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Hunter stared at him for a long time and then finally closed his eyes and gave a little nod. But when he made no move to pull up the sleeve on his left arm, Roman released his hand long enough so he could do it himself. To both Gray and Luke’s credit, neither man made a sound as the burn wounds were exposed. Luke took Hunter’s arm in his hands so he could get a closer look and then said to Gray, “Can you get me a washcloth – run it under cool water?”
Gray nodded and left the room. He was back within a minute. Luke took the washcloth and pressed it over the freshest wound. Roman could tell that the blister had broken at some point, likely during his tussle with Hunter.
“I’m going to put some antibiotic cream on this and wrap it for now so it doesn’t get infected but you’ll want to let the air get at it a little later, okay?”
Hunter managed a nod.
Roman looked up to find Gray and saw his brother watching him with concern. “Do you have a place he can lay down for a bit?”
“Yeah, sure.”
As soon as Luke was done bandaging Hunter’s arm, Roman helped Hunter to his feet and led him to the guest room that Gray showed them to. Gray left them alone as Roman pulled back the covers and sat Hunter down on the bed and removed his shoes. “Just get some rest, okay?”
Hunter didn’t respond. He just rolled onto his side so that his back was to Roman. Roman covered him with the blanket and then started for the door. But he slowed his step and then went to the bathroom instead. He was glad when he came back out and saw that Hunter was still turned away from him because no way in hell did he want Hunter to see the things he was carrying in his arms.
* * *
He knew. Roman fucking knew.
Humiliation coursed through Hunter as he heard the bedroom door click shut. His body felt too hot so he pushed the blanket off and sat up. God, how had he let this happen? He’d always been so careful in the past but today it was like everything around him had been put on pause the second he’d recognized Finn Stewart. And as the man who’d been with Finn had descended on him, all Hunter could think was that he was finally going to get what he deserved…what he’d earned when he’d ruined Finn’s life eighteen months ago. But one punch hadn’t been enough – sure, it had hurt like hell but he’d wanted…needed more. Because the punishment he’d inflicted upon himself hadn’t been enough.
The whole thing had ended before it had really begun and instead of getting on his knees to beg Finn to forgive him or find a way to get the punishment he deserved, he’d run…again. Like the fucking coward he was. The darkness had begun to consume him before he even reached his car and it was only the familiar feel of his spoon and lighter in his pocket that made it possible for him to even get home. Relief, no matter how temporary it was, had been only minutes away as he entered his thankfully empty house. His whole body had danced with energy and need as he waited for the lighter to do its job and he held it in place longer than he usually did because he knew he was too far gone for anything but a major hit. There’d been no pleasure when he pressed the scalding metal to his skin…there never was. Pain had shot through his entire body a split second later and it wiped away every other emotion as if they’d never existed. It was like someone had hit reset on his life and for that brief moment he was the old Hunter Greene…the one whose cowardice had only ever hurt himself.
His moment of clarity had also allowed him to finally hear the pounding on the bathroom door but before he could even respond, it was crashing open and all the relief he’d felt shattered and his world imploded as he realized his most shameful secret had been found out…and by the one man he would have done anything to keep it from.
Hunter could already feel the anxiety building again. He couldn’t deal with this. Not now…not ever. But he could go back to the way things were. Get good grades, pretend he liked girls, do what he was told. He’d been doing it long before Roman came into his life and he could easily go back to it. After all, he’d had a lifetime to practice. He just needed to get away…that simple.
Hunter put his shoes on and climbed to his feet. Between the pain in his arm and his face, he felt off balance so he took his time heading towards the bedroom door. He had no clue how the hell he was going to get past Roman or his friends but he’d figure something out. Something that didn’t involve ever having to hear that mix of pity and disgust in Roman’s voice ever again.
* * *
Roman was glad when Gray and Luke didn’t say anything as he piled the few items he’d taken from the bathroom in the guest room on the kitchen table. He suspected he was overreacting by removing the two bottles of cleaning supplies, razor and bottle of aspirin but he wasn’t taking any chances. He knew from experience what happened when you underestimated the pain someone was in.
“Sit,” his brother said as he pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and placed a cup of coffee on the table.
Since his body felt shaky and weak, Roman did as he was told and settled into the chair. Gray sat next to him and Luke took the third chair across from him. He didn’t miss the way Gray’s hand immediately sought out Luke’s. The affectionate gesture had something breaking apart in Roman and he dropped his eyes to study the coffee.
The dog appeared and pushed her nose against his leg. “What’s her name again?” he asked as he settled his hand on the big dog’s head.
“Ripley,” Gray answered.
Roman smiled. “I love those movies,” he said softly. His eyes shifted to Luke. “Since Gray was never big on movies, I can only assume you gave her the name?”
Luke chuckled and nodded.
Roman felt Gray’s hand settle briefly on his shoulder. “What happened, Roman? Who is he?”
Incredibly, Roman felt more tears threatening to fall. He forced them back and said, “His name is Hunter. His father is the realtor handling the sale of some property I was looking at. Hunter’s been showing me the land for the past couple days.”
Roman was glad when Gray didn’t jump on the fact that he’d come to town without telling Gray.
“He was showing me around town and we ran into these two guys. I guess Hunter knew one of them. The other guy went crazy and started calling Hunter names and then he fucking hit him. Asked him if he had any idea what he’d done. Another cop showed up-”
“Wait, the guy who hit Hunter was a cop?” Luke interjected.
“Yeah…he was wearing a uniform. The second cop called him Rhys I think. The younger man’s name was Finn.”
Luke and Gray looked at each other.
