking up at the house.

He cut the engine, opened the door, and slid out onto unsteady feet.

Romeo’s car wasn’t there, the lights were all off, but even if those obvious clues hadn’t been there, Chad would’ve known Romeo was still missing by the eerie feeling. Even when he couldn’t see Romeo, and his heart sped up in panic, he always sensed the essence of him somewhere close by, but Romeo hadn’t come home.

He was alone.

Chad unlocked the door and trudged inside, each step piled on the loneliness. The kitchen didn’t hold the scent of a heart-warming meal, there was no soft flowing music to greet his ears. The place seemed hollow without Romeo filling it with life and making it a home.

Chad kept it together until he stood in the bedroom, staring at his uniform he’d just climbed out of and left on the floor. He was too slow slapping his hand to his mouth and raw sound of despair escaped as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Romeo hadn’t come back.

Chad reached for his jacket on the floor, running his fingers over the silky interior as he hooked the pocket and removed his phone. He tried Romeo’s number, and pressed his palm to his mouth at the rhythmic vibrations downstairs, the phone buzzing on the table by the backdoor.

He knew it was there, but something in his chest demanded he tried ringing it again.

There was no way of contacting Romeo, finding him, begging for him to come back to the house and make it a home.

Chad hurried to cover his scar riddled body with a light t-shirt, then pulled on some cotton pajama pants. He shuffled back on the bed and brought his knees up, clinging onto them as if his life depended on it.

He had to wait for Romeo to return, but what if he didn’t.

The thought made his eyes burn. His heart skipped and raced leaving him sick and shaky.

Chad’s life wasn’t in his own hands anymore, like Marc had robbed him of choice, so had Romeo, leaving him in limbo.

Chad shook his head.

He released his knees, flexed his fingers, moved his arms, then slid from the mattress to feel his feet on the floor.

The weight and movement of his body eased his panic.

He wasn’t helpless, he wasn’t drugged and tied to the bed.

Chad hurried down the stairs, and didn’t stop to slip on his sneakers. He crushed his keys in his hand as he rushed out to his car.

If he couldn’t have Romeo without the monster, then so be it. He’d live in fear for a sliver of Romeo’s love.

****

He drove into the heart of the city, flicking his gaze in every direction, studying each person who strolled his way.

He studied the streets, slowing to peek down alleyways, and when he found a man sat on the pavement with a cardboard sign asking for money, he pulled up beside him, studied his face that wasn’t Romeo’s, and asked whether he’d seen a man.

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