Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 9

Isaiah nodded as he pulled his phone out. Royal slipped out of the room, wincing at the bright light in the hallway. He smacked his hair out of his way as it tickled his neck, and he hated it. Now, Lyric regretted not having a hair tie. He knew one of the girls might have one, but he did not want to walk outside into the cold for a stupid hair tie.

So, he went down the stairs, holding the railing to save his life, and when the pantry came into dight, he grinned as he stumbled over, hissing. But he made it and turned the light on, leaving the door slightly ajar; he began rumbling through everything Luca had inside.

But he paused when he heard muffled yelling and, for a second, hesitated when deep-seated panic coursed through his bones and had to remind himself that he wasn’t home anymore. No one was at home. That thought hurt. But he ignored it; the Oreos looked a little too tempting for him to be wallowing in pity.

But when he heard Ash’s yelling clear as day, he paused.

“I don’t give two f***s, Rick,” he hissed. “Tell me why the f**k you are all here.”

Rick kept his voice calm. “I told you, we tracked the Fells here.”

“No,” he hissed. “There’s more to the story than that, and we all know it. I swear to god, Rick, if you put my f*****g family in danger, I’ll kill you. If they are in any danger, I want you to pack your s**t and leave, you’re not taking them from me.”

Royal watched as he saw Ash’s breathing speed up. If he didn’t sort that out, he’d have a panic attack and lose consciousness.

“Romeo,” Sebastian said. Royal could hear the panic laced with worry in the older man’s voice. And if he strained his ears enough, he could listen to Ash’s laboured breathing; his chest was rising and falling heavily, and he began scratching his pale chest, leaving red marks.

“Bubbles, he’s-”

“I know,” Sebastian said, trying to move his husband’s hands away from his chest. “But you’re going to have a panic attack.”

“No, the kids. They’ll hurt the kids. And Lucky, Erza, oh Megan. Them being here puts everything in danger.”

“I know, Romeo. But you'll have a panic attack if you don’t slow your breathing.”

“I’m hot,” Ash replied through laboured breathing. “They’re, he’s going to hurt them.”

Royal peeked through the door he had left ajar to see Ash clinging to Sebastian.

“Oh, f**k, Bubbles, I’m about to pass out.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Sebastian held Ashton close to him as his husband lost consciousness. Rick had silently watched the whole thing play out.

“So,” he said, staring at Sebastian, who picked his husband up gently.

“I don’t know what the f**k is going on, but Erza and I want the full story. We all know there’s more than just the ‘you tracked the Fells here’ bullshit.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He needs therapy.”

“Oh, so he’s not over the yano whole thing.” Sebastian stared blankly at Rick, who put his hands in the air in surrender. “Oh, don’t look at me like that; everyone knows about it. Well, everyone in the underworld, at least. Did he kill Marcus and his men?”

“Get out, Rick.”

“But you’re forcing me to crash with the cop.”

“Rick,” Sebastian snapped.

The dark-skinned man sighed but nodded. “Fine, fine. I’m leaving.”

Royal watched as Sebastian slid to the ground, cradling his husband close. “Romeo?” he whispered.

He watched Ash slowly come back around, and his husband smiled at him lovingly before leaning down and kissing his forehead softly. Ash groaned a little as he made himself more comfortable in Sebastian's embrace.

“Bubbles?”

“Yes?”

Ashton groaned. “I haven’t had a panic attack in years.”

“I know. How are you feeling?” Sebastian whispered, looking down at his husband. Royal could feel his love for the man in his arms, and a pang of jealousy hit him. He wasn’t jealous of Ash or Sebastian. He was jealous of what they had and the creeping feeling that he would never have something like that.

“Like the world just ended.”

“Can you stand up?”

“No. I can’t feel my legs.”

“Where’s Royal?”

Royal tensed as he moved a little, and he saw Isaiah standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “Oh, ew. Were you about to f**k in Luca’s kitchen?”

“Isaiah,” Sebastian groaned. “Why are you high?”

“Why not?” the boy asked, shrugging as a dopey grin fixed itself on his face. “Don’t worry, you can f**k after I find Royal, he said he was going to get food and then just didn’t come back.”

Isaiah stormed over to the pantry and swung the door open. He saw Ashton and Sebastian's eyes widen, and guilt washed over him in waves. Oh, f**k. No, would they, s**t. No. They hadn’t meant to know he was here. He was going to wait it all out. He would have forgotten this by the time he woke up. They wouldn’t kick him out, would they?

He hoped not. They were his family. From the first day he showed up at their house with Isaiah, they had accepted him, taking him in. They didn’t care that he was practically living with them. They welcomed him with open arms, and now, would this silly little mistake be enough reason to throw him away?

“I’m sorry,” he rasped. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you came in arguing while I was trying to get food, and there wasn’t a good time for me to leave, so I thought I would wait for you all to leave. I’m sorry.”

~*~