Tip of the Tongue [CMS Bk. 1 - BoyxBoy][Complete/Editing]

Chapter 45

Ren turned away from the mural of mutilated bodies and gagged. He covered his mouth tightly with both of his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut and begged for the images of death to go away. They didn't. They were there to stay, to torment him forever, and there wasn't anything he could do.

And there wasn't anything he could do to help the people in the photos. That was in the past. It had already been done.

"They'll hear you," Ashton softly said. Ren almost missed it over his harsh gagging.

But it was what he needed to hear at the moment. He took in a deep, ragged breath, his eyes still closed, and thought about his mom. He thought about the forest and the mountain, how he felt when he was at his happiest. He wished he could be there now. In the middle of the forest without a care in the world about anything else.

He wished life was as easy as pain and death.

Ashton stood close by him. He was hovering by the door, listening, and Ren was glad that he was because he couldn't do anything, but trying and fight off nausea.

"They're heading back."

Ren sagged onto the desk. He folded his arms and hunched over onto the cool surface. He didn't care about leaving fingerprints behind. He didn't care about anything except trying not to think about the pictures.

How could someone be so cruel? How could anyone looking at that day after day without going insane?

He heard Ashton move. He peeked down at the ground. Ashton was standing in front of the wall.

Ren balked. "How can you look at it?"

How can you even stand it?

"It's fine," Ashton said.

It wasn't fine. Even the tone of his voice gave away how much he didn't think this was fine. That settled some of Ren's twisting gut. He didn't want to think of the implication if Ashton wasn't bothered by the gory death in front of him.

Ashton stood there. Ren watched him. He couldn't look away. It wasn't the pictures that he cared about so much now though there was no way that he couldn't be unbothered by them. But at that moment, he was watching every move Ashton made. Every small change in his body language and insignificant twist of his facial expression. He didn't know what he was looking for. He didn't understand why he was so fixated on Ashton right then and there.

But he was waiting for something. He didn't know what though.

"These are new."

"I don't want to hear that."

His gut clenched.

All the things he heard about the Hunter Society never sat right with him. They were brutal and uncaring. They fought like they were hunting down demons and not people.