Chapter 75

Leon followed after him in a daze, he really wanted to just sleep but he knew that trying to do that all by himself would be a death sentence.

More of his panic seeped away when he stepped into the room, he had avoided it for the past couple days now.

He wished he didn't have to.

He didn't dare take off his clothes to change into something more comfortable, he doubted that Darian would remain quiet even then after taking a gander at the fresh bruises he was sporting.

He just went straight to the bed and flopped down on it, taking in a deep breath of a combination of scents that worked as well as a bat to the head.

He was the most relaxed he had ever been since bumping into the real Ethan, he really needed time to recover or he would keep coming dangerously close to his breaking point till he snapped.

Darian glanced sceptically at Leon as he got on the bed, did he really plan to take a nap like that?

Well, Darian had already made up his mind to not think too deeply about it, as long as Leon was fine with it but he wasn't planning to be uncomfortable while he was at it.

He got rid of his shirt and shucked up his sweatpants before coming to get comfortable on the bed, it was getting warmer.

Leon paid no mind when he got on which was just fine, no need to make this weird.

Leon was lying down with his back to Darian so he didn't see that the other was facing his direction, worried eyes fixed on Leon who was curled up around himself.

He would probably get kicked off the bed but Leon was lying so close to the edge of the bed that Darian feared he would up and bolt in no time.

So he scooched closer and threw his arm around Leon, he wasn't getting away so easily.

"You good?" He murmured, his eyes closed.

Leon had stiffened briefly when he felt Darian's arm around him, it wasn't Jaxon and yet he didn't feel the urge to bolt.

He wasn't good though, he was the furthest from good a person could be.

He was aware how indifferent Darian could be to a lot of things but he doubted even he would stick around if Leon told him exactly what was sitting in a dusty corner of his mind like a ticking time bomb.

"Yeah." He managed to say with much difficulty, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears.

This was far better than sleeping alone for some reason, if he just concentrated on the weight of Darian's arm, he could detach from his body long enough to go unconscious.

Darian left it at that, for now... He didn't know exactly what kind of bullshit was going down but if this kept on, he would confront Ethan and damn the consequences.

Obviously, he couldn't convince or coerce Leon to talk to him, it was even worse with Jaxon around.

He noted that Leon let down his guard a bit when it was just him around but the moment Jaxon showed up, his mask went up full time.

He wasn't about to push him even further, he would just have to take it step by step with Leon, for someone who probably had to learn way too early in life to not show vulnerability, taking the wrong steps could as well make him bolt.

And knowing Leon, it would be ten times worse in his case.

Their positions were awkward at best, both lying so stiffly that they were bound to get cramps afterwards.

But Darian wasn't risking setting Leon off, it was like trying to pet a tiger, one wrong move and you could lose your whole arm.

Jaxon was honestly awesome for doing it so naturally, Darian was here worrying for his life at every turn.

This was probably not the right time to have an existential crisis but attraction never asked it's participants if they were interested before setting off chemicals in their brain.

He wouldn't say he was blatantly attracted to Leon, it was just that, the more time they spent around each other in a 'less' hostile atmosphere, the more he was starting to pay attention to things that he never thought he would before.

Like how many shades of blond Leon's hair actually was and the beauty mark behind his ear.

Leon was curled up a little bit too tight but was the most comfortable he had been in a while and now that he could actually fall asleep. It hit, showing just how exhausted he actually was.

Since he stopped sleeping with Leon and Jaxon, he hadn't been able to sleep for a full hour straight, except when he had taken a nap with Jaxon and now... with Darian.

His eyes grew heavy, his stiff limbs relaxing as sleep came swiftly..

Darian could tell when Leon started getting drowsy, what he didn't expect was for him to stretch out which brought them closer.

Wait, how was he expected to manage to fall asleep like this?

He hadn't expected Leon to fall asleep so fast, he didn't take his arm away though.

He had to force himself to not stare but he was curious, was Leon really asleep?

A quick peek gave him the answer he was looking for, Leon was fast asleep, lashes fanning his sharp cheekbones.

He was just noticing for the firrst time, that Leon's lashes were a darker shade of gold, long and full, like the fucker wasn't attractive enough.

This was weird.

He quickly went back to lying down, ogling a sleeping person was all parts weird.

He stared blankly at the ceiling when he was back on the bed. Leon's features might have distracted him but he caught sight of something that kept nagging at the back of his mind.

Unable to help his curiosity, he leaned over to check again, resting his weight on his elbow.

Pushing the collar of his shirt open, he saw more hand prints and his expression darkened but he kept looking.

He bit back a curse when he saw it, What the actual fuck?

'Were those teeth marks?'

They were too far apart to have been done by a person, his brain started working double time as he tried to make sense of what he was looking at.

Leon moved before that though, turning around in a shuffling manner and Darian went into full panic mode, quickly putting distance in between them to prevent himself from making the mistake of waking Leon up.