Not far from his brother’s cabin, he stopped running so he could hunch over and catch his breath. The sweat dripped despite the snowflakes flying around him.
“What have you done?” he whispered. “Why wouldn’t you run to him?”
God.
Ethan couldn’t stop hating himself for what he’d thrown away. With the demons not letting up, he was having to fight them back by using logic.
“He loves you. For some reason, he sees value in you. Call him,” he whispered. “Go back and call him. You need him,” he said.
With each word whispered, the claws lessened. It was as if he was finding strength again. It was like something was giving him that little bit that he needed to push through the intrusive thoughts and find focus.
Blackhawk wasn’t sure where all of this was coming from, but he might just figure this out.
Maybe the run had worked after all.
“You’re going to go back to the cabin, get your phone, and call him. You’re going to tell him you need him to come get you and fall on your sword. You areNOTgoing to let him go. You have to fight this. Come on, EJ. Fight,” he whispered. “One last time. Push through,” he begged himself.
So now, he would dig deep and find what was left in the tank to reach out to the man he loved.
Standing upright, he focused on the road ahead, and that was when he saw something.
Standing in the middle of the road, right in front of his brother’s cabin, was a figure.
A familiar one.
He was big and bulky.
What was this?
Was this a mirage?
Was he delusional?
Was he seeing things?
That had to be it because there was no fucking way Gene had come for him. There was no possibility that he’d be forgiven for freaking out and running in the opposite direction.
Could he get that lucky?
Had the man he loved come for him, after all?
“Gene?” he whispered, not able to believe his eyes.
As they stared each other down, Ethan saw the man move, and when he opened his arms, there was a strangled sob that came from deep within his chest.
And he ran again.
This time, he raced toward Gene as quickly as he could. He tore down that road, his body singing in pain, but in his heart…there was a glimmer of hope.
His person came for him.
It was like he always promised that he would, too.
For the first time in his life, someone cared enough about him to find him when he was slipping away.
As Gene stood there, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Ethan would come to him. He saw him hunched over, as if he was going to purge, and he almost ran to him.
But something deep within him said stay.
