LOGINChadwick's POV I shifted my weight on the edge of the tub, and a sharp, white hot spike shot through my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my face flat, but the sweat was already bead on my forehead. It wasn't just the bullet wound. It was the view.Danny was right there, slick with foam and steam, looking like a damn Greek God or a fallen angel, I didn't know which. His skin looked so soft in the dim light, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to crawl in there with him. My shoulder was screaming, but my head was worse. I figured I didn't need two arms for this. All I needed was my waist movement. I could make it work yeah.I started to push myself up, my hand reaching for my belt, but the room tilted. A groan slipped past my lips before I could choke it back."Wait, what do you wanna do? You are wounded, Chad," Danny said, his eyes wide as he watched me struggle with my own clothes.I let out a breath that felt like sandpaper. "Yes... wounded, not castrated.
Danny's POV The phone kept vibrating on the marble counter, that low, buzzing sound rattling my brain. It felt like a ticking bomb."Aren't you going to pick?" I asked, my voice coming out thin and sharp. "Your honey is calling you."Chad didn't move for a second. He looked at the phone, then at me, his face going back into that hard, granite mask he usually saves for the guards. He reached out and flipped the phone face down, silencing the vibration, but the damage was already done."Danny, look," he started, his voice a bit hoarse. "We aren't divorced yet and it's just a name. I didn't even save it like that... your mother did."The word hit me like a brick to the face. Wife. "Ohhh, your wife did. Got it," I spat. I didn't just feel mad, I felt humiliated. Like I was some side dish he was keeping in a cage while "Honey" was out there in the real world.I turned on my heel, wanting to get as far away from him as possible. But between the sleeping pill still messing with my head and
Danny's POV My head felt like it was stuffed with wet cotton. When I finally opened my eyes, the sunlight hitting the white ceiling was so sharp it felt like someone was poking my brain with a needle. I groaned, rolling over on the couch, expecting to see Rojit’s grumpy face or hear the squeak of those medical wheels.Nothing. The living room was empty. The silence was terrifying."Uncle Rojit?" I croaked. My throat was dry as hell.I scrambled up, my vision swirling for a second before I bolted toward the guest room where they had taken Chad. I pushed the door open so hard it hit the stopper with a bang. Empty. The bed was made. No machines, no nurses, no Chad.Panic hit me like a physical punch. They took him. He is gone. I ran into the hallway, almost tripping over my own feet. I saw one of the granite faced guards and grabbed his arm."Where is Sanchez? Where is he?" I was basically screaming.The guard didn't even flinch. He just gave that annoying little bow. "The boss is in th
Danny's POV The window was wide open, letting in that biting 2 AM air, but I didn’t care. I just sat there, staring at the long, winding driveway like if I looked hard enough, I could make his car appear. Nothing. Just the wind and the shadows of those guards moving like ghosts near the gate. It's been over fourteen hours now, and he wasn't back. I mean why would he leave like that? No note, no text, just... gone. I felt like a pathetic kid. I had called him thirty two times. I counted. Every time that robotic voicemail picked up, I felt a new layer of panic clawing at my throat. I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly, and walked out to the hallway. "Why is Sanchez not back?" I asked the guard. I didn't even know his name. They all looked the same to me. The guy didn't even blink. "He is probably still busy, sir." Busy? Right. I turned around and stomped down to the living room, pacing back and forth until the soles of my socks felt hot against the tiles. I hope nothing has h
Danny's POV I was standing in the middle of that massive studio, staring at a blank canvas like it was an enemy. I wanted to paint the accident. I wanted to get the image of the car hitting the bridge railing out of my head and onto the cloth, but every time I tried to focus on the metal crumpling, my head started to throb. It was like my brain was physically blocking the memory.I dropped my charcoal stick and let it roll under a mahogany table. I didn't even bother picking it up. My head was spinning too fast.Then my phone buzzed. I didn't even have to look to know who it was. I swiped the screen, feeling a weird mix of dread and relief."Wagwan?" Erica’s voice blasted through the speaker, way too loud for the quiet room.I actually let out a short laugh. "What’s that new language?""Wow, you are actually laughing," she said, and I could practically hear her smirking. "I am glad you are getting better.""I got wagwan from a movie," she added, like she was some kind of cultural ex
Danny's POV My heart didn’t just break when he called my effort expensive garbage, it felt like it actually shattered into a thousand pieces right there in my chest. No one had ever dared hurt me with words like Danny had just done.I took a deep breath, forcing the air into my lungs, trying so hard not to feel the sting of it. I am a man who handles problems with fire or money, but looking at Danny, I realized I was holding a live wire. I had no idea on what to do. How do I fix a boy that's broken and blaming himself for his friend's death?I didn't argue. I just walked toward him and closed the gap, pulling him into a tight hug. That was the only reasonable thing I could think of doing. He was stiff at first, like he wanted to fight me, but a second later he just gave in. He wrapped his hands around me and burst into a silent cry. The kind of crying that shakes a person’s whole frame.How exactly do I make my boy feel better? I thought, holding him so close I could feel his heart
Danny's POV I felt like a walking open wound.I was back in that bathroom, the water scalding, turning my skin a raw, angry pink. I scrubbed and scrubbed until the soap stung, but it didn't matter. I could still feel the phantom weight of Miguel’s hands, the way he had pinned me against that door
Danny's POV The walk back to the dorms felt like a trip to the gallows. I kept pulling the sleeves of my pink hoodie over my knuckles, trying to hide the fact that I was shaking. Every shadow under the trees looked like a person reaching for me, every flicker of a streetlamp felt like a camera len
Danny's POV The lecture hall felt like a pressurized chamber. The hum of the air conditioning was the only thing filling the silence as Professor Chadwick stood at the front of the room. He wasn't teaching. He had a slide projected on the screen behind him, something about parasites and the way th
Danny's POV The lecture hall felt like a pressurized chamber. The hum of the air conditioning was the only thing filling the silence as Professor Chadwick stood at the front of the room. He wasn't teaching. He had a slide projected on the screen behind him, something about parasites and the way th







