― 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚.
❝ and he knows
that a boy who
likes boys is
a dead boy.
unless he keeps
his mouth shut. ❞
or, in which daxton shields's heart is an abandoned house that new friends want to rebuild & mov...
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DEAD BOY (book one). °• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN •°
" NOT LIKE THIS. "
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DAXTON SHIELDS NEVER IMAGINED STEPPING A SINGLE FOOT INTO HIS PAST AGAIN. Killing Henry Bowers was barrelling through the door head-on and leaving splinters behind. He's nearly forgotten why he hated the smell of cigarettes, where he grew up, and most of all, what he felt for Richie Tozier. He hadn't realized it until now. He had been running from his past all of his life. It was behind Daxton like a shadow, creeping across the ground, growing closer and closer until it had the chance to swallow him whole. Daxton thought he could escape it by putting himself through the torture of serving his country, but it made it worse. No matter what path he took, it would lead him here. There was no exit sign no matter how hard he looked for one. Pennywise was blocking it.
The pain in Daxton's ear had gone from feeling as if someone shoved the blade of a steak knife in it to a sharp throb that started to dull as Charlie cleaned up the clogged blood as best he could with the hem of his shirt. Daxton tried not to flinch at the touch. He couldn't hear Charlie's apology for how it must've hurt since he was standing on the wrong side of him and wondered, with a sudden ache in his heart, if he'd ever hear out of the ear again or if it was something he could adjust to. It was something that Daxton and Charlie had been prepared for when they enrolled, and they had seen it happen many times to their brothers in arms, those who were too close to blasts. Daxton hadn't thought it'd be him one day - he lost partial hearing just like that.
Daxton stretched his jaw open a crack and felt a slight pop that helped the pulsing of his eardrums. He nodded weakly at the Losers who were eyeing him closely and batted at his brother's hand while he frantically glanced around. Its eyes had disappeared into the shadow and he didn't feel safe. It couldn't have just vanished, but he didn't see Mike anywhere either. "It's okay - where's Mike?" Daxton anxiously asked.
The others start to call for their friend in the same panic, but Mike appeared with a hand in the air, calling, "I'm here!"
"Did we do it?!" Eddie exclaimed hopefully.
Daxton felt Charlie's hand heavy on his shoulder as he shook his head in dismay. "There's no way. It couldn't have been that easy," he stated. Daxton felt a shiver pass through him and he reached up to lay his hand over Charlie's, hoping for grounding.
