Page 47 of Bound By Ink

Killian

Chapter 25

My phone cuts off, and I yell into it.

“Scott. Scott.” There’s no reply, just a dead line, and I launch the phone across the room. It crashes against the wall, and I flop onto the sofa, screwing my fists into my eyes. As I scream, gut-wrenching dread spreads through me. Scott’s on his own. He’s cut everyone out, and Dickhead is going to make him pay. I know it, and I can’t help but want to destroy him.

“Fuck it.” Anger surges through me as I drive to the sandwich shop. After pulling up, I park near Derren’s car, and I wait. My gaze stays trained on the shop as I stare, burning a hole through the window, waiting.

When I see movement inside, I silently climb from the car, hiding in the alleyway between the shops. As soon as he passes by, I drag him into the darkness. I grip one hand around his throat, slamming him into the wall. He cries out, shaking in my grasp. His hands come up and lock onto my forearms, gripping me. His fingers dig in, clawing at me, trying to pull away. I flex my grip. Tightening it, his eyes bulging.

“You win. He’s yours. But if I find out you’ve laid a finger on him, left a fucking mark on him, I will fucking destroy you. You want to know who I really am. You’ll find out in the most brutal way you can imagine. You want me out of your life for good. Treat him like a fucking king. I’ll be fucking watching, real close.” My grip hardens, his eyes widen, his mouth drops open, gasping for the air I’m denying him. I pull him back from the wall before slamming him against it once more. I keep my grip firm, his face going red as he tries to breathe, but I don’t allow it, not yet. But I take a step back. Stare him up and down. Snarling at him.

“You’re fucking pathetic.” I glare down at the dark mark in his jeans; the fucker’s pissed himself. “Go home and clean yourself up. I’ll be seeing you.” My hand whips up, causing him to flinch as I tap my palm against his cheek. I crash him against the wall again, and I let him go. His legs give out, falling to the ground on all fours, coughing and spluttering, choking for air, as he claws at his throat.

I turn and walk away, flexing my fists, trying to exhale all the rage when really, I want to rip his head off. At my car, I rip the door open harder than necessary, slamming it behind me when I get in. As I screech out of the car park, I dial.

“Steven, it’s worse than we thought. Scott cut me off and chose him. I need you to step up, mate. I need you to be the brother he needs. Can you do that for me? Keep me in the loop. You need to be there for him, Steven?”

“Fuck… I will. I promise. I’ll look after him, Killian. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Keep me in the loop, yeah.”

“I got you, bro.”

I hang up. Seething. What the fuck am I supposed to do? My breathing is erratic from the altercation, and my nerves are shot. I won’t let this happen. I’ll die before I give up on Scott.

Scott

Chapter 26

I wake up, stiff and empty. But I check my clock and realise that Derren didn’t stop by, and I can’t help but feel a sense of relief. My mind takes over, pulling my body out of bed, and I ache. Everything hurts, and worst of all, my heart is broken.

I drag my ass into the shower and try to scrub away everything that’s happened in the last week. When I finally tear myself from the water, standing in front of the sink, my gaze is fixed on the fogged mirror. I wipe my hand through it and assess my face, not recognising my own reflection. How did I even get here? The bruise is purple tinged with yellow, and the split in my lip is longer and redder around the scab.

My exhale is shaky, and my head hangs. My grip tenses on the countertop, and I allow myself a moment to reset. I’m just going to avoid everyone and head to uni. I’ll focus on my education and plough everything into that. It’s the only thing I have control over right now.

I step out of the bathroom and flinch. Steven is standing by the side of my door, his arms crossed, his shoulder resting against the door frame.

“You good?” His brow raises in that questioning look, judgment adamant in his features.

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” I snipe.

He unfolds his arms and steps toward me. “We’re here for you, ya know.” He reaches for me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “We love you.”

“We?”

“Me and Killian. You can shut him out all you like, but he loves you and will always protect you.”

I scoff. Shaking my head. “Do you know why I cut him out?” I cross my arms this time, more to have something to do with my hands, so I don’t fidget with them, a telltale sign I’m agitated. I stand staring at him.

“No, but whatever’s going on, we don’t want you thinking you’re alone.”

“We fucked.” Steven’s eyes widen, and his jaw tenses. “Me and Killian. We fucked a lot. I cheated on Derren with him. And I told Derren out of spite: I wanted to hurt him, to crush him. To make him feel as insignificant as I was feeling in that second. I used my infidelity as a weapon against him. That’s why he did this”—I gesture to my face—“I got what I deserved, Steven. Derren is graciously taking me back and forgiving me for my indiscretion; he doesn’t want me near Killian.Idon’t want to be near Killian.”

“Scott. It doesn’t matter.”

“We crossed a line, Steven. I need to move on. I can’t do that with him lingering around all the time. I need a clean break. I need him out of my life because I can’t stop thinking about him. I can’t get him out of my heart, out of my thoughts. And it’s not fucking healthy, Steven.He consumes every second of my thoughts. I need to try to be with Derren. I owe him that.”