3. Chapter 3 #2
“They are. Not a lot, but that’s to be expected.
If they found him like that, refeeding syndrome is a huge concern.
A few days before I spotted him coming out of Maven’s room, Devlin went in there.
I’m assuming they’ve consulted with him for medical advice on how to get him healthy again, but that’s just speculation since there aren’t any cameras in Maven’s room. ”
“I can ask Devlin about it, see if there’s any information he can share.” I offer as I look back up at the cameras. Salem is no longer in the frame, so he must have walked to a different room.
“I would do it when Cain isn’t with him.
” He states as he turns back around, flipping through camera feeds again.
“I’ve been watching Devlin too, and he hasn’t mentioned it to anyone else in the med bay, including Cain.
If you can get any information out of him, it’s better to try when no one else is around.
Maven may have told him not to inform them, but you’re off Maven’s radar, so he might be willing to give you something. ”
I scoff. “Yeah… okay. Easier said than done.“ I push off the couch and walk back over to the counter to finish my lunch. “Cain and Devlin are practically attached at the hip when they aren’t working. They even sleep together.”
“Yeah. That’s… “ He shakes his head and starts over. “Maybe you could try texting Devlin. If you can’t corner him alone, maybe that’s a better option.”
“Mmmm,“ I shake my head with a mouth full of food. “That’s a good idea,” I mumble.
I lean to the side of the chair so I can pull my phone from my pocket.
I put my fork back down before sliding my phone onto the counter so that I can type out a message.
One thing I love about Devlin and Cain is that they always have their phones in hand, so I know they’ll reply quickly.
Roman watches over his plate as I shoot off a text.
Me:
Dev…
Devlin:
Hey babe. What’s up?
“Babe… For fucks sake.“ Roman scoffs as he angrily shoves another bite of food into his mouth.
“It’s a common term of endearment, asshole. He’s way too feminine for me. Both of them. And I’m all for codependency between partners, but you know… not siblings.”
He rolls his eyes knowingly, so I turn my attention back to my phone.
Me:
What can you tell me about Salem?
Three little dots bounce at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds but quickly disappear.
I glance up at Roman, who seems just as invested in this shit as I am.
He looks up at me and shrugs his shoulders before shoving another bite of food into his mouth.
I tear off a piece of quesadilla while I wait.
A few seconds later, a text pops up, and I wipe my fingers off on a napkin so that I can reply.
Devlin:
Where are you?
“He may want to talk in private. Is it okay if I give him the apartment number?”
Roman covers his mouth with his hand since he has a mouth full of food. “Sure...” He mumbles.
Me:
Roman’s. 134B.
About twenty minutes later, there’s a soft knock on the door. Roman was watching the cameras again, as always, while I lounged on the couch. So, we knew that Dev was on the way. Alone, as we expected.
Roman reaches over to push a button on the wall beside his screen, and the front door pops open.
“That’s cool as fuck.” I say as I point to it. I silently note that he didn’t use it earlier when I got here. He actually answered the door for me, but maybe that’s because he was already in the kitchen. Who fucking knows? I doubt it was out of the kindness of his pitch-black heart.
“I designed it myself,” he replies coolly.
I pocket that information for later since Devlin starts pushing the front door open.
“I was going to ask how you knew about Salem, but the answer was pretty obvious when you told me where you were,” Devlin says sardonically as he closes the door behind himself.
Roman shrugs his shoulders as he leans back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk in that stupid fucking way that makes me melt into a puddle of lust.
“So? Anything? The guy looks half dead, Dev. I’m really worried about him.” I offer as I pull my legs onto the sofa, sitting with them crossed. He walks over and plops onto the couch beside me, letting out an exasperated huff. He glances over to Roman while running his hands through his hair.
“This shit stays in this room. Maven was very fucking clear that no one needed to know about him, but since you guys already know… at least I can talk about it with someone.”
“My job is knowing, not sharing.” Roman replies with a tone of boredom. I know he’s intrigued, though, because we’ve spent half the afternoon talking about this kid. We haven’t even argued a single time since I got here.
Holy shit.
Roman and I have been together for at least two hours, and we haven’t argued.
Not a single disagreement. Are we… Are we actually becoming friends?
I glance over at him, my body thrumming with excitement, but I’m trying to keep my cool at the same time.
I wonder if Roman has even realized it yet.
Probably not, or he’d have started shit just to spite me.
“They didn’t give me much information about him. He’s not from here, that much I’m sure of.” Devlin explains as he runs his hands through his hair again.
“They had you check him, though, right? Is he going to be okay?”
He nods as he stares down at the carpet. “Yeah... Probably. Barely. A few more days without food and he’d have been a more convincing Halloween decoration than any skeleton I’ve ever seen. He’s on a very strict diet right now. The kid was… God. I’ve never seen anything that bad before.”
“They haven’t had you back since that first time.” It’s not a question, but an observation. “Are they still letting you check on him?” Roman asks.
“Not really. I had to quarantine for two weeks after he got here. They want me to send updated food plans to Ollivander every week, but I won’t get to check him again for a while.”
“He’s— Do you want to see him?” Roman asks cautiously.
“Yes! Please!” Devlin replies urgently, scooting toward the edge of the couch. “Sorry. Please. Is he looking better?”
“I don’t know exactly how long he’s been here, so I don’t know what he looked like in the beginning, but he seems to be moving around better than he was the first time I saw him.” Roman explains as he turns to flip through the camera feeds.
“That’s good. Really good,“ Devlin nods as he watches the screen closely. “I’ve never dealt with a patient that malnourished before. It was honestly a gamble on whether or not he’d survive the first couple of days.
We don’t have all the resources I’d have in the States, and for some reason, Maven refused to keep him in the med bay until he recovered. ”
Devlin’s eyes keep wandering up to the feed in the corner, before snapping back down to the monitor in front of Roman. I catch him do it half a dozen times, and I can’t help but chuckle. I lean forward to whisper in his ear.
“That’s Thorne, the head warden. One of Maven’s lackeys.”
He gives me an annoyed side eye before standing up and walking over behind Roman. He rests his hands on the back of Roman’s chair the same way I did earlier, but I can sense Roman’s discomfort immediately. His shoulders tense up, and his movements get stiff, losing their confidence.