Never Give Up on Love Box Set

Chapter 4-1

Chapter 4

Thomas

He felt like an i***t, and most of all he felt extremely close to Elias at that moment, sitting in his car in front of the house where the guy lived. What was he doing here? It wasn’t his business, was it?

No, but his policeman instinct was telling him not to leave just yet.

And then Elias sent him a text after he left. I’ll come out in half an hour. What was he going to do? Leave?

An unpleasant voice in his head told him it was useless to pretend it was only because of his sense of duty. He was worried about Elias, yes, but not only that.

It was raining again, and Thomas looked at the sky, smiling at the coincidence, remembering when Elias had been following him as he was headed to work and what route he took to get to work. Only a few days had passed, but it felt more like a quarter of his life.

In that moment, he saw Elias coming out, a hood covering his head and his hands in his pockets. Was he supposed to honk?

A moment later, Elias stopped and took his telephone out of his pocket. Thomas’s cell phone beeped.

Where are you? I’m outside.

Thomas couldn’t help but smile. He could hear his harsh tone even via text.

Look in front of you on the other side of the street, just around the corner.

He saw Elias read the message and then lift his head, looking around for a moment before spotting the car. He ran a little and crossed the street, paying attention to cars. When he reached the car, he opened the door and got in without saying a word. He closed the door and remained still, the hood covering his face.

Thomas didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“I’m happy you—you have used the number. I’d like to have a look at…”

“He’s my brother,” Elias said, interrupting Thomas, who blinked a couple times. They didn’t look like brothers. At all.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t think—”

“I don’t believe it. You probably thought he was my man.”

Thomas nervously licked his lips. “Well, he behaved in a strange way.”

“He doesn’t like strangers around us.”

Thomas almost laughed. The brother didn’t like strangers around Elias, what would he think if he knew that Elias was hovering around strangers?

“Did he beat you up?” he asked, sharpening his look.

“It was an accident.”

“Oh, really? What did you do? Repeatedly throw yourself against a fist?”

Elias didn’t answer, and Thomas stretched out his hand, moving the hood slightly. “Can I take a look?” he asked quietly.

Elias didn’t move, so he lowered the hood, hesitating a little when his fingers brushed against the black and silky locks at his nape.

He made Elias turn his face and lightly brushed his cheek.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, gently touching Elias’s cheekbone.

Elias smirked and moved away. “Well, I’m not a doctor, but I went to the hospital anyway to get something. Some painkillers.”

Thomas examined his eye. “It’s really purple. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do for this, but I asked the nurse at the hospital to give me something for your face. Here is some dry ice. Did you disinfect it?”

Elias nodded, and Thomas did the same.

When he finished examining Elias, Thomas sighed and moved over to his side of the car.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

There was no answer except a small shake of his head. He didn’t want to talk about it.

“Do you have to go back home right away?”

Elias turned and looked at Thomas. There was a strange wonder in his eyes, as if he wasn’t expecting that question. That was unsurprising, considering their previous encounters.

“Why?” he asked carefully.

“I don’t know. I wanted to invite you to have something to drink. What do you think?”

“Why?”

God, Elias was exhausting. But, as odd as it sounded, Thomas was starting to understand the way he behaved, was starting to see the wall he had around him. And somehow, he was starting to understand that, with Elias, it wasn’t a case of speaking around things. He was direct and probably wanted to be treated the same way.

“Because we started off on the wrong foot, but you are no longer the stranger who followed me home, Elias. And you got hurt and I’m sorry.”

A sound somewhere between a snort and a sigh came from him.

“And now you can apologize for telling me to f**k off.”

Elias turned and blinked with his healthy eye. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You behaved like an asshole.”

“Me?” Thomas exclaimed, amused because somehow Elias was so odd it was funny. When Elias turned to look at him, though, Thomas realized he wasn’t joking. And this really made him laugh.