Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 19

Five days. Seth and Lillian had been here for five days, yet no progress had been made, so Soren panicked. He did not want to die. Hell, he had spent so long surviving in that previous shithole to get out of there alive and surviving, and dying to a group called The Cleaners was not how he intended to leave this earth.

He would have been calmer if the adults around him had been more relaxed about the current situation. But Ash had taken the day off from work, and Sebastian had said it would have been better if he had come in. It could have given him something to take his mind off what was happening, but Ash had refused. Something along the lines of, “I need less stress, not more stress, because half of that department needs me to hold their hand as they wipe their shit.”

So, Soren and Silas had been given the privilege of subtly watching Ash to ensure he didn’t do anything rash or stupid. It would explain why the duo had paused the show they were in the middle of. Ash had finally woken up at noon and entered the lounge room, pacing around, biting his lip, and muttering something. All the while, the two men continued to watch him, confused.

“Do you want to sit down, Uncle Ash?” Silas had asked. He had taken him up on the offer and sat between the two, but then he began shaking his leg, causing the sofa to shake.

Soren shot Silas a glare, and then the man shrugged his shoulders in response. “Have either of you seen any of the Romero’s?”

Sias gave Soren a worried glance, to which he shrugged. “No. Rick’s out somewhere, annoying Luca, Roman and Ravi said they had something to do and have been gone since the morning.”

Ash bit his lip, frowning, before he stood up. He rushed up the stairs. Soren turned to glare at Silas, whacking him on the arm. “Why did you ask him to sit down?” he hissed.

“I thought it would help him,”

“When has sitting down ever helped him?” he muttered.

They hadn’t expected Ash to return downstairs dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Now that they looked at him with the sun shining through the window, the bags under his eyes had darkened, and he nodded at them. “Both of you get up. I’m going to make some coffee, and then we’re going.”

Silas frowned. “Where are we going?”

Ash didn’t respond. Instead, he went past them and into the kitchen. “Do I need to text Sebastian?” Soren murmured, staring at Silas with a frown. After all, Silas had seen Ash in this anxious state more than Soren, and he didn’t know what was customary for the man.

But even he knew, the way the man couldn’t sit for more than a few minutes, the constant checking around the room, the bruised and bloody lips, something was not proper. He wanted to know if his father had reconsidered therapy. He had overheard Sebastian talking to Erza about it, but he wanted to know more and couldn’t bring up the topic without it being obvious he had been eavesdropping. The chance had passed, and it had been too long to bring it up.

Ash returned to the lounge room and frowned at them, eyeing them up. “If that’s what you’re wearing, fair enough.”

Soren looked down at his outfit, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that was one size too big, but it was the first clean thing he had found, and he was sure it wasn’t his, but he didn’t want to deal with the hassle of doing the laundry so early in the morning, so that is what he had decided to wear. Ash waved his comment off and motioned for the two men to follow him,

Like children, they continued asking where they were going, but Ash hadn’t said anything about it then. Instead, once he got in the car and made sure they both had their seatbelts on, he connected his phone to the car’s Bluetooth and decided to play music at a concerningly loud volume. After a few minutes, Soren recognised the roads they were on and realised Ash must have been heading to his workplace, but surely he wasn’t too busy with work as his husband had suggested.

While Sebastian wasn’t particular about many things, he had learned the man hated informal dress wear at a formal place, and in his mind, work was considered a formal situation. He would not be very happy with Ash if that were the outfit he had wanted to come to work in.

Ash parked in the employee-only parking lot, and Silas frowned. “You’re not working today. Should you not park in the visitor's lot?”

“Perks of f*****g the CEO.”

“Oh, ew, Ash, come on,” Soren whined, “Can you not?”

Ash snickered as he exited the car and slammed the door shut. Silas and Soren silently followed behind the man through the obnoxiously large foyer, where men and women all moved about in formal attire, causing the trio to stick out like sore thumbs. A man spotted them, and he rushed over, causing Ash to groan slightly, and he raised his hand, staring at the man. “Matthias, I am not working today. I came to visit my husband. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.”

“But-” the man said, frowning.

“No buts. Walk away.” Soren watched, eyes wide as Matthias dropped his head, sighing as he walked away, looking like a kicked puppy.

The three men walked through the foyers, Ash scowling at specific people. Soren wanted to know what personal vendettas Ash had against them, but thought it wouldn’t be the wisest decision, so he remained quiet. Arriving on the highest floor, Soren was surprised to see the empty place. They walked past the seating area and arrived at the reception desk, where a woman had been typing away and said, without looking at them. “Mr Tomas isn’t taking any visitors right now. Please, try again later.”

“I don’t care,” Ash deadpanned as he walked past the desk to the door. The lady clambered out of her seat and tried to stop him.

Soren and Silas stared at one another with a frown, but followed behind him. Soren wanted to know if he needed to step in or get Silas to do so, but it seemed like Ash had everything under control for now.

“You can’t go in,” she repeated, standing before them. Her dark hair cascaded around her, flowing like spilt ink, and Soren wondered if this woman had something to do with why Ash had been extra moody when coming from work recently.

“You have three seconds to move out of my way, or I swing.”

“Ash! You cannot threaten an employee,” Silas hissed.

When she didn’t move out of the way and firmly stood her ground, Ash glared at her before roughly walking past her, ensuring he nudged her shoulder. He stormed into the office. Soren peeked from behind the two men and saw Sebastian fast asleep on the couch. Well, that hadn’t been what he was expecting. Ash walked over to his husband and leaned down to kiss him.

“Wake up before I stab you,” Ash deadpanned.

Sebastian groaned a little, rubbing his eyes. He opened them, blinking several times, before smiling at his husband, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. “And good afternoon to you, too, love. What brings you by? I thought you were taking the day off. I see you brought the boys.”

“They were the only two I could find. Come on, let’s go for lunch.”

“Why does Samantha look like she’s about to cry?” Sebastian said as she sat up on the couch, sliding his jacket on and staring at his secretary with a frown. He turned to look at his husband, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

“She wouldn’t let us in.”

Sebastian sighed as he stood up and slid his arm around Ash’s waist. Though the scowl hadn’t been cleared off his face, he looked rather smug as he made himself comfortable. “You know, this Samantha. My husband and kids are all allowed in, any time they please.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Ash turned in his husband’s arms and kissed the man. Soren stared at the woman, who stared at the two and cleared her throat awkwardly before leaving. Sebastian pulled away and frowned at his husband. “The kiss?”

“She ignores the wedding ring; I ignore her.”

Sebastian sighed and kissed Ash’s forehead before he walked out, holding his hand with Silas and Soren following behind. “So, do we need to be concerned?”

Silas shook his head, “Not right now, it looks like Uncle Sebastian has a handle on things. But, maybe we do need to keep an eye on her.”

“What do we know about her?”

“I can have all her information to you within the house.”

Soren stared at Silas. He forgot that he ‘knew people’. “Don’t. We’ll be fine.”

The four men walked out, and when they spotted Olivia’s store, Ash laughed as he crossed the road. Soren panicked as he followed his father into the store, Silas trailing behind them. When the four walked in, Scar had been in front, ringing up a customer.

“Hey, guys,” he said, frowning. “What can we do for you?”

“I saw the help wanted sign,” Ash said, “and I offer,” he rushed over to Soren, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him to the counter. “My son. He’ll work here.”

Soren stared at the man, and he felt the cold sweat run through his skin as he stared at the man. When Olivia came in, of course, she was thrilled with the idea. However, she said she only needed one, and Sebastian offered Soren. The two needed some space anyway, and despite his entire system telling him to turn away, Soren ended up working for Scar and Silas in a flower store.

~*~