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He gave Skinner a tight smile then sat down on the nearest surface and could do nothing but stare off into space as he tried not to succumb to the fear, to the horror of losing Ares. He couldn’t lose him. Ares was the only light in his day. Ares kept him sane. Ares… he was so in love with Ares it was ridiculous.
The first guy who’d shown him some attention and normal decency and he’d fallen for him. He wasn’t so sure that he could blame himself for that because Ares was incredible. He was strong and protective. He’d made him feel safe from their first interaction. He’d never truly felt like he’d had a home or a person. Not until Ares. As corny as it was, Ares was his home. He was the one who kept him standing when he felt like collapsing on the floor. He was the reason he took Ronin’s beatings and still got back up after.
He wouldn’t survive without Ares. He wasn’t sure he would even want to.
He hadn’t realized his best friend was in front of him, talking to him, until she put her hand on his knee. He jerked and snapped back into focus.
“Are you alright, hon?”
Meghan had worry lines on her face and he didn’t like seeing them there. Especially because he knew he was the one who’d put them there.
“Yeah,” he croaked out, then when she raised a knowing brow at him, he whispered, “No.”
“Ares?” she guessed.
He nodded, fighting to hold back the tears trying to escape.
“What if he doesn’t come back?”
Just saying the words hurt. How much would it hurt if Ares was killed or didn’t make it back to him?
Meghan sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He leaned his head against her, thankful for her comfort, and even more thankful his brother wasn’t there to see it, because he knew he would’ve gotten shit for it, and right then, he wasn’t sure what he’d do if Ronin even talked to him.
Hours went by and while Meghan stayed with him, he still felt completely alone. She was his best friend and he appreciated her being there for him, but Ares was his everything, as unhealthy as that probably was.
There was a commotion in the courtyard and a few of the brothers came inside including Meghan’s old man who walked straight up to them and lifted Meghan right off her feet. While Meghan laughed, Jace stood, his heart hammering in his chest.
He felt a woosh of relief when he saw Ares walking through the door with Clay who’d also been missing for some time. They both had bruises, though Ares looked a hell of a lot better than Clay did.
“How the hell did you guys get out?” Pike asked.
Diesel clapped a hand on Pike’s shoulder and said, “Oh, come on. It’s Ares. You really thought they could keep him locked up?”
There was some laughter and cheers going around but all Jace could do was stare at Ares. He hadn’t looked at him. Not even once.
There he’d been, freaking the fuck out over maybe losing him and Ares didn’t even acknowledge him? What the hell?
Ares wrapped an arm around Ronin’s shoulders and declared that they were having a party. He wasn’t sure which part made him more nauseous.
He went upstairs to his room. There was no way he could stay down there.
He dropped down on his bed with a sigh. He wasn’t even sure what to think or how to feel, except empty. Going from admitting to himself that he was in love with Ares to then having Ares completely ignore him hurt worse than any beating he’d received. It was a pain worse than broken bones and shattered trust.
There was a knock on his door. He dropped his head back with a groan, figuring it was either Ronin or Meghan. He wasn’t sure he could deal with either of them right now.
He opened the door and stopped breathing.
Blue eyes met his.
Ares rested his shoulder against the doorjamb and gave Jace a wry smile.
“What are you doing here?” Jace blurted out, then shook his head. “I thought you were busy partying?”
“That party is just to keep Ronin distracted,” Ares said, his voice smooth and deep and why did it make his heart race? Fucking hell.
“Really?” he asked.
He heard that desperate hope in his voice and cringed.
