Page 52 of Wreckin' Amethyst

“You knew what Carter was doing to Myles, how he was caging him. You could have spoken up, done something about it at any point.” I try to keep the accusation from my tone, but it’s near impossible. Especially when Owen sought me out, telling me how I am supposed to aid Myles when he’s done nothing.

Raising from the bed in a sudden, jerked movement, Owen strides for the door, not pausing as his words fill the room.

“I have my own issues to deal with. We can’t all live to serve Myles, you know.” He exits the open door, leaving me to stew a moment longer. Pursing my lips, I jump from the bed myself and stumble on pins and needles for the bathroom. It’s time I faced Myles, addressed the shame I’ve been battling, and I’m going to need a shower before I do.

***

The rasp of my knuckles on wood are merely a courtesy, as I push my way inside regardless. The door codes have been disabled for the time being; Myles posing no threat of going sex-mad and attacking someone while he’s grieving. It’s a travesty, because had he felt inclined to fuck his pain away in such a manner, both Sebby and I would have happily volunteered as tribute. Instead, I’m greeted first by Myles’ outline sitting on the balcony, and his personal pitbull scowling from the chair just inside the french-style doors.

“Leave,” Carter growls, more animal-like than man. When I don’t scamper away, as the remaining Elites might have, his knuckles whiten from the grip on his armchair. Owen is nowhere to be seen, his advice alone spurring me to walk further into the room and lean against the dresser.

“This is Myles’ bedroom - if he wants me to leave, he can tell me so himself.” Pausing to check my nails, I wait out Carter’s reply. I know it’s coming and figured I’d let him get it out of his system. Call it my last kindness where he’s concerned.

“I know your type,” Carter huffs, easing back in his chair.

“Doubtful,” I roll my eyes.

“You must have been waiting for him to crash to his lowest point, break him down to the point where you can take advantage. Bleed him dry. I wouldn’t be surprised if you orchestrated the entire archer bullshit yourself.” A snarl twitches Carter’s upper lip, his eyes like emerald spears. Unlike with Owen, this time I keep a solid grip on my anger. Whilst standing beneath the scolding shower spray, I’d replaced the unbreakable mask which had been my shield for years. I couldn’t remember at which point I’d let it slip. Looking over my nails at Carter, my voice remains smooth, icy yet calm.

“You want to talk about breaking Myles and taking advantage? There’s enough mirrors around here Carter, go look in one. Better yet, watch back your precious footage. You might not like what you see.” I toss a glance to the red flashing light in the corner of the room. Carter is out of his chair in half a second, his finger directed at my face.

“You have no fucking idea-”

“Enough.” Myles states the one word, his voice clipped yet loud enough to hear through the glass. Locked in a staring contest, my head tilts to the side, a smirk taking residence on my face.

“Don’t get comfortable,” Carter mutters, intentionally barging my shoulder on the way past. I wait to hear the click of the door behind him before gathering up the cover from Myles’ gigantic bed and slipping out onto the balcony. The frigid air hits my heated skin, briefly stealing the breath from my lungs, but my mind is too distracted to care. Too focused on the stiff posture of Myles’ back, his legs dangling through the balcony bars to swing absentmindedly beneath. His very own prison. Lowering myself whilst wrapping the cover around our backs, Myles makes no move to tuck himself beneath it.

“I’m…” I pause, unable to find a way not to sound pathetic. “I’m sorry it took me so long.” A cloud appears before my face, quickly dissipating before the next forms. Winter has hit, and as I touch the tips of my fingers to Myles’ arm, I can tell he’s been outside far longer than he should have.

“Myles, you’re freezing. Let’s go inside,” I plead, lightly tugging. No response. Okay, I suppose we’re doing this the hard way. Shifting and contorting myself, I force my gangly leg between his torso and the bars, my wide hips and plump ass squished as I plop myself onto his lap. Dragging the cover around his broad shoulders, I tuck it behind me, straddling Myles’ hips best I can like a human cocoon. If he refuses to accept logic, I’ll shield him with the warmth of my body.

Blond hair tickles my cheeks, the stubble of two difficult days scraping my jaw. I push myself into his personal space, burying my face into his neck. Anything to avoid the dulled stare which slices straight through me. I caused this. I knew trouble followed wherever I went, knew staying around this long would only bring hardship. Normally I’m gone before I fall victim to my own past and never care who gets hurt in the process, but I hadn’t expected to fall for him.

My lips soon turn cold, but it doesn’t stop me from peppering kisses against his skin. Myles can hate me, as long as he doesn’t toss me aside. My heart is only just peeling back the protective layers, prying open to beat wholly once more. Pushing my hands beneath Myles’ t-shirt, I glide soft touches and light scratches over his chilled back.

“You can ignore me all you like,” I whisper into his ear before nibbling the lobe, “but I’m not going anywhere.” Dragging my lips across his cheek, I place a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I should walk away.” I kiss the other side. “I should have never come in the first place.” My hands shift around to his front, both coming to settle on his chest. “It takes a huge feat to feel like I’ve found a place I belong. Somewhere which feels like home. And this right here,” my index finger taps over Myles’ heart, “this is home to me.”

Braving a look up to his amber eyes, glistening by moonlight, I find Myles is no longer looking through me, but directly at me. Inside of me as if I’ve become the two-way mirror he’s lived his life behind. His tears spill over like the bursting of a dam, streaming down his cheeks. Free flowing along the path my kisses trailed. Withdrawing my hands, I attempt to wipe them away but Myles grabs my wrists first. Sliding his fingers upwards into mine, he holds them intertwined between us, his forehead leaning against my own.

“For most, life is an uphill climb. A struggle to reach the peak,” Myles murmurs so quietly, it’s a strain to hear him. “I’ve been sitting on top of the mountain my whole life, and it’s the loneliest place to be. The air is too thin, the world is always watching. And no matter how many times I jump, trying to plummet to the bottom, there are people there to catch me and drag me back to the top.” The grip on my hands tightens, as if the next words to leave his lips are to be the ones which pain him the most. “My father was never one of those.”

This isn’t news to me. I tilt my head, refusing to let Myles’ gaze divert from mine. Not now, never again.

“Then why are you so sad?” I ask bluntly. Myles inhales, steeling himself. I know what it’s like to conceal the truth of emotion, and the difficulty it is to finally bring it to the surface.

“Because Carter is. Carter has never,neverlet me fall. At a cost to his own future, he’s been by my side, orchestrating my existence. I know you believe him to be suffocating, but I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t intervened. My father would have sent me to a sex clinic, a psych ward, wherever I could be out of sight and mind. Carter vouched for me, has kept me sated and content all this time.”

“I don’t really understand,” I admit, preferring not to listen to Carter being praised. He’s a control freak. That’s all there is to it - right?

“To placate my father, and fill a hole in Carter’s own life, he took over my position in the household. Shouldered my duties, attended family dinners, became a business partner and named the Hudson protege by multiple magazines. My father was so damn proud, for once. So you see, it’s not me who’s lost someone. After everything Carter has been burdened with, I’ve cost him the only parent he really knew.”

A fresh wave of tears leak from speckled orbs of amber. The anguish he can’t contain pulls at the veins around Myles’ eyes. Such sorrow, and when he tries to hide his face, I let him. Sobs rack through his hands, his shoulders jerk violently with movement. My heart cracks. With Carter having posted himself in the chair directly behind for two days, I imagine this is the first time Myles has surrendered himself to this guilt. The exact same one I was feeling, but my grief had been misplaced. I’d ached for Myles’ loss, while he mourned for Carter’s.

After a few minutes, I pry those hands away, greeting Myles with a small, loving smile. “Make love to me,” I state huskily. It’s a release we both need. A reminder of mortality. A reason to live. Wiping his own face clean, Myles cups my cheeks with wet hands. His kiss is demanding, imploring me to whisk him away from here. Perhaps back to the top of that mountain, only this time - he won’t be alone.

“Should I call for Sebby?” Myles pulls back to ask and my chest expands. The casualness with which he asks has a ‘yes’ on the tip of my tongue. Whatever the three of us have is unique, special. A bond between three lost souls who find their home in each other. Regardless…

“Not tonight.” I find myself saying. Sebby can see my body, tag-team pleasuring Myles with me anytime, but that’s not what is about to happen. Even as Myles’ thumb scores my lips, an unfamiliar burn flares from my throat to chest, the stoic mask I’ve mastered slipping all too easily once more. It’s Myles. His infinite amber eyes which are prying me open effortlessly, searing away the shadows I’ve learnt to hide behind. No, Sebby doesn’t need to see any of this. Myles seems to see straight through me, his slow-growing smile mimicking my own. Tonight is about healing, about fresh beginnings and newfound understanding.

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