Chapter 41 Daniel #2
With her gone, I was finally able to focus on the person I came here for.
Quickly fixing my suit and tie, I let out some air and moved toward the room.
My brows pulled close as I noticed the door was ajar, but shrugging it off, I knocked before fully opening it and allowing myself in.
There, on the recovery couch, was my Elliot, a bandage wrapped around his ankle with an ice pack.
But what captured my full and undivided attention was his bloodshot eyes, red from crying.
The door hadn’t even closed behind me, and he burst into tears that ached in my soul. Without stopping to think, I closed the distance between us and collected him into my arms, hugging him so tight I left no room for air.
Practically melting into my embrace, he choked on a sob, his hands clenching onto my suit almost desperately as he continued to cry uncontrollably.
“It’s okay, my love,” I whispered before kissing the top of his head. “Everything is okay.”
With his face shoved into my chest, he shook his head, and his cry tugged at my heartstrings.
“We all fall at times.” I held him tighter. “The important part is that you got back up.”
“No.” His voice quivered under his pain. “I-it would be better if I’d… stayed down.”
I pulled back and cupped his face in my hands. “How could you say something like that?”
“I—I heard you and Claudia.”
My heart sank to my stomach. But knowing that he needed me right now, I didn’t fall apart and instead pushed his hair away from his face.
“Is that why you’re crying?”
Elliot let out a short sob before nodding.
“I-I didn’t want to tell you, so you wouldn’t be scared.” His voice shuddered. “I-I’m sorry.”
My expression softened. “If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me, Elliot. Besides, she was going to find out eventually.”
His face twisted as his lips quivered. “Yes, but… she’s so hurt. I tried to tell her I was sorry, but she slapped me, and I—”
My eyes widened with alarm, my whole body tensing on the spot.
“She did what?”
Elliot’s breath caught, and he stared at me, worried. “I make it sound bad—”
I moved my hand to the back of his neck, keeping him close.
“She slapped you?”
He averted his gaze from me.
“Elliot?”
“I deserved it.”
“Like hell you did!” I wrapped my arms around him, pressing his head close to my chest while trying to contain the rage bubbling inside me. My breath turned ragged, and furious, I stared at the white wall ahead.
“Don’t you dare think that.” With my body trembling, I held him as tight as I could, as if to protect him from this world and my mistakes. “No one’s allowed to hurt you.” I took a deep breath, taking in his scent. “No one. And I’ll handle all of it, I promise. I’ll put an end to this mess.”
“I’m—” A sob cut off whatever he was about to say before his crying grew harder.
He wasn’t loud or dramatic. In fact, it almost sounded like he tried to conceal his voice, afraid it would be heard.
But understanding he was overwhelmed on top of being exhausted, I didn’t push him to talk and instead held him until he calmed down.
“Should we go home?” I asked after his tears all dried out, my hand softly caressing his back the entire time.
He shook his head.
“I-if we go outside, it means you can’t hold me anymore.” He pressed harder against me.
My heart all but melted, and I chuckled, a soft smile on my lips.
“How about this. I’ll carry you in my arms.”
After sniffing into my shirt, he pulled back. “People will talk.”
I pointed at his ankle. “You’re hurt, aren’t you?”
His cheeks, already red from crying, turned even redder. “That’s right. But… I don’t want to be carried. I don’t like it.”
I took his hand in mine. “And what if I hold your hand instead?”
The tension between his brows relaxed, and he nodded.
“O-okay.”
My chest grew warm with my love for him, and I pulled him closer before planting a kiss on his forehead.
“Let’s go home.”
With his head resting on my shoulder, Elliot kept quiet the entire ride back. I would have thought he dozed off if it weren’t for how he clung to me every time I shifted in my seat.
Even when the taxi pulled in front of our building, he refused to move and only agreed after I gave him a little shake.
Carefully helping him out of the cab, I ensured he didn’t put any weight on his injured leg.
While the medic had checked him at the show, it wasn’t enough.
Tomorrow, I’d take him to see a proper doctor.
“How about we draw you a hot bath?” I asked after the taxi drove off.
He replied with a low hum.
“And should I order you something light to eat? A soup, maybe?”
I paused when he pinched the sleeve of my suit.
“What is it?” I asked. Was he in too much pain to walk?
“I love you,” he said, out of the blue.
My heart skipped, a warm, fuzzy feeling taking over me at his words.
“Is there a special reason you say it, or?”
He shook his head, pulling a little bit closer while he did. “I… I just wanted you to know that.”
With no one but us standing on the pavement, I rested my hand against his cheek and slowly leaned in to kiss him.
His lips were cold, cheeks sticky from all the tears, and yet his taste was the same flavor I’d become addicted to.
Never in my life did I think that kissing someone could make me feel this much, as if there wasn’t enough space in my body to contain all this love, yet Elliot Dufort proved me wrong with each and every kiss.
With my hand on his hip, I slid the other one to the back of his neck and deepened the kiss.
He opened his mouth for me, allowing my tongue to slip right in.
The soft sounds he let out fueled my already burning desires, making me lean in deeper.
But then, right in the midst of this intimate moment, a strange clicking sound captured my attention, enough to make me tear my lips away from Elliot and search for its source.
Despite the night, I manage to spot a man standing on the other side of the road with a camera in his hands.
My heart immediately dropped, and I moved Elliot just a bit to ensure I was seeing right.
“Hey,” I called out loud at the man, who had just snapped another photo of us.
“Daniel?” Elliot’s voice came out hoarse.
“Hold on right there!” I shouted at the man, who began running away.
Knowing I had no time to waste, and with my heartbeat pounding in my ears like drums, I started chasing after him.
In the background, Elliot called out to me, but with my priority set on the man who’d just taken pictures of us kissing, I couldn’t stop.
The suit I wore made it a hell of a lot harder to run, and nearly stumbling on a crack in the pavement also slowed me down.
But I was still faster, and when I’d almost caught up to him, the bastard glanced back.
I got a glimpse of his face just as I bumped into a dog walker, who popped out of fucking nowhere.
Who the hell takes their dog out this late?
With my legs tangled in between the many leashes and the dogs barking around me, he managed to get away. But I wasn’t about to give up.
I jumped over the last leash and sprinted until I reached the main street, which was full of people. Sweating like a bull in this stupid suit, I searched around until I located the son of a bitch near the road, trying to stop a cab.
“Hey!” I yelled just as one taxi pulled over in front of him.
The man glanced at me one last time before getting in and driving off.
Missing them by a split second, I reached the road and watched it drive away.
The one time I hoped for a jam, the traffic flowed, and the taxi left without any interruption.
“Fuck,” I swore, my hands clenched into tight fists while I attempted to catch my breath.
On top of it all, I’d left Elliot scared and injured on the fucking sidewalk. Taking a deep breath that did nothing to calm me down, I hurried back. To no surprise, Elliot was still outside, waiting for me. And to make matters worse, he could hardly stand on his injured leg.
“D-did you catch him?” he asked, his face pale.
I sighed and put my hand on his lower back. “No. But let’s not stay outside, alright?”
Biting his lip, he nodded, and we walked inside our building. Overwhelmed by this bizarre situation, I struggled to make any sense of it.
“Maybe the paparazzi followed us from the gala?” Elliot asked.
“It doesn’t make sense.” I pressed the call button for the elevator. “We used the back exit and made sure no one followed us.”
The elevator soon arrived, and we walked in.
“Not to mention that it looked like he was already here when we arrived, as if he was waiting for us to do something.” I moved a hand over my jaw.
“I mean, if he were just a paparazzo, he would have taken your photos the moment we got out of the taxi.” But his timing and the fact that he ran away from me—
“Oh,” Elliot suddenly gasped.
“What is it?”
“T-there was this man who followed me here one time.”
“What?”
The elevator doors opened, but not about to move, we stayed put, and they closed again.
“It might be nothing, really. But this one time I went for a run, there was this man in the park… He looked odd, and later, I saw him on our street, too. But it could have been just a coincidence, right?”
Placing both hands on his shoulders, I squeezed him tight. “When did this happen?”
Looking aside, Elliot shook his head. “I-I don’t know, a week? No, two weeks ago?”
Swearing, I let go of him.
He reached forward to touch my arm. “Daniel—”
“Why are you only telling me now?” I hissed.
Elliot looked anywhere but at me. “I don’t know. I thought it was nothing, and I didn’t want to make a problem.” His words were all jumbled together as if he didn’t speak French. “I was worried you’d get scared!”
My temper spiked at that last thing, and I glared at him. Suddenly, I had to get out of this elevator.
“Daniel, please, I’m sorry,” he begged as I pushed the button to reopen the doors.
“Come here.” I wrapped my hand around his waist to help him walk out. But he was slow, and I wanted to get inside our condo fast, so—
“What are you—I don’t like to be picked up!” he protested, but I ignored him and moved toward our door. “Daniel, please, put me down.”
“Just hold on.”
“I don’t like to be treated like a girl.” He slapped my shoulder.
“Stop whining—”
“Put me down! Put me down, now!” he shouted, and I realized I’d completely blanked out for a moment.
Scared I’d ignored him so bluntly, I let him down abruptly and moved to open our door while my back faced him. Only like a klutz, my fingers trembled, and I struggled with the keys.
“You’re mad at me,” Elliot said, not helping the situation.
“I’m not— Shit,” I hissed when I dropped the damn keys.
“Daniel.”
Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and pressed my fist to the door.
“I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the situation.
” Bending down, I picked up the keys and rustled them in my hand.
“I’m mad about you not trusting me to tell me things.
” Pushing the key into the keyhole, I turned it until a click was heard, then opened the door.
But before stepping inside, I turned to look at Elliot.
“We can’t go on like that, with you not trusting me.
So before we do, is there anything else I need to know? ”
Chewing on his bottom lip, his stare dipped to the floor, and it took him a few seconds before he shook his head.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
He looked up, and our eyes met.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I stretched my hand, and he reached to take it but stopped at the last second.
“What are you going to do about the photos?” he asked.
“That’s a worry for tomorrow.”
“But—”
I grabbed his hand, and he let out a soft gasp in return.
“Let’s go to sleep.” I nudged him toward me.
Already accepting that those photos were out there, there was nothing I could do about it now. And besides, after what Elliot had told me, I connected the dots, and like I told Sherry this morning, my father could wait one more day.