I can try.
If he told the truth to anyone, they’d think he was crazy. No one would believe him, not even his dad. Maybe hewascrazy. He’d imagined the whole thing, never taken Joe out of that tank, never been to work with Harris, not been attacked by Harris. Tears trickled down Kaden’s cheeks.
You’re leaking! What can I do? Tell me! Let me help.
That made Kaden give a quiet chuckle. “I’m crying. It’s just an overload of emotion. Not anything that needs fixing.”
So he couldn’t tell anyone and he couldn’tdoanything because there was no way of ejecting Joe. There was no operation that could remove him. Joe was everywhere. Until he decided to leave, Kaden was stuck with him. And he was scared. Really scared. He felt a warm rippling sensation down his back, then it happened again. As if Joe was stroking him, comforting him. Kaden wanted to tell him to stop, but he didn’t.
I’m scared too. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. I know. I made a mistake. I should have asked. I should have warned you. I wanted to help you and I’ve made things worse.
Kaden released a shaky sigh.
But we can work it out. Don’t worry. Sleep now. You need to rest.
His racing mind slowed and his eyelids fluttered closed.
“Are you making me fall asleep?”
There was no answer, but Kaden wasn’t awake to hear one.
~~~
Joe deeply regretted hurting Kaden. Of all the things he’d done in his life, doing that had been the worst. To hurt someone who’d been kind to him was perhaps unforgiveable.
It had been harder than he’d thought to enter his body, taken longer than he’d anticipated and distressed Kaden more than he’d imagined. But once he’d started, he couldn’t stop or they would have both perished. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he’d have died if he’d stayed as he was, but he didn’t know how long that would have taken. Days? Weeks? The longer he was outside Kaden, the bigger he’d have grown, and then doing what he’d just done would have killed at least one of them, probably both.
Now he had to learn everything he could in order to pass as human. He had to be sure he could replicate a human’s body with a face different to Kaden’s before he attempted to emerge. He had no idea how long he could stay inside him without causing harm. He’d already caused harm and he was truly sorry. He just needed Kaden to stay calm and keep quiet. Telling anyone would be a mistake. Joe might be able to stop him speaking but…
Staying calm himself was difficult. Joe was struggling under the weight of everything he’d absorbed from Kaden’s body and brain. So many facts, memories, experiences, sensations, feelings, emotions… He liked Kaden. But he knew he was freaking him out and he had to find a way to stop that happening. Not telling him he could access all his memories was a start. At least he thought it was all his memories. How could he know?
5
Kaden came to as if he’d surfaced after a deep dive. He gasped, flailed, then frantically inhaled. It was almost ten in the morning. His head hurt for a moment, then it didn’t. He didn’t want to think about what had happened yesterday. Maybe it hadn’t happened. It had all—
Morning!
Just for a brief moment, very brief, too brief, Kaden had allowed himself to hope that the whole of yesterday had been a dream. Particularly last night. That voice in his head told him it hadn’t been. The state of his room told him the same. His bruises might have gone but the mess left by his struggle with Harris hadn’t.
Why is your cock hard?
Kaden winced. “How do you know that word?”
I know it because you know it. Answer. Why is it hard?
“It just happens.”
And with Joe’s voice in his head, it didn’t take long to un-happen.
What did you do to make that stop?
“I’ll explain later.”
Kaden pushed gingerly to his feet and stretched. Not an ache anywhere. He pulled on a dressing gown and made his way to the bathroom. When he stood in front of the toilet, he gulped. He wasn’t happy about peeing in front of Joe, but he was going to have to do more than that, so he’d just have to get used to it.
He washed his hands and face and when he looked in the mirror, for a split second, saw some vague shimmer in his eyes that made his pulse race as he became aware he wasn’t the only one using his vision.
You’re right. The world looks different now. Even better. I can see it like you do.
