Chapter 36
Dante
Three days have passed since the interview, and I check the clock with a frown. It’s approaching noon, and Theo is still lying in bed, cocooned in blankets and pretending to sleep.
Despite my warning to stay away from it all, I heard the faint murmur of the clip playing on his phone the next morning. Thankfully, the comment section was largely supportive, but as expected, plenty of trolls were out there looking to make someone miserable.
I’ve never gone so long without seeing his smile. Never felt the heaviness of his sadness settle so deep. I feel so goddamned helpless.
Frustration and anger claw at me because I don’t know how to fix it. There’s no way to erase what’s been done to him. No matter how much I plead with him to go back to the police or talk to someone—anyone—he simply shakes his head and retreats deeper into his blanket fortress.
Monica’s efforts with the station owner paid off.
Bradley was forced to deliver an on-air apology and announce that he’d be contributing a portion of his salary to a local charity supporting domestic violence victims. After that, he was all smiles again, moving on to his next interview like nothing had happened.
He wiped his hands of it, while Theo’s insecurities have paralyzed him.
I rap my knuckles lightly on the bedroom door and poke my head in. Theo’s blue eyes find mine, but they’re missing their usual spark. “Can I come in?”
“Of course, silly. It’s your house.” Even his teasing falls flat, barely lifting above a whisper.
I climb onto the bed and stretch out on my side, brushing my fingers gently through the hair that drapes across his forehead. “Why don’t you grab a shower? It’ll make you feel better.”
“Are you saying I stink?” His lip tries to quirk into a smile but doesn’t quite make it.
“I’m just saying the cookies might have gone stale.”
This time his smile is small but genuine. “So you won’t eat my cookies because you’re afraid of a little bite back?”
“Was that a dare?” I ask, rolling him onto his back and straddling his hips. Teeth bared, I lower my face toward his belly. He barks out a surprised laugh, flailing beneath me as I bury my mouth against his stomach and blow a loud raspberry.
“Me like cookies!” I growl in a ridiculous voice.
“Oh, my god, that is terrifying,” he squeals, swatting at me and wiggling to get away. “You sound like a pervert!”
“Can I put my hand into your cookie jar, pretty boy?” My mouth lands on his stomach and I playfully bite down as he laughs harder. I suck the soft skin between my lips until I’ve left a faint red mark on his belly.
“Why does it sound so wrong when you say it like that?”
I wiggle my brows, flashing him a toothy snarl. “Say Uncle or I’m going to keep eating you until there’s nothing left to fight me.”
“You can’t eat me! I’m too sweet!”
“Not the best argument,” I say, biting his ribs and leaving a second hickey as he tries to kick me off him. “I love to snack on sweet boys.”
He shouts another laugh as I leave a third mark on him, and then I let him toss me off. I flop into the sheets beside him, basking in his reluctant smile as he leans over me.
“Damn you. I was on the verge of mastering my brooding skills in here.”
“You can still brood,” I say gently as I tuck a stray hair behind his ear. “You can be sad, and angry, and frustrated. All these emotions are valid, and you’re allowed to feel them. Just don’t do it alone, okay? Let me be here for you.”
Tears fill his eyes as he nods, and he lets out a strangled laugh. “Fuck, I’m so tired of crying. I thought for sure I’d be a wrinkled up, wilted flower by now.”
I pull him onto my chest and drop a kiss on his hair. “I’d water you before you dried out.”
“Ooh,” he crows, “is that a cum joke?”
I blink at the top of his head a few times. “Or maybe I’d smash you between the pages of a book and preserve you.”
“Kinky,” he whispers with a soft giggle.
“Yep. I could still stare at you forever, but you couldn’t talk back.”
“You love my smart mouth.”
Another kiss on his head lifts his cheeks in a smile against me. “I do.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the gentle rustling of leaves outside, until Theo lifts his face and rests his chin on my sternum. It’s sharp, but I’m not about to tell him and risk him moving.
“I’m sorry I’m being so awful.”
“You think this is awful?” I tug him closer, dropping a kiss on his lips.
“My breath stinks,” he whispers.
“So does the rest of you, but that’s not stopping me.”
Rude.”
I run my fingers through his hair, gently parting the knots. “You aren’t awful, Theo. Not anywhere close. You’re kind, and brave, and beautiful, and too pure for this fucking world. You are so many things, but you are not awful. Never that.”
“I just want this to be over.”
“It will be,” I promise.
He grunts as he snuggles closer to me. “That sounds ominous.”
A smile flits over my lips. “Have the speedboat ready with a suitcase full of your life savings to help me flee the country.”
“After the boat rental, that would leave us with approximately three hundred twenty-two dollars.”
“That’s perfect,” I whisper.
“Oh, and forty-seven cents.”
“Even better. I can almost use a pay phone with that.”
“There it is… I knew I smelled the arthritis cream. Only an old man would reference a pay phone.”
“Yeah, well, this old man will fuck you into the weekend if you aren’t careful.”
He twists and glances at me. “It’s already the weekend.”
“I never said it was going to be impressive,” I explain with a serious face.
He laughs so hard his body shakes on top of mine, and I feel like a god for making him do it.
“Want to watch a movie?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer, just reaches for the remote and drags the blankets around our bodies, wrapping us up in our own little bubble.
The rest of the world can fuck right off.
“What are these… bright lights? And these strange beings?” Theo whips his head around dramatically as we walk through the farmer’s market. It’s taken a few more days for him to leave the house, and I wanted to bring him somewhere with the least stress possible.
“That’s called sunshine,” I explain, “and those are humans.”
“Very odd.”
“The oddest,” I agree, sliding my fingers through his. “Here’s the plan—”
Theo cuts me off with a squeal and charges forward. A black lab sits obediently next to its owner while she rummages through a stall. She turns toward Theo and smiles when she spots him.
“Can I pet him?” he asks, practically bouncing on his toes.
She laughs and nods, and he drops to his knees instantly, burying his fingers in the dog’s fur and pulling their faces close as he coos in full baby-talk mode. I grin and shake my head as he stays there until the woman finally has to move on.
“Anyway,” I say, smiling wide, “what I was saying is we’ll cruise the farmer’s market while you decide what you want to make us for dinner tonight, and we’ll pick up whatever ingredients we need.”
“Wait.” Theo tugs me to a stop. “Your grand idea of a date is to force me to cook for you?”
My smile stretches even wider across my face.
Theo grimaces and presses his palm flat against my mouth. “Ew, weird. Don’t smile that big. It’s creepy.”
“Should I go back to scowling?”
He drops his hand and grins back at me before rising on his toes to kiss me. “Nah. I love you exactly like this.”
My forehead creases. “So you don’t love me when I’m scowling.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake—”
“Dante?” An all-too-familiar voice cuts in from behind us. “Holy shit, it is you, isn’t it?”
My muscles lock up the way they always did when I was flat on my back in front of him, body torn between freezing solid and bolting. I force myself to stand taller, turn slowly, and meet his eyes—the same hateful eyes I haven’t seen in five years.
“Trent,” I say evenly. “What a joy.”
His lips curl as his gaze drags up and down me, leaving a greasy, nauseating film behind. He licks his lips. “You’re looking good, baby… looking really fucking good.”
“Wish I could say the same,” I reply, arching a brow and letting my eyes skim over him with open disdain. “I’d have to say you looked better last time I saw you.”
Which was on the ground, bloody and crying.
Theo slides his hand into mine and steps right up beside me. Trent’s attention flicks to our joined fingers.
“Oh, my gosh,” Theo says, voice suddenly bright and syrupy in a way that sets every alarm bell ringing. “You must be Trent. I’ve heard so many things about you.”
“Uh, thanks…”
“Oh, sweetie, no.” Theo lets out a small, condescending chuckle—the kind that could cut glass. “They’re all fucking terrible things. Don’t thank me. Really. It would be embarrassing for you, honestly.”
Trent’s eyes narrow at the man a full foot shorter than him standing at my side. He hesitates, clearly thrown, then decides to ignore Theo entirely and looks back at me. “This is what you’ve replaced me with? A femboy with a behavior problem?”
A smirk tugs at my lips as I give him back the same shitty energy. “Replace you? That would suggest I missed you, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“Don’t deny you miss your Daddy,” he purrs, stepping into my space and gripping my chin. The scrape of his fingers on my skin sends ice through my veins, and my body locks again, traitorously still. “I bet you still think about all those things I did to you,”
“What, make me vomit?” I manage, hating how thin my voice sounds.
Theo squeezes my hand, grounding me as he takes a step forward.
“Aww, how cute. He actually told me all about this, so don’t worry.
I’ve got it handled.” Trent’s eyes drop back down to him, and Theo flashes a grin that’s all sharp edges and malice.
“Anytime he gets lost in the past, missing the throes of passion you so obviously gave him, we just head to the grocery store.”
“The grocery store?”
Theo nods somberly. “The bags of baby carrots are super cheap, and if we buy enough of them, we can usually find one small enough to pretend it’s that tiny prick in your pants you try to call a penis.”
“You fucking little—”
“Do you actually refer to it as a penis?” Theo interrupts. “Or is it, like, a weenus? No, wait—that’s the skin on your elbow. Maybe a peacock?” Theo snorts at his own joke, glancing up at me and nudging my ribs. “Get it, baby? Pea… cock? God, I kill myself sometimes.”
I grin despite everything, and the tension that was holding me captive leaches from my body.
Trent glares at me with bared teeth. “You better put your little pet on his leash.”
“Oh, he never told me you were kinky,” Theo muses, curling into my side and looking up at me with gleeful eyes. “We haven’t discussed petplay yet, but just know I’m one hundred percent on board to be your pup.”
Trent snarls, fury twisting his face, and I’m immediately on guard as he steps closer.
Theo doesn’t retreat, just gives an exaggerated shudder. “Is that what you look like during sex? What a nasty O-face. My god, my dick just turned inside out and retreated into my body. Just about-faced and inverted itself.”
“It is an unfortunate side effect,” I agree, still watching Trent.
Theo presses a hand to his heart and stares up at me with wide, mirthful eyes. “Do I… do I need you to suck it out of me now?”
“Oh, I’ll suck it out,” I tease, glancing down at him with a grin. “Don’t you worry.”
Trent is seething, his rage boiling over at our refusal to flinch. “Someone needs to remind you of your place,” he growls, jabbing a finger hard against my chest. “Down on your knees where you belong.”
I grab the finger and yank it backward. He shouts, back arching as he drops to his knees in front of me with pain flashing across his face.
That same anger that used to freeze me and make me brace for the next hit stares up at me now, potent as ever.
But it doesn’t land the same. It’s diminished, stripped of the power it once had.
The realization hits me like a punch: Trent hasn’t changed, but I have.
The smile on my face broadens as I bend down and put my lips against his ear. “Who’s kneeling for who now?”
He howls as I twist his finger further, then release him and reach for Theo’s hand.
We’re walking away when I hear the thump of footsteps coming after us, but Theo is faster.
Remaining perfectly composed, he turns and executes a flawless strike to Trent’s windpipe.
The impact forces Trent to hunch over, hands on his knees and struggling to catch his breath.
Theo’s voice is bored, as he says, “Going for our backs? Seriously? You really get your rocks off on cheap shots, don’t you?” He inches forward, bending closer and looking thoughtful as Trent continues to gasp. “Do you ever think how much happier the world would be if your mother had swallowed?”
My eyes are wide and mouth sagging as Theo turns to me with a casual shrug. “I would’ve gone for his nose, but, ya know”—he gestures down his frame—“little legs and all.”
We walk away together, hand in hand, while the small crowd that had gathered to watch us in the market simply stands there, staring.
“Now,” Theo says, his voice rising above Trent’s idle threats echoing behind us. “There are mushrooms over there that will be killer in a risotto. Sound good?”
“That sounds absolutely perfect,” I say when I find my voice again. His smile becomes radiant as we walk away, leaving Trent behind to be forgotten.