Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 10

Royal, from within the pantry, held onto the alcohol for his life. He took a large sip from the bottle, letting out a small gasp as the drink burned his throat on the way down. He stifled a little giggle because he realised he could feel it sloshing inside him when he moved from the left to the right. But he had to pay attention to the situation at hand. He peeked through the small gap and watched in curiosity.

Ash scowled as he turned to glare at his husband. “Romeo-” the older man began, sighing as he stepped towards his husband, but when Ash took one back, Sebastian remained where he was standing and stared at his husband in worry.

“Don’t you Romeo me,” he snapped. “We said no more. You said, if we had kids, you would leave. They would be safe. Having those fuckers here is anything but having them safe.”

And speaking of those fuckers, Rick walked into the kitchen humming a song, and it didn’t take long for Royal to realise he was humming one of Q’s songs, though Rick paused his humming as he stared at the two men who were staring back at him. Rick, in confusion, looked down at his outfit. He was in simple everyday loungewear, some grey sweatpants and a tight black T-shirt, though he was barefoot. “Is there something wrong with my clothes? I didn’t bring any, and I know, they’re a little tight, but these were the biggest Luca had available, and I keep putting off going shopping for them because he’s so easy to tease. Or is there something on my face?”

When neither man replied, Rick shrugged before going to the fridge, grabbed a carton of milk, put it in his mouth, and drank. Ash let out a noise of disgust as he threw a knife that was sitting on the kitchen counter, and it embedded itself in the wall next to his Rick.

Rick sighed as he moved the carton away from his mouth and stared at the knife in disbelief. “Did you just try to stab me?”

“I tried to kill you,” he snapped. “You can’t be here.”

“Oh, I can leave. I only came for the milk. Luca only has semi-skinned, who even likes semi-skinned milk?”

Ash let out a disgruntled noise from the back of his throat and dug his nails into his palms, but when they didn’t work, he began tearing into his upper chest instead, pulling at the collar of his t-shirt, leaving bright red lines in his skin where he was scratching. Sebastian winced but went to his husband, who tried to take a few steps back as Sebastian went for his hands.

Royal took another sip from the bottle, still peeping through the door as he tried to figure out why Ash was panicking so much, even though it was his husband trying to get close to him. “Bubbles,” Ash whined. “Don’t.”

“I know,” the man replied gently, grabbing his hands firmly within his hands. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Just for a few minutes.”

It took Royal a few moments to register that Ash was having a panic attack. Royal looked away for a few seconds, trying to compose himself, and when he looked back over at the trio, Ash had passed out, and Bubbles had barely caught the man as the two went to the ground. Rick paused, frowning, staring at the duo. He nodded awkwardly, “I thought he got better?”

Sebastian looked down at the man in his arms, pulling him close to his chest and gently rubbing circles in his forearm. “He did therapy for a couple of years, they increased his dosage, and sometimes, he dips.”

Ash came too a few seconds later, and it seemed like all of the energy the man had had had been sucked out of him. Sebastian looked up at Rick, glaring at Rick, who got the hint. He nodded and walked out of the dark green and black kitchen as he resumed humming the song by Q. Annoyingly, Royal now had the song stuck in his head and drummed along to the beat on his thigh.

He was sure, in a couple more minutes, that he would be able to leave and go to Midnight and continue getting high because the weed was slowly starting to wear off. But he hadn’t expected Midnight to walk into the kitchen, scowling, though he froze when he saw Ash and Sebastian on the floor. “Oh, god. This is a public space. We have rules on f*****g in public spaces.”

Sebastian sighed as Ash scowled at the kid. “Only f**k when you’re not home.”

Midnight stared at him in horror. “What does that mean?”

Ash stared smugly at him but didn’t say a word as he cosied into his husband’s embrace, closing his eyes gently. Royal felt something similar to a pang of envy flutter through his chest. He wasn’t jealous of either man, per se. It was more of what they had. That was it. He simply wanted something like that, though he knew it was wishful thinking because anyone who had honestly gotten to know him had eventually left.

“Where’s Royal?”

“I haven’t seen him.”

“He came to get drinks.”

Midnight walked over to the pantry, and Royal froze. They would know he eavesdropped. He hadn’t meant to. They would hate him. Would they kick him out? Tell him they never wanted to see him again. But that meant he would be alone again, and he didn’t want to be alone anymore. He thought he had figured it all out. He even had a job now. Sure, it was part-time, but he had a job so that he could help. He just wanted to help.

Sebastian and Ash both looked up at him in surprise, and he clenched his hands around the bottle, unsure of what to say. He looked down at the ground, too ashamed to look them in their eyes. “I’m sorry,” he croaked out. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was going to leave, but so much happened, and I’m sorry, please don’t hate me.”

The older man shook his head, smiling gently. “Don’t worry, Royal. These things happen here,” he adjusted Ash in his arms and reached into his pocket. “Take my card, go get yourselves something to drink, and could you bring Ash a caramel mocha?”

Royal waved his hands. “Oh, don’t worry about paying, I have-”

Midnight interrupted him by taking the card from Sebastian’s hands without hesitation and nodding. Royal sighed and grabbed his arm. “We can’t drive,” he said. “I’ve drunk, and he’s high.”

“Take Gabriel, he should be home soon anyway.”

And speaking of the devil, Gabriel walked in with a frown and stared at the scheme before him with his eyebrows furrowed. He sighed, shaking his head. “Who should be home soon?”

“You.”

“It’s fine,” Midnight interrupted. “We can find someone else.”

“Nonsense, he’s right here anyway. Go on, make sure to go to Orion.”

Surprisingly, they met Isaiah outside, and he decided to come along for the drive, though they would soon regret this; before Midnight got the chance, Royal and Isaiah piled into the backseat and spread out, smirking at Midnight. He glared at them both before entering the car's passenger seat and awkwardly smiling at Gabriel.

He began driving, sighing. “So, how high are you all?”

“Very,” Midnight replied.

“I’m a little drunk,” Royal muttered.

Isaiah groaned a little, closing his eyes and resting his head on Royal’s shoulder, grabbing the man’s hand and fiddling with his fingers absentmindedly. Royal couldn’t help the small smile as he turned his neck to look at Isaiah.

“Don’t you think you’re leading Royal on a little too much, Isaiah?” Gabriel asked. Midnight snickered a little, and Isaiah glared at him, though he didn’t see it.

“No. Royal knows about the deal. It’s mutual.”

“Are you sure?” Gabriel asked, staring at them from the rearview mirror. Royal froze as he held eye contact with Gabriel. Surely, he didn’t know. He thought he had been doing a good job of keeping his true feelings hidden. He didn’t know. He must have been making assumptions.

“I'm sure,’ Isaiah muttered, scowling.

The car was idly silent for a few moments, but when they stopped at a red light, Gabriel ran a hand through his blonde hair before turning around. “He’s coming back.”

Royal felt Isaiah’s hand freeze before he sat up straight and glared at Gabriel. “Bullshit,” he spat. He tried to appear calm, but Royal felt his heart racing in his chest, his fingers tensing, and his lips quivering a little. He was fine. This was fine.

“No, he texted me.”

There was silence. “You kept in contact with him?” he whispered.

“Of course I did. We’re friends, after all.”

“When?”

“Twenty days.”

Shit.

~*~