Breaking the Bond that Binds.

Chapter 72 - Comfort

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Virgil (PoV)

I heard the news that Damos had passed and went to the compound to pay my respects, I was worried about how Damien was coping with his father's death. The incident the previous day had been horrendous. I didn't get to see him as the compound was in chaos.   I left without being able to offer him any comfort. I was surprised at how fiercely I wanted to protect him the way he did me.

The day passed quietly, with me telling myself I wasn't part of that world and that I needed to concentrate on my future. To start making plans now I was definitely staying. I needed to think about school, a part-time job, the normal grown-up stuff that makes up an ordinary human life

By the evening, having spent the entire day alone with my thoughts, it felt like the world outside had nothing to do with me. My universe lay about me on the couch. I stretched out, snug in my favourite humongous hoodie that I swear, if I could, I would live in permanently. I was multitasking...catching up with friends on my phone, stuffing my face with chocolate, and watching Deadpool on TV, while scrolling through one smutty story after another on Wattpad. I was doing a stellar job at being a couch potato.

Then the knocking started on my front door. First just the one polite knock and then when I didn't immediately answer it got louder until it sounded like two fists beating down my door. I meant to open the door a crack to see who it was but it swung wide bouncing back off the wall. Damien stood there with a pack of beer at his feet. He was drunk and thoroughly pissed off.

"I thought you weren't going to let me in. Is someone here with you?" Damien, he growled and looked over my shoulder. Before I could answer he walked in and went straight to the fridge, pulling the pack of beer apart like it was tissue paper and stowing the beer away. Swaying as he twisted the tops off a couple of bottles and handing me one,  his eyes ran over me, frowning. "You look like you did when you were 15." I was a little disappointed he still saw me that way. We'd had sex I would have thought he'd know how much of a man I was.  He hadn't treated me like a kid that night.

His beer went down in one go as he walked to the couch, sitting on the edge. He looked lost, his eyes sad and bloodshot from holding back the tears. Damien looked like he'd spent the whole day running his hands through his hair and he was still wearing yesterday's clothes. He rolled the bottle between his palms, lost in thought for a moment. I recognised that look on his face, it was a mix of guilt and regret. He was having to cope with losing his dad for the second time. Damos hadn't been himself for months and now he was gone altogether.

"Why did yesterday have to be my father's last? A day when we didn't have a single good word to say to each other. He was disappointed in me. And I hated him." He put down his beer and held his head. "It would have all blown over by today, his mind would have cleared, I would have calmed down. But we didn't have a chance to take back those words."

I sat close beside him and put my hand on his shoulder. He was tense and twitchy. I wanted to hold him properly, so he could let himself cry if he wanted. Then he turned and I could see his brain was ticking over as he stared at me and then down at my hoodie, my pale legs. "Why is Paul's scent all over you." He suddenly pressed his face to my chest and sniffed loudly. He ran his nose down one sleeve, eventually over the back of the couch. He reminded me of a sniffer dog at the airport. "You always smell of other men." He leaned in and ran his fingers through my hair, pulling it gently against his face. "Hmm...that's better. All you." Damien stayed there for a moment pressed lightly against me. I felt the tension slip away, it flowed out of him gently. His body, which could never be described as anything but solid, gradually surrendered and relaxed. I felt it yielding, letting go of all the tension and pain.