AllFreeNovel
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Carter climbs out of bed. Travis quickly steps back, shaking his head. Carter freezes. “Talk to me. Please.”
“Are you going back to college?” Travis asks suddenly.
Carter frowns. “I - I don’t know.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“This can’t be your life.” Travis sweeps his hand through the air. “Living here. Hiding out. Being with-” he cuts himself off, shaking his head almost violently. “This can’t be your life, Carter. You deserve better.”
“It’s been less than a month. I’m still figuring shit out.”
Travis just shakes his head and repeats, “This can’t be your life.”
“Why? It’s yours. You plan on staying here, don’t you? Working missions. Helping out. Why can’t I stay here too? Why can’t I find my own ways to help?”
“No. No. You have to - you need to - you’re free, Carter. We freed you. I freed you.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has to do with everything!” Travis shouts. He immediately steps back, putting a hand up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m sorry.”
“I know,” Carter says with a soft laugh. “It’s okay. You’re upset. Talk to me.”
“I’m so sorry, Carter. I’m so fucking sorry.”
What the fuck is going on right now?
Carter walks toward him, ignoring the way he stumbles back until he eventually runs out of space. He’s backed against a wall, eyes wide, looking down at Carter like Carter has the power to actually hurt him. Carter's heart cracks right down the middle. “What happened with Mica?”
“He’s dead,” Travis says softly, his eyes flicking between Carter’s eyes and his lips. “I killed him.”
“Then why are you upset? It’s not that. It can’t be that.”
“I can’t keep you, Carter.” His eyes linger on Carter’s lips for another second before he groans and tilts his head back, pressing it against the wall. He squeezes his eyes shut like he’s in pain. “You’re not mine to keep.”
“That’s - I mean, obviously.” Carter laughs a little. Travis doesn’t drop his chin or open his eyes. Carter presses his hand to the man’s chest, hating that it makes Travis flinch. There’s definitely something on it. Something that smells metallic. Carter stares at it under his fingers as it slowly sinks in that it’s probably blood. Mica’s blood. “Did you come right here? After you killed him?”
Travis swallows loudly. “I needed to see you.”
“You need a shower. And new clothes.” Carter pulls his hand away, wondering why he isn’t more bothered by the whole blood thing. “And some rest. Then we can talk about whatever the hell is going on in that head of yours, okay?”
It takes the man a moment - a moment that feels like a fucking eternity - but then he finally opens his eyes and looks down at Carter. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll - uh - I’ll get out of your hair and go do that. You get some rest, okay? I really didn’t mean to wake you, sweeth-” he cuts himself off halfway through the nickname, gritting his teeth and looking away.
Carter’s heart - already cracked in a million different places - cracks again. “I didn’t mean alone, Trav. I meant together.”
Travis’s eyebrows pull in. “What?”
“Come on.” Carter reaches forward, moving slowly like he’s approaching a wounded animal. The look in Travis’s eyes is definitely like one. Carter weaves their fingers together and gently tugs the man forward.
For just a breath, Carter thinks Travis isn’t going to agree.
But then he squeezes Carter’s hand and takes a step forward. “Okay. Together.”
Carter leads Travis into the bathroom and presses down on his shoulder until he sits on the closed toilet lid. “Stay.”
Travis’s lips twitch in amusement, probably feeling the same way as Carter, but he obeys.
